During the opening ceremony of the PRCS 11th General Assembly Al Khatib: We will continue to play our humanitarian role despite all the difficulties and challenges

(Al- Bireh – 1/5/2014): The PRCS 11th General Assembly was launched today with the participation of Prime Minister Dr Rami Al Hamdallah , and the President of the Jordanian Red Crescent Society, Dr. Mohammed Al-Hadid , a number of representatives of the governmental and nongovernmental Palestinian institutions and organizations, and representatives of international organizations, and RCRC partners.

Al Hamdallah confirmed, in a speech on behalf of President Mahmoud Abbas , that the services provided by PRCS for more than four decades, is an inspiration to the voluntary and humanitarian work community.

He added that PRCS has been always keen on developing the capacities of staff and volunteers in all its branches and sub branches, and improving its services and facilities in Palestine and the Diaspora for the sake of vulnerable individuals and communities. This developmental approach maintains PRCS place as one of the main pioneer organizations in Palestine.

Moreover, Al Hamdallah recalled the beginnings of the Society and its founder, the late Dr. Fathi Arafat, and the staff and volunteers who have fallen while executing their humanitarian duty.

He commended the role of the Society and its staff and volunteers in responding to the humanitarian needs of Palestinians arising due to the practices of the Israeli occupation.He also praised the humanitarian efforts of PRCS in the Palestinian refugee camp “Al Yarmuk" in Syria. He said: “PRCS continues to provide its humanitarian services to Palestinians in both Syria and Lebanon despite the difficult situationthere.

He expressed his sorrow for not being able to have the members from Syria and Lebanon branches attend the Assembly in Palestine due t the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities.

Al Hamdallah continued: “The Palestinian government is working to develop Palestinian institutions and theircapacities, in particular those in the health and education sectors,in order to help our people stand steadfast.
For his part, Dr. Al Hadid praised the humanitarian efforts of PRCS staff and volunteers who have been working in complicated and harsh conditions.

"The Society is a source of pride to us on the Arab and International levels, thanks to its exceptional leadership, which is committed to the ethics of humanitarian work under the occupation while striving to ease suffering and strengthen the respect of human dignity"

"The Palestinian status quo is part of the larger sad Arab context. It is full of surprises and its fast developments are hard to predict. As the occupation's practices continue, and in light of the constant interruption of peace negotiations, it is difficult to set an applicable strategy rather than depend on guesses and ambiguous scenarios."
He pointed out that the challenges facing the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent are represented in the contemporary challenges of International Humanitarian Law, and of its ongoing violations.

For his part, Al-Khatib started his speech by congratulating everyone and in particular the PRCS staff on the occasion of Labor Day praising their efforts and sacrifices over the past years. Then, he talked about the importance of holding the PRCS’ general assemblies on regular basis
He continued: “During these assemblies, the Society assesses its humanitarian work, and sets directions that lead to the development of its health, social and humanitarian services in order to complement the work of the relevant PNA ministries”.

He added: "During the last 46 years, the Society has encountered a lot of difficulties and challenges, but it has made it through successfully. The PRCS has lost tens of its volunteers and staff while being in the line of duty, and hundreds were wounded and arrested by the Israeli occupation forces."

He continued: "The Society's main priority has always been to be well prepared to respond to any crisiss and disaster , whether natural or manmade by the Israeli occupation. Therefore, the PRCS has developed its hospitals, centers and clinics and built its staff and volunteer capacities to be able to meet any humanitarian needs of Palestinians throughout various crises s such as the Israeli war on Lebanon and siege of Beirut in 1982, the war of the camps in Lebanon in 1985, and later on in Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon , the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in late 2008, the end of the year 2012 and the stormy weather in late 2013."

Al-Khatib added: “The Palestinian refugees of Syria have been affected by the Syrian crisis as the Syrians themselves. Hundreds of Palestinians have been displaced either to areas inside Syria or to Lebanon. Moreover, PRCS hospitals have been damaged Palestine Hospital in Al Yarmouk camp was shelled more than twice leading to the death of 5 staff members. The hospital warehouse and ambulances were robbed. Despite of the scarcity of medical supplies and equipment, Palestine Hospital continues to operate.

He added: “In Homs, most of the Syrian hospitals went out of service, and the PRCS Bisan Hospital was almost the only hospital operating in the region. Even though it was bombed more than once, it is still providing its services to both Palestinians and Syrians.

He added: "Our hospitals in Lebanon suffered the repercussions of the Syrian crisis due to the migration of Palestinians, approximately 50,000 people, to Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. The shift increased the humanitarian burden of the Society by a fourfold.”

This is the spirit of our Society, which will continue its mission with the same dedication, carried out by the "army of humanitarians", as the late Dr. Fathi Arafat used to call them, and supported namely by our Arab brothers and our partners within the International Movement of the Red Cross Red Crescent in its three components: the International Committee of the Red Cross, the international Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies, and the National Societies”.