Date: October 28, 2025
During his meeting with the Popular Committee for Services in Nur Shams Camp at the headquarters of the Department of Refugee Affairs
Dr. Abu Holi: Uplifting the reality of Palestinian camps, preserving their identity, and strengthening the resilience of refugees are at the top of the priorities of the President and the Palestinian leadership
– Protecting UNRWA’s mandate is a collective responsibility of UN member states, and we reject any attempt to undermine its authority –
Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi, affirmed that protecting UNRWA’s mandate, as granted under UN Resolution 302, is a collective responsibility of the member states of the UN General Assembly, warning against any attempt to tamper with or undermine it.
During his meeting on Tuesday at the department’s headquarters in Ramallah with a delegation from the Popular Committee for Refugee Services in Nur Shams Camp, headed by Committee Chairman Nihad Al-Shawish, Dr. Abu Holi rejected the conditions set by the Israeli occupation for the withdrawal of its military forces from the camps in the northern West Bank. These conditions included banning any activities or operations by UNRWA inside the camps, prohibiting any political activity within them, and screening displaced persons upon their return to their camps. He considered these Israeli conditions a violation of international law, international conventions, the UN Charter, and particularly the resolution that established UNRWA — Resolution 302.
He added that the Israeli occupation seeks to liquidate the refugee issue by destroying Palestinian camps in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and by preventing UNRWA from carrying out its duties under its mandate. This is being done through smear campaigns to tarnish UNRWA’s image before donor states, as well as by militarily targeting its staff and facilities, as has occurred in Gaza. He warned against Israeli attempts to undermine the identity of the refugee camps.
Dr. Abu Holi pointed out that the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which obliges Israel to cooperate with UNRWA and to support humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza, has also proven the falsity of Israel’s claims that UNRWA has violated the principle of neutrality. Israel had used such claims as a pretext to impose financial and political restrictions on the agency and to ban its work in areas under its control as a means to end its role. He stressed that this decision represents a victory for justice, invalidates all Israeli allegations against UNRWA, and restores credibility to this UN organization that has faced one of the largest organized defamation campaigns by Israel.
He also reviewed the Department of Refugee Affairs’ preparations to face the challenges confronting the refugee issue and its ongoing political and media efforts to mobilize political support for the renewal of UNRWA’s mandate. He mentioned that the department is coordinating positions with Arab host countries to safeguard refugee rights and interests. Dr. Abu Holi noted that the department will participate in the upcoming meetings of UNRWA’s Subcommittee and Advisory Committee with donor countries in mid-November, in addition to chairing the 114th session of the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs in Host Countries, to be held at the League of Arab States headquarters in Cairo in mid-December.
Dr. Abu Holi stressed the importance of preserving the political and social identity of the refugee camps as living witnesses to the Nakba and to the great crime committed against the Palestinian people with international complicity by the Israeli occupation in 1948 — until the refugee issue is resolved in accordance with UN Resolution 194.
He emphasized the directives of President Mahmoud Abbas to provide all necessary support to the targeted camps and to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian refugees wherever they are located. He pointed out that improving the conditions in Palestinian refugee camps and preserving their national and political identity are top priorities for the President, the Palestinian leadership, and the Cabinet. He also confirmed that the Department of Refugee Affairs is in contact with all relevant bodies and stakeholders to address the issue of housing for displaced persons in the northern West Bank camps, including coordination with the government, UNRWA, the Prime Minister’s Adviser for Arab Funds Affairs, and the ministerial and technical committees for emergency response.
For his part, Nihad Al-Shawish, head of the Popular Committee for Refugee Services in Nur Shams Camp, highlighted the grave situation in the northern West Bank camps and the extent of the attacks they face aimed at undermining their identity, the resilience of the refugees, and their legitimate right to return to their homes.
He explained that the camps are witnessing systematic demolitions, deliberate destruction, burning of homes, and unprecedented bulldozing of infrastructure. He stressed the need to coordinate efforts with all relevant parties to strengthen refugee resilience in the camp and to confront the occupation’s plans to liquidate their cause.
Al-Shawish praised the pivotal and vital role of the Department of Refugee Affairs in enhancing refugee steadfastness, improving camp conditions, preserving their political and social identity, safeguarding their interests, and defending their rights in international forums.
The delegation of the Popular Committee for Refugee Services in Nur Shams Camp included, in addition to its chairman Nihad Al-Shawish, committee members Saleh Al-Zuheiri, Rami Aliyan, and Uday Shaaban, in the presence of Anwar Hammam, Deputy Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs.
