9 September 2025
For over 40 years, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has delivered life-saving healthcare for Palestinians in Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian communities we serve have faced decades of discrimination, violence and forced displacement as a result of forced exile, Israel’s occupation and now in Gaza, genocide. MAP has faced many challenges over the years, but together we have always remained working with our local partners, providing healthcare, led by our Palestinian teams. We will always protect our people, our principles, and our ability to care for Palestinians in need.
This year, Israeli authorities have introduced new rules that require organisations, like MAP, to re-apply for registration in Israel by the end of the year. This new registration process imposes vague and politicised conditions that undermine humanitarian principles and the independence of NGOs.
The new rules also require that we hand over sensitive personal data about our Palestinian staff and their families to Israel, and give effective control over who we can, and cannot, employ. This, we will not allow.
Protecting our staff and their families is our top priority, and we will never take decisions that put them at greater risk. We will also not allow our independence or humanitarian principles to be compromised.
So, after careful consultation with our colleagues in Palestine and with partner organisations, we have decided, for now, that we will not put an application for re-registration under these rules. We did not make this decision lightly. We continue to keep this position under review and will reassess if the registration requirements change.
Without registration, Israeli authorities could restrict our ability to bring in non-Palestinian staff and volunteers, like our Emergency Medical Teams, and import goods, including aid, directly. But MAP’s locally-led model means that, through our existing teams in Palestine, and extensive partnerships with local organisations, medical facilities and donors, we will continue to deliver our largest-ever humanitarian response in Gaza and the West Bank.
MAP remains working in Gaza.
MAP remains a registered humanitarian organisation in Gaza and the West Bank, through the Palestinian Authority, and we will continue to work closely with, and through, local partners. Our Palestinian colleagues are highly skilled, deeply committed, and have been serving their communities under the most difficult conditions for decades. Their expertise, resilience, and dedication ensure that, even in the face of new restrictions, Palestinians will continue to receive the care and dignity they deserve. We have a huge range of programmes working with hospitals and supporting the health care system, including:
These programmes are saving lives every single day. Despite the obstacles, and thanks to supporters like you, we remain. We will continue working with local partners, strengthening regional collaborations, and are ready to scale up our lifesaving response once a ceasefire is attained.
A call for justice and solidarity.
The Israeli re-registration process breaches International Humanitarian Law. MAP recently joined over 100 organisations to raise the alarm that these requirements are a weaponisation of aid – designed to elicit control over independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting.
We are again calling on the UK government and the international community to cease being allies to atrocities and instead demand a permanent ceasefire and allow aid to flow freely into Gaza. You can add your voice to this call here.
During these challenging times, we also ask that you continue to trust us to work for the dignity, health and justice for all Palestinian people.
If you’re able to, please consider making a donation today - every donation helps us adapt, respond, and keep supporting Palestinian communities in crisis. Your trust and solidarity mean everything to our staff and to the communities we serve. We will continue to update you when we can. Remember to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (X) to stay up to date.
Together, we can build a future where every Palestinian has access to a comprehensive, effective and locally led healthcare system, and the full realisation of their rights to health and dignity.