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Lebanon: General Security Prepares Mechanism on Return of Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Lebanon: General Security Prepares Mechanism on Return of Syrian Refugees

Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)
Syrian refugees prepare to leave Lebanon toward Syrian territory through the Wadi Hamid crossing in Arsal on Oct. 26, 2022. (Getty Images/AFP)

Lebanon’s Acting Director General of General Security, Brigadier General Elias Baissari, has exerted efforts to adopt a mechanism for the return of Syrian refugees, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday.

On Thursday, Baissari was assigned by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to follow up on the issue of returning the displaced Syrians to their country.

According to official data, as many as 540,000 Syrians voluntarily returned to Syria from Lebanon since 2017.

The security sources said that in 2017, Lebanon launched a campaign to deport Syrians who entered illegally.

They said the campaign was based on a decision taken by the Higher Defense Council to start deporting refugees who entered Lebanon illegally.

The sources also pointed out that the recent meeting of the ministerial committee concerned with refugee affairs gave security forces the green light for a broader effort to deport undocumented Syrian nationals.

“The situation is no longer bearable. Lebanon’s prisons no longer accommodate more detainees. Therefore, every Syrian who has no official documents allowing him to stay on Lebanese soil, will be immediately returned to Syria,” the sources confirmed.

In a related development, Lebanese caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib met Saturday with the Deputy Director General and Head of the Middle East and North Africa Department at the Swedish Foreign Ministry, Sophie Baker, requesting an official clarification regarding the statements circulated in videos on social media by Swedish citizen, Kamal al-Labwani, in which he calls on the displaced Syrians in Lebanon to violate Lebanese laws and to take up arms in the country.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it continues to follow up on developments in the case “which impacts national security,” until it obtains the desired clarifications from the concerned authorities.

Meanwhile, the Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee Chair, MP George Adwan, discussed Saturday with UN Special Coordinator in Lebanon Joanna Wronica the crisis of the Syrian refugees.

Adwan stressed “the need to immediately implement practical steps for their return to their country, and for the international community to cooperate with the Lebanese authorities and provide assistance to the refugees in their country to encourage them to return.”

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Arab World

Lebanon President Says Israeli Withdrawal 'Non-negotiable'

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
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Lebanon President Says Israeli Withdrawal 'Non-negotiable'

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a press conference. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday said Israel's withdrawal from the country's south was a "non-negotiable" demand that authorities would pursue through negotiations, days ahead of a new round of talks in Washington.

In a statement commemorating Israel's previous withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 after some two decades of occupation, Aoun said that "this year, the anniversary of the liberation comes as Lebanon is weighed down by a painful reality."

"Israeli attacks have not stopped and our dear southern villages are still suffering under a renewed occupation," he said.

Israeli troops who invaded Lebanon during the latest war with Hezbollah began on March 2 are operating inside a self-declared "yellow line" running around 10 kilometers (six miles) deep inside Lebanese territory.

Israel's military has also been conducting heavy strikes well beyond that area despite a ceasefire supposed to be in force since April 17.

"Lebanon will not accept this reality," Aoun said.

"The path to a full Israeli withdrawal will remain an uncompromised, constant national demand that the Lebanese state works to achieve through the option of negotiations," he added.

Lebanon and Israel began landmark US-brokered talks last month and are preparing for a fourth round in early June, preceded by a meeting between military delegations at the Pentagon on May 29.

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday reiterated his opposition to the direct talks with Israel and his group's refusal to disarm, as it keeps up attacks on Israeli targets in south Lebanon and across the border.

"If this government is incapable of guaranteeing sovereignty, it should go," Qassem said, adding: "Where is the sovereignty if America runs the cogs of the Lebanese state?"

Aoun said that negotiations were "neither a concession nor a surrender".

"The liberation of the south is a duty borne by the state with the support of its people," the president added.

Lebanese authorities have committed to disarming Hezbollah and they prohibited its military activities after it drew Lebanon into the Middle East war with rocket fire at Israel, in retaliation for strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned what he called Hezbollah's "reckless call to overthrow Lebanon's democratically elected government", accusing it of "actively trying to drag Lebanon back into chaos and destruction."

Qassem had said that "the people have the right to go down onto the streets and to bring down the government" in response to Israeli attacks and US sanctions on the Hezbollah-linked Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial institution, which Washington wants Beirut to shut down.

Arab World

Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Syrian Parliament to Convene on June 8

People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
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Sources to Asharq Al-Awsat: New Syrian Parliament to Convene on June 8

People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)
People walk past the parliament building in Damascus on October 1, 2025. (AFP)

Syria’s new parliament will hold its first session on the preliminary date of June 8 after the approval of President Ahmed al-Sharaa's final share of seats in the legislature, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The president boasts 70 seats in the 210-member parliament.

The sources said the final list of the share is being finalized with some amendments expected if some of the lawmakers, who won in recent elections, are unable to assume their duties.

The list includes figures from across Syrian segments. Efforts were made to “fill gaps” that were a result of the elections to raise the level of representation of major cities that have high populations.

Efforts were also sought to increase the number of females in parliament.

The statements mean that the president’s share was subject to negotiations with the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). They revealed that the government agreed to “appeasing” the Kurdish forces by raising the level of parliamentary representation of the eastern region.

They spoke of the possibility of raising to more than ten representatives of eastern regions that used to be held by the SDF. Representation could also be increased in Manbij east of Aleppo through a presidential appointment. The same could apply for the two Ghouta regions in the Damascus countryside and for Druze and Christian segments.

Asharq Al-Awsat also learned that some members of the parliament may propose changing the official name of the legislature, known as the “People’s Assembly” that is associated with the ousted Assad regime, to “Syrian parliament”.

Such a change requires the approval of the majority of MPs, which is already available, said the sources.

Arab World

Israel Seeks to Exclude its Occupation of South Lebanon from US–Iran Agreement

Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
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Israel Seeks to Exclude its Occupation of South Lebanon from US–Iran Agreement

Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon
Israeli military vehicles drive on a Lebanese road towards the Israel-Lebanon border, as seen from northern Israel, May 4, 2026. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Israel reportedly is trying to separate its occupation of parts of southern Lebanon from the anticipated agreement between the United States and Iran.

An Israeli source said on Sunday that the preliminary US-Iran agreement, which would also stipulate a ceasefire in Lebanon, grants Israel “the right to defend itself against attacks by Hezbollah.” To that end, the Israeli army would remain in the 600 square kilometers areas it occupied in southern Lebanon over the past year, extending 10 to 15 kilometers beyond the border between the two countries.

According to Israel’s Kan11 broadcaster, PM Benjamin Netanyahu had expressed concern during talks with US President Donald Trump on Saturday over “linking a ceasefire agreement in Lebanon with the agreement in Iran”. But Trump had reportedly "appeased" Netanyahu saying the US is directly monitoring the direct talks between the Lebanese and Israeli governments, assuring his keenness on preserving Israeli interests.

The channel quoted “a source familiar with the details” as saying that “Israel received a green light not only to remain on Lebanese territory, but also to retain 25 military positions until the negotiations are successfully concluded and the objective of disarming Hezbollah is achieved.”

Israeli media outlets quoted a political official on Sunday as saying that Netanyahu had stressed during his talks with Trump that “Israel will preserve its freedom of action against threats on all fronts, including Lebanon,” claiming that Trump “reiterated his support for this principle.”

For his part, Trump had stressed that he would “stand firm” in the negotiations regarding the disarmament of Hezbollah and “Israel’s right to respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire in Lebanon”, according to the source.

The official said Netanyahu will brief the cabinet and security chiefs on Israel’s position, stressing that Israel will remain in Lebanese territory and continue its operations against Hezbollah as long as negotiations are ongoing.

He added that Israel is committed to the ceasefire and does not strike all Hezbollah-linked locations, such as Beirut, but, backed fully by the United States, it targets Hezbollah cells and drones preparing attacks through so-called “preemptive strikes”.

Since October 2024, Israel continues its military operations and occupation of parts of south Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November 2024.

Hezbollah launched six drones toward the Galilee, which Israel used as a pretext to escalate its incursion and expand its occupation, destroying villages, displacing 1.2 million Lebanese, and killing over 3,000 people.

Hezbollah’s operations displaced tens of thousands of Israelis in the north and killed 30, including 22 soldiers.