Palestine Red Crescent Society

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) is the recognized National Society in Palestine with an independent legal personality, officially recognized as a component of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which operates in Palestine and in Palestinian refugee camps in neighbouring countries (esp. in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt). It operates based on its national mandate as an auxiliary to the authorities in teh humanitarian field, and based on the Geneva Conventions, and on the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteerism, unity, and universality.
The first red crescent society in Palestine was established in 1910 in Jerusalem. It was officially established as the Palestine Red Crescent Society on 26 December 1968 and began providing health services through a small clinic in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. it was later officially recognized as an independent National Society by a resolution of the Palestinian National Council at its sixth session held in Cairo on 1 September 1969. After which it became an important health and social institution of the Palestine Liberation Organization, comprising tens of thousands of Palestinian, Arab and foreign cadres, members and volunteers.
This important role of PRCS its independent legal status were emphasized by Presidential Decree No. (46) of 1997 and Presidential Decree No. (12) of 2006. Accordingly, on 22 June 2006, PRCS was admitted as a full member of the International Federation of Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies on the basis of a resolution of the 29th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.