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Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad: Yarmouk’s New Organizational Plan Jeopardizes Right of Return

Published : 20-07-2020

Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad: Yarmouk’s New Organizational Plan Jeopardizes Right of Return

The Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PalAbroad) has lashed out at the new plan set forth by Damascus Governorate to reconstruct Yarmouk Camp.

PalAbroad said the new plan is a threat to the Palestinian refugee community’s right of return to their homeland and to the camp’s historical specificity as a living witness to the refugee plight endured by over 200,000 Palestinians taking refuge in Yarmouk Camp.

In a statement issued on Monday, PalAbroad urged the Syrian authorities to reconsider the new plan, stressing the need that any proposed reconstruction chart should work on upholding the national and historical idiosyncrasy of Yarmouk Camp and of the inpidual and collective rights of its residents.

PalAbroad also called for facilitating the return of Yarmouk’s displaced population to their houses.

Palestinian refugees and human rights groups continue to voice their firm rejection of the new reconstruction plan for Yarmouk Camp, which has been subjected to massive destruction in the bloody conflict.

Tension has been running high in the area as thousands of refugees continue to rail against the proposed plan, amid growing fears that their homes and property will be removed from the new plan.

Sometime earlier, the Damascus Governorate said parts of Yarmouk Camp are state property, which implies that the residents are not entitled to own the land but only the property built on it. 

Recently, AGPS has called on the Syrian authorities in Damascus to re-examine the new organizational plan and to rather implement the old plan which was approved in 2004.

In a statement, AGPS said plans that do not take into account Palestinians’ inalienable rights make part of underway conspiracies to further displace the Palestinian people and destroy displacement camps as living witnesses to their refugee plight.

The statement said the new plan will remarkably change the demographic and architectural identity of the camp. Several buildings and facilities will be removed, which will lead to a mass displacement of refugee families and a further deterioration of their humanitarian condition.

In case the plan is implemented, over half of the residents will not be able to return to their houses which they have abandoned in the bloody warfare.

UN data indicates that before the eruption of the conflict in 2011, Yarmouk was home to approximately 160,000 Palestine refugees, making it the largest Palestine refugee community in Syria. Located eight kilometers from Damascus, it is one of three unofficial camps in Syria.

In December 2012, fierce clashes erupted in Yarmouk, causing numerous civilian casualties, severe damage to property and the displacement of thousands of Palestine refugees and Syrians. The camp was under siege from July 2013, drastically restricting the entry of commercial and humanitarian goods.

In April 2015, armed opposition groups captured over 60 per cent of the camp, containing over 90 per cent of the remaining civilian population. This not only made relief institutions unable to carry out any distributions inside Yarmouk but also displaced most of the remaining 18,000 Palestine refugees and other civilians to the neighboring areas of Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham (YBB).

Almost all the remaining Palestine refugees left during the final government offensive for Yarmouk in April-May 2018, after which the government retook control of the camp.

 

Short URL : https://actionpal.org.uk/en/post/10402

The Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PalAbroad) has lashed out at the new plan set forth by Damascus Governorate to reconstruct Yarmouk Camp.

PalAbroad said the new plan is a threat to the Palestinian refugee community’s right of return to their homeland and to the camp’s historical specificity as a living witness to the refugee plight endured by over 200,000 Palestinians taking refuge in Yarmouk Camp.

In a statement issued on Monday, PalAbroad urged the Syrian authorities to reconsider the new plan, stressing the need that any proposed reconstruction chart should work on upholding the national and historical idiosyncrasy of Yarmouk Camp and of the inpidual and collective rights of its residents.

PalAbroad also called for facilitating the return of Yarmouk’s displaced population to their houses.

Palestinian refugees and human rights groups continue to voice their firm rejection of the new reconstruction plan for Yarmouk Camp, which has been subjected to massive destruction in the bloody conflict.

Tension has been running high in the area as thousands of refugees continue to rail against the proposed plan, amid growing fears that their homes and property will be removed from the new plan.

Sometime earlier, the Damascus Governorate said parts of Yarmouk Camp are state property, which implies that the residents are not entitled to own the land but only the property built on it. 

Recently, AGPS has called on the Syrian authorities in Damascus to re-examine the new organizational plan and to rather implement the old plan which was approved in 2004.

In a statement, AGPS said plans that do not take into account Palestinians’ inalienable rights make part of underway conspiracies to further displace the Palestinian people and destroy displacement camps as living witnesses to their refugee plight.

The statement said the new plan will remarkably change the demographic and architectural identity of the camp. Several buildings and facilities will be removed, which will lead to a mass displacement of refugee families and a further deterioration of their humanitarian condition.

In case the plan is implemented, over half of the residents will not be able to return to their houses which they have abandoned in the bloody warfare.

UN data indicates that before the eruption of the conflict in 2011, Yarmouk was home to approximately 160,000 Palestine refugees, making it the largest Palestine refugee community in Syria. Located eight kilometers from Damascus, it is one of three unofficial camps in Syria.

In December 2012, fierce clashes erupted in Yarmouk, causing numerous civilian casualties, severe damage to property and the displacement of thousands of Palestine refugees and Syrians. The camp was under siege from July 2013, drastically restricting the entry of commercial and humanitarian goods.

In April 2015, armed opposition groups captured over 60 per cent of the camp, containing over 90 per cent of the remaining civilian population. This not only made relief institutions unable to carry out any distributions inside Yarmouk but also displaced most of the remaining 18,000 Palestine refugees and other civilians to the neighboring areas of Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham (YBB).

Almost all the remaining Palestine refugees left during the final government offensive for Yarmouk in April-May 2018, after which the government retook control of the camp.

 

Short URL : https://actionpal.org.uk/en/post/10402