While refugees are discussing ways and mechanisms for creating their representative leadership, PA President Yasser Arafat approved the establishment of a new High Council for Refugee Camps composed of PA ministers and political personalities who have one thing in common: they do not share the refugee experience and none of them has been involved in the popular refugee initiatives of the past two years. According to Ass'ad  
Abdelrahman (Head of the PLO Department for Refugee Affairs), the new Council will serve as an advisor body to the PLO Refugee Department and assist in the implementation of its programs in the refugee camps in Palestine. 

The new Council is headed by Yasser Arafat, Ass'ad Abdelrahman will serve as its General Secretary. Additional members are: Muhammad Nashashibi (PA finance minister), Yasser 'Amr (minister of education), Zakaria al-Agha (PLO-Executive Committee), Ghassan al-Shak'a (mayor of Nablus), Intisar  
al-Wazir (minister of welfare), 'Azzam al-Ahmad (minister of public construction), Abdel Aziz Shaheen (minister of nutrition), Abdelrahman Hammad (housing minister), Riad al-Za'anoun (minister of health), 'Imad al-Falouji (minister of communication), Ruhi Fattouh (secretary of the PLC), Marwan Barghouthi (head of Fatah High Committee/West Bank), Ahmad Hallas (Head of Fatah High Committee/Gaza), Muhammad Dahlan (head of thePreventive  
Security/Gaza), Muhammad Shtaiya (PECDAR director), HassanAbu Libda (Head of Statistics Department), and Fadel Qa'wash (deputy director of the PA Water Authority). 
(based on al-Quds, 3-12-1997)