BEIRUT — Charade, who hands out arms at a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut on Thursday evening, is nothing more than a political scandal and hopes Lebanese authorities, like their Palestinian counterparts, willing to do what they can to please Washington and Riyadh.
In a staged and ridiculous exhibition, Lebanese military service was handed over a collection of burlap bags where Ramala-based mercensors gathered several Dushka machine guns, RPGs, ammunition magazines, bullets, hand-grip bullets and more.
Absurdly, US envoy to Lebanon Thomas Barrack quickly congratulated the blessing “the Lebanese government and the Fatah movement on agreements on voluntary disarmament in camps in Beirut.”
Barack argued that this was a major achievement that came from the bold steps taken by the Lebanese Cabinet recently, a historic achievement for unity and stability, indicating a true commitment to peace and cooperation.”
However, the Palestinian fact in Lebanon quickly denied the intention to abandon weapons within the Palestinian camp, explaining that “what’s happening within the Burj al-Barazine camp is an internal organizational problem within the Fatah movement and has no connection to the Palestinian weapons problem in the camp.”
Palestinian factions have declared that their weapons are always weapons, and always weapons, associating with the right to return and the fair Palestinian cause. As long as the occupation remains on the Palestinian land, they will be used to confront the Zionist enemies until the people achieve return, freedom, and the establishment of an independent state.”
On his part, Major General Sobi Abu Arab, commander of the national security forces of the Palestinian camp in Lebanon, declared that what was surrendered was “not a Palestinian weapon.”
This humiliating move is merely a chapter in the process of presenting an unworthy surrender in the eyes of the rational person. The only advantage is that it exposed the practices of the Ramallah authorities. This often smuggles weapons into camps to fuel the Battle of Innesin.
Despite the ock, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is also not ashamed to praise the “start of the Palestinian weapons delivery process,” despite the move sparked.
Salam recently promised to President Yasser Abbas (after secretly meeting him), the son of Palestinian authorities Mahmoud Abbas, that his government had decided to completely disarm the camp.
This was followed by Shadi Al-Far, a national security official in the Palestinian camp, who was arrested and dismissed on charges of rebelling against Ramallah’s decision to hand over his weapons. The weapons were then confiscated from the garage of the Burj al-Barazine camp.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Palestinians would be repatriated with Israeli identity, Saleh Abu Hussein, who had been detained in Lebanon for nearly a year, sparked widespread public outrage as Lebanese prisoners were not repaid.
According to Israel Army Radio, “After recent months of negotiations supported by the Red Cross, citizens were transferred by Lebanese authorities through crossing the coordinators of prisoners and missing persons, and coordinators of Brigadier General (res.) Gar Hirsch,” according to Israeli Army Radio. “After entering Lebanon from the Nakoura area in July 2024, they were arrested by the Lebanese military.”
During his interrogation, he said, “He did not want to stay there, so he left the occupied territory and entered Lebanon in search of work.”
There has been no official statement in Lebanon about what happened. Sources claimed he wore a hat, saying his release was part of the process unfolding in the coming days. It appears to have led to Thomas Barrack’s promise of “a step that the Israeli government will take in response to the government’s decision to disarm resistance.”
MP Sayyed Ibrahim Al-Moussawi, a member of the Hezbollah Congressional Block, condemned the unconditional release, saying, “We were surprised…this raises doubts and deep doubts about the authorities’ negligence and about the inability to take advantage of the available opportunities to complete prisoner exchanges with the other party.”
“Authors from the authorities must clearly and fully explain what happened, especially the families of the prisoners, and what happened. Also, competent judicial and security authorities must open a comprehensive investigation to reveal the truth that appropriate action can be taken,” Al Masawi added.
Meanwhile, Axios reported that the US administration has called on Israel to cut “non-urgent” military operations in Lebanon.
Axios noted that the latest debate on these issues came in Paris last Wednesday during a meeting between Israeli Strategic Minister Ron Dahmer and US envoys Thomas Barrack and Morgan Ortags.