Israeli and Palestinian civil defense teams join hands to save lives
The Israeli and Palestinian civil defense agencies have more regularly been conducting joint first-responder exercises for handling traffic accidents after a horrendous collision on the West Bank last October, and they also cooperate in exercises to develop regional responses to natural disasters.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian rescuers worked together on Aug. 19 to put out a fire engulfing a transfer truck at the Allenby Bridge crossing between Jordan and the West Bank. Four days earlier on the West Bank, in Qalqilya, paramedics from Israel's Magen David Adom and Palestinian Red Crescent and other first responders had taken part in a road accident exercise, which was capped to the surprise of many by the release of a joint photo of all those involved.
The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories also released a video Aug. 15 of the latter exercise in which Israeli Fire Chief Ido Peretz remarked, “[This exercise] is part of the ongoing coordination between the Israeli and Palestinian rescue forces. Today, we had a practical encounter on the ground for rescuing people trapped in their car and extinguishing a car fire. Our encounters stem from their necessity on the ground, as we often meet on the roads when there is a car accident. As the years have passed, we have learned that cooperation is important, and this is increasingly tangible every time we are on the ground. I hope things continue in this way.”
Nael al-Azza, director of public and media relations for Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD), seconded Peretz's statement, telling Al-Monitor, “The latest exercise is a continuation of a series of exercises conducted by the Palestinian and Israeli civil defense agencies for handling road accidents.”
The two sides had agreed to step up joint exercises, Azza explained, following a traffic accident in June 2017 involving a Palestinian taxi and a bus of settlers that killed a woman, her five children and the taxi driver in Ramallah. Before that, joint exercises were only conducted intermittently and irregularly. Following the Ramallah tragedy, the two agencies conducted a major rescue exercise on July 4, 2017, in Barta'a, which straddles the Green Line, involving a simulated road accident. Azza said that agencies had also conducted a joint exercise in March in Jericho involving a vehicle collision and car fire.
