The Minister of Local Government, Eng. Majdi Al-Saleh, announced the decision of the Palestine Cabinet to extend the current session of the elected councils of LGUs until holding the local elections. This came during his meeting with the administrative committee of APLA headed by the President Eng. Musa Hadid and in the presence of APLA’s administrative committee members and the executive director Eng. Abdallah Anati and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Government, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Budairi and representatives of the ministry's staff.
The attendees stressed the need to continue working to stop the policies of displacement and ethnic cleansing practiced by the occupation in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and the continuous attacks by the occupation forces on Al-Aqsa Mosque and its aggressive practices on Jerusalem and our Palestinian cities within the Green Line. They also stressed the need to stop the crimes that the Israeli occupation commits against Gaza. They also stressed the importance of exposing all the Israeli practices that contradict international and humanitarian norms and conventions.
For his part, Eng. Al-Saleh pointed to the important role that LGUs have in maintaining civil peace in light of the existing conditions, calling for all efforts to be unified and cooperation between Palestinian LGUs strengthened in order to enhance steadfastness and enhance joint action in order to provide better services to citizens.
At the beginning of the meeting, Eng. Hadid explained the role of LGUs, which emerged as a comprehensive national framework that seeks to give priority to the higher national interest over any individual interests. This, especially in light of the difficult political conditions that our people encounter in all their places of residence because of the crimes of the occupation. He stressed the importance of preparing the public on the one hand, and the need to maintain the provision of the best services to citizens to support Palestinian steadfastness on the other hand. He referred in this context to the issues that disrupt the work of LGUs, whose effects have begun and are still being felt since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic and the subsequent political, social, economic and security crises and obstacles.
The LGUs’ mayors discussed the roles that the LGUs can play currently and in the future, represented in preserving the social fabric and civil peace, promoting local community values, promoting and actually practicing the concept of integration with the spectrum of the local community and its political and social organizations led by these units. This, in addition to partnership with the private sector in providing services, and with the civil sector and civil society institutions to enhance the resilience of citizens and mobilize advocacy at the international level.
On the other hand, APLA’s Administrative Committee demanded that the LGU’s courts be amended to ensure that they are given greater ability to implement regulations and laws and protect the LGUs and the public rights from any attempts to violate laws.
