Growing dissatisfaction and frustration are being voiced in Lebanon over Hamas’ continued refusal to hand over its weapons, despite a Lebanese government decision and a prior Lebanese-Palestinian understanding on the issue.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports that while the Lebanese Army is completing the process of receiving weapons from Palestinian refugee camps in various parts of the country, serious questions remain regarding the fate of Hamas’ arms in Lebanon. Hamas, according to the report, is still refusing to implement the government decision and the agreement reached at the Lebanese-Palestinian summit on disarmament.
Hamas is said to be holding on to medium and heavy weapons located in areas south of the Litani River, particularly in the Rashidieh refugee camp near Tyre. This comes as the deadline set by the Lebanese Army for completing the first phase of the government decision to disarm terrorist organizations in the area between the Litani River and the Israeli border expires at the end of 2025.
A senior Lebanese official told Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that the Lebanese government had sought external mediation to deal with Hamas’ disarmament, asking several countries to exert pressure on the terrorist organization. These efforts, the source said, have so far produced no results.