A visiting senior Palestinian official stressed in Cairo on November 10 that the Palestinian refugees have "sacred" right to return to their homeland.

"The Palestinian refugees must return to Palestine. Their right to return is sacred," said Jebriel Rajoub, director of the Palestinian Preemptive Security Department in the West Bank.

"It will remain one of the legitimate rights (of the Palestinian people) until a fair solution is found to the refugee issue," Rajoub told reporters after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.

Millions of Palestinians were displaced and forced to find shelters in neighboring Arab countries in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the past half century. The Palestinians insist that the refugees have the right to go back to their homeland while Israel disagrees.

The fate of the Palestinian refugees is high on the agenda of the Palestinian-Israeli final-status negotiations, Rajoub said.

The Palestinians and Israel inaugurated the negotiations on September 13 and began the first session on Monday. Besides the refugee issue, the negotiators will also discuss issues including the final borders, Jewish settlements and Jerusalem.

Rajoub dismissed reports that the Palestinian National Authority is contacting Gulf Arab states for arrangements to settle a large number of Palestinian refugees in the Gulf region.

Rajoub arrived in Cairo earlier in the day for a short visit. He briefed Moussa on the security situation in the Palestinian self-rule areas and the final-status talks.