Date: August 11, 2025
They stressed the need to grant Palestinian refugees their human, social, and economic rights
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Head of the Refugee Affairs Department, Dr. Ahmad Abu Huli, affirmed the PLO’s commitment to playing a positive and consistent role in ensuring security, stability, and civil peace in the Lebanese Republic, and to non-interference in Lebanon’s internal affairs. He noted that Palestinians are temporary guests on Lebanese soil until they return to the homes from which they were displaced in 1948, in accordance with UN Resolution 194, and that Palestinian camps will remain under the framework of Lebanese law.
This came during Dr. Abu Huli’s meeting today (Monday) with the Chairman of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, Ambassador Ramez Damaskia, at the Grand Serail in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. The two discussed the situation of Palestinian refugees in the camps in Lebanon and mechanisms for implementing what was stated in the joint statement issued by the Palestinian and Lebanese presidents on May 20, 2025, regarding issues related to the camps, as well as efforts to improve the living and humanitarian conditions of Palestinian refugees.
The meeting also addressed mechanisms for implementing the decree issued by President Mahmoud Abbas on restructuring the Popular Committees, organizing and institutionalizing their work, approving their schedules, and holding elections. They also discussed structuring the relationship between the Popular Committees and relevant Lebanese ministries, the financial crisis facing UNRWA, joint Arab action to renew its mandate, and preserving its vital role.
Dr. Abu Huli praised Lebanon’s firm position in rejecting resettlement and displacement, and its commitment to the right of return for Palestinian refugees to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948, in accordance with UN Resolution 194. He emphasized the deep fraternal relations between the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples.
He welcomed Lebanon’s commitment to ensuring the human, social, and economic rights of Palestinian refugees, urging the Lebanese government to begin practical steps toward fulfilling this commitment.
Dr. Abu Huli considered that the “Unified Lebanese Vision for the Issues of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon,” completed on July 20, 2017, constitutes a fertile ground and a roadmap that can be built upon to establish public policies addressing the problems faced by Palestinians in Lebanon as a host country — in terms of living conditions, social and service issues, and their relations with Lebanese state institutions — after nearly 76 years of their presence in Lebanon since the 1948 Nakba.
He reaffirmed the PLO’s full adherence to the mandate granted to UNRWA by the UN General Assembly, ensuring its continued provision of services to Palestinian refugees in all five areas of operation, stressing its indispensable role and the need for uninterrupted operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as in all other areas. He emphasized the need to counter the false Israeli campaign and illegal legislation targeting UNRWA.
Ambassador Ramez Damaskia stressed the importance of implementing the directives contained in the joint statement issued following the meeting between Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which called for restricting weapons to the Lebanese state, respecting its sovereignty, and enhancing coordination between Lebanese and Palestinian authorities to ensure the stability of the camps and their surroundings.
Both officials stressed the importance of coordination and consultation to ensure Lebanon’s security and stability, and to provide Palestinian refugees with human, social, and economic rights that preserve their dignity and human rights without undermining their legitimate right of return. They also underlined the need for early action to mobilize financial support to cover UNRWA’s budget deficit and political efforts to renew its mandate.
They reaffirmed their rejection of any attempt to undermine UNRWA’s mandate or transfer its powers to host countries or international organizations, emphasizing the importance of continuing to support UNRWA in providing its indispensable life-saving services to refugees until a political solution to the refugee issue is found in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
The meeting was attended, on the Lebanese side, by Nadine Marrouq, Director of the Office of the Chairman of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee, and on the Palestinian side, by Jamal Fayad, Director of the Refugee Affairs Department in Lebanon, and Raneem Zaiter, Head of the Media Department.
