Jericho, Jordan Valley – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) held a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday for the rehabilitation and development of the Hisham’s Palace archeological site in Jericho.   The event was attended by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Kholud Daybis, Palestinian Legislative Council Representative from Jericho, Saeb Erekat, Governor of Jericho and the Jordan Valley Arif Al-Ja’bari, USAID Acting Mission Director R. David Harden and ANERA’s Middle East Representative Robert Crothers.

USAID will provide approximately $800,000 for the construction and preservation of this Islamic cultural heritage site to boost tourism in the Jericho area.  The project, implemented by ANERA, will rehabilitate a half kilometer long access road and a bridge leading to the site. It will also create a museum, provide new toilet facilities, and install proper signage and markings for the pathways.  The work will be done in close cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Municipality of Jericho.

The site is named after Hisham Bin Abdil Malik, an Islamic Caliph from the Omayyad dynasty who ruled over 1,300 years ago.  The palace, which is located 3 kilometers north of Jericho, is regarded as the most important monument from the early Islamic period of the Palestinian Territories.

The rehabilitation of Hisham’s Palace, scheduled for completion by September 2008, will provide employment for approximately 200 Palestinians and will benefit about 50,000 visitors a year.

Since 1993, USAID has provided more than $1.7 billion in U.S. economic assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza via projects designed to combat poverty, improve health and education, create jobs, and promote democracy and good governance.