May 18, 2025
Under the directives of His Excellency Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), under the patronage of His Excellency the Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Abu Houli, and with the follow-up of the Secretary of the Popular Committees in Lebanon, Dr. Sarhan Sarhan, the Popular Committee in the Qasimiya Gathering commemorated the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba with a massive public sit-in in the Qasimiya Gathering in front of the Palestine Red Crescent Society Center. The gathering was attended by the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Fatah factions, representatives of Lebanese and Palestinian national and Islamic parties and forces, as well as the Popular Committees, labor unions, the Palestinian Women's Union, and a large crowd of our people from the coastal communities.
During the event, Omar Faddam, head of the Palestinian Democratic Union (FIDA) in the Tyre area, delivered a speech on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and Fuad Musa, a member of the Popular Committee in the coastal area, delivered a speech on behalf of the Qasimiya Popular Committee. Both speeches emphasized that the Palestinian people, despite the passage of seventy-seven years since the Nakba, still adhere to the right of return to their land and homeland, in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
They expressed their condemnation of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and occupied Jerusalem, emphasizing that the occupation's actions constitute war crimes. They also emphasized the barbaric aggression and settler violations of the sanctity of Al-Aqsa Mosque, terrorizing citizens, and seizing their lands by the occupation army in the West Bank, all of which constitute a project to transfer the people of the West Bank and Judaize Jerusalem.
They paid tribute to the Palestinian people at home and abroad, to their martyrs, prisoners, and wounded, and to their wise leadership. They affirmed their full support for the leadership's efforts, headed by President Abu Mazen, in confronting the major challenges targeting our national project and our right to establish our independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the return of refugees to their homes.
They also paid tribute to Dr. Ahmed Abu Houli, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, for his ongoing efforts in serving refugee issues. They also paid tribute to Dr. Sarhan Sarhan, Secretary of the Popular Committees, who follows up on all the issues and needs of our people in the Palestinian camps and gatherings in Lebanon.
The two speakers appealed to the international community and the United Nations to take serious action to halt the crimes of the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people, who are being subjected to the most horrific massacre in modern history. They affirmed that the Palestinian people will remain steadfast and determined until victory, liberation, and the attainment of their legitimate rights to return, freedom, and independence.
