At a signing ceremony of an agreement between Hebron and Belfort Municipalities: French Consul General underlines his Government’s support to Palestinians and describes what happened in the UN a

Frédéric Desagneaux, French General Consul in Jerusalem, said his country supports the right of Palestinians to self-determination and to their own State. He also underlined the illegitimacy of settlements. “Despite difficulties at the UNSC, we shall harness our political efforts to support Palestinians’ legitimate demands, alleviate their suffering and enhance their capacities to build their State. I reaffirm the French Development Agency’s commitment to provide support and assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. During the past ten years France has invested 180 Million Euros in the infrastructure and water sectors, and I assure Hebron Mayor that we shall provide our support to the wastewater treatment project in Hebron Governorate. I also thank the General Director of the Municipal Fund for his cooperation”, Desagneaux said.

Mr. Desagneaux was speaking on the sidelines of a photography exhibit at Hebron Municipality’s Child Happiness Center depicting French projects in the Palestinian Territories over the past decade. A cooperation agreement had been signed earlier at Hebron Municipality by Hebron and Belfort Mayors in view of securing support for Hebron’s nomination file for the World Heritage List. The signing ceremony was attended by Hebron Governor Kamel Hamid, MDLF Director General Eng. AbdelMughni Nofal, Dr. Anwar Abu Eysheh, President of the “Association d’échanges culturels Hebron-France”, members of Hebron’s Municipal Council and City Engineer Tawfiq Arafa.

Osaily underlined the importance of this agreement aimed at hosting a team from Versailles University to prepare a study on Hebron’s history to be annexed to the nomination file with a view to strengthening it both politically and technically, thus increasing its chances of being accepted.

Osaily also touched on the continuously renewed partnership with both Belfort and Arceuil, their great support to Palestinian rights and their effective cooperation with Hebron Municipality, namely in backing the city’s inscription on the World Heritage List during the past two years. Following the Valencia Conference in 2008, he added, it was agreed to hold several international events to mobilize support and to lobby Unesco to accept the city’s nomination file.
“Belfort shall also organize another conference in September in support of this nomination. Several Arab and foreign historians, intellectuals and politicians shall take part in this Conference which we hope will help move things forward and will mobilize support for the city’s right to be recognized as world cultural heritage”.
Osaily also spoke about joint projects implemented in the past few years in cooperation with Belfort Municipality and several Palestinian and French institutions. “These projects reflect the good relations, real cooperation and cultural rapprochement between the two peoples in view of strengthening their humanitarian and cultural ties. The French are now better acquainted with the situation in Palestine, difficulties caused by occupation and the tragedy witnessed in the Palestinian territories”.

Osaily thanked the French people and government for the French courageous political stance at the UN and for their support to Palestinians. “The UNSC resolution reflected the position of France and other European countries towards the situation in Palestine. It reflected solidarity with Palestinian rights as well as the isolation in which Israel and the USA both find themselves”, he said. Moreover, Osaily praised President Abbas and the Palestinian leadership for their steadfastness as well as for having withstood US pressure and insisted on submitting the text denouncing settlements and underlining their illegitimacy to the UNSC. “The Palestinian people fully supports its leadership’s honorable stances and its efforts to safeguard the Palestinian national project”, he added.

Mr. Etienne Butzbach, Mayor of Belfort, thanked Osaily for his warm welcome. He underlined the special ties between Hebron and Belfort as well as the empathy felt by the French towards Palestinians. He hoped to see peace prevail in the region and underlined that Hebron deserves to be inscribed on the WHL. “Efforts made by eminent personalities in Hebron, namely by Mayor Osaily, indicate that the city will flourish and prosper. It must also be protected against any project aimed at altering its historic nature”, he said.
Butzbach said that the future of the Middle East depends on the outcome of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Moreover, economic development cannot be achieved without progress on the political level, he added.

It is to be noted that a twinning agreement had been signed between Hebron and Belfort Municipalities several years ago.