On 1 June 2026, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Caabu hosted a reception in parliament focusing on the horrific and worsening situation in Palestine and Lebanon, and what parliamentarians must do to enforce tangible change.
Our speakers included MAP’s former Deputy Director of Gaza Programmes Mahmoud Shalabi, who led the implementation and coordination for MAP’s emergency response in Gaza throughout Israel’s genocide, MAP’s CEO Steve Cutts, multi Emmy and BAFTA winning TV journalist and executive producer, and executive producer of the BAFTA winning documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, Ben de Pear and Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Rt Hon Dame Emily Thornberry MP. Speeches were introduced by Caabu Board member Baroness Julie Elliott and closed off by Caabu Director, Chris Doyle.
Speeches highlighted the sacrifices made by health workers in Gaza and the fact that they have been systematically targeted by Israel, as well as the systematic targeting of Palestinian and Lebanese journalists on the ground, and that international journalists continue to be denied access to Gaza. It was also noted that the BAFTA winning documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” was originally to be shown by the BBC, but that they withdrew, following intense scrutiny and external pressure, exposing the pitfalls of what is meant to be responsible journalism by the national broadcaster.
Overall, there was a focus on the lack of tangible action to bring this to an end by the UK government, and what actions the UK, along with partners, does need to take so that Palestinians can live in peace and dignity in a state recognised by the same governments.
In her remarks (which were covered by the Guardian), Dame Emily Thornberry, said the UK Government had failed Palestinians.
“When it comes to our record on Palestine, I am afraid we have fallen well short and in doing so we have failed the Palestinian people.”
She continued:
“We should be banning the import of goods produced in illegal settlements. We should be going further. We should be placing sanctions on those involved in the settlements. We should be making sure we are stopping the involvement of any British companies. We should be coming down hard on insurance networks. We should be making it clear that it is not possible to construct settlements on the West Bank and we are going to do everything to stop it.”
The reception was attended by Ambassadors, notable parliamentarians, and our partners from humanitarian and civil society organisations. This was an opportunity to continue to place demands on the government to take immediate and concrete action to end the genocide of Palestinians, to implement international law, and to end Israeli impunity.
