APLA Executive Committee Meeting with the Prime Minister

10 Jun 2020
APLA Executive Committee Meeting with the Prime Minister

Shtayyeh: “Our Current Biggest Challenge is to prevent the Israeli Annexation”

Hadid: “We Started a Wide-Scale International Campaign to Expose the Occupation’s Plans

Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh stated: “We are undergoing one of the most difficult circumstances regarding our Palestinian case so far. We are facing an existential threat to our entire political project as a whole, and our current biggest challenge is to prevent the Israeli annexation of the Jordan Valley and areas of the Palestinian State”. He stressed the importance of creating a state of harmony between the government and the local authorities, through revising all cases relevant to their work, which would eventually be in the best interest of the country and the citizen. This was stated during a meeting of the executive board of APLA at the Prime Minister's Office in Ramallah, with Dr. Shtayyeh, Minister of Local Government, Eng. Majdi Al-Saleh, and the president of APLA, Eng. Mousa Hadid.

Dr. Shtayyeh discussed with APLA a number of important issues; mainly seeking ways to address the obstacles facing local authorities, and looking for appropriate solutions to overcome them. He announced that the Ministry of Finance will disburse part of the dues to the local authorities on a monthly basis, thus advised them to draw up plans to conclude their due debts.

Dr. Shtayyeh appreciated the supporting position of APLA regarding the decisions of the Palestinian leadership by declaring that the local authorities utterly reject any form of communication with the occupying authorities and their apparatuses. He expressed his pleasure of the unprecedented effort local authorities have exerted in their rapid response to the unlimited needs that emerged in the wake of the declaration of a state of emergency after the spread of the "Corona" virus, while acting with utmost responsibility and national commitment to their citizens.

On his part, APLA’s president, Eng. Mousa Hadid reiterated the position of local authorities and their commitment to the decisions of the Palestinian leadership, which came in response to the Israelis’ plans, he said: "Local authorities will not allow anyone to think of them as being a substitute for the legitimate and national framework under which they belong, rather they will continue to assume their national responsibilities and roles, and will continue to struggle just as they did when they succeeded in dwindling the "Villages’ League" project in the 1970s of the past century and were the protectors of the Palestine Liberation Organization project and program over the past decades.” Eng. Hadid announced that APLA has launched a broad international campaign with all its partners and friends in the world, in order to expose the occupying authorities’ plans of annexing parts of the Palestinian territories and imposing their coercive sovereignty over them.

Eng. Hadid also described the efforts of local authorities over the past months and captured their response to the needs of the Palestinian people since the beginning of the crisis. He stated: "Our local authorities have not failed to employ all their capabilities and equipment to support the ministries of competence, governors, medical teams and emergency committees despite the scarcity of potentials and growing needs." In this regard, Eng. Hadid highlighted the most prominent challenges and obstacles local authorities face.

The Executive Committee of APLA has called for the need to strengthen the powers of the Local Government Units which could be achieved through amending the law of local authorities, the law of the courts of local authorities and the law of Planning and Construction. Through this, local authorities will be ensured to be given greater capacity that would promote the implementation of rules and regulations.  The executive committee also stressed the need to strengthen partnerships between all local authorities and the security apparatus in law enforcement.

The Executive committee also called for the need to look for a speedy solution, that includes scheduling all due debts owed by local authorities. In this regard, it was agreed to form a joint committee to be comprised of the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Finance and the Palestinian Association of Local Authorities to study the due debts of local authorities and agree on a mechanism to schedule them on binding grounds for all parties.