The Scout movement started in Palestine in 1912. The Palestinian Scout Association was recognized by the World Scout Bureau

World Organization of the Scout Movement

The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 in 1945, however recognition was withdrawn in 1949. Official recognition was restored by the World Scout Conference in 1996, and the Palestinian Scout Association serves youth throughout the Palestinian Authority. The headquarters are in Ramallah

Ramallah

Ramallah is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank located 10 kilometers north of Jerusalem, adjacent to al-Bireh. It currently serves as the de facto administrative capital of the Palestinian National Authority...

 in the West Bank

West Bank

The West Bank ) of the Jordan River is the landlocked geographical eastern part of the Palestinian territories located in Western Asia. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel. To the east, across the Jordan River, lies the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan...

, and the International Commissioner is Dr. Fayeq H. Tahboub.

History

In 1948, thousands of Palestinians fled from or were driven from their homes and formed a Palestinian Scout Association in exile. This association was refused membership in the World Organization, but Scouting continued nonetheless. (WOSM recognition of Scout movements is possible only when Scouting is active and operating within the borders of its own national state and that state having a seat in the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

.)

In 1993, an agreement was reached and slowly land was returned to the Palestinians. The Palestinian Scout Association immediately resumed its activity in this region. Palestine was not recognized by the United Nations, but WOSM decided to give the Palestinian Scout association a special temporary status. Before the proposal was brought to a vote, the president of the Israel Scouting Federation made a statement asking the World Scout Conference to support the proposal. His speech was received with a standing ovation http://n2zgu.50megs.com/PALA.htm. The Palestinian Scout Association was accepted as an Associate WOSM Member.

Program and ideals

There are 18,738 registered members in the Palestinian Scout Association. 35% belong to school groups, and the rest to open or religious groups, predominantly Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 and Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

.

The Scout Motto is Kun Musta'idan or كن مستعدًا, translating as Be Prepared in Arabic. The noun for a single Scout is kaššaf or كشاف in Arabic.

Emblems

The emblem of the Palestinian Scout Association incorporates elements of the coat of arms of Palestine.