UN Special Coordinator visits Al Ibrahimi Mosque

Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily met on the 29th of September 2010 with Mr. Robert H. Serry, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process as well as with Mr. Jens Anders Toyberg – Frandzen, UNDP Special Representative in the OPT. The meeting, which aimed at getting better acquainted with general conditions in Hebron, was also attended by a number of Municipal Council members.

Mayor Osaily said that Israel tries to impose a status quo in Hebron in general and in its Old City in particular where more than 40 thousand Palestinians are denied a normal life because of 25 Jewish settler families living in the heart of the city. An effective solution to this problem, he said, 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, their lives were threatened and their properties attacked. Osaily also underlined the importance of executing vital projects targeting youths in the city, 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, educated and developed State once given the chance to do so, proving to the world that they are amongst peace-loving people.

“Palestinians call for exerting pressure on the Israeli government so that it respects international resolutions, which is a legitimate and rightful demand. By doing so, Israel would prove that it is serious about achieving peace in the region”, he added.

Mr. Serry said that he understood how difficult conditions were in Hebron. He hoped that peace would prevail in the region, violence would end and Palestinians and Israelis would be able to live together according to international resolutions and treaties.

Osaily accompanied his guests on a tour which included Al Ibrahimi Mosque, Old City streets and areas adjacent to settler outposts in the heart of the Old City. Mr. Serry spoke with several Old City inhabitants and merchants who talked about the obstacles they face in their daily life due to occupation measures as well as settler aggressions and provocations.

Another delegation chaired by Mr. Igor Pogačar, Slovenia’s Representative to the Palestinian National Authority had visited Hebron Municipality on the same day. The delegation, which included Slovenian Graduate students and journalists, was briefed by Mayor Osaily in detail on conditions in Hebron from a historic and a security perspective.