Cairo/PNN/

Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee member, & Refugee Affairs Department head, Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi said that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip live in tragic and extremely difficult living conditions, caused by the lack of services provided by United Nation Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees “UNRWA”.

Abu Holi indicated, in his speech during his handover of the presidency of the opening session of the (109) session of the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs from the Palestinian Affairs Department Director  at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Osama Khader, which was held in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. Our regular session comes at a politically critical time, in light of accelerating events whose results are difficult to predict, and new challenges that will be more intense and fierce.

He said: Our people are facing an all-out war, and a bloody aggression that did not stop for a single moment, during which the Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers exchange roles in committing crimes and desecrating sanctities.

Abu Holi stressed that these crimes require the international community to criminalize them and take practical steps to hold the occupation accountable for them, and put settler gangs on terrorist lists.

He pointed out that the United Nations General Assembly voted on a series of resolutions related to the Palestinian cause that affirm the legitimate rights of our people, foremost of which is its right to self-determination, the establishment of its independent state on  June 4, 1967 borders lines, and the right of return to Palestinian refugees to their homes in accordance with Resolution 194. settlements as illegal, extending the mandate of the UNRWA for a period of three years until June 30, 2026, and gradually increasing the agency’s allocations in the regular budget of the United Nations, which is considered a step in achieving financial stability for UNRWA and securing funding.

Abu Holi stressed that the next stage requires from all of us to focus on financial crisis that UNRWA facing, especially in light of "Israel"  attempts to end its work before finding a solution for Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with international legitimacy, latest of which was the American-Israeli efforts to try to thwart an initiative at the United Nations. 

Abu Holi continued as host countries for Palestinans refugees: We are required to draw up common policies to move towards facing the challenges facing UNRWA and the refugees together, and to develop an agreed unified strategy to determine the refugees’ needs and priority projects from our vision".

He added as host countries also we need to put in place the process of rebuilding the Palestinian camps in Syria and Nahr Al-Bared in Lebanon and the destroyed homes left behind by Israel aggression and wars on Gaza as a priority in the next phase.

The head of the Refugee Affairs Department at PLO said that the upcoming Palestinian political steps and movements to face the challenges facing the Palestinian cause are based on what was included in the speech of President Mahmoud Abbas before the United Nations General Assembly at its 77th session, especially in defining the relationship with Israel as occupation state, and the request from the General Assembly Accepting the full membership of the State of Palestine, calling on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to prepare an international plan to implement the decisions of international legitimacy, considering that Israel is not a partner in the peace process, resorting to the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israel for its crimes against our Palestinian people, and moving towards implementing Resolutions 181 and 194.

He added, “We look forward with greater confidence towards raising the levels of coordination with all Arab brothers, which is imposed not only by confronting Israeli policies that reject political solutions within the resolutions of international legitimacy, but also our national interests facing the far-right government that carries a racist ideology that will push the region into a spiral of wars and instability.”

During the conference, the speakers reaffirmed the need to provide support to improve the conditions of the Palestinian refugees and alleviate their suffering, and their firm and supportive position for the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their homes in accordance with what was stated in Resolution 194. They also condemned the aggressive Israeli policies against the Palestinian people.

Also the conference discussed developments in the situation of Palestinian refugees in the Arab host countries, the activities of UNRWA, the Israeli violations of the rights of the Palestinian people and the occupation's attacks on Jerusalem.