The General Union of Disabled Palestinians along with disability-related and civil work institutions had organized a central festival celebrating the International Day of Disabled Persons at Hisham Hijjawi College of Technology on Thursday, 4^th of December 2009. The festival was attended by the Prime Minister, Dr. Salam Fayyad, An Najah National University President, Prof. Rami Hamdallah, Vice Governor of Nablus, Mrs. Anan Al-Atireh, the Mayor of Nablus Municipality, Dr. Adly Yaish, Nizar Bisilat, Director of the General Union of Disabled Persons as well as a number of national and public institutions.

In his speech, Dr. Salam Fayyad assured that the government will work on applying the Palestinian Disability Law which allocates 5% of the governmental and private jobs to those with a disability in order to integrate them in society. He also added that the Palestinian Authority and civil society institutions should work on taking care of those with special needs and provide them with all the available essential services.

Following this was Prof. Hamdallah's speech in which he said that those with a disability constitute an important part of the Palestinian society and that An Najah National University seeks to offer a number of services, such as computer labs for the blind, in order to facilitate their social integration and give them the opportunity to study and learn. He also added that the University has established the Care for Individuals with Special Needs Office that facilitates their university life and helps overcome their problems. The President then mentioned that the University also provides financial aids, scholarships and many other benefits for these people.

Finally, the Minister of Social Affairs, Mrs. Majida Al-Masri, Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for the Disabled said that that the council is working on providing plans and programs in order to offer the best services for those with special needs.