Al-Maqdese for Society Development hosted the International Cooperation Minister of Spain, Mr. Jesus Manuel GraciaAldaz, the General Spanish Consul, Mr. Juan Jose Escobar Stemmann, the Director of the Spanish Cooperation Office in Asia and Africa, Mr. Alberto Virellaand a delegation from the Spanish Cooperation Office in Jerusalem, headed by Ms. Eva Suarez, Director of the Spanish Cooperation office; the delegation was welcomed by Mr.Taher Al-Nammari, the Head of the Supervisory Committee, MSD executive team and the legal clinic team.
The meeting shed the light onthesituation of the settlements and its impact on thecity of Jerusalem in particular through the violations practiced against Jerusalemites such as house demolitions, land confiscation, settlements’ building and the construction of the apartheid wall,in addition to the social and economic effects and consequences of such violations,especially the issue of house demolitions in Jerusalem that has been significantly rising since the beginning of this year.Moreover, the issues of displacements,IDs withdrawals and residency rights were also addressed, in addition to Israeli policies that aim at emptying the city of its inhabitants and indigenous citizens. MSD team also presented the activities and projects implemented by Al-Maqdese to serve Jerusalemites.
After the meeting, a tour was organized in Jerusalem to highlight the nonstop violations practiced against Jerusalemites by the Israeli forces, especially the issues of building the apartheid wall, land confiscation and house demolitions.
At the end of the visit, the General Consul and the International Cooperation Minister of Spain expressed his gratitude to Al-Maqdese and emphasized on itsrole and ongoing efforts in serving the citizens of Jerusalem through the legal clinic and the provision of different services. In turn, al Maqdese thanked the Spanish delegationfortheir visit and thanked them for the great efforts of the Spanish government and itscontinuous support for the Palestinian cause.
