RAMALLAH, May 21, 2025 (WAFA) – President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas today met on Wednesday with President of the Lebanese Republic, Joseph Aoun.
At the beginning of the meeting, the President praised the positions of brotherly Lebanon—its president, government, and people—in supporting the legitimate rights of our people and their just cause in all international forums.
He stated that the Palestinian people highly appreciate all the great sacrifices made by Lebanon, both as a state and a people, for the Palestinian cause, bearing its consequences from the Nakba in 1948 to the present day.
The President affirmed that the Palestinian people in Lebanon are temporary guests until their return to their homeland, Palestine, and that the Palestinian refugee camps are under the sovereignty of the Lebanese state and army.
"We reaffirm our previous position that the presence of weapons in the camps outside the framework of the state weakens Lebanon and also harms the Palestinian cause. He also emphasized that we stand with Lebanon in fulfilling its international obligations and preserving its security, stability, and sovereignty."
He also expressed his great pride in the historical fraternal relations between Palestine and Lebanon, stressing his keenness to develop and advance them to confront current challenges and serve the interests of both countries and peoples.
During the meeting, the two presidents discussed a number of issues related to the Palestinian issue and the conditions of refugee population in Lebanon. They also discussed ways to provide them with a decent life under Lebanese law until their return to their land and homeland, when our independent Palestinian state is established, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He briefed his Lebanese counterpart on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, and the genocidal war, siege, and starvation to which our people are subjected, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
He reiterated that the priority now is to end the war against our people, ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, fully withdraw the occupation from the Gaza Strip, halt unilateral Israeli measures that violate international law, and launch a political process that begins and ends within a specific timeframe to implement the two-state solution, establish the Palestinian state on the land of the State of Palestine, and achieve international recognition in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The President stressed the need to enable the State of Palestine to assume its civil and security responsibilities in the Gaza Strip, and that weapons should be solely in the hands of the state. He emphasized that the Gaza Strip is an integral part of the territory of the State of Palestine, which has political and legal jurisdiction over it, like the rest of the Palestinian territories.
He reiterated the commitment to continuing efforts to unify the Palestinian ranks based on the recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and on the basis of its political program, international legitimacy, and the principle of one system, one law, and one legitimate weapon.
President Abbas arrived in Beirut on Wednesday evening for a three-day official visit, the first by an Arab leader since the election of President Joseph Aoun as President of Lebanon.
During the visit, he is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, and a number of senior Lebanese officials.
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