The issue of people with disabilities and their rights is considered as one of the significant issues internationally and is not an issue of just one country or region. However, the kind and scale of services provided to this group of people vary from one country to another.

In Palestine, the number of people with disabilities is continuously increasing due to the following reasons:

• The direct and indirect injuries caused by the Israeli occupation which resulted in many Palestinians being disabled.
• The absence of proper medical care.
• The absence of awareness on the part of parents and the weakness in early detection procedures.
• The majority of people who are planning for marriage do not carry out premarital examination.
• The increase in endogamy within the Palestinian society for different reasons.
• Traffic accidents and work injuries.
• Other reasons.

There are more than 150,000 documented cases of people with disabilities in Palestine, and there are large numbers of mental disabilities still undocumented.

This Office focuses its efforts mainly on the right to education, particularly higher education, for this group of people since providing them with education will pave the road for a great change in the lives of those people.

Therefore, the Office focuses on:

• Providing the people with disabilities with education and training.
• Enabling those people to achieve economical independence through providing them with job opportunities.
• Contributing to their integration into their society and to become an effective member within their environment.