Disarmament of Palestinian camps could pave way for new refugee rights

BEYRUT (AP) – More Palestinian refugee camps, while delivering arms cache to the Lebanese Army this week, said that the effort to disarm the Lebanese government official Associated Press could pave the way to give Palestinian refugees more legal rights.

Ramez Dimashkieh, the President of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, a government organ that served as a interlocutor between Palestinian refugees and authorities, said that the group is working on the proposed legislation that Lebanon hopes to improve the status of about 200,000 Palestinian worship.

Citizenship is not given to protect the right to return to the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, to return to the houses they seemingly escaped or to return to the houses that prohibit them from returning to the 1948 Israeli State. In many professions, their work is forbidden, they have few legal protection and they cannot have property.

Dimashkieh, the proposed legislation prepared will not give refugees a Lebanese citizen, but will strengthen the rights of labor and property, he said.

“If people see a serious movement in terms of arms distribution and see the Palestinians here… If it is serious about turning into a civilian society rather than militarized camps, it will make the discourse easier.”

First step

Last week, Palestinian factions began to surrender some of the weapons held in the Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp on the skirts of Beirut to the Lebanese Army, the first step in the implementation of a plan to remove Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese President Joseph three months ago.

The step of removal from the camps was seen as the pioneer of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, who filed a bruising war with Israel last year. Since then, the group is under domestic and international pressure to give up the remaining arsenal that has been refused to do so far.

Just a van full of machine guns and rocket-guided hand bombs left Burj al-Barajneh last week, led to many of them to reject the attempt in Palestinian camps ineffective or completely symbolically.

Dimashkieh admitted that there is a lot of cynicism about the amount and quality of the weapons presented, but insisted that the government was serious about follow -up.

“Whatever the weapons, weapons now with Lebanon armed forces,” he said. “That’s why we must be pleased with this.”

On Thursday, he gave weapons, including three other camps in Southern Lebanon, RPGs, machine guns and grenades.

A move towards civilian government

The 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are not under the control of the Lebanese officials, and rival Palestinian groups have clashed in the camps in recent years, influenced the wounded and nearby areas.

In the Ein El Hilweh camp, near the Southern Port city Sidon, the fight tours between the members of the conquest movement of Abbas and the rival Islamist groups in 2023 were wounded and displaced.

The fight left schools in one of the two school complexes in the camp, led by the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency. The agency, which suffers from cash, does not have resources to reopen schools right now, ”he said.

Although UNRWA is not involved in the ongoing disarmament efforts at the moment, Klaus said, “We hope that this leads to a state of security and security and stability with a functioning civilian administration.” He said.

Finally, Dimashkieh said that the target was patrolling by the Lebanese police or internal security forces while the camps were ruled by civilian Palestinian officials, but that there would be a “transition period” before this happens.

A few months ago, Abbas’ administration launched the revision of the Palestinian Authority in Lebanon, including the abolition of the former Palestinian ambassador and many security guards and staff. Dimashkieh said that a Palestinian delegation has recently visited the way to open the way for the new “popular committees” elections, which have recently served as de facto municipal officials in camps.

Palestinian factions, including Hamas and its allies, refused to deliver the weapons in the camps, and even members of the conquest movement of Abbas, not only those who belonged to organized groups last week, said that “illegal” weapons would be delivered only.

But on Thursday, Sobhi Abu Arab President of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon said, “We are doing our part as the Fatah Movement and Palestinian Liberation Organization to implement Abbas’ decision.”

Dimashkieh said that his group had “first talks ve with Hamas and brought them to the ship and was very optimistic for us to make progress”.