Hebron Mayor Khaled Osaily met on the 28th of March at his office in Hebron with Dr. Joan Clos, UN Undersecretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT). Dr. Clos was accompanied by his assistant Ms. Lena Alois as well as by Mr. Philip Dekert, UN Program Officer in the oPt. The meeting was also attended by Eng. Kamal al Dweik, Hebron Municipal Council Member, City Engineer Tawfiq Arafa and Mr. Allam al Ashhab, Economic Development Officer at Hebron Municipality. It aimed at providing information on conditions in Hebron as well as on the progress of the King Abdallah bin Abdel Aziz Charity Housing Project.
Osaily started the meeting by talking about economic and political conditions in Hebron as well as difficulties encountered by residents especially in the Old City because of Israeli occupation measures, continuous closures and preventing Muslim worshippers from praying in Al Ibrahimi Mosque. He also touched on aggressions and provocations by settlers against Palestinians and the thorny issue of their presence in the Old City and its impact on Palestinians. “UN bodies must act immediately to implement Human Rights treaties and international conventions which call for the protection of civilians and for safeguarding their right to live in freedom, dignity, security and stability. All influential powers in the world must exert pressure on Israel to force it to respect these texts. The UN must shoulder its responsibilities to face settlement policies which undermine UN resolutions calling for a two-State settlement of the conflict”, he said.
The guests then toured several Municipal Sections including the Remote Control System for the Hebron Water Network as well as the GIS and Electricity sections. Engineer Abdel Raouf Al Sheikh, President of Hebron Electricity, provided a detailed presentation on Hebron Electricity, its development and its aspirations over the next few years.
The delegation then visited King Abdallah bin Abdel Aziz Charity Housing Project funded by a 6-million USD donation from the Saudi Relief Committee with support from King Abdallah bin Abdel Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The Project includes 100 housing units for widows and persons with special needs as well as a center for vocational training and industrial facilities.
Speaking at the Project site, Osaily said that the project aims at empowering poor women and their families with a view to improving their economic condition and living standards through training and capacity development initiatives. It shall hence help build the capacities of local and national institutions, enhance economic development and find mechanisms to mitigate poverty and help fight unemployment. He thanked King Abdallah and the Saudi government for their generous donation. Osaily also called on his guest to implement additional housing projects in Hebron which is in dire need of such projects. “Hebron Municipality owns land that is suitable for hosting these projects”, he said. Osaily also urged King Abdallah to help fund these additional housing projects.
Dr. Clos expressed his happiness at the seamless Project progress on the ground. He spoke about the project, its development and its various phases and touched on joint cooperation and the exchange of experience between Hebron Municipality and UN-HABITAT. “I am amazed by the level of development at Hebron Municipality’s various sections. The Municipality is making great achievements despite conditions in the oPt especially when it comes to the GIS section which is the basis for planning and urban development in the city as it provides data for the preparation of scientific studies to ensure the success of future development plans. I am very impressed with technical developments at Hebron Municipality which lack in many municipalities in more advanced and richer countries”, he added.