World Bank Delegation visits the Old City of Hebron and meets with the Mayor

A high-level delegation from the World Bank visited the city of Hebron to get acquainted with the challenges faced by the city, verify the series of projects being implemented in it, discuss areas of support and development and examine the economic and political situation.

The delegation first visited Hebron Municipality where it was greeted by Mr. Khaled Osaily, Hebron Mayor, assisted by members of the municipal council and the Municipality’s administrative and technical staff. This delegation is considered the highest-level official World Bank delegation to visit the Palestinian territories. It consisted of Vice President for Middle East and North Africa, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar; Executive Director for the Middle East, Mr. Merza H. Hasan; Vice Chairman of the International Investment Bank, Mr. Rashad-Rudolf Kaldany; the Special Assistant to the Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, Mr. Charles Keaty; the Chief Operations Officer of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), Mr. James Bond; and the World Bank officer in charge of environment and infrastructure for the Palestinian Territories, Mr. Ibrahim Al Dajjani.
At the start of the meeting, Osaily expressed his great appreciation for the delegation’s decision to visit the city and get a first hand account of the situation in terms of politics, economy and services. He also expressed the gratitude of the people of Hebron for the World Bank and its support of vital and essential projects in the city. He also requested them to provide further support to the Palestinian Authority and the government in all fields with the aim of improving the reality in Palestine, showing support to its people and reducing their suffering.

Osaily underscored the importance of improving the situation of Palestinians on the economic and service levels in order to positively impact their daily lives. He also described his view of the political developments in the region and praised the efficiency of the projects supported and financed by the World Bank, citing the new 20-million-dollar solid waste repository project in the districts of Hebron and Bethlehem, financed by the World Bank and the European Union.

During the meeting, Osaily discussed his views on the city’s cultural, sport and entertainment infrastructure and on finding the best options for youth in order to improve their lives and living conditions. He talked about the project of building Al Hussain Stadium, the closed hall, the Happy Childhood Center and a number of projects executed by Hebron Municipality.

On her part, Mrs. Akhtar expressed happiness to be part of this first visit to Hebron, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. “It was an honor for us”, she said, “to meet the Mayor of Hebron who showed us a number of projects being implemented in the city. These projects constitute quality additions positively impacting life in Hebron. We are closely working with a number of municipalities in Palestine and especially with Hebron Municipality.”

Hasan discussed the reason behind the visit to Hebron saying that the visit is very important to discover the challenges faced by the city. “The World Bank is dealing with Palestine and our projects are being financed, either through the World Bank or through international investment institutions. We are today conducting a study of the city’s situation and our solid waste repository project has had a major positive impact. It is a vital and essential project with environmental and social dimensions set to create a large number of jobs and shall be followed by other projects”, he added.

He added that the Bank’s interest is focused on how to assist the region and the city in creating job opportunities and especially in boosting the private sector. As a matter of fact, this delegation which is visiting Hebron today consists of the largest gathering of WB vice presidents visiting the Palestinian territories in order to get an idea of the challenges facing the region. He also stated that a visit to the Gaza Strip was on the agenda.

At the end of the meeting, Osaily accompanied the visiting delegation on a field visit to the Old City and to Al Ibrahimi Mosque during which they got a first hand account of the political and security situation in the Old Town  and the harsh conditions suffered by the residents. The delegation also visited, and prayed in, Al Ibrahimi Mosque.