MAP warns of imminent threat to Palestinian civilians and healthcare as Israeli officials threaten major West Bank military escalation

The warning comes as Israeli leaders have publicly threatened the destruction of entire neighbourhoods, instructed Israeli forces to prepare for a full closure of the entire West Bank and signalled towards the largest military “operation” there for decades, following an armed attack on Israeli soldiers in Hebron.

MAP's medical teams and partners in the West Bank are reporting increasing obstacles to reaching communities who need care, while patients face mounting barriers to accessing hospitals, medicines and emergency healthcare.

The village of Umm Safa, northwest of Ramallah, illustrates the grave risks facing Palestinian communities. Residents report repeated settler attacks, road closures, restrictions on access to farmland and healthcare, and the destruction of livelihoods during what is traditionally one of the most important periods of the year for Palestinian agricultural communities.

On 23 October, armed settlers arrived at the home of resident Mohammad Al Obaiyat, reportedly attempting to cut through the gate to his property with metal cutters. The attack comes as local villagers report being prevented from accessing their olive groves, with settlers harvesting or stealing olives from Palestinian-owned land.

Marwan Sabbah, Head of Umm Safa Village Council, said: "The situation in Umm Safa is extremely difficult. We have been completely prevented from harvesting our olive trees...The settlers have stolen and harvested all the olives themselves. We have not harvested a single gram of olives."

In response to the growing healthcare needs for communities that are under attack and cut off, MAP is establishing trauma stabilisation points in four communities, including Umm Safa, to provide urgent medical care where movement restrictions delay access to hospitals.

Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Communications in the West Bank, said: "What is happening in Umm Safa is part of a wider effort to make Palestinian life unbearable and drive communities from their land – the tactics of ethnic cleansing. Attacks during the olive harvest target a vital source of livelihood and resilience. Rather than protecting Palestinians, Israeli forces are aiding and abetting their attackers. With Israeli ministers threatening collective punishment and forcible displacement, the risk of atrocity crimes is acute.

"Palestinians must be protected from violence and intimidation, and healthcare workers and patients must be able to move safely and freely. The international community, including the UK Government, must act urgently to help protect civilians and ensure accountability for violations of international law."

MAP is calling on the UK Government to use all available political, diplomatic and economic measures to protect Palestinian civilians, ensure accountability for settler violence, and guarantee unrestricted access to healthcare across the occupied West Bank, including by: 

• Implementing the ban on trade with Israeli settlements as swiftly as possible.  
• Suspending the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement until violations of international law have ceased. 
• Expanding sanctions and accountability measures against those responsible for or enabling settler violence and illegal use of force
• Pressing for the protection of healthcare, humanitarian access and freedom of movement for patients and medical workers.

ENDS

Notes to editors

• Three MAP-run mobile clinics encountered at least 99 Israeli checkpoints in September 2026. This resulted in around 330 minutes (5.5 hours) of recorded delays.
• On 30 September 2026, two MAP mobile clinic teams were unable to operate due to settler raids and military closures affecting access routes in Nablus and surrounding communities.
• In the week of the 8 October 2026, MAP's mobile clinics were completely suspended due to the high risk of settler attacks and military obstruction.

For more information please contact the press office at: [email protected] or +44 (0)20 3869 1310

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works for a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally-led system of healthcare, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity. We have worked for more than 40 years in the occupied Palestinian territory and in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

MAP’s local team in Gaza continues to deliver our largest humanitarian response in our history in order to meet critical health and humanitarian needs caused by more than two year’s of Israel’s genocide. Last year, MAP and our local partners delivered nearly two million vital healthcare and humanitarian services to Palestinians in Gaza.