RAMALLAH, June
14, 2013 (WAFA) – Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Rula Ma’ay’a Friday said
that visiting Palestine is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.
She spoke at
length, during the opening ceremony of AMAN 22nd General Assembly conference in Ramallah,about the status of tourism in Palestine with reference to the main obstacles
effecting the work of the ministry.
Ma’ay’a clearly
confirmed that even though the government aims to encourage the world to visit
Palestine, there are still major obstacles preventing the growth of this sector.
She said in
the conference, which was organized under the auspices of the Palestine News
Agency WAFA, that the occupation is the main factor to prevent the tourism
sector from becoming a major income source to the Palestinians.
In an answer
to fears expressed by Arab participants regarding normalization with Israel,
She said that “Visiting Palestine is not a form of normalization with the
jailer, but an empathy with the prisoner.”
Ma’ay’a also
gave specific figures about tourism status in Palestine to give the alliance a concise
idea about the situation.
The 22nd
General Assembly meeting gathered about 20 members in the Alliance of the Mediterranean
News Agencies ‘AMAN’.
WAFA Chairman
of the board Riyad al-Hasan delivered a welcome speech in which he said that hosting
this conference is a debt that WAFA wanted to pay back to all the agencies of
AMAN for the support they have showed for WAFA to grow.
He explained
the importance behind this conference, saying “This invitation is also an
opportunity for you [AMAN] to get to know the Palestinians’ suffering under the
Israeli occupation.”
Al-Hasan
explained to the audience the difference between A, B and C Areas to the
audience and spoke about the ongoing violations of the Oslo agreement by
Israel.
A 15-minute
film entitled “Palestine: Rediscover your senses” was screened following
al-Hasan’s speech to give the audience a brief idea about the great potential
of tourism in Palestine.
The film introduced
the audience to the majestic city of Jerusalem with its famous religious sites and
moved south to Bethlehem, the city of the Christ, then further to the south to
Hebron, where the traditional Palestinian glass is made.
It then
returned to the busiest city in the West Bank, Ramallah with its loud and
crowded streets and where the symbol of Palestinian resistance is buried, leader
Yassir Arafat.
It introduced
the audience to the city of the Moon, Jericho and ended the film miles away on the
shores of Gaza.
The audience
and the speakers engaged in a lively discussion on topics of politics, economy
and social life.
They inquired
about the Palestinian airlines, the confiscation of historical sites by Israel,
women rights, Education and movement restrictions.
Later on,
the audience was invited to visit the photo exhibition organized by WAFA
images, in an attempt to back all what have been discussed during the opening
ceremony with a number of selected images produced by WAFA’s professional photo
journalists.
M.H.
