Damascus, SANA – The General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees (GAPAR) reiterated its call for the UN Secretary-General and the UN Security Council for immediate intervention to force armed terrorist organizations to withdraw from the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, so that the camps’ residents can return to their homes under the protection of the authorities in the Syrian government.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Director of the GAPAR Ali Mustafa said that the armed terrorist groups prevent delivering humanitarian aid to the Palestinian refugees in Khan al-Sheih and Yarmouk camps, adding that in spite of all facilitations provided by the Syrian government, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) still refuses to enter the two camps.
He pointed out that all the facilitations are provided to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to implement its programs for the Palestinian refugees in cooperation with the GAPAR and therefore the problem is the result of the entry of terrorist organizations to the camps and their refusal of any initiative to resolve the crisis in Yarmouk refugee camp.
Mustafa affirmed that the armed terrorist aggression on the camps and the displacement of the people both internally and externally aim at liquidating the Palestinian cause and the refugees’ right to return to their homes, so it is necessary to take action to affect the withdrawal of terrorist organizations and to lift unilateral sanctions on Syria.
It’s worth mentioning that the GAPAR, in cooperation with UNRWA, sponsored by the Syrian government and supervised by the Higher Relief Committee, is distributing food and medical aid to the locals of al-Yarmouk refugee camp who have left the camp due to the acts of the armed terrorist groups and are currently residing in the towns of Yalda, Babila and Bait Sahem in the countryside of Damascus.
According Director of the GAPAR, the Syrian government spent during 2015 around SYP 33.8 billion on the Palestinian refugees that are residing on its lands.
Manar al-Freih / Hazem Sabbagh