Exclusive: Abbas to visit Lebanon with plan to disarm Palestinian factions

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is set to visit Lebanon on 19 May to announce the disarmament of Palestinian resistance factions, by force if necessary, Middle East Eye can reveal.

Palestinian and Lebanese sources told MEE that Abbas will travel to Beirut on an official visit to meet the Lebanese president and other top officials.

During the trip, Abbas will announce the demilitarisation of his own Fatah movement as well as other Palestinian factions based in refugee camps in Beirut and across Lebanon.

Sources said Abbas has already agreed to a plan to remove Fatah’s weapons from the camps.

He will also explicitly call on other Palestinian factions fighting against the Israeli occupation to disarm—a move likely to be welcomed in Tel Aviv but one that could provoke serious unrest within Palestinian society.

Read more: Exclusive: Abbas to visit Lebanon with plan to disarm Palestinian factions