RAMALLAH, July 1, 2025 (WAFA) – The UNRWA is the sole party responsible for the provision and distribution of aid to Palestinian refugees, the PLO Executive Committee stressed on Tuesday.
The PLO Executive Committee made its remarks in a press statement following a meeting that addressed the political and security situation, particularly the acts of sabotage and extrajudicial killings committed by Israeli colonists against the Palestinian people across the West Bank, with the direct assistance of the occupying forces and under the auspices of the far-right Israeli government.
The meeting also addressed other colonists’ attacks, including the expropriation of Palestinian-owned land, the forced displacement of Palestinian civilians, torching property, and the takeover of civilians’ houses and turning them into military outposts.
The Committee called for the responsibility for the distribution of aid to Palestinian refugees to lie exclusively with the UNRWA, while emphasizing the need for Palestinian factions to strengthen national unity and make concerned effort to confront the silent annexation of Palestinian territories.
Commenting on the catastrophic situation in the war-battered Gaza Strip, and depriving the civilian population, including infants, of the most basic needs, the Committee called on the international community to immediately enforce an immediate ceasefire, in concurrent with ensuring the unimpeded entry and distribution of humanitarian aid to all parts of the Strip.
Addressing the regional and international efforts to resuscitate the long-defunct peace process, the Committee affirmed that such efforts would continue to be exerted at the Arab, regional, and international levels to expedite the convening of the international conference, originally scheduled between 17 and 20 June in New York, under the sponsorship of Saudi Arabia and France, to implement the UN resolutions on the Palestinian cause, especially the two-state solution and recognition of the State of Palestine, as a step toward ending the occupation.
It decided to convene a session of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) immediately after the Gaza ceasefire is achieved.
The Committee also touched upon the Palestinian government’s deepening fiscal crisis. In this regard, it emphasized the need for the international community to stop Israel’s continued theft of clearance revenues - a crucial source of PA funding that Israel collects on its behalf - under false pretenses. It resolved to intensify efforts in coordination with Arab states to fulfill the Arab commitments on the provision of a financial safety net to the Palestinian government.
The Committee discussed the lawsuits filed in Israeli courts against the PLO and the Palestinian Authority, seeking compensation for the victims and victims’ families of attacks in Israel and the occupied West Bank. It considered the development of a national and international legal strategy to safeguard Palestinian public funds and the Palestinian people’s rights and legitimate representatives.
It approved the formation of a national legal team to be in charge of confronting the alleged Israeli compensation claims.
K.F.
