Dr. Dauod Zatari said that the Israeli Occupation remains the main obstacle faced by Palestinian Municipalities in their efforts to develop West Banks cities. This is due to Israeli checkpoints and Israel’s control of Palestinian natural resources, he explained.

 

Dr. Zatari was speaking at a meeting with Dr. Martti Eirola, Representative of Finland to the Palestinian Authority. The meeting, which was also attended by Municipal Council members, aimed at discussing cooperation and at supporting the Municipal Strategic Plan with a view to enhancing services provided to inhabitants.

 

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Zatari spoke about the city’s heritage as well as social and political conditions prevailing in Hebron due to occupation measures and its division into two parts following the Hebron Protocol Agreement. He said that Israel controls over 65% of the West Bank’s "C Areas" which prevents the Palestinian Authority from executing development projects and building industrial zones. “Despite Israeli practices and obstacles, Hebron Municipality continues to improve its internal management processes, rehabilitate the city’s infrastructure and implement its Development Plan covering the period till 2016.

 

Dr. Eirola touched on a World Bank report which estimates losses caused by Israeli occupation in C Areas at about $3.4 billion per year. He highlighted Finnish support to Palestinians in the fields of water, sanitation and education. Dr. Eirola expressed his readiness to further cooperation and enhance ties with Hebron Municipality in the Education sector in general and Higher Education in particular.