The Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) in cooperation with UCLG-MEWA conducted a seminar under the title "The Right to the City under Occupation: Palestine Case", with the aim of presenting the challenges facing local authorities in Palestine and the Israeli practices violating Palestinian rights.
The seminar was organized in five languages; Arabic, English, Turkish, Spanish and French, via Zoom, in order to present the occupation's impact on the daily life of Palestinian people, in front of all sister and friend cities and states, in order to take serious positions condemning the Israeli racist practices that violate the basic rights of citizens, especially the right to residence, the right to freedom of movement and the right to development.
In addition to APLA's President, Eng. Musa Hadid, in his capacity as the Co-President of UCLG-MEWA, the organization's president, Mohammad Sa'diyah, and its secretary general, Mohammad Doman, in addition to the Regional Representative of UN-Habitat-ROAS, Dr. Irfan Ali.
During the first session "Right to Residence and Freedom of Movement", the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Hussein, shared an intervention on what is happening in Jerusalem, namely the arbitrary restrictions preventing Palestinian Muslims and Christians from prayer. Al-Aizariyah (Bethany) Mayor, Issam Far'oun addressed the issues of the apartheid wall that was erected between Al-Aizariyah and Jerusalem and its impact on the life of citizens. Meanwhile, Mayor of Hebron, Taysir Abu Sneineh made a comment on the impact of dividing Hebron city into H1 and H2 areas.
Mayor of Ramallah, Eng. Musa Hadid presented the municipality's experience in redistributing lands in expansion plans during the second session "Right to Development", which aims to present the challenges and obstacles faced by Palestinian local authorities during the planning and development stages. In this regard, MDLF General Director, Mohammad Al-Ramahi made and intervention on the role of MDLF in support the cities in Gaza Strip in the process of development and planning under the land, air and sea siege of the Strip. Moreover, President of Froush Beit Dajan Village Council, Mohammad Azim clarified the current situation in the Jordan Valley areas under the threat of confiscation and the role of local authorities in supporting the resilience of citizens.
