Geagea Warns Against Delays in Disarming Palestinian Camps

BEIRUT — Samir Geagea, the head of the Lebanese Forces (LF), issued a stark warning on Saturday against any attempt to delay or obstruct a government-backed plan to collect illegal weapons from Palestinian refugee camps, calling such moves a “fatal blow” to the newly formed government and its state-building efforts. 

In a statement posted on his official X account, Geagea accused what he termed the “Axis of Resistance”—a phrase often used to describe pro-Iranian factions including Hezbollah—of actively undermining the Lebanese state’s authority by pressuring both Palestinian factions and Lebanese officials to resist disarmament efforts. 

“Despite all the death, destruction, economic collapse, and the suffering inflicted on Lebanon and its people, the Axis of Resistance seems intent on blocking the emergence of a real state in Lebanon,” Geagea wrote.

يبدو ان محور الممانعة ما زال مصرا، على الرغم من الضرر كله الذي ألحقه بلبنان وشعبه، وعلى الرغم من الموت والدمار والخراب كله، وعلى الرغم من التدهور المالي والاقتصادي والمعيشي كله، يبدو انه ما زال مصرا على عرقلة قيام دولة فعلية في لبنان، إذ تبيّن انه بعد الزيارة الناجحة للرئيس…

— Samir Geagea (@DrSamirGeagea) May 31, 2025

His remarks come days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas concluded a diplomatic visit to Beirut, during which he reportedly supported the Lebanese state’s efforts to consolidate all unauthorized weapons under its control, starting with arms held by Palestinian factions in the capital. 

According to Geagea, the Lebanese government had drawn up a “clear timetable” to begin collecting weapons from the camps in Beirut, before extending the campaign to camps in the Bekaa Valley, northern Lebanon, and the south within a matter of weeks. But since then, he claims, “Resistance-aligned officials” have been encouraging certain Palestinian groups to reject disarmament, while simultaneously pressuring Lebanese political and security figures to back away from the plan. 

The Lebanese Forces leader called on the authorities not to retreat “even an inch” from the timetable, warning that “any attempt to tamper with or alter this schedule would be a fatal blow to the new presidency, the new government, and the hopes the Lebanese people have placed in this critical phase.” 

Lebanon hosts a number of Palestinian refugee camps where various factions, including armed ones, have maintained a level of autonomy for decades. Efforts to disarm these groups have long been politically sensitive, touching on issues of sovereignty, regional alliances, and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Geagea, a longtime opponent of Hezbollah and its allies, framed the current moment as a rare opportunity for the state to assert its authority and usher in a new era of stability and reconstruction after years of dysfunction and decay.

“This is the moment to move from a failed state to a functioning one, toward stability, prosperity, and rebuilding the nation,” he said.