Published : 02-12-2025
Fayez Abu Eid – Action Group
The Syrian governorate of As-Suwayda is experiencing a major humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians, who form an important part of the social fabric of the city and surrounding areas. According to local statistics, the lives of more than 275 Palestinian families have been impacted by the events in As-Suwayda city.
Like Syrian families in the region, the homes of some Palestinian families have been burned and completely destroyed in several key villages, including Al-Kafr village, where 22 families are now sheltering in a school after losing their homes.
In Al-Mazra'a village, 128 families have been affected, with their homes fell to ruins after doors and windows were stolen and the houses were set on fire. Furthermore, more than 38 villages in As-Suwayda city are inaccessible due to the lack of security and the inability to deliver aid to their residents, exacerbating their suffering and poverty.
A voice from the heart of pain:
Shibli al-Shaer, head of the Relief Committee for Palestinian Refugees in the Suwaida Governorate, expresses his anguish and sense of abandonment, saying, "We, the Palestinian refugees in Suwaida, have endured enough marginalization and deliberate neglect." He adds that history will not forgive those who fail to uphold our rights.
According to his testimony, he is frustrated by the neglect of official bodies. Despite equipping a simple office with office services, computers, a printer, and a fax machine, genuine support aimed at rescuing these families remains lacking. "We need support in healthcare, education, and basic aid," he says.
Approximately 275 Palestinian families who sought refuge in Suwaida in 1948 from the cities of Haifa, Safed, Jaffa, al-Rama, Daliyat al-Karmel, and al-Maghar reside in the Suwaida Governorate. These families include the al-Shaer, al-Halabi, al-Zaidan, al-Ghanem, al-Taweel, al-Hamada, al-Hassan, al-Ayoub, al-Ramadan, al-Dhikrallah, al-La La, al-Nasr, al-Shaarani, al-Farhoud, Abu Ajaj, and Salah al-Din families. They are scattered throughout the city of Suwaida and its surrounding villages: Shahba, Al-Dur, Al-Qurayya, Prison, Farm.
Adding to their suffering,
Shibli is appealing to relevant authorities and the Red Cross to provide them with an ambulance and humanitarian transport for the sick and needy. He added, "We have repeatedly asked the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to provide an ambulance and a humanitarian transport vehicle to move the most vulnerable patients and families to shelters and hospitals, but there has been no response so far."
He further explained that transporting patients for treatment in Damascus poses a significant challenge, while they rely on limited support for transporting them and distributing relief supplies using UNRWA vehicles.
Shibli stressed the necessity of allowing UNRWA to operate within Suwaida to provide relief and medical assistance to alleviate their suffering and tragedy.
Meanwhile, Abu Khaled al-Halabi, an 80-year-old Palestinian refugee from Daliyat al-Karmel residing in Suwaida, confirmed that the situation of Palestinian refugees is dire, and they have recently been experiencing harsh and deplorable living, economic, and social conditions as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Suwaida.
He pointed out that Suwaida has taken in a number of displaced Palestinians who were forced from their camps over the past 14 years. He added that the number of Palestinian families was around 450 in 2014, and with the improvement of conditions, about 200 families returned to the camps in Sbeineh, Sayyida Zeinab, Husseiniya, Daraa, and Khirbet Ghazaleh. In 2025, approximately 275 families remained in Suwaida city, including displaced people.
Our Appeal to the Relevant authorities
The Palestinians in Suwaida, through their representatives, the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees, UNRWA, and official Palestinian bodies, are appealing to the relevant authorities for urgent action to provide humanitarian assistance. This assistance should include food supplies, hygiene and sanitation kits, kitchen utensils, mattresses, blankets, and tarpaulins, as well as the repair of their homes, an improvement in their living conditions, and support for the affected families who were displaced from their areas and whose homes were burned.
They pointed out that there are no offices belonging to UNRWA or the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees in the city of As-Suwayda, and accordingly, they demanded that these entities:
1. open a single center for issuing official documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, porce certificates, and birth registrations in the As-Suwayda Governorate;
2. open an UNRWA-affiliated primary school for Palestinian students;
3. allocate two concrete rooms as a center to provide services to refugees, and designate it as UNRWA point, as is the case in other camps;
4. send a mobile clinic once a month;
5. provide them with a vehicle bearing the flag of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to transport patients to hospitals contracted with UNRWA, noting that they would bear the costs of its maintenance and fuel.
Fayez Abu Eid – Action Group
The Syrian governorate of As-Suwayda is experiencing a major humanitarian crisis affecting Palestinians, who form an important part of the social fabric of the city and surrounding areas. According to local statistics, the lives of more than 275 Palestinian families have been impacted by the events in As-Suwayda city.
Like Syrian families in the region, the homes of some Palestinian families have been burned and completely destroyed in several key villages, including Al-Kafr village, where 22 families are now sheltering in a school after losing their homes.
In Al-Mazra'a village, 128 families have been affected, with their homes fell to ruins after doors and windows were stolen and the houses were set on fire. Furthermore, more than 38 villages in As-Suwayda city are inaccessible due to the lack of security and the inability to deliver aid to their residents, exacerbating their suffering and poverty.
A voice from the heart of pain:
Shibli al-Shaer, head of the Relief Committee for Palestinian Refugees in the Suwaida Governorate, expresses his anguish and sense of abandonment, saying, "We, the Palestinian refugees in Suwaida, have endured enough marginalization and deliberate neglect." He adds that history will not forgive those who fail to uphold our rights.
According to his testimony, he is frustrated by the neglect of official bodies. Despite equipping a simple office with office services, computers, a printer, and a fax machine, genuine support aimed at rescuing these families remains lacking. "We need support in healthcare, education, and basic aid," he says.
Approximately 275 Palestinian families who sought refuge in Suwaida in 1948 from the cities of Haifa, Safed, Jaffa, al-Rama, Daliyat al-Karmel, and al-Maghar reside in the Suwaida Governorate. These families include the al-Shaer, al-Halabi, al-Zaidan, al-Ghanem, al-Taweel, al-Hamada, al-Hassan, al-Ayoub, al-Ramadan, al-Dhikrallah, al-La La, al-Nasr, al-Shaarani, al-Farhoud, Abu Ajaj, and Salah al-Din families. They are scattered throughout the city of Suwaida and its surrounding villages: Shahba, Al-Dur, Al-Qurayya, Prison, Farm.
Adding to their suffering,
Shibli is appealing to relevant authorities and the Red Cross to provide them with an ambulance and humanitarian transport for the sick and needy. He added, "We have repeatedly asked the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to provide an ambulance and a humanitarian transport vehicle to move the most vulnerable patients and families to shelters and hospitals, but there has been no response so far."
He further explained that transporting patients for treatment in Damascus poses a significant challenge, while they rely on limited support for transporting them and distributing relief supplies using UNRWA vehicles.
Shibli stressed the necessity of allowing UNRWA to operate within Suwaida to provide relief and medical assistance to alleviate their suffering and tragedy.
Meanwhile, Abu Khaled al-Halabi, an 80-year-old Palestinian refugee from Daliyat al-Karmel residing in Suwaida, confirmed that the situation of Palestinian refugees is dire, and they have recently been experiencing harsh and deplorable living, economic, and social conditions as a result of the deteriorating security situation in Suwaida.
He pointed out that Suwaida has taken in a number of displaced Palestinians who were forced from their camps over the past 14 years. He added that the number of Palestinian families was around 450 in 2014, and with the improvement of conditions, about 200 families returned to the camps in Sbeineh, Sayyida Zeinab, Husseiniya, Daraa, and Khirbet Ghazaleh. In 2025, approximately 275 families remained in Suwaida city, including displaced people.
Our Appeal to the Relevant authorities
The Palestinians in Suwaida, through their representatives, the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees, UNRWA, and official Palestinian bodies, are appealing to the relevant authorities for urgent action to provide humanitarian assistance. This assistance should include food supplies, hygiene and sanitation kits, kitchen utensils, mattresses, blankets, and tarpaulins, as well as the repair of their homes, an improvement in their living conditions, and support for the affected families who were displaced from their areas and whose homes were burned.
They pointed out that there are no offices belonging to UNRWA or the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees in the city of As-Suwayda, and accordingly, they demanded that these entities:
1. open a single center for issuing official documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, porce certificates, and birth registrations in the As-Suwayda Governorate;
2. open an UNRWA-affiliated primary school for Palestinian students;
3. allocate two concrete rooms as a center to provide services to refugees, and designate it as UNRWA point, as is the case in other camps;
4. send a mobile clinic once a month;
5. provide them with a vehicle bearing the flag of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society to transport patients to hospitals contracted with UNRWA, noting that they would bear the costs of its maintenance and fuel.
