The Association of Palestinian Local Authorities (APLA) participated in the field visit organized for the Italian Consul General in Jerusalem; Giuseppe Fedele to the town of Beit Liqia with the aim of learning about the reality of the town, the challenges and obstacles, the Municipality of Beit Liqia faces, especially with regards to issues of the environment, wastes and sanitation. The visit was also attended by the AICS Emergency Unit Director; Guido Petrosanti; the Technical and Legal Support Unit Manager at APLA, Eng. Abdelmo'men Afanah; Project Coordinator at APLA, Widad Al-Qadi; and Project Manager at FELCOS UMBRIA, Morino Caporalini.
The Italian Consul emphasized the importance of the Local Authorities Network for Sustainable Development Project (L.A.N.D), implemented by APLA, as it allows the opportunity to learn about the hardships facing Palestinian local authorities, especially those targeted by the project. The project establishes for joint cooperation between Palestinian local authorities and their Italian counterparts. Moreover, the Italian Consul expressed his appreciation of the Municipality of Beit Liqia and its active role as one of the main municipalities in Beit Liqia – Ni'lin Cluster.
Manager of Technical and Legal Support Unit, Eng. Afanah, expressed his gratitude to the Italian Consul for inviting APLA in its capacity as a representative of Palestinian local authorities before the Italian partners, as well as the Italian Consulate's efforts in supporting the issue of Palestinian local authorities, especially the work locations of L.A.N.D project. Eng. Afanah emphasized that APLA seeks to support local authorities in realizing project activities and goals, starting with establishing clusters for joint work on environmental issues, all the way through implementing all activities and interventions.
The field tour included several visits that started with the Municipality of Beit Liqia, passing through the summer camp for girls "Jerusalem Our Eternal Capital", which included activities related to recycling wastes, heritage activities, and a special activity for drawing a logo for L.A.N.D project. This was followed by a visit to Beit Liqia Stadium, a visit to the Agricultural Cooperative for Development and the Packaging House, which was established in response to farmers' needs and agricultural tools farmers require. The tour was concluded with a visit to Al-Karamah Avenue and the area of the apartheid wall established on the lands of Beit Noba in 1967, and part of Beit Liqia's lands, as well as a presentation of the logos designed for L.A.N.D project by the students.
