No peace without solution for Palestinian refugees: UNRWA

BEIRUT: Finding a solution to the plight of millions of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East is vital to peace in the region, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in an interview on Thursday.

“UNRWA has no political role, but it does have the moral role of reminding all parties involved and all governments with a say in the peace process that there will be no peace without a fair solution for refugees in line with UN resolutions,” the agency’s Commissionner General Filippo Grandi told AFP.

“It is tragic that the international community has not yet found a solution to this problem,” Grandi, who was appointed to the post in January, said on a visit to Beirut.

The fate of refugees is one of the thorniest issues in the stalled Middle East peace process, as Israel rejects Palestinian demands to allow their return to lands they fled in 1948 when the state of Israel was created.

The cash-strapped UNRWA provides assistance to about 4.7 million Palestinian refugees, many of whom have settled in camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

“The situation has been the same for 60 years now, and today we speak of fourth-generation refugees,” said Grandi. “Without a solution, this will only continue.”

On the political and economic fronts, the Lebanese constitution bans Palestinian refugees from obtaining Lebanese citizenship, owning property or entering some professions. afp

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