Date: February 17,2025
Called for launching its emergency appeal for urgent response to the occupied Palestinian territories to meet the needs of refugees
Dr. Abu Holi Calls on UNRWA to Fulfill Its Responsibilities Towards Palestinian Refugees Forcibly Displaced from Camps in Northern West Bank
Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, called on UNRWA to fulfill its responsibilities towards 41,000 Palestinian refugees (8,000 families) who were forcibly displaced from their homes due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on camps in the northern West Bank.
Dr. Abu Holi affirmed that despite the emergency interventions by UNRWA in the northern West Bank camps are appreciated, but they are not enough . He urged UNRWA to urgently provide temporary shelters for the families forcibly displaced from their camps and to allocate rental allowances for those whose homes were destroyed and need reconstruction.
He stated, “We understand the difficult and critical circumstances UNRWA is facing amid political, operational, and financial challenges, but this does not exempt it from its responsibilities towards Palestinian refugees in West Bank camps, which are being systematically destroyed, and their residents are forcibly displaced amid ongoing Israeli aggression.”
Dr. Abu Holi reaffirmed the Palestine Liberation Organization’s support for UNRWA and its continued cooperation at all levels and international forums to mobilize financial resources to support its budget. He urged donor countries to provide additional funding to enable UNRWA to carry out its mandated duties under UN Resolution 302 and to counter Israeli laws that prohibit its activities in occupied East Jerusalem and restrict its work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
He called on UNRWA to launch its emergency appeal for urgent response in the occupied Palestinian territories to meet the emergency needs of refugees in the camps, provide rental allowances for displaced families, and rebuild the homes destroyed by the Israeli occupation.
Dr. Abu Holi appreciated UNRWA’s efforts in the devastated Gaza Strip to meet the needs of Palestinian refugees in the camps and to reopen its health and relief centers, especially in the Rafah and Jabalia camps. He stressed the need to complement these efforts by reopening its field schools in the eight camps of the Gaza Strip to save the academic year.
He asserted that UNRWA is now required to strengthen and solidify its field operations to overcome the impact of Israeli laws, limit their effects, and continue protecting its mandate in its five areas of operation. He emphasized the importance of maintaining its services as per its founding mandate under UN General Assembly Resolution 302 of 1949 until a political solution is found for the Palestinian refugee issue in accordance with Resolution 194.
