Lebanese and Palestinian leaders agree that Lebanon won't be used as a launchpad to strike Israel

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese and Palestinian presidents agreed Wednesday that Palestinian factions won't use Lebanon as a launchpad for any attacks against Israel, and to remove weapons that aren't under the authority of the Lebanese state.

The announcement was made during a meeting between President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who arrived earlier in the day beginning a three-day visit to Lebanon, his first in seven years.

Lebanon's government is seeking to establish authority throughout the country, mainly in the south near the border with Israel after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war that ended in late November with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire.

The 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon aren't under the control of the Lebanese state, and Palestinian factions in the camps have different types of weapons. Rival groups have clashed inside the camps in recent years, inflicting casualties and affecting nearby areas.

It wasn't immediately clear how the weapons would be removed from the camps, which are home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, many of them descendants of families that fled to Lebanon after Israel was created in 1948.

Abbas' Fatah movement and the militant Hamas group are the main factions in the camps. Smaller groups, including some jihadi factions, also have a presence in the camps — mainly in Ein el-Hilweh, which is Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp and located near the southern port city of Sidon.

A joint statement read by the Lebanese presidency's spokeswoman, Najat Sharafeddine, said that both sides have agreed that weapons should only be with the Lebanese state, and the existence of “weapons outside the control of the Lebanese state has ended.”

The statement said that both sides have agreed that Palestinian camps in Lebanon aren't “safe havens for extremist groups.” It added that “the Palestinian side confirms its commitment of not using Lebanese territories to launch any military operations.”

In late March, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon in response to Hamas allegedly firing rockets at northern Israel from southern Lebanon.

Shortly after the wave of airstrikes, the Lebanese government for the first time called out the Palestinian group and arrested nearly 10 suspects involved in the operation. Hamas was pressured by the military to turn in three of their militants from different refugee camps.

There are nearly 500,000 Palestinians registered with UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, in Lebanon. However, the actual number in the country is believed to be around 200,000, as many have emigrated but remain on UNRWA’s roster. They are prohibited from working in many professions, have few legal protections and can't own property.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, right, speaks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, as he signs a guest book at the Presidential Palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, right, meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, at the Presidential Palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, center, review an honor guard at the Presidential Palace, in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Vote counting was underway Friday in Uganda’s tense presidential election, which was held a day earlier amid an internet shutdown, voting delays and complaints by an opposition leader who said some of his polling agents had been detained by the authorities.

Opposition leader Bobi Wine said Thursday he was unable to leave his house and that his polling agents in rural areas were abducted before voting started, undermining his efforts to prevent electoral offenses such as ballot stuffing.

Wine is hoping to end President Yoweri Museveni's four-decade rule in an election during which the military was deployed and heavy security was posted outside his house near Kampala, the Ugandan capital, after the vote.

The musician-turned-politician wrote on X on Thursday that a senior party official in charge of the western region had been arrested, adding there was “massive ballot stuffing everywhere.”

Rural Uganda, especially the western part of the country, is a ruling-party stronghold, and the opposition would be disadvantaged by not having polling agents present during vote counting.

To try to improve his chances of winning, Wine had urged his supporters to “protect the vote” by having witnesses document alleged offenses at polling stations, in addition to deploying official polling agents.

Wine faced similar setbacks when he first ran for president five years ago. Museveni took 58% of the vote, while Wine got 35%, according to official results. Wine said at the time that the election had been rigged in favor of Museveni, who has spoken disparagingly of his rival.

Museveni, after voting on Thursday, said the opposition had infiltrated the 2021 election and defended the use of biometric machines as a way of securing the vote in this election.

Museveni has served the third-longest tenure of any African leader and is seeking to extend his rule into a fifth decade. The aging president’s authority has become increasingly dependent on the military, which is led by his son, Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Uganda has not witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from British colonial rule six decades ago.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at a polling station, during the presidential election, in the capital, Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Election officials count ballots after the polls closed for the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

An election official holds up unmarked ballots during the vote count after polls closed for the presidential election, at a polling center in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A political representative speaks as he works to observe and verify the counting of ballots after polls closed in the presidential election at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

A supporter of leading opposition candidate Bobi Wine cheers while watching election officials count ballots, after polls closed at a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)