Second weapons transfer: Palestinian factions hand over arms to Lebanese Army in Ain al-Hilweh

Report by Yazbek Wehbe, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi  

For the second time, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has handed over part of its heavy weaponry to the Lebanese Army in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in South Lebanon.

Ain al-Hilweh, the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps, is considered to contain the highest concentration of weapons. Arms in the camp are held by multiple factions, including Islamist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as more hardline Islamist groups.

On Tuesday, the PLO, led by the Fatah movement, delivered a new batch of weapons to the Lebanese Army. The shipment included a rocket launcher with 16 rockets, 10 medium machine guns of the DShK type, mortar shells, land mines, as well as additional medium machine guns and ammunition.

Most of the weapons handed over had been in the possession of Brigadier General Munir Makdah, a senior Fatah official who had not previously surrendered them because he had been in hiding due to Israeli army threats, according to sources familiar with the matter.

After the heavy and medium weapons were gathered at a Fatah warehouse in the Jabal al-Halib area inside the camp, the handover took place at the Nabaah checkpoint near the Seroub area on the outskirts of Ain al-Hilweh. 

As in the previous handover, the transfer was conducted via a route newly established by the Lebanese Army to avoid passing through the camp's densely populated streets.

So far, Islamist factions in the camp have not informed the Lebanese Army of any timetable for handing over their weapons. 

Meanwhile, more extreme Palestinian groups based along two streets inside Ain al-Hilweh have outright rejected the issue of disarmament.

The PLO has said that this delivery will not be the last, raising the possibility of additional batches of weapons being handed over from remaining stockpiles in the coming period.