Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily took part in events organized in Belfort (France), which is joined to Hebron by a twinning agreement, to celebrate “Hebron’s Day”. This Day was organized on Saturday the 13th of November and featured several events related to Hebron and its Old City. It was attended by Palestine’s Ambassador to Unesco Mr. Elias Sanbar, Deputy-Ambassador Mr. Mounir Anastas, Belfort Mayor Mr. Etienne Butzbach, Deputy Mayor of Arceuil Ms. Mercedes, President of the “Association d’Echanges Culturelles Hébron-France” Dr. Anwar Abu Eysheh as well as by a number of artists and heritage experts.
A specialized workshop on the inscription of the Old City on the WHL
The Day started with a workshop attended by the Mayors of Hebron, Belfort and Arceuil, the three cities participating in the Campaign for the inscription of Hebron’s Old City on Unesco’s World Heritage List. The workshop was also attended by Mr. Sanbar and Mr. Anastas as well as by members of specialized technical teams tasked with the preparation of the Old City’s WHL nomination file.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Butzbach welcomed participants. He touched on progress made by the International Campaign and underlined the importance of the twinning agreement between Hebron and Belfort.
Hebron Mayor said he was pleased with the celebration of “Hebron’s Day” in Belfort. He thanked Unesco for its latest resolutions highlighting the Islamic nature of Al Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and Bilal’s Mosque in Bethlehem, and stressed the importance of safeguarding national heritage in Hebron’s Old City. This, he said, is the raison d’être of the International Campaign. Moreover, Osaily touched on progress made in the preparation of the Old City’s nomination file which is ready from a technical point of view to be presented through Palestine’s Permanent Mission at Unesco.
Mr. Sanbar, Palestine’s Ambassador to Unesco, spoke about efforts made by Palestinians to protect Palestinian heritage and to face the latest Israeli decisions concerning Palestinian heritage in Jerusalem, Hebron and Bethlehem. “Thanks to efforts made by the Palestinian Permanent Mission at Unesco, the Organization adopted five resolutions stressing the Arab and Islamic nature of Muslim holy sites in Palestine. The PNA is working through its Ministry of Tourism to prepare files for both Bethlehem and Hebron to be submitted to Unesco for inscription on its Heritage List”, he added. Sanbar also spoke about political challenges faced by Palestine’s Permanent Mission to Unesco concerning the submittal and acceptance of these files.
Engineer and heritage expert Jad Thabet, commissioned by Belfort Municipality, spoke about standards observed and progress made in the preparation of the Old City’s nomination file. Engineer Ala’a Shahin from Hebron Municipality made a detailed presentation on the file, its preparation, and efforts made by the Municipality in this regard, adding that this file is now ready to be submitted to Unesco.
Participants recommended the organization of a workshop at Unesco, in coordination with the PNA and its Council of Ministers, to be attended by Palestinian, Arab and international historians interested in Hebron, in order to help finalize the file and review it from a historical and a technical point of view before submitting it to Unesco.
An exhibition by artists in solidarity with the Palestinian people
Following the workshop, an exhibition featuring paintings by international artists in support of Palestinians was inaugurated in Belfort Municipality’s gallery. The paintings were entrusted to Belfort Municipality pending their transfer to Palestine. A Press Conference was then held with the participation of Messrs. Osaily, Butzbach and Sanbar during which Osaily spoke about difficulties and challenges faced by Hebron due to occupation and settler practices, underlining the need to protect holy sites and the rich humanitarian cultural heritage found in Palestinian cities and to safeguard it for future generations. He thanked Mayor Butzbach and Unesco for their efforts in support of the Palestinian cause and for the adoption of the latest Unesco resolutions relating to Al Ibrahimi Mosque.
Ambassador Sanbar answered several question relating to these Unesco resolutions. He touched on efforts made by the PNA and its Ministry of Tourism to prepare nomination files for Bethlehem and Hebron to be submitted to Unesco as well as on challenges faced currently by his Mission.
A reception in honor of Mayor Osaily
That same evening, Mayor Butzbach organized a reception in honor of Mayor Osaily in Belfort Municipality’s main Hall attended by prominent personalities and Arab communities in the city. Both Mayors Butzbach and Osaily took the floor during this reception. Osaily expressed his joy at this visit to Belfort, Hebron’s twin city. He thanked Mr. Butzbach for celebrating “Hebron’s Day” and spoke about the historical, religious and economic importance of Hebron. He also described the city’s suffering due to occupation, settlements and the closure of several streets under the pretext of protecting a handful of settlers.
After welcoming his guests from Hebron, Belfort Mayor spoke about the success encountered by the International Campaign and expressed his satisfaction with the large number of world-renowned personalities who have joined it so far.
The reception was also attended by Messrs. Sanbar and Anastas as well as by representatives from Arceuil Municipality, world heritage experts and a number of artists.
Projection of a film on the Old City and settler practices there.
“Hebron’s Day” came to an end with the projection of a film produced by a French journalist on soldier and settler practices against Palestinians in Hebron and its Old City. The 25-minute film projection, which took place at Belfort’s movie theatre, was attended by a large crowd. The film depicted closures in Hebron as well as the city’s division by occupation forces, revealed settler aggressions against Palestinians mainly in Tal Al Rumeida and touched on economic hardships due to the closure of shops in the Old City.
Following the projection, Messrs. Osaily, Butzbach and Sanbar spoke about general conditions in Hebron as well as soldier and settler practices. Mr. Sanbar also touched on efforts made to inscribe Hebron, Bethlehem and other Palestinian sites on Unesco’s WHL.
