In a speech delivered on his behalf by Assistant FM for International Affairs Hisham el-Zameity, Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit told officials from UN refugee agency UNRWA on Monday that “no fair solution” to the Palestinian issue could be reached as long as the problem of Palestinian refugees remained unresolved.
At a meeting in Cairo, Abul-Gheit also conveyed that the issue was “not just a Palestinian concern,” but a regional problem faced by the states that host Palestinian refugees.
The minister added that–despite claims by Israel–the problem was not beyond resolution, pointing to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which proposed a workable solution to the issue in accordance with UN Resolution 194. He also called on Palestinian and Israeli negotiators to give the issue priority in future peace talks.
Abul-Gheit went on to say that Israel’s responsibility for the problem “could not be denied,” noting that the self-proclaimed Jewish state had attempted “to forge history” in order to consolidate its control over the Palestinian territories.
At the meeting, UNRWA High Commissioner Filippo Grandi complained that the organization was currently facing “financial problems” that served to hinder it from carrying out its mandate.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
