This project focuses on the local emergency operations in Palestine, in particular these events between Israeli troops and the innocent Palestinians that constantly resulted in mass casuality incidences with different levels of injuries, this case needs emergeny intervention which usually done through the crews of the local national society which is the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). And this response reveals in many cases to many injuries among the medical staff whom are constantly being targeted by the Israeli troops while trying to provide their humaniterian duties in saving victims.

Thus our major concern through this project is about how to improve safety and increase security and access for our staff in the field.

https://www.palestinercs.org/index.php?langid=1&Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS)

The (PRCS), officially founded in December 1968, is a national humanitarian organization. Since its establishment, it caters to the health and welfare of the Palestinian people and others in need in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and the Diaspora. It has 4,200 employees in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) (West Bank and Gaza Strip), Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Iraq in addition to its volunteer network of more than 20,000 people.

PRCS strives to ease human suffering through its Emergency Medical Services (EMS), preventive and curative health care services, rehabilitation, volunteer activities, and programs promoting social and cultural development, with a focus on the most vulnerable members of the society. PRCS also focuses on the dissemination of the humanitarian values, the fundamental principles of the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in addition to International Humanitarian Law.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society was mandated in 1969 to provide humanitarian, health, cultural and social services when and where needed to the Palestinian population.

The deteriorating humanitarian situation in occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and Diaspora, coupled with the continued financial crisis, internal strife and recurrent Israeli military incursions into the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), put more strain on the National Society’s ability to provide essential services to the population as a result of increased numbers of people requiring emergency care in hospitals and health centre’s.

for more information about PRCS visit: https://www.palestinercs.org/index.php?langid=1&

The upcoming operation may be on the med of May, (Alnakbah anniversary) when the Israel had occuopied the Palestinian lands in 1948,This day usually includes massive demonstration from the Palestinians to protest against the Israeli occupation, leading to clashes, and the result well be many victims among the innocent Palestinians. So the PRCS is prepairing for the proper responce to that event through a well organized ER operation including 1st responders, ambulance units and field hospital. Over here my role in the ER operation is to lead the fild hospital which is alocated in the field near by the contact area where the clashes occure between the Palestinians and the Israeli troops, this hospital is actualy one of three components representing the PRCS response to the massive emergency events in Palestine, the other two are the first responders and the ambulance units, and thus we have three different types of emergency staff dealing in the same event simultaneously, and unfotunalely we usualy have many injuries among the ER staf because of the Israeli aggression and the use of force majeure against civilians,

that makes the need for external communication and coordination specialy with the ICRC so important hopefuly they make some positive influance on the Israeli position in this regard to improvr the security and the access of the ER staff.

internal communication and coordination are very essential and vital as well in order to unify the language and the approach of the three teams that well lead to more acceptance for the individual and the organization, and before that we need to creat or modefy the operational risk and security management system to be used during tese events, without forgetting the importance of the identity (the emblem) and its proper use.

The operation is a local field hospital as apart from a coprehensive emergency operation to save Palestinian civilian victims that get injured during the clashes accured betweem Israeli troops and Palestinian innocent people,

My role is to lead the operations in the hospital and to provide the triage to determine the need for transfering victims to the center hospitals or to treat them localy with the proper emergency medical care and to be discharged afterwards.

For people in Palestine this hospital has gaind high level of acceptance among the community because it is related to the PRCS which has a very good reputation among the Palestinians, and because of the rapid responce of PRCS staff that always was accompanied by keeping committed and preserving the fundamental principles of the movement.

More over this simple field hospital helps very much in mitigating the load from center hospitals giving them more space to be dedicated for serious injuries, which eventualy led to more acceptance from the key stake holders. and thus increase the reputation of the PRCS which well be reflecting positevely on the entire perfomance of the PRCS staff.

And so we can see that the elements of the SAF can work effeciently at the internal and local kevel in Palestine, But this is not the case with the Israeli troops that kepp violating and targetting the innocents including medical staff, journalists and others.

What realy happened during all our previous operations is that we have got some injuries among our ER staff while trying to provide their humaniterian duties in saving people, dispite doing all what we can ( Planing, Organizing, warning,....etc.) to prevent that but the attack from the Israeli troops was very massive and never difrntiated between people,

And so we have transfered our victims to the Field hospital for receiving the emergency care and then to be transfered to the centeral hospital as needed,

Then our operation continued as usual without modification of our plans but some advises to the staff to keep commited to the fundamental principles and SAF elements as well, and to be more aware of their sarroundings and to stay safe as just as they can.

What we learned is that in our environment in Palestine and under this occupation you can mitigate the injuries and other consequences but you cannot completely eliminate them.
And what we are thinking about how we can reduce the victims among our staf is through the implementation of SAF elements and the proper application of those elements in paticular:
1. The promotion of the external communucation and coordination specialy with the ICRC to put more pressure over the Israeli occupation to be committed to the International humanitarian law (IHL) and to respect the Geneva conventions especially when dealing with civilians and medical staff during war. 
2. The promotion of effective clear and simple operational security and risk management system
3. Internal communication and coordination considering that we are working trough three different levels of emergency response in the same operation and there should be constant coordination between the etire responding staff.
4. The idintity and its proper use shuld always be emphasized to give the maximum protection level to the PRCS staff.
5. Constant review of the context and risk analysis to modify the procedures of the ER operation accordingly

All that shoud be done with constant working to maintain the acceptance of the organization and the individual in a high level, with continuas monitoring of the reputation of the organization and the indevidule at the internal and the external level to make sure that everything is in its normal place and shape.

The above mentioned steps well be very helpful at the three terms (the short and the middle and the long term), with essential modification in the procedures of the implementation in each term according to the relevant updates.