International Conference of Local Authorities
in Solidarity with the Palestinian People: LOCAL AUTHORITIES AT THE HEART OF THE STATE OF PALESTINE
The official launching of the International Conference of Local Authorities in Solidarity with the Palestinian People took place on Friday, gathering more than a hundred International, Arab and Islamic key figures who came to show support for the Palestinian struggle for freedom and an end to the Israeli occupation.
Head of the national committee for the commemoration of the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, Mazen Ghnaim, thanked the delegations who braved the challenges of traveling to attend the conference despite of Israel’s strict measures, expressing his apologies for the hardships they underwent, either at the Israeli airport, Allenby crossing bridge with Jordan, or even at the Israeli checkpoints spread across the West Bank, stressing that this experience could give them a miniscule fraction of the daily suffering of the Palestinian people.
More than a 100 international figures were trapped at the Israeli airport and Allenby crossing bridge with Jordan and could not attend the meeting.
“Even though Israel has disrupted the entry of many internationals, the number of the ones who were able to attend is very large, which proves the extent of the solidarity given by the world countries to the Palestinian people.”
He said, “Your presence today to show solidarity with the Palestinian people proves the outright rejection of the Israeli occupations, their practices, and systematic embitterment.”
“the UN general assembly had chosen the year 2014 as a the year of solidarity with the Palestinian people, as if it quite knows what would happen in 2014; since the beginning of 2014 an Israeli escalation was witnessed across the Palestinian territory, down to the latest aggression on Gaza, and the recent escalation in Jerusalem, including Israel’s Sacrilege of al-Aqsa mosque,” said Ghaim.
The UN General Assembly declared 2014 the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on the 26th of November 2013.
The conference will tackle pressing Issues, including an overview on the everyday lived reality and challenges facing the Palestinian local authorities in light of Israeli occupations attempts to prevent the Palestinian government’s development process, mobilizing the widest international support and how to activate and utilize this support in the Palestinian call for freedom and right to self determination.
It will also discuss enabling the Palestinian local authorities to make use of the experiences of their international counterparts and create new horizons of cooperation with the worldwide local authorities.
The conference will also tackle issues related to the provision of services to the Palestinian people, directly benefiting from the past experiences of the international local authorities, which will have a positive impact on the economic development of Palestine, he said.
The current situation on the ground will also be discussed, including the fragmentation of the Palestinian Territory’s land, lack of Geographical contiguity, to enable local authorities in Palestine, who have through history endured the responsibility of providing services for the Palestinian people while living under the Israeli occupation.
Several other Palestinian and international key figures of local authorities spoke at the conference, emphasizing the importance of this event in supporting the Palestinian people’s struggle under occupation.
President Mahmous Abbas is scheduled to address the delegation on Friday evening at the Ramallah Cultural Palace.
Source: Wafa
