RAMALLAH, February 3, 2025 (WAFA) – The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) convened on Monday in Ramallah, where it welcomed the recent announcement of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing the necessity of fully ending the ongoing war and aggression.
The committee emphasized that such an end to the aggression must ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza and facilitate the reconstruction of the damage inflicted by Israeli forces during their aggressive military actions.
The meeting also addressed the latest political developments, particularly the ongoing occupation-related escalation in the West Bank, particularly against Palestinian communities in northern West Bank governorates and their rural areas. The committee also highlighted the ongoing forcible displacement of Palestinian residents, especially in the Jenin refugee camp.
Furthermore, the committee firmly rejected any attempts to undermine or alter the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
It reaffirmed the vital role that UNRWA plays in providing essential services, such as education and healthcare, to Palestinian refugees, and rejected any efforts to diminish or bypass its operations, as defined under its mandate Resolution 302.
The committee discussed the implications of two Israeli Knesset laws aimed at targeting UNRWA’s activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. These laws would suspend UNRWA’s operations in East Jerusalem and forcibly evict its facilities, denying tens of thousands of refugees of access to crucial services.
The PLO reaffirmed its position on the political and humanitarian significance of UNRWA, emphasizing that the agency’s operations must continue until a just and comprehensive solution is reached to address the Palestinian refugee issue, in line with UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes from which they were displaced in 1948.
In addition, the committee stressed the importance of strengthening the resilience of the Palestinian people and continuing all forms of popular resistance against Israel’s colonial policies, which seek to erase the Palestinian political and national identity.
The committee reaffirmed the fundamental Palestinian principles, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
T.R.
