The Mayor of Hebron , Dr. Daoud Zatari, welcomed  the new Director of Local Governance Program in the GIZ, Mr. Volker Moenikes. The meeting  was held  for the sake of getting a view of Hebron City and its suffering on the ground,  and for discussing joint cooperation opportunities between Hebron Municipality and the GIZ.

 

After welcoming, the Mayor spoke about Hebron's historical significance as it's considered as the second oldest city in the World. He mentioned the city's division into two parts H1 and H2 according to Hebron Protocol, the first part is under the Palestinian Authority control, and the other which is under the control of the Israeli Authority, daily face violations by the Israeli force under the pretext of protecting the settlers who live in the Heart of the Old City and in areas adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque. Dr. Zatari also said " The Israeli Occupation affects badly on the Economic Condition of Hebron due to the continuous closuring down of the Old City shops and of AlShuhada' Street".

 

In the context of cooperation, Dr. Zatari underlined the deep ties between Hebron Municipality and the GIZ, and praised their role in supporting the Municipality projects that undoubtedly enhance the city's different conditions, also their role in holding training courses which took in consideration improving the capacity of the municipality employees.

 

On his part, Mr. Moenikes expressed happiness for his visit to Hebron, and expressed his willingness to promote and to strengthen cooperation with Hebron Municipality more than ever before. He then thanked the Mayor for the warm reception and hospitality, hoping the next visit would be to discuss implementing  of a joint project on the ground.

 

The visiting delegation then toured the Old City to get a first-hand view of Hebron's reality and of the citizens' suffering.