JERUSALEM - Sderot Mayor Eli Moyal and Nablus Mayor Hussein al-Araj met Sunday in Jerusalem and declared they would attempt to advance a Hudna (cease-fire) between Israelis and Palestinians
The two said a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian mayors in a bid to promote a year-long Hudna is scheduled for this coming Wednesday in Jericho .
“We were elected to represent citizens who want to live in peace, and we are here to call out: end the bloodshed and wars,” Moyal said in a joint press conference.
“When the bloodshed will end we will have to sit and talk anyway,” he said.
'Israeli mayors should acknowledge Israeli suffering'
Moyal said Wednesday’s planned meeting should not be perceived as flying in the face of talks between the Israeli and Palestinian governments, but rather, is meant to urge the governments to advance the process.
“I believe if things would develop in a positive direction, ministers and leaders from both sides would be invited to participate in the deliberations,” he said.
Al-Araj said he hopes the process would foster peace between the nations.
“We call for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel,” he said. “This initiative may assist in starting a year-long Hudna, in accordance with the Arab ‘Sulha’ (reconciliation ceremony) tradition.”
Al-Araj added, however, that “one of the conditions for a Hudna is that the Israeli mayors would request it and agree to acknowledge the suffering of the Palestinian people in a bid to build renewed trust between the nations.”
First published: 23:12, 04.10.5