Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Osaily highlighted the impact of the press conference during which the Initiative’s Preparatory Commission was announced. The Commission consists of Mayor Osaily, the mayor of Arcueil (France) Daniel Breuillet, the mayor of Belfort (France) Etienne Butzbach, Palestine’s ambassador to Unesco Elias Sanbar, Palestine’s ambassador to France Hind Khoury and the president of the Association for Cultural Exchanges Hebron-France Anwar Abu Aisha. Held on 22 October 2009 at Unesco’s headquarters, the conference was attended by a large number of politicians, journalists, artists and representatives of various French and international sectors. Speakers explained that the aim of the international initiative was to preserve the archeological features of the old city of Hebron, under occupation since 1967, adding that a specialized committee was formed to support the initiative. The Committee consists of high-profile international figures such as former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros Ghali, Unesco’s former Director General Federico Mayor, France’s former Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevènement, in addition to dozens of elected officials, intellectuals and journalists from all over the world.
Butzbach noted that the committee will work on highlighting the many dangers caused by Israel’s continued military occupation of the old city of Hebron. He highlighted the fact that the committee will seek to convince Unesco to inscribe the city on its list of World Heritage sites, since such an action could constitute an “international protection for the Old City of Hebron, which may help preserve and develop it”. He added that those behind the initiative have distributed a leaflet and started a website introducing their cause. They also plan to organize relevant cultural and artistic events in both France and Palestine, in addition to establishing contacts with Unesco’s new Director General, Mrs. Irina Bokova, as well as with EU officials and various international actors in view of persuading them to support the initiative’s goals.
Osaily forcefully condemned Israel’s actions in the city. He noted that since 1997, Hebron was cut in half, with one part controlled by the Palestinian Authority and the other still suffering the harsh Israeli occupation. He explained that the Old City was under the control of the IDF, which divided up Al Ibrahimi Mosque built some 4000 years ago, and allowed settlers to build a synagogue in one of its parts. Osaily added that driving Palestinians away from their homes has led to the abandonment of historically significant buildings, while Israelis erected a building for settlers in Tal Al Rumaida, home to numerous Roman, Mamluk and Ottoman ruins. He noted that Hebron Municipality had entrusted a team of architects and local and international experts with the task of preparing the city’s application to Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites.
Palestine’s ambassador to Unesco, Elias Sanbar, acknowledged that this would not be an easy task “considering that Unesco only accepts nominations submitted by states and Palestine has yet to be fully recognized as one”. Sanbar revealed the existence of 500 Palestinian sites that were worthy of being added to the World Heritage site list, noting that East Jerusalem was the only Palestinian city classified by Unesco as World Heritage “based on a request filed by Jordan in agreement with the Palestinians”.
Mrs Khoury then described the reality in Palestine and the Palestinian leadership’s vision towards achieving peace as a strategic option for ending the occupation and establishing the State of Palestine. She invited the free world to stand by the Palestinians in their quest for preserving their heritage and their history, and to protect them from Israel’s aggressions perpetrated against Palestinian cities rich with archaeological and historical sites.
For his part, Anwar Abu Aisha underlined the danger of Israel’s expulsion policy in the region, indicating that “in 1967, approximately 37,000 Palestinians used to live in the Old City of Hebron but only a small number, not exceeding 4,000, have remained”.
The press conference was preceded by a French-Palestinian evening attended by politicians, academics and artists. During the evening, a documentary film was projected, telling the story of the Old City of Hebron.
On the conference’s sidelines, Osaily and his adviser, Jawad Al Sayyed Al Harbawi, attended a business lunch with the Deputy Mayor of Paris and European MP, Pierre Schapira, in the Paris City Hall. They discussed means of cooperation between the two municipalities and ways to boost support for Hebron’s Unesco World Heritage initiative. Schapira affirmed high interest in the initiative and expressed Paris municipality’s full support to Hebron’s claim for a spot on Unesco’s list of World Heritage sites. Both parties also discussed mutual cooperation in the sectors of water, education, culture and the environment.
