While some claim that Mahmoud Abbas' visit to Lebanon will contribute to improving living conditions in Palestinian camps without jeopardizing their security, others insist that Abbas neither represents them, nor governs them.

Abbas will arrive in Beirut on Friday for a two-day visit, to hold talks with Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and with the various commanders of the Palestinian factions living in the 12 refugee camps here.

Local media reports said that the primary topic on Abbas' agenda is the disarmament of the camps, but Palestinian refugees and commanders in Lebanon stressed the visit aims to strengthen the ties between the Lebanese and the Palestinian authorities, especially in view of the recent Lebanese relaxation of labor restrictions.

Speaking from Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, Munir Maqdah, the senior commander of Lebanon's Al-Aqsa Brigades, said the visit is unlikely to tackle the disarmament issue especially in the absence of a Lebanese Cabinet. Maqdah said the visit probably intends to strengthen Lebanese-Palestinian relations, adding "if the question of disarmament is to be raised, Abbas will leave it to a Palestinian delegation representing the refugees and their commanders in Lebanon."

He also said the main concern now would be to organize the Palestinian presence in Lebanon by granting refugees their political, civil and human rights, as well as issuing a general pardon for the convicted. "Then we can perhaps solve the issue of Palestinians arms by creating a Palestinian brigade under the command of the Lebanese Army, similar to those in Syria, Jordan, and Egypt."

Taleb Diab, a Fatah commander from the Shatila camp said that if the Palestinian Authority decides to disarm the camps, the commanders would abide by that decision. But he added that on a personal level he "will not hesitate to arm himself again and so will many of my fellow camp residents. "I will buy another gun as soon as I submit my original one, even at the cost of $1,000. Our security is a red line and nothing can protect us better than our own arms."  

Palestine Liberation Organization central commission member, Salah Youssef, insisted that Abbas' visit reflects the concern of the Palestinian authorities about [the] refugees [in Lebanon] and their suffering in the camps. He said: "We hope refugees will be granted their civil and social rights, we hope the Palestinian Embassy will reopen, and convicts will be included in the general pardon."

Speaking from Shatila refugee camp, refugee Hajj Abu Hisham, who left Palestine in the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe), expressed relief at Abbas' visit, which he deemed necessary to assess the needs and worries of the refugees and convey them to the Lebanese authorities. But Abu Hisham insisted, "as long as Israel is the Palestinians' enemy, the camps' residents and their commanders will refuse to disarm regardless of the president's decision."

A Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine spokesman, Mahmoud Salem, said in Shatila camp that Abbas "does not represent the Palestinians in Lebanon and his decision to disarm won't be taken into consideration. Abbas does not represent us and he cannot oblige us to disarm at this crucial stage Lebanon is going through. We won't give up our arms."

Fighter Abu al-Ezz said he would not disarm even if a Palestinian-Lebanese decision officially demands this. He added: "Abbas does not have the right to take such a decision in view of the history of massacres the Palestinians experienced in Lebanon."