Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Hebron Mayor KhaledOsaily described conditions in Hebron as “very dangerous” due to the Israeli government’s continuous policies aimed at altering the features of the Old city andjudaizing the Holy Ibrahimi Mosque. Other threats enumerated by Osaily included settler violations of Old City residents’ rights, closure of main Hebron roads and violations against the dignity of Palestinians and of worshippers in the Ibrahimi Mosque who have to go through endless Israeli checkpoints under the pretext of “security reasons”.
Osaily was talking on the morning of the 1st of March at a meeting with an Italian delegation from the province of Alessandria. The delegation, which comprised the Deputy President of the Province as well as a number of personalities, visited Hebron in a show of solidarity with its inhabitants. Delegation members called for the end of occupation and for the respect of national Palestinian rights. The delegation was also accompanied by Mr. Hani Jaber, Palestinian Consul in Northern Italy.
After welcoming the delegation, Osaily spoke about historic ties between Palestinians and Italians. He also called on Europeans to exert pressure on their governments in order to push towards peace in the Middle East and ensure that Palestinians live in freedom and enjoy independence. “At this moment, one does not hear many Israeli voices calling for peace, whereas the Palestinian and Arab leadership always speaks about the need to achieve a just and comprehensive peace in the region that would allow all its inhabitants to enjoy security and stability”, Osaily added.
Osaily also touched on ties between Hebron Municipality and the Italian Cooperation, Italian Municipalities as well as private sector partnerships in various fields such as marble, stone and gold industries, tanneries as well as academic cooperation. He thanked the Italian government and people for their continuous support to Palestinians. As an example of this support, Osailyspoke about the Remote Control Unit for the Hebron Water Network built in partnership with the Italian Cooperation. He also thanked Italian partners for accepting to treat Palestinian patients from Hebron in Italian Hospitals, in coordination with Hebron Municipality.
The Italian delegation underlined its solidarity with the right of Palestinians to put an end to occupation, build a Palestinian state and live in peace. Delegation members called on the European Union to help achieve this peace and implementinternational resolutions, they also assured that they will loyally convey what they saw in the Palestinian Territories to their governments and people, and hoped that the winds of change blowing in the Arab world will have a positive impact on the peace process and will help put an end to the Israeli occupation.
