Abbas to Visit Lebanon to Disarm Palestinian Factions—At Saudi Arabia’s Request

British news outlet Middle East Eye has revealed that Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, is set to visit Lebanon on May 19 at the request of Saudi Arabia. During this visit, Abbas plans to present Lebanese officials with a security plan to disarm Palestinian resistance factions in Lebanon’s refugee camps—including the use of force if necessary.

Sources from both Palestinian and Lebanese sides confirmed to MEE that Abbas will hold formal talks with the Lebanese President and other senior political and military figures.

During the trip, Abbas is expected to announce not only the disarmament of Fatah, the faction he leads, but also that of all other Palestinian groups operating in the camps of Beirut and across Lebanon.

According to sources, Abbas has already agreed to the disarmament of Fatah’s forces within these camps.

Historically, the Palestinian factions and their arms have been tolerated within the camps as part of a longstanding understanding between Palestinian leadership and the Lebanese state—a status quo upheld since the end of Lebanon’s civil war under the Taif Agreement of 1990.

But this time, Abbas’s plan reportedly targets all resistance factions, especially those that still fight the Israeli occupation. His expected call for them to disarm is likely to provoke serious unrest within Palestinian communities in Lebanon.

A Move That Pleases Tel Aviv, But Risks Palestinian Unity

According to Middle East Eye, Israel is likely to welcome this step, while many Palestinians may view it as a direct betrayal. If the factions refuse to comply, a major military operation could be launched against them, and they would be officially treated as non-state actors or “outlaws” by Lebanese authorities.

Abbas, as both President of the Palestinian Authority and head of the PLO, is expected to provide political cover for such an operation.

A Palestinian source told MEE that Abbas intends to form a security committee to oversee the disarmament process and establish a timeline for when weapons must be surrendered.

If factions refuse, they would be stripped of all official recognition and political backing, clearing the way for a Lebanese military intervention to forcibly disarm groups in Palestinian camps.

Saudi Arabia Reportedly Behind the Initiative

Multiple sources confirm that this new disarmament plan was initiated following a Saudi request, conveyed through Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

This push comes just weeks after Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council issued a stern warning to Hamas on May 2, threatening it with “the harshest measures” if it launched attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory.

That warning followed a wave of arrests of Palestinians and Lebanese citizens accused of involvement in cross-border rocket fire into northern Israel in recent weeks.

Reading the council’s official statement, Brigadier General Mohammad Mustafa declared:

“Hamas and other factions will not be allowed to jeopardise national stability.

The safety of Lebanese territory is non-negotiable.”

Why Palestinian Factions Exist in the Camps

The presence of Palestinian factions inside Lebanon’s camps is tied directly to the mass displacement of over 700,000 Palestinians during the Nakba in 1948, when they were forcibly expelled by Israeli militias.

Today, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees still live in these camps—many of them denied basic civil rights in Lebanon, including access to numerous professions and the right to own property.

Given this precarious and marginalised existence, most Palestinian refugees view the resistance factions as their only means of protection—whether from another Israeli incursion or renewed Lebanese internal conflict.

Sabra and Shatila: A Scar That Still Burns

The massacre of Sabra and Shatila remains a defining trauma for Palestinians in Lebanon. Carried out in 1982 by Israeli forces and allied Lebanese militias, the massacre followed the so-called Philip Habib Agreement, a U.S.-brokered deal between Israel and the PLO.

Under that agreement, Palestinian fighters agreed to withdraw from Lebanon in return for guarantees that the refugee camps would be protected and civilians spared. But within hours of the resistance’s exit, Israeli troops and Lebanese militias stormed Sabra and Shatila and carried out what remains one of the most horrific massacres in Palestinian and Lebanese history.

The memory of that betrayal runs deep—so deep that many Palestinians today still view armed resistance as their only safeguard against a repeat of history.

Abbas’s upcoming visit and the plan to disarm the camps—particularly under Saudi sponsorship—raises urgent questions for Palestinians both inside and outside Lebanon:

Is this a step toward internal peace—or a prelude to surrendering what little remains of resistance infrastructure in the diaspora?

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