Gaza floodsA man-made humanitarian crisis exacerbated by nature

lebanon’s refuGee childrenSupporting children with psychological, emotional or learning difficulties

peace process timelineWill US-sponsored talks reverse decades of failed talks?

area c – what’s left to annex?A tale of two areas – Israel’s policies of colonisation and constriction

SPRING 2014Photograph by Aimee Shalan

witness

Medical Aid for Palestinians works for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees.

Gaza: 5 years after ‘operation cast lead’

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DeAR ReADeRWelcome to the spring edition of Witness, MAP’s biannual newsletter.

This is my first editorial for Witness, having taken on the post of Chair from Robin Kealy – a man of stature who did a fine job. Under his leadership, MAP has consolidated its work, faced and resolved problems and fulfilled its mandate positively, so I hope to follow in his footsteps.

Of course, the Middle East is constantly changing and one should always expect the unexpected. But given the depth and long-standing nature of MAP’s relationships with local partners, and experience and knowledge of the territories in which Palestinians live under occupation and as refugees, there is always going to be a role for MAP to fulfill in the medical field – supporting improvements in Palestinian health services and supporting the needs of the population.

In recent months, against the backdrop of US-sponsored peace talks, there have been unsettling increases in Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian property, more home demolitions, and further restrictions upon Palestinians living in Gaza due to Israel’s blockade. For over a month, Gaza’s power plant stopped generating electricity due to severe fuel shortages, affecting the population of 1.7 million in Gaza. At the same time, Israel announced planned expansions to Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the West Bank.

There has also been a worrying increase in the number of Palestinian children injured by the Israeli military. In November, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted that the number of Palestinian children injured by Israeli forces across the West Bank more than tripled during 2013, compared to the equivalent period in 2012.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon – where over 50,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria as well as 750,000 Syrian refugees have sought refuge – has created a unique set of problems, which are challenging international NGOs like MAP and local partners on the ground. Those who have been displaced face many difficulties and obstacles: they are away from their normal support networks and they have lost everything. In many cases, they don’t have contact with their relatives back in Syria and the future is bleak to say the least.

In this context, this edition of Witness focuses on MAP’s work in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon following the influx of refugees from Syria; the 5 year anniversary of ‘Operation Cast Lead’ and icy floods in Gaza; as well as concerns about the possible Israeli annexation of Area C in the West Bank.

We also feature a summary of MAP’s parliamentary delegation to the West Bank with former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw.

Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to MAP’s many supporters and donors for their generosity and hard work during these difficult times. Without your help we would not be able to continue the work that we do.

alan waddamsMAP ChairMedical Aid for Palestinians

eDItoRIAl

in this issue

1 eDItoRIAl Alan Waddams

2 SItUAtIoN oVeRVIeW Round-up of the latest developments in occupied Palestine and Lebanon

3-4 leBANoN Supporting children with

psychological, emotional or learning difficulties

5 GAZA: FIVe yeARS oN FRoM ‘oPeRAtIoN CASt leAD’ Still living with the aftermath

6 GAZA FlooDS A man-made humanitarian crisis

is exacerbated by nature

7-8 AReA C ANNexAtIoN A tale of two areas: Israel’s policies

of colonisation and constriction

9-10 PeACe tAlkS tIMelINe A déjà-vu review of peace talks

since 1991

11-12 DeleGAtIoN WIth JACk StRAW The former Foreign Minister and

Richard Burden MP see MAP’s work and the occupation first hand

13 MAP ReMeMBeRS MAP received two major legacy

donations in 2013, underlining the importance of legacies to MAP’s work

14 My FUNDRAISeR Running for MAP through

Palestine, plus a big thank you to our supporters

15 MAP NeWS Parliamentary delegations, an

award for MAP and much more

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SItUAtIoN oVeRIeW www.map-uk.org

west banK Increased military violence continues

there was a threefold increase in the number of West Bank Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in 2013 compared to 2012’s figures (27 vs 9).

In December, a 14 year old boy was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper with live ammunition as he walked home from a shop, and a West Bank man was shot and killed by a volunteer in the Border Police when he was found in Israel. Over 3,700 Palestinians in the West Bank were injured by Israeli forces in 2013 – more than in any other year since 2005. The number of Palestinian children injured from January-October 2013 was nearly four times higher than during the same period in 2011 (1,102 vs 308) and twice the number injured in 2012 (551). Children accounted for a third of those injured.

lebanonFlow of Palestinian and Syrian refugees continues

By the end of November, some 51,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria were sheltering in lebanon, 52% of whom were living in lebanon’s 12 dilapidated and overcrowded refugee camps, with the remainder in informal gatherings or elsewhere in lebanon.

Since August, Lebanese officials at the border with Syria have turned away a number of Palestinian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria. MAP and other NGOs have called on the Lebanese government to treat all refugees at the border equally.

lebanonDeadly attacks continue

the spillover of fighting from Syria continues to claim hundreds of casualties and undermine stability in lebanon.

On 2 January 2014, a car bomb in a southern Beirut neighbourhood killed at least five people. Less than a week before, a former Lebanese finance minister and six other people were killed by a car bomb. Last year, on 3 December, a top-ranking Hezbollah commander, Hassan Howlo al Laqqis, was shot dead outside his home. In November, a double suicide bombing outside the Iranian embassy left at least 26 dead – including the Iranian cultural attaché – and 147 injured. In August, a car bomb killed 27 and injured hundreds in a Shia neighbourhood of Beirut. A week later, two blasts outside a mosque in Tripoli killed 42 and injured 400. Sporadic fighting in Tripoli claimed over 100 lives in 2013.

GazaWinter storms worsen humanitarian crisis

11 – 14 December 2013

Intense winter storms brought severe flooding, low temperatures and strong winds to Gaza, battering a population already crippled by an acute fuel crisis that had resulted in power outages for 16 hours a day and severely affected water and sanitation facilities, essential health services and waste collection.

The flooding was exacerbated by temporary sewage lagoons collapsing and adding to the deluge, which displaced some 10,000 people. Qatar donated a month’s worth of emergency fuel, enabling Gaza’s power plant to resume generating power for emergency work, although outages currently remain at pre-November levels of 12 hours a day, and most people in Gaza cannot purchase fuel for small generators of electricity and heat.

west banKPeace talks stumble on

PA President Mahmoud Abbas has said that his negotiating team will continue peace talks with their Israeli counterparts, due to conclude in April, despite Israeli announcements of plans to build thousands more settler homes and the ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes.

Chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, and Mohammed Shtayeh, resigned in November after Israel’s Housing Ministry announced plans to build 20,000 settler homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank – promptly cancelled by Netanyahu due to international condemnation. Abbas refused their resignations – Erekat agreed to return to the negotiations but Shtayeh has refused to.

Since US-led peace talks resumed, Israel has proceeded with announced plans to build 5,349 new homes in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

SItUAtIoN oVeRVIeW

GazaOngoing border closures

July 2013 – January 2014

egypt’s restrictions on the Rafah Crossing and the tunnels following the ousting the Muslim Brotherhood from government, combined with Israel’s ongoing blockade, have left Gaza desperately short of fuel, construction materials, medicines and other essentials.

Construction in Gaza has come to a standstill following the closure of most tunnels. The border restrictions have also exacerbated Gaza’s shortage of essential medicines and medical supplies, as 30% of medical supplies usually entered via the Rafah Crossing. Only one shipment was made between June and January.

www.map-uk.org

Aimee Shalan

Alice Watts

leBANoN

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Children growing up in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camps face a number of challenges in their early years. Poverty, exclusion and discrimination, domestic violence, conflict and instability as well as physically cramped and overcrowded living spaces all make childhood in the camps extremely difficult. By the time children get to school age they have lived in this environment long enough for its effect to take hold and some may experience learning or behavioural difficulties. What is more, lack of education in the community about child development issues means that problems are often not picked up at home or are simply interpreted as bad behaviour by parents struggling to make ends meet. This environment, and the challenges facing those living in the

camps, has been compounded by the arrival of tens of thousands more people in the camps, whose journeys from a war zone have invariably been distressful.

MAP is proud to be supporting several local organisations, which are working to improve this situation. Among these, the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW) provides pre-school education and offers support services to children and families in need. United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) educational services only start at age six, so without organisations like GUPW providing kindergarten services, children in the camps would stand to miss out on education during their most formative years.

GUPW runs a total of 13 kindergartens throughout Lebanon, reaching over 1,200 children. Staff are trained to recognise children experiencing psychological, emotional or learning difficulties and to offer them support through dedicated ‘Listening Centres’. At these centres, children and their families receive assistance ranging from developmental assessment to counselling and parenting support. The centres are open to any child in need: children are referred to them from other kindergartens or NGOs and, thanks to the centre’s presence in the community, many families self-refer.

A wide variety of cases show up at the listening centres and many are not simple. However, working with other organisations in the local community, GUPW’s social workers and child development specialists are very often able to offer support.

Below and across the page are examples of GUPW’s important work with some of the children who have been displaced from their homes in Syria.

A GUPW kindergarten in ein el helweh camp, Saida, south lebanon

supportinG childrenin lebanon’s campsthe focus of MAP’s work in lebanon continues to reflect the urgent, on-going humanitarian crisis in Syria. MAP works directly and through partners to provide support and care to those most in need amongst the tens of thousands of refugees from Syria, both Palestinian and Syrian, who have fled to the Palestinian refugee camps. Many of MAP’s regular programmes have been extended to provide additional support to these new refugees – including young children suffering from psychological, emotional or learning difficulties.

tamerTamer is five and a half years old. Four months ago, Tamer, his three siblings and their mother, Reem, left their home in Homs, Syria, for safety in Lebanon. They went to Ein el Helweh camp, where Reem’s parents live. Tamer was diagnosed with a hearing impairment in Syria during his early childhood. He had a hearing aid installed and was regularly attending speech therapy sessions. When the security situation deteriorated two and a half years ago, the sessions stopped and his condition worsened due to the lack of follow up.

In Lebanon, Reem was told that Tamer needed a new hearing aid, and that it would cost $1,200, which she couldn’t afford. She tried to get

case studY help to pay for the hearing aid from various organisations in the camp, but was unsuccessful. However, utilising family and social networks, Tamer’s family was able to collect $900 towards a new the hearing aid, and GUPW’s social affairs programme covered the difference.

Tamer was registered with a listening centre run by the General Union of Palestinian Women (GUPW) and he continues to attend speech therapy sessions. Reem is very pleased with GUPW’s services, care and follow up. She says the team at GUPW’s listening centre is very considerate and helpful, which is evident from Tamer’s condition following the new hearing aid and speech therapy sessions.

‘Tamer can now make sentences of three words and he can pronounce letters that he couldn’t pronounce

before,’ says Reem, adding: ‘He is much calmer and happier now as he is able to express himself more clearly.’

Tamer continues to attend one speech therapy session per week, in addition to doing exercises at home that have been recommended by the speech therapist. Reem says that after observing the improvement in Tamer’s condition, the whole family is encouraged to help him with the home exercises. ‘Tamer is a very smart boy, I am proud of him,’ says Reem.

She thanks GUPW and MAP for the support, follow up and care, which she says has been instrumental in bringing about the improvement in Tamer’s condition. Tamer will be joining GUPW’s kindergarten this year.

Gupw runs 13 kindergartens in lebanon, which reach over 1,200 children

www.map-uk.org

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Follow MAP on twitter @MedicalAidPal

A GUPW kindergarten in ein el helweh camp, Saida, south lebanonGUPW

soha and raniaThere are many children like Soha and Rania, whose families have fled the fighting in Syria to seek refuge in Lebanon, and who have been profoundly troubled by what they experienced back home.

Soha, who has three older brothers, was doted on by all of her family in Syria. She was happy, had lots of friends and was doing well at school – until one day a bomb exploded at the entrance to her school. Soha wasn’t hurt herself but there were many victims and she saw two of her friends killed right in front of her. That night whilst sleeping she had her first

case studY seizure. She was taken for neurological tests in Syria and was given medication, but the seizures continued and became more frequent. When the family arrived in Lebanon they heard about GUPW and took Soha for help. She underwent more tests and was found to be allergic to her previous treatment. Now on new medication and undergoing therapy with a psychologist, Soha is doing much better. In fact, she hasn’t had a single seizure since.

Rania also experienced loss in Syria. Her father and brother were killed by shelling in their hometown. Rania was brought to the centre as she was showing signs of distress and was extremely withdrawn. It appeared that, although she had cried at first when learning of the loss of her loved ones, she soon began to bury her feelings and behaved as if the tragedy hadn’t happened. However, she had nightmares almost daily, according to the staff treating her.

Rania is now attending therapy sessions in the centre and is doing much better.

She had initially hidden her tears as she couldn’t bear to see her mother upset and crying. Now, though, she is able to talk about how she feels and regularly cries in sessions. Rania’s mother attends the sessions too and this has helped Rania to express herself at home. Rania’s nightmares are much less common and her school performance has greatly improved.

None of these children will quickly forget or move on from the trauma they have experienced or the difficulties they are living with. However, they and their families are grateful for the support they are receiving through GUPW and MAP. Without their help, they might not have started on the road to recovery as early, or with as much support, as they did.

Rania

Soha

sYria refuGee crisisIn September we launched an appeal to help Palestinian refugees who have fled the violence in Syria.

We told you about little Sara who, having managed to flee the war in Syria, came to Lebanon only to find out she had leukaemia. With the generosity of MAP supporters we were able to help her get the chemotherapy she needed. Because of your kind support we were able to help another 121 people with life threatening illnesses requiring urgent treatment, who had fled the conflict in Syria.

appeal update

MAP StAFF

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GAZA:

At the end of December MAP met with Dr hussein Ashour, the Director General of Al Shifa hospital, Dr Sobhi Skaik, Director of Surgery, and Dr Nasser al tatar, the hospital’s Medical Director. We asked them about their experiences working in the hospital during ‘operation Cast lead’ and about the current difficulties the hospital is facing five years on.

On the first day of the war on Gaza in 2008/09, there were more than 100 doctors in the hospital as they were holding exams. Then in one moment, the hospital received 200 dead bodies at the gates and many more people began to arrive who had sustained injuries following the airstrikes.

“It was a real massacre,” says Dr Skaik, “We lost a lot of patients waiting for treatment, but we did our best for our people – sometimes even operating in the corridors. Many people had been exposed to unknown weapons and there were also amputees due to the use of DIME bombs (Dense Inert Metal Explosives) – which cut through limbs like a sword.”

There were also rumours that the hospital would be bombed. Windows were shattered when a mosque and buildings were bombed in the vicinity of the hospital, and the weather was very cold.

Dr Ashour and Dr Skaik would be at the gates triaging patients. Sometimes the

bodies of whole families would arrive, with only one survivor. Emotions were running very high.

“We have been damaged psychologically by the war,” says Dr Skaik, “but that has also given us strength.”

Since then the hospital has been renovated, but people are still suffering. Every family has either lost a family member, been injured, their property has been damaged, or they are living with the psychological effects of the war. Then last year, Gaza came under attack again, during ‘Operation Pillar of Cloud’.

“We feel we need to be here with the people,” says Dr Skaik, “and we are proud to be able to provide as much support as possible.”

Al Shifa hospital has about 750 beds and is the biggest hospital in occupied Palestine. Today, like everywhere in Gaza, the hospital is heavily reliant on back-up generators due to the electricity cuts. Gaza’s main power plant shut down for over a month on 1 November due to a shortage of fuel. The prolonged shortage has affected the delivery of essential services, which now rely on back-up generators during the power cuts. Critical, specialised services such as kidney dialysis, operating theatres, blood banks, intensive care units and labs, among others, have been affected by the fuel shortage.

During the recent winter storms electricity was available for only three hours a day. Babies were delivered without heating being available, putting

their lives at risk. And on one occasion a heart and lung machine stopped functioning in the middle of open heart surgery. Fortunately, medics managed to save the patient’s life by pumping the equipment manually.

Even with the use of local generators, interruptions to the power supply are putting intensive care units, ventilators and monitors under enormous strain and affecting the life-span of specialist equipment. It is, moreover, very difficult to obtain replacements or spare parts due to the blockade. What does make it into Gaza takes months to arrive.

In addition, 30% of essential drugs and 52% of medical disposables are at zero stock levels in Gaza. As a result lives are being lost, the doctors reported. For example, sometimes chemotherapy therapy treatment has to be interrupted because the drugs are unavailable, or a patient is told that they will have to do without immunosuppressant drugs after a kidney transplant.

“This is mass punishment,” says Dr Skaik. “We are completely under siege. We are talking about the impoverishment of Gaza, but we are also talking about cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and renal surgery. Why are we focusing on tertiary care? Because people’s expectations are high. They are comparing the healthcare available here to the services Israelis have access to. The people of Gaza have the right to live like anyone else.”

Destruction in Rafah following Israeli attacks in 2008–09 explosion on 14 January 2009Chameleonseye / Shutterstock.comWilliam Parry

five Years on from ‘operation cast lead’

“we have been damaged psychologically by the war, but that has also given us strength.”

“we feel we need to be here with the people, and we are proud to be able to provide as much support as possible.”

Dr Skaik

www.map-uk.org

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the flooding was so high in some areas that we saw a car entirely submerged by the water.

it is impossible to keep furniture and belongings because sewage has mixed with the flood water.

During the floods in December, Aimee Shalan, MAP’s Director of Advocacy and Communications, visited Gaza and reported on the flooding, the hardship and the resilience she witnessed.

Yesterday, I arrived in Gaza. It was the first day that people were permitted to enter from Israel, although travel in the opposite direction was still not allowed. The crossing had been closed for three days.

Having met up with my colleagues in MAP’s Gaza office, we went to the Sheik Radwan area in Gaza City to evaluate the situation and assess the needs of those who have remained in their second or third floor apartments, surrounded by flood water. Water has now been pumped out of most of the areas in Gaza that were seriously flooded, but the water level is still high in Sheik Radwan.

I went with our programme assistant, Mohamed Askari, in one of the boats that

is being used to transport supplies and people to and from their apartments.

When the floods started, Gaza’s fishermen – whose living is being decimated by the Israeli and Egyptian maritime blockade – were called upon to support those worst affected by the floods. They came to help immediately and have continued to run a ferry service through the water-filled streets, joking that Gaza City has become like Venice.

Our boat took bread, water and other supplies to people in different streets. Residents lowered buckets or baskets down to the boat and hoisted their supplies back up.

Some of our fellow passengers, who were returning to their apartments, climbed up trees to get into their homes. Others jumped down from their balconies into the boat, to be taken to dry land to buy what they needed. One man who jumped into the boat with his two sons showed me the school books they had in their bag. He was trying to get them somewhere dry in order to study.

Other families told us they had evacuated their children as it was too cold in their apartments. The electricity has been totally cut in the area (elsewhere electricity is only available for three hours a day) and people are burning charcoal in their homes in order to keep warm.

The flooding was so high in some areas that we saw a car entirely submerged by the water. We passed by all sorts of debris, even fridge-freezers floating in the streets.

Our Programme Director in Gaza, Fikr Shalltoot, talked to people in the crowd waiting for the boats. One man told her that he had just come to the end of his credit payments on the furniture he had bought for his apartment and now everything has been destroyed by the floods. It is impossible to keep furniture and belongings, even once they have dried out, because sewage has mixed with the flood water.

What struck me most in all of this, as we went from house to house, was the extraordinary resilience of the people of Gaza and their determined ability to improvise. In spite of everything, people still waved, laughed and raised their fingers to signal peace from their roofs and balconies.

The Israeli authorities have now announced that the Erez crossing will be open today as ‘normal’, which means that foreigners, Palestinian patients who have been referred to hospitals in the West Bank, East Jerusalem or Israel, and a few business men will be allowed to travel through the crossing out of Gaza.

But people here, living under threat of bombardment and a blockade that has now entered its seventh year, deserve a better life than this. It is quite simply shameful that the international community is not putting effective pressure on Israel – which is responsible as the Occupying Power for the health and well-being of the Palestinian population – to lift the blockade in its entirety.

A boy from Gaza with the neighbourhood behind floodedMohamed Askari

Gaza citY, capital of improvisation

Rescue efforts in Gaza using fishing boats Mohamed Askari

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WeSt BANk

the historic signing of the oslo Accords 20 years ago between the Palestine liberation organization (Plo) and Israel was intended to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. As part of oslo’s 1995 Interim Agreement, the West Bank was divided into three separate security and administrative areas (see box below), designed as a five-year measure, by the end of which Israel would transfer all control of civil and security issues to the nascent Palestinian state. Under the oslo Accords framework, however, Israel has facilitated and accelerated its on-going colonisation of Palestinian land, particularly in Area C, where over 200 Israeli settlements and outposts are home to some 325,000 settlers.

statistics:

1%of Area C has been allocated for Palestinian construction by Israel

70%of Area C is set aside exclusively for the future development of Israel’s settlements

63%of the West Bank’s agricultural lands are in Area C

Area C: Israel’s separation wall has annexed some of the West Bank’s best agricultural land

The Oslo Accords divided the Israeli-occupied West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, into three separate security and administrative areas. In Area A, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has responsibility for security and administrative control. Comprising 18% of the West Bank and 55% of its population, Area A includes most of the key Palestinian cities. In Area B, the PA has

administrative control, with security a shared responsibility between the PA and Israel. Area C is under full Israeli civil and military control, although the PA is responsible for providing education and medical services to Palestinians living in this area. It comprises about 61% of the West Bank and is home to an estimated 150,000 Palestinians in 542 rural communities.

area c:

what’s left to annex?

Israeli settlement expansion in har homaWilliam Parry

annexation, annexation, annexationOver the past 20 years, despite some 16 agreements, summits, initiatives, conferences and memoranda aimed at resuming and finalising peace negotiations (see pp 9–10), Israel’s settler population in Area C has tripled to 325,000. (In 1972, there were just 1,200 settlers in what now constitutes Area C). While the settlements themselves account for 3.25% of Area C, the roads and the municipal and regional boundaries safeguarding the future development of the settlements constitutes 70% of Area C – which is mostly off-limits to Palestinians. A large part of the remaining 30% of land in Area C has been classified as firing zones, nature reserves and national parks, in which Palestinian construction is also not allowed.

Israeli policies in Area C have, for hundreds of Palestinian communities, including many of the poorest and most vulnerable in the West Bank, been characterised by de-development and forced displacement through restrictive planning processes, demolitions, and military and settler attacks. All of

these actions and policies are flagrant violations of international law, in particular the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Area C is governed by the Israeli Civil Administration (ICA), which answers to Israel’s Ministry of Defence. Palestinian construction is typically permitted only within the boundaries of ICA-approved municipal plans. The ICA has allocated less than one per cent of Area C – much of which is already built up – for Palestinian construction. Between 2000 and 2012, only 5.6% of Palestinian building applications were approved by the ICA.

to build or not to buildAs in East Jerusalem, Palestinians in Area C, deprived of housing and infrastructure development space, are left with little other option than to move to Areas

A or B – as many do, which is a form of forced displacement – or to build without a permit and risk demolition of their homes, livestock structures, water cisterns, greenhouses and other structures. In 2013, Israeli authorities demolished 565 Palestinian homes and livelihood structures, displacing 805 Palestinians, about half of whom are children.

Although the PA has responsibility for education and healthcare in Area C, planning permission for schools, health clinics and hospitals is usually rejected. Water and sewage treatment facilities – including collaborative projects with international NGOs – have also been demolished, remain under threat of demolition, or have faced protracted bureaucratic delays.

more than milK and honeYArea C is internationally recognised as occupied Palestinian territory and is essential for the West Bank’s future sustainable economic development. It is resource-rich and contains 63% of the West Bank’s agricultural lands.

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www.map-uk.org

Area C: Israel’s separation wall has annexed some of the West Bank’s best agricultural landWilliam Parry

statistics:

79%of the Palestinian herding population in Area C is food insecure

565Palestinian homes and livelihood structures were demolished by Israeli authorities in 2013, displacing 805 people, half of whom are children

35%of the 2011 Palestinian GDP – or $3.4 bn –could be added to the economy in direct and indirect outputs if Palestinians had control of Area C, according to the World Bank

With Areas A and B already built up at near capacity, Area C contains the land reserves required for population expansion, agriculture and grazing, and, as the only contiguous part of the West Bank, for large scale infrastructure projects. A World Bank report estimates that the potential additional ‘direct benefit’ output from sectors including agriculture, Dead Sea minerals, stone, construction, tourism and telecommunications would add $2.2 billion a year, a sum equivalent to 23% of 2011 Palestinian GDP. The indirect benefits would increase those figures to $3.4 billion and 35%, respectively. These sums would also add tax revenues of $800 million to the PA’s coffers, an amount that would, at current expenditures, cut its fiscal deficit by half.

Water is another resource used by Israel to benefit settlement prosperity, while inhibiting Palestinian development and displacing communities. According to OCHA, over 70% of Palestinian communities located entirely or predominantly in Area C are not connected to the water network and depend on tankered water, which can be up to 400% more expensive. These are some of the poorest communities in Area C. Water

consumption in some Area C communities is just 20 litres per capita per day – a fifth of the World Health Organization’s recommended standard.

Palestinian water projects face a catalogue of obstacles and are rarely approved, crippling economic potential and employment opportunities, while the settlements and their technologically advanced agricultural sector utilise most of the region’s water resources. For instance, 10,000 Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley and north Dead Sea area use 33% of the total water amount available to the entire West Bank population (2.5 million people). Demolitions by the Israeli army routinely include water and sanitation structures, wells, and cisterns and rainwater collection structures.

Israel’s planning policies, movement restrictions and land annexation also adversely affect Palestinian livelihoods. Most of the Palestinians who own land in the fertile-rich Jordan Valley live in Areas A and B. Accessing their land and sustaining their livelihoods has been seriously undermined. Herder communities face severe, and growing, restrictions on where livestock can graze. Most of the Palestinian herding population in Area C is food insecure (79% compared with 25% for the general West Bank population). Almost 6% of children aged six months to five years suffer from acute malnutrition, and 28% have stunted growth due to nutritional deficiencies. According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ‘[t]he erosion of herding livelihoods, due to lack of access and to water scarcity, is a key factor behind the high levels of food insecurity. Moreover, the reduced access to traditional sources of meat and dairy products is directly impacting on the quality of nutrition.’

preparinG the Ground for annexationWith the demographic and physical foundations established, there are serious concerns that it is only a matter of time before Israel’s unofficial, de facto annexation of Area C will be formalised by the Israeli government, destroying any hope of establishing a viable Palestinian state. In January 2013, Naftali Bennett, leader of Israel’s far-right Jewish Home party, and Minister for the Economy and Commerce in the current far-right Israeli coalition government, announced that Israel should unilaterally annex Area C. His announcement was preceded in July 2012 by the Israeli government’s

formation of the Levy Committee to determine the legal status of Israel’s occupation and settlement project. It concluded that there is no occupation and that the settlements are legal – contrary to international consensus – and that the settlements should therefore be expanded, a view shared by other prominent Israeli politicians.

This drive was given added momentum on 30 December 2013, when a panel of Israeli cabinet ministers endorsed proposed legislation to annex the Jordan Valley. The bill’s sponsor, Miri Regev, called the committee’s approval ‘a clear statement by the government that the towns in the Jordan Valley are a strategic and security asset of the state of Israel that must stay in our hands’.

If the international community is serious about establishing a viable, sovereign Palestinian state, the on-going colonisation of Area C must be halted and reversed. Failure to convert rhetoric into meaningful actions will elevate the conflict to a new, dangerous level, from which it will be much more difficult to extricate a just and peaceful solution.

zero stocK druGsIn January our Director of Programmes in Gaza, Fikr Shalltoot, launched an appeal to help supply the hospitals with medicines and disposable medical equipment.

With the grip of the blockade getting tighter because of the supply lines with Egypt being cut, the hospitals are really struggling to cope.

Because of the generosity of MAP supporters we have been able to help supply some of the medicines and medical equipment which had run out.

appeal update

Flora Williamson

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PeACe tAlkS tIMelINe

september 1993: oslo i accord Less commonly known as ‘The Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements’, Oslo I was signed in Washington DC between PLO chairman, Yasser Arafat, and Israeli prime minister, Yitzak Rabin, on 13 September, following secret Israel-PLO negotiations in Oslo. Israel agreed to transfer full civil and security control of the West Bank to the newly established Palestinian Authority (PA) within five years, during which time permanent status negotiations between Israel and the PA were to be held. Israel recognised the PLO as the legitimate representative of the Palestinians while the PLO recognised the State of Israel’s right to exist in peace and security.

september 1995: oslo ii accordsSigned in Taba, Egypt, the Oslo II Accords divided the West Bank and Gaza into Areas A, B and C (see Box on page 7). Israel and the PLO agreed: ‘neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the Permanent Status negotiations.’ In November, Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli extremist.

1997: hebron aGreementSigned in early 1997 by Arafat (elected president of the PA) and Benjamin Netanyahu during his first period as prime minister, 80% of Hebron was placed under control of the Palestinian Authority (H1), and 20% (H2) under Israeli control.

1998: Wye RIVeR MeMoRANDUMThis was a political agreement negotiated to implement the Oslo Accords. Israel agreed to extend Area A by 13%. The Palestinians promised to take further security actions. Israel and the PA agreed to resume permanent status negotiations until 4 May, 1999 – during which time, Netanyahu’s government collapsed.

1999: sharm el-sheiKh memorandum Israel’s new prime minister, Ehud Barak, promised to proceed with peace negotiations. The Sharm el-Sheikh Memorandum was established to implement Oslo II and other agreements between the PLO and Israel, and to reach a final settlement in 2000. Israel transferred more occupied land from Area C to A and B as well from Area B to A – but continued to control Area C (60% of the West Bank). Israel released 199 Palestinian prisoners in September, but a deadline to release 150 more in October went unfulfilled.

2000: camp david summit, outbreaK of the second intifada, clinton parametersThe Camp David Summit, held in July, was US President Bill Clinton’s unsuccessful attempt to finalise negotiations between Israel and the PLO on permanent status topics. Ehud Barak and Arafat failed to agree on core issues, and Israel’s so-called ‘generous offer’, with unfavourable conditions for the Palestinians, was rejected by Arafat. The Second Intifada broke out on 28 September with a provocative visit to the Haram al Sharif (Temple Mount) by Israel’s rightwing Likud leader, Ariel Sharon. The Second Intifada lasted until 2005 and claimed 3,592 Palestinian and 1,036 Israeli lives.

The Clinton Parameters proposed a Palestinian State on some 95% of the West Bank and included the idea of a limited land swap consisting of an additional 1–3%.

2001: taba summitNegotiations based on the Clinton Parameters continued in Taba and the summit led to a joint statement, but ended there. Ariel Sharon became Israel’s new prime minister in February 2001 and began implementing his policy of unilateralism. In 2002, the Israeli cabinet decided to build a separation wall between Israel and the West Bank, the route of which would be built predominantly beyond the Green Line, unilaterally annexing West Bank land and creating a de facto border.

peace talKs timeline

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peace talKs since 1991: a deja-vu reviewThe latest, intensive round of peace talks led by US vice-president John Kerry were, according to many, doomed before they began. The talks were given a nine-month deadline, which will conclude in April. To date, they have been severely undermined by accelerated Israeli settlement growth and accelerated home demolitions across Area C and East Jerusalem, as well as a spike in military violence in the West Bank – which claimed 27 Palestinian lives in 2013, a threefold increase compared with 2012. Israeli settler violence has also continued with impunity throughout the peace talks.

For many, recent history would seem to be repeating itself. Given the deteriorating situation for Palestinians living under occupation, and the apparent demise of a two-state solution, the following review of peace talks since 1991 begs the question: what’s next, if talks fail yet again?

1991: madrid conferenceInitiated by the US and USSR to improve regional stability following the Gulf War, the Madrid conference included Israel and various Arab states as well as the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), which the conference recognised as the sole representative of the Palestinian people.

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februarY 2005: sharm el-sheiKh summitFollowing Arafat’s death in November 2004, Mahmoud Abbas, the newly elected PA president, met with Sharon to declare a mutual ceasefire. They agreed to work towards implementation of the Road Map. In August, Israel unilaterally ‘disengaged’ from Gaza, though Israel maintained control over the enclave.

2006: hamas wins pa electionsThe international community refused to recognise Hamas’s electoral victory unless Hamas accepted the three ‘Quartet principles’: recognition of the state of Israel, abiding by previous agreements and renouncing violence. A deep Fatah-Hamas divide followed, leading to violence in 2007 and the establishment of two separate PA governments in the West Bank and Gaza. Ehud Olmert, Israel’s newly elected prime minister, promised again to reach a final settlement with the Palestinians. In July 2006, war broke out with Lebanon. More than 1,200 Lebanese, 16 Israeli soldiers and 43 Israeli civilians were killed in the conflict.

2007: annapolis conferenceThe Annapolis Conference aimed to revive the peace talks between Israel and the PA. More than 40 countries and multinational organisations participated. No agreement was reached but Olmert and Abbas agreed to continue bilateral negotiations. Between 2006 and 2008, they met three dozen times. In December 2008, following Israel’s termination of a largely successful ceasefire and a subsequent increase in hostilities, Israel launched ‘Operation Cast Lead’, attacking Gaza. By the end of January 2009, more than 1,380 Palestinians and 13 Israelis had been killed.

2010: direct neGotiationsIn September, the Obama Administration brought together Abbas and (re-elected) Netanyahu for their first face-to-face meeting in two years, following Netanyahu’s 10-month settlement construction moratorium at the beginning of 2010. In Washington DC, Abbas and Netanyahu agreed to work towards a peace deal within a year. The freeze on settlement building expired in September and, with Israel refusing to renew the freeze without Palestinian recognition of Israel as a specifically Jewish state, the negotiations ended.

2002: beirut summit/arab peace initiative Saudi Arabia proposed the Arab Peace Initiative, put forward by the Arab League, at the March 2002 Beirut Summit. It offered normalised relations between Israel and all Arab League members, provided Israel end its occupation of all territories still under occupation, recognise an independent Palestinian state and agree to a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue. The Israeli government rejected the plan.

april 2003: road map for peaceUS President George W Bush suggested a Road Map for Peace, which outlined a number of steps to put an end to Israeli and Palestinian violence, resume negotiations and reach a final settlement of the conflict by 2005. It was backed by the rest of the Middle East Quartet (UN, EU and Russia) but it was scuppered by escalating hostilities and ongoing Israeli settlement expansion.

december 2003: Geneva initiativeAn alternative peace plan, the Geneva Initiative was launched after two years of secret negotiations led by former Israeli minister, Yossi Beilin, and former PA minister, Yasser Abed Rabbo. It was never adopted by either side.

2012: amman talKs and palestinian un initiative In January, top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held several rounds of talks with a view to resuming final status talks. Following the failure of these, the PA pressed ahead with its UN membership application. On 29 November, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 67/19, according Palestine Non-Member Observer State status at the UN: 138 states voted in favour, 9 opposed it, and 41 states abstained.

2013: KerrY initiativeUS Secretary of State, John Kerry, initiated intensive talks between the PA and the Israelis on 29 July, and gave the negotiations a nine month deadline. The talks aim to restart final status negotiations and are scheduled to end in April 2014. Given over two decades of fruitless negotiations, summits and declarations – and amid on-going Israeli settlement expansion, home demolitions and military violence – there is very little hope amongst Palestinians that Kerry’s efforts will achieve a just resolution.

WeSt BANk

In December 2013, MAP organised a delegation to the West Bank in association with the Council for Arab British Understanding (Caabu), with former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and Richard Burden MP. the delegation included meetings with diplomats, United Nations agencies, the Palestinian Authority, humanitarian agencies and human rights groups.

visitinG map’s mobile clinic, jordan valleYEarly in the week, the delegation accompanied MAP’s mobile clinic on a visit to a Bedouin village in the Jordan Valley. Hygiene kits were being distributed to the community and a breast feeding workshop was being conducted by the mobile clinic. In his weekly blog post for the Lancashire Telegraph, Mr Straw wrote the following about the community we visited:

In truth, it’s not so much a village, more an encampment. Although these tribes people have been here for fifty years, nothing is permanent. The tents are made from scaffold poles, with corrugated iron roofs, walls from woven plastic sacks, and earth floors. It’s in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories, on the West Bank. The community here are vulnerable to having their homes demolished by the Israeli forces, as some of the neighbouring camps have been. Over half the 300 in the camp are children.

There’s no running water to this camp. I was told there used to be a good source from a spring up an adjacent valley. I walked a half mile up this valley to be shown where the spring

was. It’s dry now – because close to it the Israeli water company sunk a well and pipe it down a valley. You can see the pipes above ground in a fenced cordon close to the entrance to the camp. But there’s none for the Bedouin. They have to buy their water in tankers. I was told that, with transport, this may cost them £20 for three cubic metres. Meanwhile, the piped water supplies an Israeli settlement – one of scores which now pepper the West Bank.

The British Government, the international community, all say these settlements are illegal as they are on Palestinian land. On this, as on every issue, the Israeli Government makes a lengthy case to the contrary. I just hope that one day there’ll be some visionary Israeli leaders who realise that by the gratuitous indignities they impose on the Palestinians they are gradually losing the argument in the court of world opinion.

visit to militarY courts at ofer prison with militarY court watchThe delegation spent a morning with Military Court Watch (MCW) monitoring the treatment of child prisoners in the military courts at Ofer prison.

In December 2013, MCW reviewed the progress made in implementing 40 recommendations contained in a report published by a delegation of UK lawyers in June 2012. MCW’s review found that over 87% of the recommendations have yet to be implemented. Moreover, none of the recommendations that have been substantially or partially implemented provide any protection during the critical first 24 hours following arrest. Evidence collected by MCW also confirms the findings of a UNICEF report published in March 2013 that ill-treatment in the system appears

to be “widespread, systematic and institutionalised.”

The delegation heard that the military typically raids houses and picks children up in the middle of the night, without issuing any arrest warrants. In most cases, the child’s hands are tied with plastic ties, which are often over tightened, and the child is blindfolded. The family is ordered back into the house at gunpoint and parents are not told where the child is being taken.

Forty-five percent of children are transferred on the floor of vehicles along bumpy roads, which can easily lead to injury. They tend to be taken to a small settlement and dumped on the ground or put in a shipping container, until the morning. Most Israeli settlements in the West Bank have a small area reserved for the military. Many children have said that if they start to fall asleep, someone will slap them to keep them awake.

Under military law, arrested children should be told that they have a right to see a lawyer. However, in practice, no child sees a lawyer before they are interrogated. Generally they go without food or sleep until the interrogation is over. The interrogator will tend to make a general allegation, which the child will deny. The child is often threatened with long imprisonment, the arrest of other family members, or undergoes physical abuse such as slapping. Earlier in the year a child said they had been tasered during interrogation. In the end most children confess, although many admit to throwing a stone a year ago rather than confessing to the actual offence.

In this situation there is no protection, even when parents know their child has done nothing wrong. Any child may be arrested at any time because all children are potential suspects if a stone throwing episode happens near their village.

meetinG with nasser nawaja in susiYa As winter storms loomed the delegation went with Breaking the Silence to the Palestinian village of Susiya, where we met with resident Nasser Nawaja.

“i just hope that one day there’ll be some visionary israeli leaders who realise that by the gratuitous indignities they impose on the palestinians they are gradually losing the argument in the court of world opinion.”

Former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw

Jack Straw and Richard Burden visiting a Bedouin encampment

parliamentarY deleGation to the west banK with former foreiGn secretarY jacK straw

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Susiya has more than 30 families, who were displaced from their homes in Susiya al Qadim and forced to relocate 200 meters to the southeast in 1986, when the Israelis discovered the remains of a synagogue. Susiya has faced six mass demolitions since the establishment of the Israeli Susiya settlement in 1983. Every structure has a demolition order on it. During the discussion Mr Straw asked Nasser what it felt like to be under constant threat from the Israelis. Nasser said:

There are no words to describe it. The occupation is in every aspect of your life. The occupation is in your pocket. It is your ID card. We don’t live the way we live because we want to, but because they will not allow us to build. Half an hour ago the toilet fell down from the strength of the wind. That is our daily life. Two days before the storm started they tried to strengthen the structures in the village, but the toilet fell down and one tent ripped. If the snow comes, it is likely to destroy our tents. On the other hand you have the settlers; their lives are pretty well organised.

Water is a huge issue here, the main issue. We’re at the edge of the desert – and this is one of the only days of rain in the year. We have water cisterns – the

more cisterns you have, the more water you can collect. However, we can’t access 80% of our water cisterns because they are in the buffer zone around the Israeli settlement. The military base here also has a buffer zone and some of our grazing fields are in the buffer zones too.

Most of our land is taken in different ways. We can’t dig new cisterns because we can’t get planning permission. And if you try to access the buffer zone you are arrested.

The Israeli Civil Administration (ICA) said that we could co-ordinate in order to enter the buffer zone and we have tried to do so for 12-13 years. Finally, we were allowed a day to enter. We rented tractors to go in, so that we could access as much water as possible. However, we were then told that we couldn’t go in that day after all, because there were a lot of security issues in the area – that we would have to co-ordinate another day.

Usually one or two settlers come and stand on our cisterns. They are told to go, but they refuse. The army then says it is a closed military zone and sends everyone home. So we have to pay for water from Yatta – which is expensive – while a water pipe goes through their private land to the settlement. It is around 35 shekels per cubic metre of water and the

price can go as high as 50 shekels (in West Jerusalem the same amount is 7 shekels). Meanwhile, the Israeli water company takes Palestinian water and gives it to the settlement. We asked the ICA if they could put a meter in and we offered to pay, but they say we are an illegal village so we can’t have a meter.

We are not asking too much. We just want to stay on our land. But it is important to me that you understand that I don’t have faith in the Israeli justice system. The only thing we can hope for is that the international community will put pressure on Israel.

Why stay? It is a very simple story. When my father was three years old, my grandfather brought him to Susiya al Qadim in the hope that we would return home to our original village in Israel one day. Then when I was four years old my father took me from Susiya al Qadim when it was demolished and brought me here. Now that I have children of my own I don’t want to move again.

Israel has already demolished this village several times. We have a saying in Arabic: whatever falls from the sky will touch the ground. They can do what they want – demolish our caves and our tents – but they can’t demolish our will to live here.

children of palestinethis Christmas we were reminded how difficult life is for Palestinian children. Gaza faced a humanitarian crisis with disastrous floods. In the West Bank violence is on the rise. And in lebanon, bombings are becoming all too frequent.

Thanks to the kindness of MAP supporters we have been able to help more children get access to medical aid. In Gaza we provided blankets and hygiene kits to families worst affected by the floods. In the West Bank our mobile clinic was able to visit children living in remote villages. In Lebanon our midwives have been able to visit Palestinian mothers and their new born babies in the refugee camps.

Jack Straw and Richard Burden visiting a Bedouin encampment

appeal update

Aimee Shalan

“israel has already demolished this village several times. we have a saying in arabic: whatever falls from the sky will touch the ground.

they can do what they want – demolish our caves and our tents, but they can’t demolish our will to live here. ”

Nasser Nawaja

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last year we received two major legacies from people who, during their lifetime, had developed a strong bond with MAP and the Palestinians we work with. the first came from a long-time supporter who wished to remain anonymous but who wanted to share her motivation in an interview we published back in 2012:

“I cannot remember ever not being able to read, and it was around the age of 10 that I first read about the plight of the Palestinians. I am 81 years old today and still feel a huge degree of empathy with the Palestinians. I’m very much from the generation that remembers the British Raj and I have watched with dismay the continued crisis across the region and particularly for the residents of the Gaza Strip. I am normally very suspicious of charities but felt a connection when talking to MAP about their work. My experience as someone who is now in a wheelchair and who has endured frequent hospital visits is that a people’s right to health should never be compromised like it is in Gaza and across the West Bank. People should do what they feel is right to respond to the situation, and that is why I fully support MAP.”

the other donor had a much higher public profile as a champion of justice and peace in the Middle east and was also a great friend to MAP, as Dr Swee Ang remembers:

“David Watkins has been a dear friend of the Palestinians and of Medical Aid for Palestinians since we came into being. He was first treasurer of the Palestine Medical Association (PMA), which was the fore-runner to MAP. When the PMA

merged with MAP, David came over to be trustee and later treasurer. He brought along with him years of experience, valuable support and advice to MAP.

“To those of us who worked with him, he was always kind and encouraging, lending his advice and expertise without reservation. He also had a great sense of humour. The news of his death saddens all of us. We will miss his presence and find it hard to accept that he has passed on. But we remember with fondness and gratitude his generous support.”

These very special donations have come at a time when Palestinians are facing mounting problems on all fronts. MAP has been stretched to the very limits and the foresight of our friends has helped us bridge gaps that otherwise may have left many vulnerable people without the help they need.

Both of these supporters remembered to make provision for MAP in their wills, leaving a lasting gift to provide for those most in need, facing an uncertain future. If you leave a gift in your will to MAP you can be confident that your funds will be best used to help Palestinians living under occupation or as refugees until – one day – a just solution is finally achieved.

If you would like more information on the importance of leaving a gift in your will to MAP, please contact our office on 020 7226 4114 or email info@map-org.uk.

“people should do what they feel is right to respond to the situation, and that is why i fully support map”

Anonymous legacy donor

a livinG leGacY: two people who remembered the palestinians in their wills

MAP’s mobile clinic, Jordan Valley

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We all rely on support from family and friends to get through life, and MAP has a pledge to always be there as a trusted friend of the Palestinian people.

My FUNDRAISeR www.map-uk.org

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In october, hayley kemp and Philippa Davey ran a marathon in the northern West Bank to raise money for MAP. they initially aimed to raise £1,700 and have nearly doubled that target. hayley retells their marathon experience:

It was an early rise on my 50th birthday for the marathon from Jenin refugee camp to Tulkarem refugee camp. The reason Philippa and I needed to set off early was because of the temperature of 28°C. We couldn’t leave it too late either because of curfews and nightly incursions by the Israeli army.

We took our driver, Muawya, with us carrying our water and driving us to Jenin to begin the run. We set off from the Freedom Theatre at 6am and headed out into the Palestinian hills. Along the way we met many Palestinians who were fascinated and touched by what we were doing. The concept of a marathon is new in the north of the West Bank, and people kept asking us how many days it would take, where we were going to sleep at night and why didn’t we accept a lift from them, ‘just for a little way’! They overwhelmed us with their generosity, running out of their homes with water, chai and cucumbers.

Teenagers followed us on mopeds, sometimes three on one moped, and the younger children followed us on their bicycles. Cars going in the opposite direction even stopped, reversed and wanted to give us lifts. The cars, lorries and buses didn’t stop tooting, it was the noisiest run I’ve ever done. I felt a bit like Eddie Izzard with everyone supporting and joining us!

On the negative side, we did have to go through an Israeli checkpoint, which we didn’t think we would get through as the soldier told us nobody on foot was allowed to approach. However, I called his bluff, kept walking slowly and told him ‘I am a runner!’

The day ended in triumph – we completed the run! I completed the last 10km with seven blisters, liberally coated with Vaseline, which Philippa had brought along for just that job. We finished at the youth centre in Tulkarem camp, with all the children running to meet us. It was a wonderful finish, with Muawya presenting medals to us.

Inadvertently, we may have started the Palestine Women’s Marathon – that evening some Palestinian women asked if they could join next year as they were so touched by the overwhelming support from family, friends and colleagues in the UK who wanted to raise money to help them. We already have four Palestinian women and six international women signed up for next year, so it looks like I will be busy organising for next year’s marathon!

Both Philippa and I were overwhelmed by the kindness of the Palestinians, which was matched only by the generosity and support of everyone here at home. On reflection I couldn’t think of a better thing to do or place to be on my 50th birthday and, during the run, Philippa and I often looked at each other and remarked, ‘How lucky are we?’

If you haven’t already, you can still donate towards their marathon at: http://www.justgiving.com/HayleyKemp-PhilippaDavey

mY fundraiser runninG for map throuGh the west banK

our supporters

Your donation:

£25 provides a hygiene kit to a family in Gaza who has been devastated by floods

£80runs our mobile clinic for a day so that it can visit Palestinian communities in remote parts of the Jordan Valley

£160pays a nurse’s salary for a week so that they can care for Palestinians who are sick

£9,000pays for all the equipment needed to run a burns unit for a month

hayley kemp and Philippa Davey

It is always great to hear about the wonderful things that people do to help raise money for MAP. We want to say thank you to:

Dalgety Parish Church, which raised over £3,600 as part of their Harvest thanksgiving festival.

eileen Webb hosted a fundraising event and raised over £200.

hilary Browne and the Bradford Quakers gave a talk in Leeds and collected money for MAP.

David Robinson has been selling stamps and donating proceeds to MAP.

Runa Mackay put on an annual event in Scotland which raised over £3,000.

Gerald Clarke donated money from the sale of his CD.

karim Dajani raised over £300 by being sponsored to grow a moustache.

Sarah Mckay and Creative raised over £300 running the Great Scottish Run.

John Anderson raised over £600 by doing a night bike ride from Manchester to Blackpool.

kevin Ball and Andrea Boland asked their wedding guests to donate money to MAP rather than giving them wedding presents.

Mata Druim is raising money for MAP by hosting a series of heavy metal nights.

oban Concern for Palestine hosted a fundraising dinner.

hannah Whittaker shaved her head to raise money for MAP.

run for mapInspired by Hayley and Philippa’s marathon, but want something a bit less challenging?

We have a few places in this year’s British London 10km race on Sunday 13 July. If you would like to join our race team, contact flora.williamson@map-uk.org or 020 7226 4114. There is a registration fee of £25 and we ask all runners to commit to fundraising £250 each.

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partY conferencesMAP hosted fringe events, in association with the New Statesman, at all three of the main party conferences. The panel discussions focused on the question: Can aid be effective without advocacy? Panellists included: Sir Menzies Campbell MP; Simon Hughes MP; Cathy Jamieson MP; Peter Hain MP; Richard Howitt MEP; Crispin Blunt MP; Mark Pawsey MP; Baroness Morris of Bolton; Waseem el Sarraj; and Dr Nabil Shaath. Summaries of all three events are available on MAP’s website.

map receives awardMAP received an award from Hanan Ashrawi, Head of the PLO’s department of culture and information, in recognition of the charity’s work for the health and dignity of Palestinians living under occupation and as refugees. The plaque was received by Aimee Shalan, MAP’s Director of Advocacy and Communications, on behalf of the charity, during a delegation to the West Bank in December with former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, and Richard Burden MP.

map news

donate online at or call today on

www.map-uk.org 020 7226 411433a Islington Park Street, London, N1 1QB info@map-uk.orgRegistered Charity no: 1045315

Follow MAP on Twitter @MedicalAidPal and Facebook www.facebook.com/MedicalAidforPalestinians

diarY date map’s scottish parliamentarY reception

Wednesday, 7 May 2014, 8–10pm holyrood Palace, edinburgh

Hosted by Sandra White, MSP.

Professor Graham Watt and Aimee Shalan will speak on the latest developments and MAP’s programme priorities in response to the current situations in Gaza, West Bank and Lebanon.

to book a place, please email events@map-uk.org

map talKs

On 27 August, MAP’s Communications officer, William Parry, gave a talk outlining MAP’s projects in occupied Palestine and Lebanon at a meeting convened by Merton Palestine Solidarity Campaign. On 9 November, he gave another talk at the annual Scottish MAP fundraiser in Edinburgh. Our friends in Edinburgh, headed by Dr Runa MacKay, very kindly raised £3,162 for MAP’s work.

palestine lobbY daY

MAP participated in the National Lobby of Parliament for Palestine on Wednesday 27 November, when hundreds of supporters gathered in Parliament to call on MPs to take action for Palestinian human rights and against ethnic cleansing, discrimination and the blockade on Gaza.

map–caabu mp deleGation

MAP and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu) took Tessa Jowell MP and Nick Herbert MP on a delegation tour of the West Bank in January 2014.

It included visits to MAP’s mobile clinic in the Jordan Valley, briefings by OCHA, Breaking the Silence (with a tour of occupied Hebron, pictured), Al Haq (with a visit to al Nu’man village) and UNRWA, and a visit to Ofer Prison with Military Court Watch.

lancet – palestinian health alliance publication launch

MAP was delighted host, in association with The Lancet, the London launch of fascinating new research by the Lancet-Palestinian Health Alliance (LPHA) on 5 December.

The LPHA publication includes research highlighting some of the direct and indirect health effects of the Israeli occupation and conflict.

The panel included: Sir Iain Chalmers, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration and coordinator of the James Lind Initiative; Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet; Professor Rita Giacaman, Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University; and Aimee Shalan, MAP’s Director of Advocacy and Communications.

Cathy Jamieson MP and Rt hon Peter hain at MAP’s Fringe event, labour Party conference

Aimee Shalan receiving a plaque from hanan Ashrawi

Breaking the Silence’s yehuda Shaul with MPs tessa Jowell and Nick herbert in hebron

Chris DoyleMAP staff

Aimee Shalan

the lancet’s editor-in-Chief, Dr Richard horton, opens the lPhA launch in london

William Parry