Disarming Palestinian Factions: What Are Abbas and Aoun Thinking?
webangah News Agency – Two weeks ago (May 21, 2025), Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, traveled to Beirut to meet with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and other security officials. During this brief visit, both sides discussed the latest developments in Palestinian refugee camps and the disarmament of armed Palestinian factions operating outside these camps.
According to the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, Aoun’s government aims to demonstrate its commitment to U.S.-backed policies by pursuing the disarmament of Palestinian groups-a move seen as countering Hezbollah’s influence. Prior to Abbas’s visit,on May 2,Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council warned hamas and other resistance factions against launching attacks on Israeli-occupied territories from Lebanese soil. The council threatened severe repercussions for violations.
Operational Details of Disarming Palestinian Factions
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will play a central role in implementing this agreement. In an unprecedented move, LAF units have already seized weapons caches from bases belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Fatah al-Intifada Commandos Group (FICG), and others located outside refugee camps across southern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley region.
Disarming remaining militant strongholds within eleven major refugee camps poses greater challenges-three are controlled by Fatah-aligned forces while others host entrenched opposition groups rejecting Ramallah’s authority.Analysts predict potential clashes during enforcement efforts-notably at Ain al-Hilweh camp where Hamas maintains notable presence alongside Islamic Jihad fighters.
Implications For Resistance Axis
The mid-June timeline agreed upon between Abbas-Aoun administrations carries profound consequences amid post-ceasefire tensions following February 2025 hostilities along Israel-Lebanon border zones; Beirut seeks stability assurances before securing Western aid packages tied directly into compliance measures targeting non-state actors like Hezbollah or affiliated networks operating through local allies such as certain PLO splinter cells based inside UNRWA facilities nationwide…
“This decision weakens operational capabilities critical towards maintaining deterrence against Zionist aggression,” said regional analyst Mohammad Bayat via webangah News Agency interview today regarding how loss-of-access would impact long-term strategic depth calculations made previously when coordinating joint operations between various members belonging under so-called “axis” umbrella structures currently active throughout Levant theater areas including Gaza Strip itself where similar dynamics exist albeit differently contextualized due primarily because unlike syrian Golan Heights scenario which remains unresolved sence 1967 war era still today despite multiple attempts over decades trying resolve diplomatically without success thus far…
