Khaled Osaily. خالد العسيلي رئيس بلدية الخيل السابق خالد العسيلي
Hebron Municipality’s delegation to the Turkish city of Şanliurfa returned to Hebron on Thursday 9 June following the signature of a twinning agreement between the two cities. The agreement was signed by Hebron Mayor KhaledOsaily and by Şanliurfa’s Mayor AhmetEşrefFakibaba in a ceremony held under the auspices of Şanliurfa’s Governor NuriOkutan and attended by Palestinian Ambassador to Turkey Mr. NabeelMaarouf, Municipal Council Member Dr. Awni Al Sagheer, Municipal Council Member Dr. Abdel Aziz Shqeir and Head of Public Relations Mr. Yihya Al Natsheh.
At the beginning of the four-day visit, a meeting was held with Governor Okutan who spoke about the deep ties between the two countries. “This twinning agreement shall further these ties between two historic and holy cities for Muslims after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem”, he said, expressing his joy at this visit and calling for building relations between Palestinian and Turkish cities.
Accompanied by the city’s Governor and Mayor, the delegation then visited Şanliurfa Municipality where the twinning agreement was signed. Mayor Fakibaba described this day as “historic” for Şanliurfa. “I am very proud of this agreement which shall provide the basis for strong ties between both cities and shall support religious tourism in particular”, he said, adding that he hoped to visit Hebron soon. He also thanked the Governor and Mr. Maarouf for their efforts to finalize this agreement.
Mayor Osaily said that this twinning agreement reflects solid ties between the Palestinian and the Turkish peoples as well as the importance given by their leaderships to strengthening and deepening these ties. Osaily thanked the Turkish Government and people for their support of Palestinians and recalled the Turkish martyrs who fell on board the Freedom Flotilla off the coasts of Gaza. “There are historic ties between Prophet Abraham and our cities which were both liberated by Saladin Al Ayyoubi, and many families of Turkish origin still live in Palestine”, he added, hoping that common ties will develop to serve both cities. He also extended an invitation to the city’s Governor and Mayor to visit Hebron in order to deepen cooperation between them.
The tour in Şanliurfa where Prophet Abraham was born and from which he started his journey to Hebron included holy sites such as the mountaintop site where Prophet Abraham was born and the site of the pile of burning wood to which he was thrown and where God turned the fire to water.The delegation also visited the Ataturk dam, agricultural projects and electricity generation facilities in Harran well known for its archeological sites representing ancient Turkish Ottoman heritage.
On the sidelines of this visit, Osaily met with Turkish State Minister Faruk Çelik with whom he discussed political and economic conditions in Palestine as well as means to support Hebron through development and infrastructure projects to support Palestinian steadfastness. At the end of the meeting, Osaily offered a symbolic gift to the Minister to thank him for his solidarity with the Palestinian cause and with the rights of the Palestinian people.
