RAMALLAH, West Bank — The PLO's Palestinian Expatriate Affairs Department (PEAD) is gearing up for the first-ever census of Palestinian expatriates in the world. The census is expected to launch at the beginning of April, director general of PEAD Nihad Abu Ghosh told Al-Monitor.
The PLO had announced that it was conducting the largest census in its history. The census includes comprehensive documentation of Palestinian expatriates, said Nabil Shaath, President Mahmoud Abbas’ adviser for international relations and head of the PLO’s Refugee Affairs Department, in an interview with Palestinian al-Ayyam newspaper on Jan. 27.