HE Maj. Gen. Tawfiq Al-Tirawi, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Al-Istiqlal University, and Prof. Dr. Saleh Abu Osba, the President of the University, received the Counselor Ahmed Zabaleh, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Mohammed Al-Sobou, the deputy for Academic Affairs, Dr. Rajaa Sweidan, the deputy for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Dr. Abdallah Mahmoud, the Dean of the College of Law, Dr. Saber Al-Aloul, the Head of the Department of Criminal Sciences, and Ms. Alaa Al-Shanti, the Director of Media and Relations.
HE Maj. Gen. Al-Tirawi welcomed the guest delegation, expressing full readiness for cooperation with the Ministry, especially the forensic laboratory building, which is located inside the University campus, to serve the Palestinian judicial and security system, and to facilitate its work and missions.
Also, he suggested the possibility of gathering all the Palestinian criminal laboratories in one place, to provide the complementarity of the inductive and diagnostic aspects together, with the need to focus on the educational dimension to benefit the students of the Universities, through the exchange of expertise, and following the international models in this field.
Furthermore, Mr. Zabaleh, on the behalf of the Minister of Justice, greeted the team of Al-Istiqlal University, expressing his pride in the qualitative and rapid development that the University has achieved in a short time, and the readiness to study aspects of partnership in various programs, especially criminal sciences in terms of training, and preparing qualitative studies related to international humanitarian law.
And, he explained the Ministry’s plan to establish a comprehensive and integrated forensic institute, and how to engage the University’s experts and academic staff in this regard, as well as the working mechanism of the forensic laboratory affiliated with the Ministry of Justice and the other affiliated with the Police, besides the competence of each of them to investigate the cause or result of death, and to treat evidence.
Moreover, Prof. Dr. Abu Osba praised the efforts of the Ministry’s staff to work jointly with the University, looking forward to properly investing the forensic laboratory, to benefit the Palestinian community in general, and students in particular, and to provide them with the practical skills to graduate a highly qualified officer in the Palestinian Security Establishment.
For his part, Dr. Mahmoud discussed the possible prospects for cooperation with the Ministry, which would improve the practical capabilities of the students, most importantly, preparing reports, submitting evidence, and practicing their role in the crime scene, which is intended to be located inside the University, to graduate a qualified criminal laboratory technician in the judicial police.
Also, Dr. Al-Aloul pointed out the importance of introducing students to how to deal with bodily fluids, to provide the criminal justice sector with a qualified cadre in terms of knowledge and field skills, besides the intersection with the relevant authorities.
The visit included a tour of the University's faculties, facilities and a closer look at the forensic laboratory building.