Gaza - Press House
On Tuesday, 8 September 2020, Press House – Palestine (BAS) organized a dialogue meeting “Face the Press” with the ministerial delegation in Gaza, which consists of Minister of Health Dr. May Kila, Minister of Culture Dr. Atef Abu Seif, Minister of Women's Affairs Dr. Amal Hamad, Minister of Public Works and Housing Dr. Mohammed Ziara, and Minister of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Engineer Osama Al-Saadawi.
Mr. Belal Jadallah, chairman of the Board of Directors at Press House, opened the meeting, who confirmed that the holding of this meeting between the ministerial delegation and journalists aims to address the objectives and results of the visit, before leaving the ministerial delegation Gaza strip, which was held via ZOOM application, in the presence of a group of journalists and writers.
From his part, Palestinian Minister of Culture Dr. Atef Abu Seif confirmed that the ministerial delegation sent from West Bank to Gaza Strip commissioned by President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Mohammed Eshtia, stressing the seriousness of the situation in Gaza in the light of the high numbers infected with Corona virus, He also warned that "the Palestinian government has put many of Gaza's problems on the table, and will not give up on these crises.”
From her part, Dr. Kila explained that the ministry have requested vaccines for all Palestinian citizens and have booked vaccines from Russia and China that are sufficient for the need of the Palestinian situation, and it could reach the middle of next year. On the file of medical transfers to Israel, Dr. Kila explained that the ministry is now communicating with the World Health Organization (WHO) and informing them via e-mail to coordinate each patient.
From his part, Palestinian Minister of Public Works and Housing Mohammed Ziara, confirmed that the procedures for signing the reconstruction of the Italian Building will be during the next week and that the delay was due to contractual problems solved with the Italian side and it is not possible to sign the contract in the presence of problems. He also noted that several projects are under way, including a project costing $2 billion for water and sanitation.
"We cannot fight unemployment directly and fully, but we are working on projects for the work of young people, and the task in this situation is enormous," said Minister of Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Osama al-Saadawi, adding that "the ministry has already begun to reach and open foreign markets for Palestinian youth by networking young people in those markets."
In addition, Minister of Women's Affairs Amal Hamad said that women are the most affected element in the Palestinian population in light of all the crises and disasters facing the Palestinian people, the latest of which was the spread of the Coronavirus, adding that the rate of violence in Palestinian society towards women is high, stressing their need for a system of legislation that protects Palestinian women and the Palestinian family.
The meeting concluded with the ministerial delegation's answer to the participants' questions, which were asked, regarding the tasks of the ministerial delegation and its achievements on the ground in ways to combat the coronavirus that is prevalent within the Gaza strip.
It is worth mentioning that this meeting is part of the activities of Strengthening Free & Independent Media in Palestine Project activites, implemented by Press House - Palestine.
