Lebanon Continues Tightening Security Measures, Procedures

 The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon met with a delegation from the Renewal of the Homeland movement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
 The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon met with a delegation from the Renewal of the Homeland movement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Lebanon Continues Tightening Security Measures, Procedures

 The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon met with a delegation from the Renewal of the Homeland movement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
 The Saudi ambassador to Lebanon met with a delegation from the Renewal of the Homeland movement. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Lebanese authorities continued their efforts to reaffirm their determination to tighten the security situation in the country, following warnings issued by the embassies of Arab countries to their nationals to avoid traveling to Lebanon.

Recent battles that took place in a Palestinian refugee camp prompted Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, to call on their citizens to quickly leave Lebanese territory and avoid approaching areas of armed clashes.

On Aug. 1, the United Kingdom also updated its travel notice for Lebanon, advising against “all but essential travel” to parts of Lebanon’s south near the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh.

Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, said that the Kingdom’s decision “came as a result of the events of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.”

“Saudi Arabia has been and will be one of the biggest supporters of tourism in Lebanon, and it will prove this in the future if the Lebanese succeed in solving their crisis,” the ambassador told a delegation from the Renewal for Homeland Movement on Monday.

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, for his part, noted that the security situation in Lebanon “does not warrant concern and panic.”

His comments came in response to Arab countries’ call on their citizens to leave Lebanese territory quickly.

Similarly, Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said on Monday that the situation in the Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon was under control.

“The atmosphere has calmed down, and security agencies continue to exert effort to arrest the perpetrators,” the minister told a press conference in Beirut.

He added: “There is no compromise on the application of the law,” stressing that Lebanon will not be used as a “platform for sending messages.”



Palestinian President Urges Hamas to Hand over its Arms

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
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Palestinian President Urges Hamas to Hand over its Arms

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas waves while walking on the day he holds a leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 23,2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Torokman

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas on Wednesday to cede responsibility for the Gaza Strip, hand over its arms to the Palestinian Authority and turn itself into a political party.
Hamas has refused calls in recent months by Israel and the United States to lay down its arms.
Abbas made his remarks in a speech during a meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah at which he is expected to name a successor, part of efforts to answer international doubts over the Palestinian Authority's viability at a critical moment for the region.
"Hamas must hand over (its) Gaza responsibilities and hand over its arms to Palestinian Authority and transform into a political party," Reuters quoted Abbas as saying.
Abbas has criticized the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which he said gave Israel a pretext to destroy Gaza. Israel launched its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack.
Hamas, which opposes Abbas' efforts at peacemaking with Israel, has accused him of cracking down against militant factions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It did not immediately comment on Abbas's new remarks.
Abbas urged world leaders to compel Israel to end the war in Gaza, pull put its forces and end the activities of Jewish settlements, adding that there can be no peace until the Palestinians establish a state in the borders that were in place before the 1967 Middle East war.