The International Red Cross has granted membership to Israel and the Palestinians, ending decades of debate. The Red Cross federation adopted a resolution this week, which easily gained the required two-thirds majority. In the resolution the organisation also recognised a third official symbol in the form of a diamond-shaped red crystal.
The vote was met by sustained applause from the 1,400 delegates in Geneva and was reached after 56 years of fierce debate. Israel and the Palestinians had both been excluded from the organisation, each for different reasons.
Since 1949, the Red Cross has refused to admit the Israeli charity Red Star of David because Arab countries threatened to leave the organisation if it did. Israel on the other hand refused to accept the Christian cross symbol and the Muslim crescent. But the approval of a third official Red Cross symbol, the Red Crystal, paved the way for the admission of Israel.
Exceptions
The Palestinians had been excluded from the international relief organisation because only sovereign states were granted membership. The IRC also decided to make another exception and admit the Palestinian Red Crescent.
But these were not the only issues the 192 nation members in Geneva had to consider. Muslim nations had put forward an amendment calling on the meeting to confirm that the Palestinian Red Cross may operate as the only relief organisation in the Occupied Territories. They submitted the amendment after the Israeli Red Star of David decided that the unofficial Palestinian Red Crescent was allowed to work in the territory.
Occupied Territories
The Muslim countries wanted the resolution to state explicitly which are the Occupied Territories and which are not. And that the same rules should apply to all Occupied Territories, which would mean not only Palestinian, but also Lebanese and Syrian relief organisations would be in charge in their Occupied Territories.
But the move was widely opposed because the Red Cross is reluctant to become involved in politics.
It is hoped that the acceptance of both countries will create better cooperation. But observers say it is highly likely that Israel will also be allowed to enter the international relief organisation because of the financial considerations. The American Red Crescent has been refusing to pay its dues since 2000 (45 million US dollars in total) because of Israel's exclusion. Given the tensions in the region, once Israel was accepted, the Palestinians could not be left behind.
Killing spree
The negotiations were complicated by the recent worsening of the situation in the Occupied Territories and in Israel. Fourteen Palestinian civilians, including five children, have been killed in air strikes over Gaza in nine days, following an upsurge in cross-border violence that has seen nearly 150 rockets fired at Israel in the space of two weeks.
The original Red Cross symbol - a reversal of the colours on the Swiss flag - was adopted in the 1860s when the organisation was set up to care for wounded soldiers. Muslim nations adopted another symbol, the Red Crescent, because the Cross reminded them of Christian Crusaders.
The new symbol, a red square on a white flag, can now be used by Israeli medics in combination with the six pointed star of David. The new Red Crystal is also meant to have a wider role for international Red Cross workers. It can be used as an emblem in areas where there is a need for a symbol free from religious or political connotations.
Tags: Arabs, crsecent, crystal, human rights, Israel, killings, Muslims, Palestinians, terrorism, The International Red Cross