Mr. Omar Sabat, Vladivia Municipal Council Member, handed Hebron Mayor Mr. Khaled Osaily on the 15th of September a draft twinning agreement between the two cities aimed at achieving effective cooperation and at exchanging experiences in various fields with a view to enhancing services provided to inhabitants in the two cities and attracting competent staff with experience in relevant areas.

This came at a meeting at Hebron Municipality attended by two delegations, one from Hebron and the other from Chili. The Chilean delegation comprised Mr. Rolando Mitri, Mayor of San José as well as Ms. Marcella Duqmaq, Mr. Ataloa Martinez and Mr. Arnaldo Toledo, Counselors of the Governor of Los Rios, and Ms. Nadia Ka’ek, Chair of the Palestinian Women’s Union in Southern Chili. Hebron was represented by Mayor Osaily, members of Hebron’s municipal council and several senior municipal staff.

At the beginning of the meeting, Osaily spoke about the Chilean position towards the Palestinian cause as well as President Abbas’s visits to Latin America and his efforts aimed at obtaining support for Palestinians and their rights as well as recognition for the Palestinian State. He thanked the Chilean government and people for their support to the Palestinian leadership and people. Osaily also called on his guests to work on both the official and the grassroots level to obtain support for the Palestinian bid to be accepted as a full-fledged member state of the UN and to vote for Palestine when the matter is brought before the UN in the coming days.

“Chileans of Palestinian origin are the link between Palestinians and Chileans. They have conveyed Palestinian suffering to the Chilean people and were the best ambassadors Palestine could have. Communicating and networking with Palestinian institutions has played a major role and had a great positive impact on common ties between Palestinian and Chilean institutions. Through this twinning agreement, these ties shall be strengthened. The agreement shall also help exchange experiences and make the Palestinian cause more known in Chile, especially when it comes to such issues as the security and political problems in Hebron, the daily suffering of Old City inhabitants, the division of the Ibrahimi Mosque following the massacre committed against Moslem worshipers in 1994 after which occupation authorities decided to punish the victims by closing down main arteries in the city where not even the Mayor can go. Moreover, tight security measures were imposed, undermining the sacredness of the Ibrahimi Mosque, one of the main holy sites in Palestine”, he added.

Mr. Sabat expressed his joy at the idea of twinning his city with Hebron, saying that his Palestinian origin motivates him to further cooperate with Palestinian cities and to work towards common development through the exchange of experiences and common activities. He added that Vladivia is known for its culture and is home to five main universities. Its main two economic resources are fishing and tourism, as one of the main rivers in Chili passes through the city. Mr. Sabat  thanked Mayor Osaily for his very warm welcome and invited him to visit Vladivia for the signing of the twinning agreement. Through him, Osaily conveyed to the Mayor of Vladivia an invitation to visit Hebron so that the agreement is signed in the Holy Land. Both delegations then exchanged symbolic gifts before the Chilean guests left the city.

It is to be noted that the Chilean delegation had, prior to this meeting, visited the Ibrahimi Mosque and areas around it as well as the Old City and friction zones with settlement outposts. The guests saw for themselves the suffering of Palestinians in the Old City as well as of worshippers in the Ibrahimi Mosque and promised to convey what they saw to both their government and their people.