Dr. Jalal Dabeek, Director of the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center (ESSEC) at An Najah National University and the Vice President of the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Body, participated in a regional workshop (the Middle East and North Africa) on disaster hazards reduction in urban areas. The workshop was held in Damascus, Syria in which representatives of international institutions, experts, and several municipalities in the Middle East and North Africa participated.

Being among the experts that the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) invited, Dr. Dabeek presented a work paper on earthquake hazards reduction and the strategic planning of Arab cities. His paper focused on Nablus as a case study and included several studies that were conducted in the city. The studies included the likelihood of an earthquake-caused damage to buildings in Nablus and the extent of destruction that might occur, the seismic and topographic nature of the area, the seismic events that might take place, the cooperation between the (ESSEC) and Nablus Municipality, as well as other topics.

Several related international departments attended the workshop such as: the World Bank, the Arab League, the Arab Urban Development Institute, United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR), the Regional Center, World Health Organization, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, in addition to a number of Arab municipalities in several Arab countries.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants agreed on executing a number of joint projects and studies on earthquakes and disasters with the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center (ESSEC) at An Najah University and other related Palestinian Institutions.