AMMAN, August 30, 2018 (WAFA) – Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi Thursday said that no country has the right to decide who is a Palestinian refugee in reference to attempts by the United States to redefine the Palestinian refugee and it to first generation only, which would slash the number of Palestinian refugees by over 90 percent.

Speaking at a press conference in Amman with Pierre Krähenbühl, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Safadi said international law and the United Nations have already defined the Palestinian refugee.

UNRWA defines Palestinian refugee as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration, it said.

Safadi said Jordan has called for an emergency session for Arab foreign ministers to discuss UNRWA’s financial crisis following the US decision to end its contributions to the humanitarian agency as part of its overall scheme to end the Palestinian refugee issue and their right of return as pushed for by Israel. The US is the largest contributor to UNRWA with $350 million annual aid.

Safadi warned of the dangers to the region if UNRWA becomes unable to provide services to several million Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

He stressed that the issue of the Palestinian refugees is one of the final status core issues and has to do with their right of return or compensation as per UN General Assembly Resolution 194 of 1948.

Jordan and Japan had previously agreed to co-sponsor a conference aimed at raising funds for UNRWA to help it continue with its mission, expected to be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York next month.

M.K.