Date: 8 August 2025
Agreement to form a preparatory committee to hold elections for the Popular Committees based on the decree of President Mahmoud Abbas
The factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in Lebanon have agreed to form a preparatory committee to hold elections for the Palestinian Popular Committees in the Lebanese Republic, based on the decree issued by President Mahmoud Abbas on 30 June 2025, with the committee to submit its report within no more than thirty days.
This came during a meeting between officials of the PLO factions and member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Refugee Affairs Department, Ahmad Abu Huli, in the presence of Secretary of Fatah and the PLO factions in Lebanon, Fathi Abu al-Ardat.
It was agreed to conduct the elections in accordance with the amended internal regulations of the Popular Committees in Palestinian refugee camps for the year 2010.
In his decree, the President affirmed the political, legal, administrative, and financial authority of the Popular Committees in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon under the Refugee Affairs Department of the PLO, as the central body authorized to manage and oversee the affairs of Palestinian refugees.
Abu Huli conveyed the greetings of the President and the Palestinian leadership, who are closely following developments in Lebanon with great interest, particularly in the camps and Palestinian gatherings.
He emphasized the need to speak with one voice and to make a qualitative leap in institutionalizing the work of the Popular Committees, benefiting from the expertise of our people at all levels.
Abu Huli pointed out that during his current visit to Lebanon, he will meet with the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee to discuss the mechanism for holding elections in the camps and Palestinian gatherings, and to work on institutionalizing the work of the Popular Committees by developing them and organizing their relationship with relevant ministries to facilitate their work in accordance with President Mahmoud Abbas’s decree.
Abu Huli highly valued Lebanon’s embrace—its leadership, government, and people—of the Palestinian people, affirming that “we are temporary guests until our return to our homeland, Palestine.”
He stressed that UNRWA is directly responsible for providing all services and care to our refugee people in Lebanon.
The meeting also addressed several issues, most notably the relationship with the Lebanese state and ways to cooperate with its institutions to alleviate the suffering of our refugee people in Lebanon, as well as the challenges facing UNRWA and the impact of its financial crisis on its services and assistance.
