[PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE]

Zaka professionals provided basic extrication and disaster preparedness training to volunteers from the PA (Palestinian Authority)-affiliated Green Land organization.

Prior to beginning to operate in the field as seen in the photos, the volunteers met for months, attending classes during which the basics of search and rescue were explained to the PA volunteers. The classes also addressed dealing with fatalities at disaster scenes and maintaining command of an area during a disaster.

This didactic training was followed by three days of practical training in the field, including a simulated earthquake and natural disaster. Under the watchful eye of extrication instructors volunteers operated at the scenes in groups, seeking to gain a level of expertise in a number of skills.

Zaka feels such cooperation is essential towards true preparedness for saving lives in the event of a true natural disaster in Israel, such as a major earthquake.

Green Land’s Dr. Akram Amram said “Natural disasters do not discriminate and strike us all. We too, residents of the region, must be united to assist and save one another without differentiating between peoples. We cannot rely on others for this”.

Dr. Akram praised the course and the Zaka volunteers, calling this a first step in improved cooperation for combined humanitarian mission that faces them all in the event of an emergency.

Zaka CEO Yehuda Meshi-Zahav added, “Zaka views the training and cooperation with the utmost importance. With the vast experience we have amassed over the years by responding to disasters around the world, most citizens are rescued by local residents and not by search & rescue teams that linger in their arrival. Therefore, the more citizens trained to respond to light rescue means more persons will be rescued. Being that Zaka is an international organization recognized by the UN permits us to enter into partnership training with the Palestinians and others in the region”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)