In its Social Responsibility Strategy, the Bank relies on the intentions of the Islamic Sharia and works to comply with its orders, which urge helping others and undertaking positive and constructive roles in society in realization of the message told to us by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) when he said: “The believers in their mutual kindness, compassion and sympathy are just like one body; when any limb of it suffers, the whole body responds to it with wakefulness and fever.”
The Bank in its Social Responsibility Program focuses on supporting the health and education sectors as the most prominent vital sectors, support of which contributes to achieving sustainable development. The Bank also supports less fortunate areas with the aim of improving living conditions for its citizens, in addition to supporting associations and institutions which care for persons with special needs, convinced of the need for uplifting their status and integrating them into society.
Based on its national duty, the Bank worked to support efforts spent to face the negative implications left by the Coronavirus pandemic during 2020, through several aspects:
Supporting the “Waqfet Izz” Fund
The Bank provided support of 1.5 million NIS for the “Waqfet Izz” Fund, which was established under the direction of President Mahmoud Abbas in unification of the national efforts spent to face the pandemic and its economic, social and health dimensions. The funds donated by the Bank were directed to support the health sector and affected families.
Redirecting an Integral Part of the Bank’s Portfolio
The Bank’s role was not limited to financial support only, it also worked to redirect an integral part of its portfolio towards sectors providing citizens with essential services under these difficult circumstances to enable them to continue providing their services.
Funding the Government
The Bank contributed by providing funding to the Government under the financial crises which it suffered alongside the Coronavirus pandemic due to non-receipt of taxes and clearing funds. This contribution assisted by allowing the government to fulfil their essential obligations, especially payment of employee salaries.
Sustainability Program
The Bank contributed to a sustainability program which was launched by the Palestinian Monetary Authority to fund small, medium and micro-enterprises which were economically affected due to the pandemic, to assist them overcome the crisis, maintain the sustainability of their work and increase their capability to maintain local labor.
The Bank believes investing in individuals is the basis of achieving development, and as such, it supported the educational process at all stages at different levels and provided its support to tens of educational institutes around the country.
The Bank provided several forms of support for educational institutions’ infrastructure to improve the quality of education in schools and to provide supplies, equipment and educational means so as to contribute to empowering these institutions to fully carry out their required role towards students.
These projects are an addition to a long history of support provided by the Bank to educational institutions since its incorporation, and which included building summer rooms, health facilities and preparing labs among others.
One of the Bank’s most notable priorities in its Social Responsibility Program is contributing to the development of the health sector, taking into account the difficult health conditions caused by the Coronavirus. The Bank doubled its support for this sector, offering direct support to the Ministry of Health to assist it in provision of medical supplies and supplies required by the health sector to respond to the pandemic, in addition to providing support for the set-up of a quarantine center.
Concurrently, the Bank provided support to numerous other health institutions nationwide, such as donating to the European Hospital in Rafah, the “Diabetic” Foot Center in Gaza and the Turkish Hospital in Tubas as well as continuing its annual support of the Blood Bank.
In order to relieve cancer patients and stand at their side, the Bank covered treatment transportation costs for tens of cancer patients via Smile of Hope Institute (Bassmet Amal) in Gaza.
In addition to the projects implemented by the Bank during 2020 to support the health and education sectors which are fundamental to achieve sustainable development, the Bank worked towards completing the Desalination Plants Project in Gaza. The project included 12 plants in different areas of the strip where citizens suffer due to the unavailability of safe drinking water. Completion of this project falls under the Bank’s direction to support citizens in areas lacking essential services, especially in the Gaza strip. The project also falls in line with the Bank’s efforts to contribute to achieving global objectives for sustainable development, which include providing clean water and investing in desalination technology.
The Bank also granted Safa Dairy Plant an interest-free loan to support its development plans, consistent with the Bank’s belief of its role towards all sectors under the framework of true partnership to achieve sustainable development, whereas the plant is part of the Zakat Committee in Nablus and its revenue forms a source of care for orphans and low-income families.
Additionally, the Bank supported various local institutions and associations which contribute to the process of community development by implementing numerous community and cultural projects, such as supporting Tulkarem and Birzeit’s cultural centers.
The Bank makes sure to implement annual relief projects within its Social Responsibility Program, conforming to the Prophet’s (PBUH) saying “Whoever removes a worldly grief from a believer, Allah will remove from him one of the griefs of the Day of Resurrection. And whoever alleviates the burden of a destitute person, Allah will relieve him in this world and the Hereafter.”
During 2020, the Bank in collaboration with the Scientific Committee at the National Security Force and “Falastein Al-Khair” Program rehabilitated a home for a family in Salfit. This program contributed to provide a safe and generous environment to its individuals. The Bank also supported the Rural Women’s Development Society in Al-Aqaba village in the Jordan Valley, the citizens of which are suffering difficult circumstances, and supported many charities such as the Social Charitable Center Society in Nablus.
As part of its Social Responsibility Program, the Bank places special attention on the support of persons with special needs. Despite the circumstances imposed by Coronavirus pandemic, the Bank continued to support and assist relevant institutions in different provinces in order to promote the integration of special needs persons into society and empower such institutions to develop the services they provide and assist these individuals to find fulfillment.
The Bank, in addition to its support, makes sure to empower special needs persons to easily and privately manage their banking services, and to grant them priority in enjoying banking services, believing in its role to help this group. The Bank worked to adapt its branches and offices to the needs of persons with motor disabilities, in addition to preparing ATMs for use by persons with visual impairments. The Bank also regularly works to enhance its personnel’s skills to accommodate persons with special needs, such as undergoing training in sign language and braille, taking the lead on this matter within the Palestinian banking sector since 2013.
The Bank renewed its commitment to the principles of the United Nations Global Compact under its determination to apply best practices in areas of human rights, employment, the environment and anti-corruption, harmonious with its adoption of socially responsible policies consistent with the 10 principles of the Compact, which is considered the largest global initiative for corporate sustainability.
The Bank presented its annual report on the progress in applying and adopting policies, procedures and work which contribute to achieving the highest level of commitment to the ten principles. This was adopted and published on the United Nations Global Compact Website. Click here to view the report.
The Bank’s direction in support of the education sector was not limited to providing educational institutions with support, but also continued to push scientific research efforts in Palestine which forms an integral path for achieving sustainable development. The Bank, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, worked on launching the Palestine Islamic Bank Award for Scientific Research for the sixth year in a row.
This award, which aims to encourage researchers to increase their research output and carry out original research, comes under an agreement signed between the Bank and the Ministry. This agreement included holding training for researchers from various Palestinian universities on strengthening their publication skills in global scientific magazines, practical workshops on research output and how it can be strengthened in the education process, standardized methodology for competency development and development of training in the work environment.
The award was overseen by a jury of specialists from different Palestinian universities highly qualified in the area of scientific research. The winning research papers were of a special scientific value and discuss problems and matters affecting society in several areas:
The success achieved by the Palestine Islamic Bank Award for Scientific Research for the year 2020 is an extension to the series of scientific achievements recorded over the past five years when it was organized in partnership between the Bank and Palestine’s Polytechnic University in Hebron.
Since 2014, the Bank has increasingly relied on clean energy sources to obtain the energy needed to perform its activities, to help preserve and care for the environment. Allah The Almighty says: "Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good" Surah Al-A'raf: Verse 56.
The impact of the Bank’s environmental policies in one year has been to plant the equivalent of 500 acres of trees (2,100 dunums).
The Bank protects the environment in six key ways:
The number of sites which benefit from the Bank’s solar energy system increased to 15 branches and offices. The productivity rate of these sites is 1.6 megawatts of electricity per day, equivalent to 600 megawatts of electricity annually, which provides an environment free of the carbon dioxide emissions, which result from the use of generators. Annual harmful gas emissions that were avoided due to the use of alternative energy were estimated as follow:
The Bank plans to maximize the benefits of clean energy and increase its production, in innovative ways that contribute to improving the environment.