NEWS QUOTE: Nablus hospital raid marks latest escalation in assault on Palestinian communities and healthcare in the West Bank

Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, said:

“Communities in and around Nablus are facing an existential threat amid escalating state-backed mass settler attacks, worsening the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Over the past several days, settlers have killed and injured Palestinians, Israeli forces have stormed Nablus Specialised Hospital, and ambulances have been blocked from reaching wounded Palestinians.

“These are not isolated incidents – they reflect a wider pattern of violence, intimidation, and obstruction that is putting Palestinian lives at increasing risk. Without meaningful accountability, this pattern of impunity will continue.

”When hospitals are stormed, ambulances are blocked, and healthcare workers are prevented from saving lives, the UK Government cannot wait until the West Bank reaches the point of no return. Palestinian communities are already living with a reality of fear, displacement, and violence.

”The question now is how much further this will be allowed to go. The UK must act urgently to prevent further atrocities."

[ENDS]

MAP calls on the UK government to take urgent steps to protect healthcare and address state-backed settlement expansion and settler violence, including:

• Immediately ban all UK trade with illegal Israeli settlements
• Suspend the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement until violations of international law have ended
• Ensure that those responsible for violations of international law, including Israel’s illegal settlements and attacks on healthcare, are held to account
• Publicly lay out their response and implementation plan for the International Court of Justice’s Advisory of July 2024

Aseel Baidoun, MAP’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, is available for interview on request.

Please contact the press office to arrange at: [email protected] or +44 (0) 203 869 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.