The Palestinian Bar Association Concludes Official Visit to Florence, Italy

SadaNews - The delegation of the Palestinian Bar Association, headed by the Bar President, lawyer Fadi Abbas, and with the participation of members of the Bar Council, professors Hala Al-Sharif from Gaza Center, Omar Saad, Anas Al-Kaswani, and Firas Abu Aql from Jerusalem Center, concluded an official three-day visit to the Italian city of Florence, at the invitation of the Florence Bar Association, aimed at enhancing professional relations and expanding areas of cooperation between the two associations.

During the visit, the delegation participated in a meeting of the Board of the Florence Bar Association, where the strength of the relationships between the two associations was emphasized and the importance of continuing cooperation and exchanging expertise was highlighted in a way that contributes to enhancing the rule of law and supporting the role of lawyers in protecting rights and freedoms.

The delegation held a series of specialized meetings within the Bar Association, attended by the Florence Bar President, focusing on several areas, particularly those related to human rights, the rule of law, professional training, and continuing legal education. They discussed ways to develop and enhance the efficiency of legal and union institutions through the exchange of expertise and professional experiences.

As part of the visit program, the delegation visited the Faculty of Law at the University of Florence, where they met with the college dean and faculty members who listened to a comprehensive briefing by the Bar President about the state of the legal profession in Palestine and the impact of continued occupation on the justice sector. They affirmed their readiness to cooperate with the Palestinian Bar Association in the fields of legal training and qualification, particularly in areas related to international law and litigation mechanisms before international courts, expressing their support for the rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with the principles of justice and international law.

The visit also included an official meeting at the City Hall of Florence, where the delegation was received by several municipal officials who reviewed the existing cooperation relations between the city and several Palestinian municipalities, listening to a comprehensive briefing from the delegation about several issues concerning the reality of the Palestinian people, who continue to suffer under occupation and ongoing aggression.

The visit concluded with an extensive conference organized by the Florence Bar Association, attended by representatives from various components of the justice sector in the Tuscany region, including the President of the Court of Appeals, the Public Prosecutor, and the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Italian Republic, Ms. Mona Abu Amara, along with a select group of judges, lawyers, academics, and public figures. The conference served as a platform for dialogue on issues related to justice, human rights, and the rule of law associated with the realities faced by the Palestinian people, who experience continuous aggression and deprivation of their natural right to live freely and with dignity, as well as their right to self-determination amid clear policies aimed at uprooting them from their land, whether in the West Bank or Gaza Strip. The conference and its attendees reflected a strong commitment to the issues faced by oppressed peoples, led by the Palestinian people, and the urgent need to achieve justice and freedom for the Palestinian people.

The President of the Palestinian Bar Association, lawyer Fadi Abbas, noted that the visit culminated in an agreement between the two Bar Associations on a work plan for joint cooperation in the coming phase on several topics of mutual interest, and formally invited the Florence Bar Association to visit Palestine, affirming the depth of relations between the two sides and their keenness to continue cooperation and exchange of expertise.

Bar President Abbas, on behalf of the Palestinian Bar Association, expressed gratitude to the Florence Bar Association, the University of Florence, the City of Florence, the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Italy, and all parties that contributed to the success of this visit, which constituted an important milestone in enhancing the Bar's presence at the international level and opened new horizons for cooperation in legal training, knowledge exchange, and defending the values of justice and human rights.