The Heinrich Böll Foundation - Palestine and Jordan (hbs) hosted MP Lamya Kaddor, member of the German Parliament, and Spokesperson on Domestic Affairs and the Middle East for the Greens, and Dr. Carsten Wieland, Senior Policy Advisor for the Middle East for the Greens’ Parliamentary Group, during the course of their visit to the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) on 3 April 2023.
The program organized by hbs started with a briefing by Dr. Anne-Sophie Beckedorf, Deputy Head of the German Representative Office in Ramallah, followed by a briefing by Ms. Enas Al-Muthaffar, Communications Advisor at the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO (NAD). Both briefings addressed current political and societal developments with a special focus on the human rights situation in the oPt as well as regional developments such as the normalization agreements between Israel and Arab states and its ramifications for Palestine. Moreover, the briefings addressed the escalating security situation in the oPt and the announced program of the newly elected Israeli government.
A tour was then organized to Hebron, the second largest city in the West Bank, in coordination with the Palestinian non-violent activist movement “Youth Against Settlements” and the Israeli human rights organization “Breaking the Silence”, which included visits to Shuhada Street, the neighborhood of Tel – Rumeida, the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City of Hebron. The tour focused on the de jure and de facto annexation, settlement expansions, the Israeli military presence in the West Bank, restrictions on the movement of Palestinians and forcible transfer.
The visit concluded with an Iftar dinner with Dr. Amal Jadou, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and members of the ministry. The discussion revolved around current political and security developments, human rights violations, international diplomatic efforts of the Palestinian Authority, and the diplomatic relationship with the current Israeli government, Arab countries, Europe and Germany.