For a few weeks we have been feeling a breeze of hope for peace blowing over the whole country. For years we have had the impression that people never had such a positive and perhaps idealistic look about their future. Following the Pope’s visit to the Holy land, the speech of the President of the United States in Cairo has aroused new hope for a fair solution for the Middle East conflict. Referring to what has been happening in this country in the last years, the way to reach this task most certainly will be riddled with pitfalls; everybody knows that especially in this country peace will be long in coming but for the first time the most powerful man on earth has posed himself as a visionary and as he said will pursue this outcome with all the patience that this task requires. President Obama’s speech arouses some enthusiasm by people in the street but also a lot of skepticism about the feasibility of the proposed solution.

“All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of the three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims and a place for all children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus and Mohamed joined in prayer.”(President Barack Obama) Living for years from hand to mouth in fear, insecurity and disappointed promises for peace, provoked by extremists from all sides, we are demanding to believe in such an idealistic world never losing hope to reach this goal and using to do so, all possible means to succeed. Meanwhile Holy Family Hospital is recognized by the Palestinian medical Council and continues to contribute to the specialized training system program for Palestinian doctors and nurses in obstetrics/gynecology and neonatology in collaboration with European universities and Bethlehem University.“Maintaining medical activity, promoting the excellence of a professional activity and keeping a permanent link with Holy Family maternity, this is my fight against war.” (Prof. Foidart/Belgium).

In fact the medical team of Holy Family Hospital is at the leading edge of medical and health services which hopefully will gradually influence medical practice in Palestine. Concerning Gynecology, Holy Family Hospital is the only hospital in the West Bank which routinely offers to Palestinian women laparoscopic surgery which is performed by a well trained Obstetrician. Our neonatology department has initiated the constitution of the first “Association of Neonatology” in Palestine, whose goal is to work out protocols for optimal care of premature babies. It is important and exciting to collaborate with the American and European Visiting Professors to implement an independent Palestinian Health System.