Date: 15/4/2026
Abu Holi affirms close cooperation with UNRWA and the General Authority for Refugees to restore life to destroyed camps in Syria
Dr. Ahmad Abu Holi, Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, welcomed the announcement by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of the launch of a project to rehabilitate schools, basic services, and protection for refugees in Yarmouk Camp, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, funded by the Italian government with a value of two million euros.
Dr. Abu Holi affirmed in a press statement today that this project represents a real driver for the camp’s recovery, as it is based on rebuilding the “Sakhnin–Naqab” School to accommodate 800 male and female students, equipping it with a solar energy system and fully accessible facilities for persons with disabilities. This comes as a continuation of the successful rehabilitation of Al-Majdal/Sarafand School, supported by Italy, which currently serves more than 2,600 refugee children, contributing to alleviating the severe overcrowding in schools resulting from the continuous return of Palestinian refugees to Yarmouk Camp.
He pointed out that the targeted facilities will be equipped with solar energy systems and accessible infrastructure for persons with disabilities, ensuring the inclusion of the most vulnerable groups and the provision of sustainable services, including vocational training, psychosocial support, and autism and speech therapy, benefiting more than 4,500 refugees through the community center targeted for rehabilitation.
Abu Holi called on UNRWA to move forward in mobilizing financial resources and directing them to serve the refugee cause, to continue its basic and emergency services, rehabilitate its schools and clinics, and advance the reconstruction process of the destroyed camps. He stressed that improving living and educational conditions in the affected camps represents a safety valve to preserve human dignity and the political symbolism of the camps as living witnesses to the right of return.
Abu Holi affirmed that the Department of Refugee Affairs is working in close coordination with UNRWA and the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees in Syria, within a comprehensive vision aimed at restoring life to the destroyed camps and overcoming all obstacles to the delivery of basic services, ensuring the stabilization of approximately 4,500 families (30,000 refugees) who have returned to Yarmouk Camp, and encouraging thousands of other families to return and settle.
Abu Holi expressed his deep appreciation to the Italian Republic for this qualitative support, which he described as strategic, while also calling on the international community and donor countries to increase their funding to support UNRWA’s budget, enabling it to fulfill its mandate and continue providing its essential services in education, health, and relief, and enabling it to rehabilitate the destroyed Palestinian camps in Syria, foremost among them Yarmouk, Ein al-Tal (Handarat), and Daraa camps. He stressed that the reconstruction of these camps represents an urgent humanitarian and national necessity to preserve the refugee community and protect the future of its emerging generations.
