Lebanese and Palestinian officials have begun laying the groundwork for a mechanism to implement recent understandings reached between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas, which aim to restrict weapons to state authorities and dismantle armed Palestinian groups operating in Lebanon.

The move follows the arrival of senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmad in Beirut on Sunday evening, heading a delegation tasked with advancing these efforts. While al-Ahmad has opted to keep his meetings out of the public eye, Palestinian sources familiar with the mission told Asharq Al-Awsat that he is pursuing three main objectives: resolving internal tensions within Fatah over the arms handover, building consensus among Palestinian factions, particularly those outside the umbrella of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and finalizing with Lebanese authorities the practical steps needed to carry out the disarmament.

Despite internal disputes among Palestinian groups, Lebanese government sources say Beirut is committed to pressing forward with the plan, which was agreed upon during a June 16 meeting regarding the capital’s refugee camps. The same sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that a meeting is scheduled for Thursday between the Palestinian Joint Action Committee—which includes both PLO and non-PLO factions—and the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, chaired by Ambassador Ramzi Dameskiyeh, to solidify the execution mechanisms.

“There is clear tug-of-war among the factions regarding the arms issue,” one Lebanese government official said. “But from our side, the political decision to move ahead has already been taken.”

Sarhan Sarhan, Deputy Secretary of Fatah in Lebanon, rejected suggestions of division within the movement, saying Fatah operates under unified leadership and fully supports the joint declaration issued by Abbas and Aoun.

“Everyone in Fatah agrees with the joint statement issued by both presidents, Aoun and Abbas. Any claim to the contrary is untrue,” Sarhan told Asharq Al-Awsat, noting that al-Ahmad’s visit was aimed at establishing an “applicable mechanism” for implementation.

“All Palestinian factions, whether part of the PLO or not, have declared their commitment to the Lebanese state and its laws,” Sarhan said. “This includes allowing the Lebanese Army to exert its authority across the entire country.”

Sarhan made clear, however, that this commitment does not extend to “extremist Islamists or outlaws such as drug traffickers,” adding that Fatah is willing to turn over such individuals if given the proper judicial, political, and security backing.

He emphasized that the Palestinian factions “will meet all the obligations placed on them” and are determined not to be “a dagger in Lebanon’s side,” vowing to prevent any outbreak of intra-Palestinian or Palestinian-Lebanese strife.

Last week, Fatah’s leadership issued a statement reaffirming its full commitment to the Abbas–Aoun declaration, describing any contrary positions as “unrepresentative, condemned, and rejected.”

Sources close to the Hamas movement said al-Ahmad’s visit is less about forging a unified Palestinian stance and more about “repairing the internal rift within Fatah itself.”

The sources criticized the way the arms issue has been handled so far, saying it has been approached “superficially” and without serious engagement.

“Those claiming to speak on behalf of the factions are based in Ramallah and don’t understand the complex realities inside Lebanon’s refugee camps,” one source said. “A matter this sensitive requires serious and detailed discussions through the Lebanese–Palestinian National Dialogue Committee.”

Although last month’s Abbas–Aoun summit concluded with a clear commitment to the principle of exclusive state control over weapons and a joint assertion that “the era of weapons outside state authority has ended,” the practical scope of the disarmament process remains undecided.

According to Palestinian sources, it has yet to be determined whether the plan will involve a full handover of all weapons, or only medium and heavy arms, while allowing internal security committees to retain light weapons for camp security under coordination with Lebanese authorities.