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Palestinians inaugurate first museum in official ceremony

Xinhua, May 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Palestinians inaugurated Wednesday the first phase of the Palestinian museum in Birzeit near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The official ceremony was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, dozens of Palestinians and members of diplomatic missions.

The Palestinian museum in Birzeit will preserve the Palestinian people's memory, as a narrator of the Palestinian memory that tells the coming generations that Palestine and the Palestinian people has been here primordially, said Abbas.

The Palestinian president described the museum as one of the future state's main institutions, which is "now being built and awaits nothing but declaration of its independence which shall be soon."

The 28-million-U.S.-dollar project is located on hilltops overlooking Ramallah city and surrounding towns, and seeks to "contribute to a vibrant Palestinian cultural scene with a national and international presence."

Palestinian Minister of Culture Ehab Bseiso said this event, which comes a few days after the Palestinians commemorated the 68th anniversary of the 1948 war known as the Catastrophe or Al-Nakba, shows that Palestinian generations, sons and daughters of those who were forced to flee their homeland nearly seven decades ago, are "connected through culture, history and the land."

"This is a great contribution to the Palestinian cultural scene, which is very important for us to tell a message to the international community that Palestine is determined to achieve its freedom and culture is a very important component in the Palestinian struggle towards their achievement," said Bseiso.

The museum focuses on presenting Palestinian history from 1750 onwards through engagement with the society. It stands on an area of 40,000 square meters, offered by the adjacent Birzeit University, and is built in two phases, of which the first is expected to be ready during 2016 and the second over coming years. Endit