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Century-old Palestinian Scout movement makes comeback

Considered to be one of the oldest in the world, the Palestinian Scout movement has regained international recognition after being accepted into the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
Scouts perform during a visit by Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai to the West Bank town of Bethlehem May 27, 2014. Rai joined Pope Francis on his tour of the Holy Land this week, drawing criticism in Lebanon which remains in a formal state of war with its southern neighbor Israel. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR3R47Z
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RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Scout movement in Palestine has made a strong comeback in the Arab and international arenas, with the Palestinian Scout Association (PSA) joining the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). A Palestinian Scout team of eight members participated in the first Palestinian-Polish Scout Camp in Poland on July 10, which was part of a cooperation and twinning agreement signed by the PSA and the Polish Scouting and Guiding Association. Moreover, another Palestinian Scout delegation took part in the Arab Scouts meeting in Morocco, which kicked off July 13.

The Palestinian Higher Council for Youth and Sports organized a national week of Palestinian Scouting. The event, which took place across all Palestinian provinces June 19-26, was attended by Atef Abdul-Majeed, the secretary-general of the Arab Scout Organization and director of WOSM’s Arab region. On June 21, a ceremony was held in Ramallah to honor all those who helped Palestine restore its membership to WOSM. This recognition was previously withdrawn in 1948 in the aftermath of the Palestinian Nakba.

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