Ramallah / PNN – 

A senior Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) official has called on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to take immediate action to support over 41,000 forcibly displaced Palestinian refugees—approximately 8,000 families—who have fled their homes due to ongoing Israeli military operations in refugee camps across the northern West Bank.

Dr Ahmed Abu Holi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, stressed that while UNRWA’s emergency interventions in these camps are appreciated, they remain insufficient. He urged the agency to swiftly establish temporary shelters for displaced families and provide rental assistance for those whose homes have been destroyed and require reconstruction.

“We recognise the severe financial, operational, and political challenges UNRWA is facing,” Abu Holi stated, “but that does not exempt it from its responsibilities towards Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, whose communities are systematically destroyed and forcibly displaced amid ongoing Israeli attacks.”

Abu Holi reaffirmed the PLO’s support for UNRWA and pledged continued cooperation at all levels to mobilise international financial resources for the agency. He also called on donor countries to increase their funding to help UNRWA fulfil its mandate under UN General Assembly Resolution 302, despite Israeli laws restricting its operations in occupied East Jerusalem and limiting its activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Additionally, he urged UNRWA to issue an urgent appeal to address the humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories, provide rental support to displaced families, and begin rebuilding homes destroyed by Israeli military operations.

Abu Holi commended UNRWA’s ongoing efforts in war-ravaged Gaza, particularly its work to assist Palestinian refugees in camps and reopen health and relief centres, especially in Rafah and Jabalia. However, he stressed the need for UNRWA to resume its educational services by reopening its field schools across the enclave’s eight refugee camps to salvage the academic year.

He concluded by calling on UNRWA to reinforce its presence on the ground to counter the impact of Israeli laws restricting its operations and to uphold its mandate across its five operational regions. The agency, he stressed, must continue providing essential services to refugees until a political solution to the Palestinian refugee issue is reached in accordance with UN Resolution