Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily met today at his office with Mr. Howard Daimond from the US House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, Mr. Rick Waters, chief of the political section at the US Consulate in Jerusalem and their accompanying delegation. The aim of this visit was to get better acquainted with conditions in the city, measures imposed by the Israeli occupation in the Old City and vital projects implemented by Hebron Municipality to improve the lives of Palestinians. The meeting was also attended by Hebron Municipal Council members.
At the beginning of the meeting, Osaily spoke about US support and funding of various vital projects in Hebron which positively impact the daily lives of Palestinians. He also touched on the potential role the US can play in pressuring Israel to end settlement activities, lift the closure, and support the Palestinian leadership with a view to establishing a Palestinian State whose citizens enjoy their legitimate rights. “Israel imposes a de-facto situation in Hebron and its Old City. It prevents 40 thousand Palestinians from living a normal life under the pretext of ensuring the security and protection of 25 Jewish families.
The only effective solution would be to remove these settlers from the Old City, thus putting an end to a situation which has lasted for decades during which Palestinians were oppressed and denied their rights, while their lives continue to be threatened and their properties attacked”, he added. He recalled what happened a few days earlier when the Israeli army killed an unarmed Palestinian, claiming he had tried to stab an Israeli soldier. “This is how Israel oppresses defenceless Palestinians and the US public opinion must exert pressure on its administration to achieve justice in the region”, Osaily said. He underlined the importance of implementing vital projects in the city, especially targeting youths, in order to improve their lives and to provide them with a breathing space where they can unleash their potential and harness their capacities to build an open, enlightened and developed State once given the chance to do so. He also touched on the severe shortage of classrooms in Hebron where 1200 classrooms (around 22 additional schools) are urgently needed to cover the needs of the city. “A double-shift schooling system is currently implemented in the city due to the lack of classrooms, which negatively impacts school achievement levels”, he added.
Mr. Daimond said he was pleased with this visit to Hebron and with the information he received on conditions in the city. He hoped for peace to prevail in the region and for Palestinians to enjoy an easy and decent life, to settle all long-standing issues and to live a stable and secure life.
Later on, Osaily met with the Mayors of Pelago and Rufina, two Italian cities located in the Province of Florence, and with their accompanying delegation in order to examine means to enhance cooperation between Italian municipalities and Hebron. Following a detailed presentation on the history and religious importance of Hebron and on ties between the Italian and Palestinian peoples, Osaily spoke about projects implemented in Hebron and about Italian-Palestinian cooperation with a view to executing various projects in the city.
The visiting delegation expressed its solidarity with Palestinians and supported their legitimate rights, including ending occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian State. Its members planned a visit to the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque to get a firsthand look on the suffering of Palestinians and to convey what they see to their people and government. At the end of the meeting, symbolic gifts were exchanged between the two parties.
