PLO official laments plight of Palestinian refugees

The situation for Palestinian refugees is the most difficult it has been in 71 years, according to a senior Palestinian official.

Speaking from Ramallah, Ahmed Hanoun, director-general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)'s Department for Refugees Affairs, spoke to Anadolu Agency in the run-up to the 71st anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba.

Meaning "The Catastrophe" in Arabic, Nakba is a term used by Palestinians to refer to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes to make way for the new state of Israel in 1948.

On May 15 of each year, Palestinians mark Nakba Day with demonstrations and marches across the occupied West Bank.

"Palestinian refugees are now facing similar circumstances to those they faced in 1948," Hanoun said.

Palestinians, he said, both in Palestine and abroad, "continue to face international plots, led primarily by the U.S., aimed at destroying the Palestinian cause".

- 'DEAL OF CENTURY'
Hanoun warned in particular against the so-called "Deal of the Century", a backchannel U.S. Mideast peace plan, the terms of which have yet to be made public.

"There are attempts to use the legitimacy of the world's greatest power [i.e., the U.S.] to destroy the Palestinian cause through this 'Deal of the Century'," he said.

Hanoun believes that recent leaks in the Israel media about the terms of the controversial deal were an attempt to "throw the ball in the Palestinians' court".

But according to Hanoun, the Palestinian people will unanimously reject the plan, which, he said, "targets Jerusalem and seeks to abolish refugees' right to return" to their homes in historical Palestine.

He went on to assert that the Palestinian people and leadership were being pressured -- financially and politically -- to accept the terms of the U.S. peace plan.

- RIGHT OF RETURN
"Anyone who deprives the refugees of their rights will ignite regional conflict," Hanoun warned.

He also cited the continued suffering of Palestinian refugees in Arab countries that have been ravished by conflict.

Palestinian refugees in Syria, for example, continue to live in dire circumstances due to the ongoing conflict in that country, where Palestinian refugee camps have been deliberately targeted, he said.

"The only solution is the return of the Palestinian refugees to their land, from which they were driven more than seven decades ago," Hanoun added.

Stressing that no Arab country would ever accept the resettlement of Palestinian refugees, Hanoun slammed the Trump administration's decision to cut funding for the UN's Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

"UNRWA provides services to six million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon," he said.

Last year, the U.S. cut funding for UNRWA, which provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees. It also unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and closed the PLO's office in Washington.

"You won't find a single Palestinian refugee who doesn't want to return to his or her home," Hanoun said.

- NAKBA DAY
According to the PLO official, Palestinians are expected to mark Nakba Day next Wednesday "with protests and marches in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and in the Diaspora".

"They will reassert their commitment to the refugees' right of return, reject Trump's so-called 'Deal of the Century', and condemn the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital," he said.

Hanoun added: "Many of our elders have passed away, but the next generation won't forget their homeland."