Geneva ? The Red Cross admitted Israel to the worldwide humanitarian organization early Thursday, ending decades of exclusion linked to the Jewish state’s refusal to accept either the traditional cross or crescent symbol.

The approval came in the early hours today following a two-day International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The Red Cross federation admitted Israel’s Magen David Adom society simultaneously with the Palestine Red Crescent. An optional new emblem was adopted so that Israel could retain its red star of David instead of having to adopt the red cross or crescent used by the 184 other societies in the global movement.

The decision completed a complicated process that included the creation of the optional, third emblem – a blank, red-bordered square standing on one corner – that could stand alone or frame the Israeli society’s red star.

The emblem – dubbed the “red crystal” – was approved over Muslim objections last December.