7 October 2016
Last month Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (caabu) took a cross-party delegation of UK MPs to Palestine to witness the impacts of the ongoing Israeli military occupation, now in its 50th year. The delegation comprised of Kit Malthouse MP, (Conservative), Matthew Pennycook (Labour) and Alan Brown (Scottish National Party).
Over the course of four days the MPs had meetings with Israeli, Palestinian, United Nations and NGO officials and visited areas across the West Bank to see for themselves the impact of settlement construction, the wall and the coercive environment Palestinians are living in every day.
Conservative MP, Kit Malthouse, accompanied the MAP-ICS mobile clinic as it navigated the narrow, rocky paths around Khan al Ahmar
The MPs witnessed the work of the MAP-ICS mobile clinic in providing healthcare to isolated Bedouin communities facing daily threats of eviction and demolitions
Co-founder of Breaking the Silence, Yehuda Shaul, demonstrated the impact of Israeli settlements and military closures in Hebron on the previously bustling city centre
Yehuda Shaul also took the MPs on a tour of the South Hebron hills, demonstrating the impact of settlement expansion and illegal outpost construction on Palestinian communities
The MAP-CAABU delegations to Palestine offer MPs a unique opportunity to witness first-hand the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and return to the UK able to advocate more effectively for a strong position from the UK government when these issues are discussed in Parliament.
You can read more about the delegation on Caabu’s website here.
Write to your MP today if you want them to witness the occupation first hand.