Jerusalem, May 17: Israel has shut down Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Municipal Inspectors building in al-Khalil (Hebron) prompting a protest by the city’s Palestinian mayor.
Khalid al-Useili remarked that the closure was “illegal and a violation of the al-Khalil agreement.” He said that he would attempt to reopen the office as soon as possible.
Israeli authorities accuse the PA of allowing its police to operate secretly in the H-2 area, which is under full Israeli control, constituting a ‘breach’ of an agreement signed on January 15, 1997 between the PA and Israel.
The mayor rejected the Israeli allegation adding that there was no violation in the agreement since the municipality inspectors operate in coordination with Israeli authorities.
One PA official in al-Khalil said the Israeli closure was meant to create instability in al-Khalil. Palestinians regularly faced threats of harassments and attacks in the H-2 area before the municipal office was established.
Since 1994, security in al-Khalil had remained fragile, when far-right extremist Baruch Goldstein entered the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city and opened fire at Muslim worshipers, killing 29 and injuring dozens.
——-Agencies