The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, participated in the visit of the delegation of the Board of Trustees of Tamkeen Al-Quds headed by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment, His Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal, to the Kingdom of Bahrain, during the period 15 and 16 April 2024.
The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, received at Al-Safriya Palace in Manama, the Chairman of the Jerusalem Empowerment Fund, His Royal Highness Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at the head of a delegation from the Fund's Board (Tamkeen Al-Quds), and in the presence of the Secretary-General of the Union, Dr. Khaled Hanafi.
The delegation touched before the King of Bahrain about the objectives of the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment, which was established by a decision of the Board of Directors of the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development and under the partnership with the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment as a trust and endowment fund at the Islamic Development Bank, which seeks to support the city of Jerusalem and empower its people economically and socially by financing empowerment, development, and poverty control projects. The Fund also contributes to alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people and supports their basic needs in the sectors of education, development, economy, and others, and falls within the humanitarian initiatives aimed at alleviating the suffering of Palestinians.
The delegation noted that the curators of the "Jerusalem Empowerment Fund" seek to raise one billion dollars from the Arab and Islamic nation and supporters of the just Palestinian cause, in order to achieve the projects and services that Jerusalem needs in order to preserve it and protect the interests of its people.
During the visit, a joint meeting of the Jerusalem Empowerment Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal, was held with Bahraini businessmen, charities, and merchants at the Four Seasons Hotel, where the meeting aimed to send a message of support and solidarity to the brotherly Palestinian people for the genocide they are subjected to, and to push for ways and means to enable them in their land. They stressed the rejection of the siege, starvation, and unjust settlements taking place in the Palestinian territories at the hands of the Israeli occupation, calling for the implementation of international resolutions that stipulate the right of the Palestinian people to live in dignity on their land.
The Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, stressed during the meetings that "Jerusalem has great sanctity in the conscience and hearts of Arabs, Muslims and Christians, as it is considered a symbol and a key axis in the Palestinian cause," pointing out that "the symbolism of Jerusalem arises from two sides, the first is the special sanctity of this city, both for Muslims as the first of the two qiblas, as well as for Christians, and the second is the oppression that it has been subjected to for many decades by the Israeli occupation, which is trying to Judaize Jerusalem and strip it of its authentic Arabism."
He said: "We categorically reject the systematic and continuous attack on the Gaza Strip by the Palestinians since October 7, 2023, where our people in the Gaza Strip are subjected to siege, killing, starvation, and displacement, in light of the suspicious global silence, which holds us a moral and moral responsibility towards our people in Palestine, in order to support them and work to provide the elements of their steadfastness in their land."
The Secretary-General explained that "the Board of Directors of the Union of Arab Chambers at its 133rd session, which was held in Kuwait, the capital of the State of Kuwait on 8-11-2022, included on its agenda the issue of supporting the Jerusalem Fund and Endowment, which shows the vision of the Union and the private sector in the Arab countries in clarifying the role of the Fund and its efforts to support the steadfast city of Jerusalem in the face of Zionist attacks and its reconstruction."
In addition, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, received HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Empowerment Fund and members of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Empowerment Fund, on the sidelines of the Kingdom of Bahrain's hosting of the third meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Empowerment Fund. A dinner was held in honor of Prince Turki Al-Faisal and the delegation of the Board of Trustees of Tamkeen Al-Quds, at the Palace of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
It is worth noting that the Jerusalem Fund and Endowment is an independent, non-profit body, established with the aim of empowering and strengthening the steadfastness of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, and working to achieve development in the various sectors in the Holy City, in a way that preserves the national identity and Palestinian steadfastness in Jerusalem.
Source (Union of Arab Chambers)
