| Palestinian Refugee Elections in the West Bank On Friday 18 September 1998, 19 representatives of the approximately 20,000 members in the Union of Youth Activities Centres (UYAC) in the West Bank refugee camps elected their new Administrative Committee. The new Administrative Committee members chosen in the elections conducted in the UYAC headquarters in Kalandia Camp are: Jamal Shati, Head of the Union
Wajih Atallah, General Secretary
Mahmoud Radwan, Treasurer
Salah Abed Rabbo, Spokesperson
Adnan Ajarneh, Coordinator-Southern West Bank Ussama al-Bast, Coordinator-Central West Bank Muhammad Dib, Coordinator-Northern West Bank The fact that five of the seven Administrative Committee members (all except the last two) were re-elected for a second term confirms the broad community support for Union policy and projects launched in the previous four-year period. This policy was summarized by Jamal Shati in his speech of resignation as head of the old Administrative Committee before the UYAC representatives:
"We have aimed to build bridges with refugees in the Gaza Strip and in the diaspora. We achieved to build the bridge with Gaza when the UYAC-West Bank formally united with the UYAC-Gaza Strip to form the Union of Youth Activities Centres-Palestine in the spring of 1998. We have continued our struggle for Palestinian independence and sovereignty, the right of return, and our capital Jerusalem. This was the platform of the UYAC's initiative for popular refugee conferences from its beginnings in al-Far'ah in 1995 and until this day. Our refugees rang the bell of alarm to all those involved in conspiracies against refugees and their future, and confirmed the ongoing refugee demand for the implementation of the international resolutions, especially UN Resolution 194 (right of return)." |
