Date: 19 July 2026
In the State of Palestine's Address to the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs in Cairo: Warning Against the "Yellow Zone" Plan and Calling for the Activation of the Arab Financial Safety Net to Confront Israeli Piracy
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Member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi, called on the international community to exert immediate pressure on Israel to comply with the ceasefire agreement concluded on 10 October 2025 and to fully implement its first phase, which stipulates a comprehensive cessation of the aggression and Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
Abu Holi also called for resolute action to confront Israeli efforts aimed at consolidating and expanding the colonial "Yellow Zone" as a fait accompli. At the same time, he demanded an end to the ongoing military aggression against the refugee camps in the northern occupied West Bank, Israel's immediate and unconditional withdrawal from those camps, a complete halt to the systematic confiscation of land, the accelerated settlement expansion, and the "silent annexation" plans targeting the occupied Palestinian territory.
The 115th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Supervisors of Palestinian Affairs in the Host Arab Countries opened this morning (Sunday) at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, under the chairmanship of Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi. The conference was attended by the host countries of Palestinian refugees (Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria), alongside the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Assistant Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and Head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector, Ambassador Dr. Fayez Mustafa, as well as representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In his opening remarks, Abu Holi conveyed the greetings of President Mahmoud Abbas and his wishes for the conference's success in adopting effective executive decisions that strengthen the resilience of the Palestinian people and safeguard their legitimate national rights, foremost among them the right of return in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194. He also congratulated the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Nabil Fahmy, on receiving the confidence of the Arab states, commending the strategic solidarity between Egypt and Jordan in confronting forced displacement schemes.
He noted that the conference is being held at the most critical stage since the Nakba, as Israel continues its war of genocide and ethnic cleansing in the Gaza Strip in blatant disregard of international law. This has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 73,000 Palestinians killed, 184,000 injured, and 1.9 million forcibly displaced, while Israel continues to violate the ceasefire agreement concluded on 10 October 2025 and expand the so-called "Yellow Zone" to impose security divisions and tighten the siege on the 2.4 million Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip.
He explained that these crimes are complemented by the "war on the refugee camps" being waged by the Israeli occupation in Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams in the northern occupied West Bank, which has resulted in the destruction of infrastructure and the displacement of 40,000 Palestine refugees. He stressed that the refugee camps are being targeted as symbols of the right of return, in parallel with "silent annexation" plans and accelerated settlement projects in Area C aimed at undermining the two-State solution.
Abu Holi reaffirmed the Palestine Liberation Organization's rejection of any arrangements seeking to isolate the Gaza Strip or separate it geographically or politically from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, stressing that the Palestinian territory constitutes a single political, geographical, and legal unit under the sovereignty of the State of Palestine. He warned against the colonial "Yellow Zone" scheme, which would consume 70 percent of Gaza's territory with the aim of suffocating the population, preventing the return of displaced persons, and imposing security divisions to facilitate forced displacement plans.
The head of the State of Palestine's delegation stressed that confronting Israel's continued piracy of Palestinian clearance revenues requires the immediate activation of the Arab financial safety net through the monthly disbursement of USD 100 million, in implementation of successive Arab Summit resolutions, as an essential means of breaking the financial and economic siege imposed on the Palestinian National Authority and ensuring the continuity of vital services such as education and healthcare.
He pointed out that Israel's Judaization policies in occupied Jerusalem continue at an unprecedented pace, as the ongoing settlement offensive is advancing through the implementation of the highly dangerous E1 settlement project, aimed at completely isolating Jerusalem from its Palestinian surroundings and fragmenting the occupied West Bank. This is accompanied by intensified home demolitions and attacks on Bedouin communities to forcibly displace their residents. He also highlighted the racist targeting of the historic Christian endowments belonging to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Silwan, repeated violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque, attempts to impose temporal and spatial division, and restrictions preventing thousands of worshippers from accessing the holy site, warning that these actions threaten regional peace and stability.
Abu Holi called on the Arab states and the international community to urgently activate the political and financial safety nets and translate principled positions into concrete and sustainable commitments that strengthen the resilience of Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem and its steadfast communities, in the face of the ongoing genocide, settlement expansion, and Judaization policies aimed at isolating the city and altering its historical and geographical character, particularly through the implementation of the E1 settlement project.
He warned that UNRWA's financial crisis now threatens to paralyze the Agency's operations entirely during the final quarter of this year unless the actual funding gap of USD 100 million is covered, expressing regret that the recent Pledging Conference generated only USD 4 million in contributions.
He condemned Israel's political, legislative, and financial campaign aimed at undermining UNRWA's international mandate and ending its role as a United Nations witness to the Palestine refugee issue. He pointed to Israel's unlawful decisions to confiscate UNRWA's historic headquarters in Jerusalem for conversion into military facilities and a museum, the raids on its facilities in Qalandia Refugee Camp and its Training Centre, which is also threatened with confiscation, as well as the declaration by the so-called Israeli "Peace Council" that "there is no place for UNRWA in the new Gaza," describing it as an open attempt to eliminate Resolution 194.
Abu Holi urged donor countries to honor their commitments by providing both political and financial support to UNRWA, declaring the categorical rejection of Israel's unlawful legislation aimed at confiscating the Agency's premises and dismantling its international mandate. He stressed that any discussion concerning UNRWA's future must be based on full respect for its mandate established under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302 and the preservation of its indispensable role, which enjoys a unique legal and political mandate that will remain in force until a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestine refugee issue is achieved in accordance with Resolution 194.
He also called for decisive and unified Arab action to capitalize on the growing international momentum and the recognition of the State of Palestine by more than 157 countries, in order to secure full United Nations membership and affirm Palestine's political status as a fully sovereign and independent state.
Concluding the State of Palestine's statement, Abu Holi reaffirmed the need to convene a fully empowered international peace conference under multilateral sponsorship, in line with President Mahmoud Abbas' vision, leading to the end of the Israeli occupation and the realization of the independent, fully sovereign State of Palestine on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the Arab Peace Initiative, the New York Declaration, and the relevant United Nations resolutions.
The conference was attended by delegations from the Arab host countries of Palestinian refugees. The State of Palestine's delegation included Dr. Ahmed Abu Holi, Member of the PLO Executive Committee and Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, who headed the delegation; Ambassador Mohannad Al-Aklouk, Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the League of Arab States; Anwar Hammam, Deputy Head of the Department of Refugee Affairs; Legal Assistant Mohammed Abu Muailiq; Dr. Rizq Al-Za'anin, First Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the State of Palestine; Amir Dawood, Director General of Documentation and Information at the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission; and Abdul Qader Qabaja, Director of Media at the Commission.
Representing the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States were Ambassador Dr. Fayez Mustafa, Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector; Dr. Mohammed Al-Shafie, Director of the Palestine Department; Dr. Mohammed Shaqoura; and Amr Abdel Moneim. Jordan was represented by Hussein Al-Shaib, Third Secretary at the Permanent Mission of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Syrian Arab Republic was represented by Diaa Al-Din Mohammed, Director General of the General Authority for Palestine Arab Refugees; Board Member Mousa Idris; and Sabah Barhoum, Director of Public Affairs. The Arab Republic of Egypt was represented by Counsellor Nabil Gamal El-Din, First Secretary Mahmoud Ehab Ismail, and Attaché Rana Ayman El-Sayed Darwish. Lebanon was represented by Nadine Marouk, Director of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee Office, and Daniela Saud, Head of the Legal Affairs Department. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation was represented by Ambassador Dawas Dawas, Assistant Secretary-General for Palestine and Al-Quds Affairs. ALECSO was represented by Dr. Mohammed Mostafa Kamel and Dr. Jilan Sharaf. Representatives of ICESCO also attended. The UNRWA delegation included Ronald Frederick, Officer-in-Charge of the UNRWA Cairo Office; Shadi Al-Abed, UNRWA Finance Director; and Nour Abdel Haq, Communications and Advocacy Adviser at the Agency's Cairo Office.
