PLO slams Sharon's speech on Palestinian refugees

The Palestine Liberation Organization rejected on December 18 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's denial of the Palestinian refugees' right to return.

The Israeli proposal to resettle them in Arab countries is rejected, said Zakareya al-Agha, head of PLO refugees department.

In a major policy speech Thursday, Sharon said he rejects Israel's withdrawal back to the 1967 borders, refuses to have east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state and rejects the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

These statements are a clear evidence that the government of Sharon does not have any new political program, said Agha, adding that these statements are not bringing calmness to the region.

He said the Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories and in the Arab countries are still holding their legal right of return and compensation according to the UN Security Council Resolution 194.

Source: Xinhua