In the past, we published the full contents of the UKPALMHN fortnightly mailings onto the home page of our website.

From now on, you will be able to find the contents of UKPALMHN mailings at this address on Substack:

ukpalmhn.substack.com

In all other respects, the operation of our website ukpalmhn.com is unchanged.

National March for Palestine – Tell the new PM – End the genocide Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: 18 July at 12 noon Location: Russell Square, central London Following Keir Starmer’s resignation, PSC is calling on the next Prime Minister to break with the previous government’s support for Israel and take concrete action. Join the march to send a powerful message to the next Prime Minister to stand up for Palestine and take all possible action, including sanctions, to end Israel’s genocide. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-march-for-palestine-tell-the-new-pm-end-the-genocide/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. We will assemble at 12.30pm in the south-west corner of Russell Square, opposite Montague Street; please note that this is different from our usual meeting point. All are welcome.

“This is the last time you will see me. They brought me here to kill me. I don’t see myself surviving. This is the end.” Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, who is held without charge in the Rakefet underground prison, speaking to his lawyer on 2 July Source: Physicians for Human Rights Israel Date: 5 July During a visit on 2 July, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya told his lawyer that he believed this would be their final meeting and that he had been brought to the underground Rakefet facility to be killed. He reported that guards had beaten him with a hammer and batons and that the abuse had become a daily occurrence, while his lawyer observed severe injuries, extreme weakness, breathing difficulties and signs that he was close to losing consciousness. https://www.phr.org.il/en/save-dr-abu-safiya/?pr=22935

In Israel’s prisons, torture and death have become a norm that it barely tries to hide Source: The Guardian Date: 13 July In this opinion piece, Nesrine Malik uses the detention and torture of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya to illustrate the longstanding system of administrative detention without trial, abuse, enforced disappearance and deaths in custody affecting thousands of Palestinians, including children. She argues that these practices are extensively documented and increasingly carried out in plain sight, yet continue because they are treated as normal within Israel and provoke little meaningful action from its western allies .https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/13/israel-prison-torture-death-hussam-abu-safiya-palestine

Most documented. Least protected. Source: Lama Khouri writing on Substack Date: 3 July Dr. Khouri co-founded the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network Drawing on the Palestinian Feminist Collective’s report A predatory state, Lama Khouri examines eight decades of sexualised and gender-based violence against Palestinians, arguing that humiliation and torture are deliberately used to damage family bonds, communal identity and trust in the world. She describes the psychological effects as extending beyond those directly assaulted to children, relatives and witnesses, with trauma repeatedly reproduced through fear, shame, disrupted attachment and the lasting effects of being forced to watch loved ones degraded. Khouri argues that extensive documentation has failed to secure protection or accountability, and calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions, as well as sustained pressure on mental health organisations to confront torture, institutional complicity and silence. https://substack.com/home/post/p-204970477

The man who walked toward the “yellow line” in Gaza – and the son he carried with himSource: Drop Site NewsDate: 11 July The report describes how Osama Al-Shafi’s mental health deteriorated under relentless fear, deprivation and loss until, in an apparently dissociated state, he walked towards Israeli soldiers carrying his 22-month-old son, Jawad; Osama was shot in the shoulder and remains detained, with his fate unknown. Jawad was returned with blood, puncture wounds and marks that a doctor reportedly considered consistent with deliberate cigarette burns used as torture, and now wakes in terror and speaks in fragments as Gaza specialists describe the population’s anguish as “continuous trauma” because the violence and threat have never ended. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-yellow-line-psychological-trauma-maghazi

Iterations of Hell: Settler colonialism as societal abuse Author: Martin Kemp Source: International Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, Volume 23, Issue 2 Date: June 2026 Martin Kemp is a member of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Steering Group. This paper examines the ethical responsibilities of the psychoanalytic profession in the context of the Gaza genocide. It considers how the crisis in Palestine has prompted wider mobilisation and raised questions about the responsibilities of health professionals as citizens and members of civil society institutions. The paper explores a perceived divide between responses to harm in private settings, where moral responsibility and agency are more readily recognised, and responses to comparable harm in the public sphere, where these implications may be denied or avoided. It develops this argument through a discussion of child sexual exploitation and settler colonialism, and calls for psychoanalytic ethics to move beyond symbolic commitments to human rights towards standards consistent with established medical ethics https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/author/F7YZRJNKYSIP9TJJKJQS?target=10.1002/aps.70057

A home for liberatory mental health Source: Palestine-Global Mental Health Network Date: 4 July Palestinian mental health professionals are inviting colleagues worldwide to help establish an international professional body for liberatory mental health practice, organised through independent chapters under a shared charter. The proposed body would provide clinicians across countries, languages and disciplines with a place for professional belonging, mutual support, supervision and collective thought, while refusing to separate clinical work from the political and material conditions affecting patients’ lives. The initiative responds to the alienation experienced by practitioners whose existing institutions require political silence or have marginalised them, and extends beyond Palestine to those working with communities facing oppression, displacement and state violence. https://www.pgmhn.org/statements/a-home-for-liberatory-mental-health

Genocidal politics of settler psychopathology and Palestinian liberation as healthy becoming – An extended interview with Dr Samah Jabr Source: Interventions – International Journal of Postcolonial Studies Date: 3 July https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369801X.2026.2681430 The article is not open access, but Dr Jabr provides an overview in a LinkedIn post: In the interview with researcher Anissa Haddadi, Dr Samah Jabr examines Palestinian mental health through the intersecting realities of settler colonialism, genocide and the politics of psychological knowledge, criticising approaches that strip suffering of its political context and reduce it to individual diagnoses such as PTSD. Drawing on Frantz Fanon, faith, spirituality, sumud, language, testimony and memory, she argues for a liberation-oriented psychology grounded in the experience of colonised peoples, in which justice, narrative reclamation and bearing witness are essential conditions for mental health. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7481360277012226050/

Annihilated Families and the Politics of Mass Graves: Testimonies of Gazan women after the loss of entire kin networks Authors: Veronese, G., Hamamra, B., and Mahamid, F. Source: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Date: 2026 The article is not open access and the following summary is based on the published abstract. This study draws on interviews and testimonies from 30 displaced women in Gaza to examine the psychological effects of losing entire family networks, alongside the destruction of homes and neighbourhoods and the inability to recover and identify bodies, hold funerals, bury relatives with dignity and grieve collectively. It argues that trauma in Gaza is cumulative, relational and rooted in the destruction of collective life, requiring community-based and justice-oriented responses rather than solely individual clinical treatment. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605261463258

Fearing cultural erasure, a Palestinian literary movement takes root Source: Publishing Perspectives Date: 18 June The article surveys a growing international movement to preserve and promote Palestinian literature, memory and cultural life in response to the destruction of libraries, universities, bookshops and other cultural institutions in Gaza. It highlights initiatives including archives of killed writers, projects documenting destroyed cultural sites, new Palestinian bookshops and magazines, and Gaza’s Phoenix Library, created from thousands of books salvaged from the rubble. https://publishingperspectives.com/2026/06/fearing-cultural-erasure-a-palestinian-literary-movement-takes-root/

“Every post you write that refuses the official silence, every conversation you refuse to drop, every moment you say the word genocide in a room that wants you not to: that is a stream finding another stream.” Lama Khouri 11 actions that you can take for Palestine…

ACTIONS FOR DR ABU SAFIYA AND ALL PALESTINIAN PRISONERS / DETAINEES / HOSTAGES Amnesty International Release Dr Hussam Abu Safiya! https://www.amnesty.org/en/petition/release-dr-hussam-abu-safiya/ Doctors Against Genocide Letters to Free Dr Hussam Abu Safiya https://doctorsagainstgenocide.org/actions/abu-safiya-letters Dr Abu Safiya action website https://savedrabusafiya.com/ Palestine-Global Mental Health Network From Australia to Indonesia, Ireland to Chile, Sweden to Abya Yala, and across the shatāt, clinicians and mental health workers are holding one line: free Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, and free every detained Palestinian health worker. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DawWBfZu4ci/ Red Ribbons Campaign – Free Palestinian Hostages (#FreePalHostages) An urgent humanitarian appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross for the immediate restoration of ICRC access to Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli custody https://www.instagram.com/p/DalcxHMCBQd/?img_index=1 Open letter to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health re: Unlawful Detention of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfyP4fDnfu0AX3z07KcLHv7tm4QTcRkeSr9H2hXOGtIHrGMIg/viewform Background and evidence United Nations Human Rights Council (Background information) Israel must release Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and all Palestinian medical personnel arbitrarily detained and adhere to international law, UN Commission of Inquiry says. https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/07/israel-must-release-dr-hussam-abu-safiya-and-all-palestinian-medical?sub-site=HRC

OTHER FEATURED ACTIONS

Challenge the use of the IHRA definition to suppress criticism of Israel Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Date: July 2026 This appeal seeks donations towards a legal challenge arguing that the use of the IHRA working definition of antisemitism is incompatible with the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association guaranteed by the Human Rights Act. The case concerns Bea Foster, who was accused of antisemitism after sharing posts condemning Israel’s actions, and aims to protect advocacy for Palestinian rights from being silenced through the application of the definition. https://donate.palestinecampaign.org/oppose-the-IHRA

Thank you and congratulations to the British Medical Association Source: Public for BMA campaign on Action Network Date: July 2026 This action asks members of the public to email the British Medical Association to thank it and its members for rejecting the IHRA definition of antisemitism at its June 2026 annual representative meeting. Organisers describe the vote as a principled defence of freedom of expression on Palestine and invite supporters to demonstrate public backing as the BMA faces pressure to reverse the decision. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/thank-you-and-congratulations-to-the-bma

Petition: Suspend the IMA from the WMA Source: People’s Health Movement, Doctors for Gaza/Artsen voor Gaza and Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council Date: 30 June This petition calls on the World Medical Association to suspend the Israeli Medical Association, arguing that it has failed to uphold medical ethics or oppose attacks on Palestinian healthcare workers, the destruction of health services and reported abuses in detention. It asks healthcare workers, students and health institutions to sign, share the petition and press their national medical associations to support action ahead of the World Medical Association’s General Assembly in Rotterdam in October. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfe3SfFvOo2pgaEX6c5FAbsPivkQ2eNVMilxwMSQcAnjX64pQ/viewform

Email your MP: demand the UK bans trade with settlements Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians Date: June 2026 Medical Aid for Palestinians says Israel’s illegal settlements are forcing Palestinians from their land and worsening the healthcare crisis, and argues that government advice discouraging British businesses from settlement trade is insufficient. The action asks supporters to email their MPs demanding a legal ban on UK trade with illegal Israeli settlements. https://mailchi.mp/map.org.uk/urgent-demand-the-uk-ban-settlement-trade

Tent of Nations – Early Day Motion 502 Source: Friends of Tent of Nations UK Date: 2 July The Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent visit has brought renewed attention to the Tent of Nations, the Nassar family’s educational and ecological farm south-west of Bethlehem, known for its Christian-rooted commitment to non-violence and its message: “We refuse to be enemies.” The family have spent 35 years trying to protect and re-register their land through legal means, while facing restrictions on access, road construction through the farm, development of a nearby outpost, surveillance and harassment. Please write to your MP and ask them to sign Early Day Motion 502, which calls on the UK government to raise the Nassar family’s case with the Israeli authorities. https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/66221 An action pack, including a template letter, a briefing for MPs, an updated legal briefing and a booklet about the farm, is available here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gw3sOr251O1G24D3WA_H0GAcpMURUnQc?usp=sharing

FEATURED EVENTS

ICAHD UK Annual Conference – Empowering the Palestinians in their struggle for justice Source: ICAHD Date: Saturday 17 October from 9.30am – 4.45pm Location: Porter Hall, The Wesley Hotel, London NW1 2EZ The conference will consider how Palestinians can be supported as Israel advances its settler-colonial and apartheid policies. It will also examine responses to the criminalisation of people and organisations demonstrating solidarity with Palestinians. https://icahd.org/2019/10/01/upcoming-events/

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS)A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).”

Palestinian civic movement and civil society position on so-called “people-to-people” and “peacebuilding” initiatives Source: Al-Haq Date: 11 July Al-Haq is a leading independent Palestinian human rights organisation, founded in 1979. A broad coalition of Palestinian civil society organisations rejects “people-to-people” and “peacebuilding” initiatives that bring Palestinians and Israelis together without confronting occupation, apartheid, settler colonialism and genocide, arguing that such projects normalise oppression and marginalise Palestinian agency. The statement calls on governments, international organisations and donors to stop supporting these initiatives, end state, corporate and institutional complicity, and instead enforce international law and support Palestinian-led efforts for accountability, self-determination and return. https://www.alhaq.org/advocacy/27696.html

National March for Palestine – Tell the new PM – End the genocide
Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Date: 18 July at 12 noon
Location: Central London (exact location to be confirmed)
Keir Starmer has finally been forced to resign – brought down in no small part by his shameful support for Israel’s crimes. Whoever comes next must break with this moral bankruptcy, or they will face a similar fate. Join our march to send a powerful message to the next Prime Minister to stand up for Palestine and take all possible action, including sanctions, to end Israel’s genocide.
https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-march-for-palestine-tell-the-new-pm-end-the-genocide/

Israel continues to commit genocide and other atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children
Source: The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel
Date: 23 June
Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, and war crimes in the West Bank, the UN Independent International Commission said in a new report. The Commission concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide against the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip. It has now found that the intense scale and systematic nature of the Israeli military operations have continued – resulting in unprecedented death, injury and trauma of Palestinian children. The Commission reiterates that the deliberate targeting of children is one of the key elements establishing genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part, in Gaza.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/06/israel-continues-commit-genocide-and-other-atrocity-crimes-deliberately

“The child whose death struck me most in the West Bank was in a different situation. He was in Al-Far’a refugee camp, in the town of Tubas. He was a 14-year-old boy.
He was shot by an Israeli military patrol as he was leaving his house. The patrol had been in the area, but at the time there had been no fighting taking place.
He was shot, badly injured, and left lying on the ground. He was surrounded by a company of Israeli soldiers for 45 minutes while this 14-year-old boy bled to death.
Early on, he was still able to move a little. He pushed his cap out to indicate that he was still alive and needed attention. A soldier kicked the cap back at him. On another occasion, he was crying out, and again the response was to kick towards him.
Later, a soldier came up and dropped a stone next to him, trying to frame this innocent child as a stone-thrower, when there is no evidence whatsoever that he was doing anything more than going out to play.
As the mother tried to leave the house to reach the child, to rescue him or attend to him, she was shot at by the Israeli military patrol.
There was a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance nearby, and whenever the ambulance tried to approach the scene, a laser-targeted weapon was aimed at the driver. The laser was hitting the driver in the middle of the head, and the driver of course withdrew in fear of being shot.
For 45 minutes, this child bled to death while surrounded by Israeli soldiers who not only showed no concern for him, and not only did nothing themselves to assist him, but actively prevented the child’s mother from reaching him and the ambulance from assisting him.”
Commission member Chris Sidoti, at the press conference to launch the report
Source: Defence for Children International
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/_xLsK5ZpUc8

Ms Rachel, the popular children’s educator and YouTube creator, also hosted an online discussion following the release of the report. She spoke with Commission member Chris Sidoti, emergency physician Dr Mimi Syed and others about the UN Commission’s findings on the targeting of Palestinian children and the responsibilities of states to act.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yoq-PtfJKHg

There are tens of thousands of Hind Rajabs
Source: Lama Khouri on Substack
Date: 26 June
Lama Khouri responds to the UN Commission’s report on crimes against Palestinian children by asking readers to see Hind Rajab’s case as one visible instance of a much wider reality, in which tens of thousands of Palestinian children have been killed, wounded or traumatised without comparable public recognition. Writing as a Palestinian mother and psychoanalyst, she links the deliberate targeting of children to the destruction of childhood itself: the loss of play, safety, imagination and hope under conditions of genocide, occupation and continuing military violence.
https://lamakhouri1.substack.com/p/tens-of-thousands-of-hind-rajabs

Link to the If This Were Your Child campaign:
https://www.instagram.com/if_this_were_your_child/

UN inquiry: Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children as part of genocide
Source: Middle East Eye
Date: 23 June
Middle East Eye provides an overview of the UN Commission’s report, focusing on how the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children is linked to the Commission’s finding of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The article highlights evidence cited in the report, including direct killings and injuries, attacks on healthcare and neonatal care, denial of education, detention abuse, severe psychological trauma, and the wider destruction of the conditions necessary for Palestinian children’s survival and development.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-deliberately-targeted-palestinian-children-part-genocide-un-inquiry-finds

Palestinian prisoners’ institutions issue urgent appeal to World Health Organization to intervene to stop spread of scabies among Palestinian political prisoners in occupation’s prisons
Source: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association
Date: 17 June
Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs have sent an urgent appeal to the director-general of the World Health Organisation, calling for immediate intervention over deteriorating health conditions among Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli prisons. The appeal focuses on the spread of scabies, including among child prisoners, and links the crisis to prison policies and conditions that the organisations say have turned a treatable disease into a serious health threat affecting thousands of detainees.
https://addameer.ps/news/5688

Israel bombs Palestinians in beach tents in Gaza
Source: Drop Site News
Date: 25 June
Mohamed Ahmed and Abdel Qader Sabbah report on Israeli attacks on displaced Palestinians sheltering in tents along Gaza’s coastline, including a strike in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, that killed 11-year-old Ahmed al-Raqab and severely wounded other children. The article links these attacks to the UN Commission’s finding that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted, while also documenting the continuing realities of displacement, destroyed shelters, heat, water scarcity, insects, rodents and the absence of any meaningful ceasefire for families living on the beach.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/israel-bombs-gaza-coastline-tents-beach-displaced-palestinians

UK doctors reject IHRA definition and back protections for staff speaking on Palestine
Source: Middle East Eye
Date: 25 June
Middle East Eye reports that doctors at the British Medical Association’s annual conference voted to drop the IHRA definition of antisemitism, citing concerns that it has had a chilling effect on legitimate political speech and professional expression about Palestine/Israel. The article links the vote to wider concern over the Lord Mann review, NHS England’s adoption of the definition, and cases in which healthcare workers have faced reprimand or professional detriment for showing support for Palestine.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-doctors-reject-ihra-definition-and-back-protections-staff-speaking-palestine
BMJ article (partly behind a paywall):
https://www.bmj.com/content/393/bmj-2026-100085
The full text of motions 55 (IHRA definition) and 1002 (Mann review) are on this page:
https://bma-dag.org/

The Archbishop of Canterbury calls for a just peace while visiting Tent of Nations
Source: ICAHD
Date: 25 June
Archbishop Sarah Mullally visited the Tent of Nations farm south of Bethlehem, where she met and prayed with the Nasser family and planted an olive tree as a sign of hope for justice and peace. The visit highlighted the family’s long struggle to protect land held for more than 100 years, their commitment to non-violent resistance under the motto “We refuse to be enemies”, and the wider pressures facing Palestinian Christians in the occupied West Bank.
https://icahd.org/2026/06/25/she-gets-it-the-archbishop-of-canterbury-calls-for-a-just-peace-while-visiting-tent-of-nations/

FEATURED ACTIONS

Tent of Nations – Early Day Motion 502
Source: Friends of Tent of Nations UK
Date: 2 July
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s recent visit has brought renewed attention to the Tent of Nations, the Nassar family’s educational and ecological farm south-west of Bethlehem, known for its Christian-rooted commitment to non-violence and its message: “We refuse to be enemies.” The family have spent 35 years trying to protect and re-register their land through legal means, while facing restrictions on access, road construction through the farm, development of a nearby outpost, surveillance and harassment. Please write to your MP and ask them to sign Early Day Motion 502, which calls on the UK government to raise the Nassar family’s case with the Israeli authorities.
https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/66221
An action pack, including a template letter, a briefing for MPs, an updated legal briefing and a booklet about the farm, is available here:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gw3sOr251O1G24D3WA_H0GAcpMURUnQc?usp=sharing

Write to your MP: debate to ban trade with illegal settlements
Source: Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Date: Thursday 9 July
Abtisam Mohamed MP will sponsor a backbench debate in the House of Commons on Thursday 9 July, calling for a ban on British trade with illegal Israeli settlements. This is an opportunity to push MPs, including the incoming Prime Minister, to take a meaningful step against Israel’s criminal actions. Please take two minutes to email your MP demanding action for comprehensive sanctions against Israel, including a complete ban on all trade with illegal settlements.
https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/MPdebatesettlements

FEATURED EVENTS

Working with families and wider systems in contexts of continuous and complex trauma: The case of Gaza
Source: Association for Family Therapy (AFT)
Date: Monday 13 July
Speakers: Gwyn Daniel, Hind Khalifeh and Danny McGowan.
This online workshop will explore collaboration with Palestinian mental health workers in Gaza and describe evolving practices to support colleagues who are themselves living through the same traumas as those they are helping. The presenters will discuss support for children and families, training initiatives, “ethical loneliness”, and systemic questions concerning power, racism and colonialism in contexts of continuous war and occupation.
https://www.aft.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?group=&id=2028611

Decolonial Mental Health Practice Part 2: Clinical and ethical insights from Palestine
Source: Science and Nonduality
Date: Sundays 5, 12, 19 and 26 July at 5-7pm (UK time)
This four-part online course with Dr Samah Jabr explores decolonial mental health practice through clinical, ethical and political insights drawn from her psychiatric work in Palestine. The course examines trauma caused by humiliation and degradation, clinical approaches to torture and its aftermath, gendered experiences of political violence, and the mental health of children and adolescents living under chronic instability. It is intended for mental health professionals, clinicians in training, social workers, humanitarian practitioners, academics and human rights advocates, and includes clinical vignettes, video excerpts, plenary discussion, small-group analytical work and facilitated dialogue.
https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/decolonial-mental-health-practice-part-2/
If you missed Part 1 with Dr Samah, you can access the recording here:
https://scienceandnonduality.com/event/decolonial-mental-health-practice/

BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT AND SANCTIONS (BDS)
A founding aim of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is to “encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).”

End UK complicity in genocide: sanction Israel
Source: Labour & Palestine
Date: Tuesday 7 July
Labour & Palestine is hosting an online discussion with Richard Burgon MP and live links from Palestine and South Africa on next steps in campaigning for justice for Palestinians and meaningful sanctions against Israel in line with international law. Listed speakers include Giorgia Gusciglio, Ryvka Barnard, Hugh Lanning and Rachel Garnham, with further guests from Palestine and South Africa to be announced.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/end-uk-complicity-in-genocide-sanction-israel-tickets-1990974363918

Email your MP: demand the UK bans trade with settlements
Source: Medical Aid for Palestinians
Date: June 2026
Israel’s illegal settlements in the West Bank are forcing Palestinians off their land and worsening an existing healthcare crisis. The Foreign Secretary advised British businesses not to trade with illegal settlements. However, MAP calls for the UK to introduce an outright ban. MAP says supporters should send a clear message: this is not enough. MAP asks supporters to email their MPs to demand the UK ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. 
https://mailchi.mp/map.org.uk/urgent-demand-the-uk-ban-settlement-trade

National Demonstration for Palestine Saturday 2 November at 12 noon from Whitehall to the US Embassy The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. We will assemble in Charing Cross station near Platform 1 at 12 noon together with colleagues from the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK). All are welcome to join us. UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 4 November at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please email ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. Liberate Mental Health – Resistance: Commitment, Militant Clarity, and Revolutionary Praxis Tuesday 5 November from 7pm – 9pm Join us for a dialogic seminar and open discussion on resistance towards and commitment to revolutionary praxis within (and without) the mental health sector. Our featured speaker is Lara Sheehi: psychoanalyst, activist, and co-author alongside Stephen Sheehi of Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine. https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/6d9f4340-faea-4f80-a746-ccdee1f25a83@2e9f06b0-1669-4589-8789-10a06934dc61 Decolonization of People and Nature in Palestine and Globally Monday 11 November at 6:30pm – 8:30pm Bookmarks Bookshop, 1 Bloomsbury Street, London WC1B 3QE Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh will explain why and how the colonization of Palestine and its transformation from a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural multi-religious state to make it a ‘Jewish state’ led to destruction of human and natural communities. He articulates how working for environmental justice and for human rights is key to peace and sustainability. https://www.instagram.com/bookmarksthesocialistbookshop/ Palestine: Repair & Return – Stories of Women and Health Wednesday 13 November from 6.30pm – 8.30pm P21 Gallery 21-23 Chalton Street London NW1 1JD Voices of Palestinian women, health practitioners, therapists will be amplified, the significance and crucial importance of women’s health will be explored and the actions that communities in Palestine are taking to safeguard and regenerate this major aspect of life will be illustrated. https://p21.gallery/node/377 The Role of Non-violent Resistance for Palestinians in the Light of the Gaza War Thursday 14 November at 3pm (UK time) With Jonathan Kuttab, international human rights lawyer who was the co-founder of Al Haq, the leading Palestinian human rights organisation. https://mailchi.mp/balfourproject/enewsletter-13534420?e=69c36205de Responding to ‘Scholasticide’ in Gaza: The Role of the UK International Education and Training Community Monday 18 November from 10:00 am – 3:30 pm (UK time) A conference organised by Friends of Birzeit University Hear first-hand from representatives of Palestinian education institutions in Gaza and Palestinian experts. Consider how best respond to the immediate needs of learners and educators in Gaza. https://www.tickettailor.com/events/ukfiet/1399229 Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) update On Saturday 26 October, the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) had a video call with a number of their staff located in Gaza and in other locations in the region. The participants provide vivid, personal testimonies about the unspeakable inhumanity of the current situation in Gaza. But also about the amazing work still being done by PTC (UK) for groups of women and children in the North and Middle Areas. It is accompanied by some recent photos. https://www.palestinetraumacentre.uk/news/uidmvy00hfkcntgaa8ejms1e4tscin Genocide as colonial erasure Report to the United Nations from the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories (Francesca Albanese) “Summary: The latest report examines the unfolding horrors in the occupied Palestinian territory. While the wholesale destruction of Gaza continues unabated, other parts of the land have not been spared. The violence that Israel has unleashed against the Palestinians post-7 October is not happening in a vacuum, but is part of a long-term intentional, systematic, State- organised forced displacement and replacement of the Palestinians. This trajectory risks causing irreparable prejudice to the very existence of the Palestinian people in Palestine. Member States must intervene now to prevent new atrocities that will further scar human history.” https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/279/68/pdf/n2427968.pdf UN rapporteur’s latest report accuses Israel of ‘settler-colonial genocide’ against Palestinians A news item summarising the key findings of Francesca Albanese’s new report. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/world/un-rapporteurs-latest-report-accuses-israel-of-settler-colonial-genocide-against-palestinians/3377628 Mental health professionals struggle with Gaza’s overwhelming trauma Fady is a 30-year-old psychologist working in a school in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are taking shelter. He has refused to abandon his job although traveling to work is extremely dangerous. https://electronicintifada.net/content/mental-health-professionals-struggle-gazas-overwhelming-trauma/49556 Israel’s mass detention of Palestinians is aimed to break our spirit But my own imprisonment without charge has made me more resilient. By Anas Abu Srour, Executive Director of Aida Youth Center On November 28, Israeli soldiers stopped my car at the Jaba checkpoint in the occupied West Bank and kidnapped me. I spent the following 253 days in detention without charge, without ever being told why this was happening to me. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/10/12/israels-mass-detention-of-palestinians-is-aimed-to-break-our-spirit The American Psychological Association is abandoning its commitment to human rights by refusing to speak out on Palestine The American Psychological Association claims to ‘prioritise human rights advocacy’, but if its leaders want to truly honour that commitment they must recognise and address the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza today. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/10/the-american-psychological-association-is-abandoning-its-commitment-to-human-rights-by-refusing-to-speak-out-on-palestine/ From the River to the Sea: The Palestine Issue The November edition of the Parapraxis magazine We release this special issue as one collective voice within the call for abolition, transformation, and exit. Rather than evacuating our consulting rooms and classrooms of politics, we here seek to put the centre of the world at the centre of psychoanalysis. All the proceeds of this issue will go to The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, where trying to understand and helping the victims of this ongoing catastrophe go hand-in-hand. https://www.parapraxismagazine.com/magazine Open letter to the Royal College of Nurses from Nurses for Palestine We are a group of nurses and RCN members calling on the RCN to improve their response to the ongoing humanitarian crises in Palestine and Lebanon. The purpose of this form is to provide an opportunity to RCN members (and non-members) to sign an open letter to the RCN with listed demands. The letter is also open to signature by ‘other healthcare workers’. Full open letter: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FEPPx5NPaCU28Tx-zBiq-cOk8Cbs2e7ZopHeSrmSlP4/edit?usp=sharing Draft RCN statement proposed by Nurses for Palestine: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FoltdKjWxw9skk142rBHn4V7ZdO6caNQCwDv0EXyYpQ/edit?usp=sharing Nurses for Palestine on Twitter: https://x.com/NursesforPal Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide Time is ticking by, the world is standing by A poem dedicated to Palestinians

UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 28 October at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting.

National Demonstration for Palestine Saturday 2 November at 12 noon from Whitehall to the US Embassy

Oath of Mental Health Professionals and Healthcare Workers for LiberationWe are proud to share this oath for Mental Health Workers produced by Dr Samah Jabr, our colleague, friend and founder member of the Palestine Global Mental Health Network. One of its strengths, in our view, is that it evokes the collective nature of struggles for liberation and the ethical positions that therapists need to take inrelation to all forms of oppression and anti-racism. While not directly mentioning Palestine, Dr Jabr nevertheless places the Palestinian struggle for freedom squarely within an anti-colonial and anti-racist framework, from which it is often excluded. The duty not to pathologise resistance is a timely reminder to all of us that, in this country, therapists who support Palestine are all too often pathologised and silenced. At present there is no request for individual practitioners to sign up to the oath but we hope that you will share it with your colleagues and present it to your professional associations, especially in relation to their equity, diversity and anti-racist committees and policies.

Oath of Mental Health Professionals and Healthcare Workers for Liberation By Dr Samah Jabr, Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist, Assistant Clinical Professor, Author, Head of Mental Health Unit Palestine Dr Jabr reading the Oath: https://www.instagram.com/p/DAipfreSxyu/ English transcript of the Oath: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/oath-of-mental-health-professionals/

Life and Death in Gaza A film made by four Palestinians living through extraordinary times. Filming from the first days of the war, Khalid, Aya, Adam and Aseel document their own lives as they endure bombing raids, multiple evacuations, family separations and reunions, deaths, and even the birth of a new life amidst the chaos. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002412q/life-and-death-in-gaza

Israel’s ‘relentless’ pounding of northern Gaza A 6-minute Channel 4 news report on Sunday 20 October “The world cannot say it did not see this. It cannot say it didn’t know”. (Spare a thought for the brave journalists who captured this film and tell this story) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2d1kPNuF8c

‘Devastating blow to humanity’: Barred from Gaza by Israel, health workers cry out for help As the situation inside Gaza is increasingly described as “indescribable,” medical NGOs blocked from providing care to Palestinians trapped inside besieged territory demand world leaders to stop turning ‘blind eye’ to Israeli war crimes and violations of humanitarian law. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-health-workers

As mental health workers, we call for an end to the West’s collusion with Israel An open letter from the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network and co-signed by 10 other organisations Healthcare practitioner, psychologists, psychotherapists and social workers are calling for an end to Israel’s genocidal onslaught https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/gaza-war-uk-mental-health-workers-west-end-collusion-israel

Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur Occupied Palestinian Territories “In Gaza, the collective shame of the century continues unabated and unstopped, in defiance of every norm of international law and morale. The Palestinians, exhausted by relentless attacks on their bodies and souls are abandoned to their tormentors. Shocking images of summary executions, mass forced displacements, and other egregious abuses strike us, leaving us stunned and bewildered, unable to comprehend that what is happening in Gaza is truly real. What a disgraceful testament to our global failure to protect basic human rights . The United Nations, once a believed beacon of hope and a force for peace, are crumbling under the weight of this shame – and the pressure of the inaction or complicity of its most powerful member states.” https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1848007903783059730

How the Media Whitewashes Israel’s Rampage A true balanced depiction of the horrors that have taken place over the last year calls not for equal treatment between the oppressor and oppressed, or between the victims of a heinous terror attack over two days and the victims of industrialized mass slaughter over twelve months. Rather, we should question where the balance is struck between attention to the atrocities and war crimes carried out by Israel and critical scrutiny of its paymasters — between the hit man and the crime boss who is supplying the guns and calling the shots. https://jacobin.com/2024/10/israel-gaza-media-bias-empire

Killing of woman harvester underscores ‘war-like’ Israeli assault on West Bank olive growers “The olive season has turned into a season of killing for the Palestinian people, whether at the hands of the Israeli army or armed settlers,” said one observer. https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-attacks-olive-farmers

War on Olives A short video from Sahat featuring a clip of the non-violent activist Munther Amira who was released from so-called administrative detention earlier this year. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBMikAptYpN/

ACTIONS TO PROTEST THE GENOCIDE IN THE NORTH OF GAZA Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/

Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide

SYMPOSIUM Sumud and Solidarity: International mental health networks united for liberation and justice Friday 18 October at 6pm – 8pm (UK time) The Brazil, Turkiye and South Africa Palestine mental health networks invite you to attend the symposium: Sumud and Solidarity – International mental health networks united for liberation and justice. Registration/Zoom link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86135814190?pwd=NbLhfbvWsdWbJDqVZnjvfBP1Gs9XLM.1 Teach, Play, Love, from the heart of Gaza Sunday 20 October at 2pm (UK time) From the Hands Up Theatre project in collaboration with ETL Professionals for Palestine. English teachers in Gaza have been doing inspirational work teaching English through stories for traumatized children. Come to this live session to meet Ashraf and the children he’s been working with for the past six months. There will be live performances and show and tell from the children themselves. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoc-isqDwtGNFWPqZu-imUjtgNrDc19bOU?#/registration UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 21 October at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to this meeting. Collective care, ‘sumud” and resistance with Dr Yoa’d Ghanadry Hakim Monday 21 October at 6pm – 7.30pm (UK time) Webinar featuring recorded interview with Dr Yo’ad Ghanadry Hakim and panel discussion, Dr Ghanadry Hakim is a Palestinian psychotherapist who has presented at Cafe Palestine (Cafe no 4) and wrote a chapter for Psychoanalysis under Occupation edited by Lara and Stephen Sheehi https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-systemic-way-free-online-event-tickets-1033781527377 PalMusic’s 10th Anniversary concert Thursday 14 November at 7pm (UK time) in Southwark Cathedral This major concert will feature international masters Saied Silbak (oud) and Faris Ishaq (nay/composer), together with PalMusic UK Scholar Marc Kawwas (piano), in collaboration with the St Paul’s Sinfonia under the baton of Wissam Boustany. https://www.palmusic.org.uk/10th-anniversary-concert-at-southwark-cathedral-new-date/ UN: Gaza home to largest number of amputee children in modern history In a statement to the UN General Assembly, Lisa Doughten from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned of the dire humanitarian situation in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, saying the besieged Strip ‘is home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history’. https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241011-un-gaza-home-to-largest-number-of-amputee-children-in-modern-history/ Seeing and not seeing the catastrophe: Notes on fragmentation What prevents us from seeing and comprehending the catastrophe in Gaza? And why is there silence? A joint article between Professor Marie Saglio-Yatzimirsky of the France-Palestine Mental Health Network, and Professor Ana Gebrim from the Brasil-Palestine Mental Health Network. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/10/seeing-and-not-seeing-the-catastrophe-notes-on-fragmentation/ A Year of Scholasticide – The struggle for the survival of education in Gaza A Friends of Birzeit University blog post. ‘The Israeli occupation forces have demolished our buildings but our universities live on.’ Unified Statement by Gaza academics and university administrators to the world . https://fobzu.cmail19.com/t/d-e-euihryk-ijwhhckl-g/ Update on the conditions and torture violations committed against Gazan detainees A report from Addameer, the Palestinian Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association. It provides an update on the situation of the detainees from Gaza who were taken by the Israeli Occupation Forces and remain under their control in various military camps and prisons. Addameer would like to stress the unlawful character of their detention as well as the inhuman treatment that residents from Gaza are subjected to […] that, in many cases, amounts to torture. https://www.addameer.org/media/5406 Hind Rajab Foundation files historic ICC complaint against 1,000 Israeli Soldiers for war crimes in Gaza The Hind Rajab Foundation, a branch of the March 30 Movement, has filed an unprecedented and historic complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against 1,000 Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldiers for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza. These individuals, all of whom have been identified by name, are accused of participating in systematic attacks against civilians during the ongoing genocide in Gaza. https://30-3.org/news/details/25 Voices from Gaza A moving, 17-minute compilation of videos over the past year from Emmy-winning citizen journalist Bisan in Gaza https://x.com/Wizard__Bisan/status/1843902093934940380 Personal Notes from a Palestinian in the Diaspora: Thoughts on my own generational trauma The author is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist working in a Trauma Service specialising in developmental and generational Trauma. She would like to remain anonymous to protect her patients present and past. Note: Professor Veronika Cohen is mentioned in this article. Professor Cohen was shown the text and expressed a hope that it may raise awareness of the Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention on behalf of whom she campaigns. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/personal-notes-from-a-palestinian-in-the-diaspora/ Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide

‘We slept this night in complete darkness. We couldn’t even turn on our phones, not even for a faint light, because the small drones were roaming the alleys between houses, firing in all directions. We lowered the sound of our breathing so as not to draw attention.’ A ‘young friend in Gaza’ quoted by Heather Formaini in her regular mailing. Dear colleagues, UKPALMHN is issuing the urgent appeal asking you to take action on the catastrophic situation in Northern Gaza. While Israel is committing atrocities throughout the region, this is one that must be stopped before the entire population of Northern Gaza is either forcibly displaced or murdered. Please write to your MP and encourage others to do so. Here is a template letter to use if you wish. Dear MP, I/we are writing to you as a matter of extreme urgency because the population of Jabaliya refugee camp in Northern Gaza and the surrounding communities are under violent attack from Israeli forces as will soon be the whole of Northern Gaza with its remaining population of 400,000 people. This is a genocide in action and we cannot stand by while it happens. The Israeli army seeks to evacuate, starve or kill anyone who remains, in order to empty Northern Gaza of its entire Palestinian population. People who flee are being attacked as they do so. Hospitals have been ordered to evacuate. According to the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians, Israeli forces have already forced over 70,000 people to flee their homes in Northern Gaza, cutting off the area and subjecting it to intense bombardment, while evacuation routes are blocked. You can imagine the horror that lies in store for the entire population of Northern Gaza if the International Community takes no steps to protect them. In January the International Court of Justice ordered measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, all of which have been ignored by Israel. The catastrophic failure of the international community to take action to enforce a ceasefire has enabled Israel to escalate its onslaught and forced displacement. While the world is distracted by the attacks on Lebanon and potential strikes against Iran, this deadly campaign of murder, forced displacement, destruction of infrastructure and starvation accelerates. I/We urge you to call upon the government to halt all arms supplies to Israel. Two further points 1 The government has declared itself to be in favour of abiding by international law, If it is serious about this intention, then it must act now to insist Israel follows the measures demanded by the ICJ. 2 The government repeats that it supports a two state solution. If it is serious about this, it has to take action to prevent Israel from blatant steps to abort this possibility by ethnically cleansing Northern Gaza, as well as stealing land all over the West Bank. The time for replacing empty slogans with action is now. Please, get together with other MP’s from whatever party or grouping who share the same moral outrage and insist that our government stops making excuses, stops uttering hollow words and takes meaningful steps. There is very little time left to stop the slaughter. Thank you Online and PDF versions of the above template letter are available here: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/ukpalmhn-urgent-action-11-october-2024/ OTHER RESOURCES: ‘Jabalia is being wiped out’: Gaza pleads for help as Israel intensifies assault One Palestinian journalist said that ‘the situation in the north is horrific and very dangerous’ and implored people to ‘please share what’s happening.’ https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-northern-gaza-2669359467 Israel subjects northern Gaza to one of the most violent campaigns of its genocide An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is imminent as the Israeli occupation tightens its siege on the Jabalia camp and Beit Lahia project in the northern Gaza Strip for the fourth consecutive day. Israel is accelerating the pace of its genocide against the Palestinians there by carrying out “mass and planned killings, as well as widespread forced displacements”. The international community, led by the United Nations, must act swiftly and decisively to save 10s of thousands of residents who are being subjected to one of the most violent campaigns of genocide the Strip has ever witnessed. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israel-subjects-northern-gaza-one-most-violent-campaigns-its-genocide-intl-intervention-required OTHER ACTIONS: Palestine Solidarity Campaign Letter writing campaign: Stop the extermination of Palestinians in northern Gaza Over a year into its genocidal assault on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military is now intensifying its massacres to forcibly displace the remaining Palestinian population in the north of Gaza – some 400,000 people. The situation amounts to an existential threat to Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza. Email the Foreign Secretary to demand the UK government take urgent steps, including imposing an arms embargo, to stop Israel’s extermination campaign in northern Gaza. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.online/northerngaza A list of current actions you can take from a range of different organisations (including PSC, Stop the War Coalition, Medical Aid for Palestinians and the Palestine Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee) is available on this page: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ SYMPOSIUM Sumud and Solidarity: International Mental Health Networks United for Liberation and Justice Friday 18 October at 6pm – 8pm (UK time) The Brazil, Turkiye and South Africa Palestine Mental Health Networks invite you to attend this symposium.  Speakers include Dr. Samah Jabr (Head of the Mental Health Unit at the Palestinian Ministry of Health) and Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei (Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme). Following the speakers, there will be a panel discussion as well as a Q&A session including: South Africa: Prof. Ashraf Kagee Turkey: Prof. Dr.Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu Brazil: Prof. Dr. Muna Muhammad Odeh Registration/Zoom link here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86135814190?pwd=NbLhfbvWsdWbJDqVZnjvfBP1Gs9XLM.1 Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide

UKPALMHN Solidarity Space Monday 7 October at 1pm (UK time) This is an open space where people exchange their emotional responses with a view to remaining resilient amidst a constant stream of distressing news. Please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like a link to the meeting. National March for Palestine Saturday 5 October – Assemble 12 noon in Russell Square, Central London One Year On – End the Genocide in Gaza – Stop Arming Israel https://palestinecampaign.org/events/national-demo-for-palestine-5-october-2024/ The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network banner will be at the march. All are welcome to join us. We will meet at 12:00 noon at: Bloomsbury Square Gardens, London WC1A 2PJ This is the same location where we have assembled for previous marches from Russell Square. There is a map showing our assembly point at the end of this email. UK-Palestine Mental Health Network statement A year of genocide: decades of impunity The statement has also been signed by 10 partner organisations. As mental health practitioners, we take stock at this juncture of the impact of a year of continuous bombardment, killing, catastrophic injury, displacement, starvation and disease inflicted on the people of Gaza … The full text is available at the end of this mailing and at this link: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/a-year-of-genocide-decades-of-impunity/ Unbearable suffering: mental health consequences of the October 2023 Israeli military assault on the Gaza Strip This is a new British Medical Journal Article. The authors include a member of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network and colleagues, most of whom have spoken at previous Cafe Palestines. The onslaught on Gaza is leading to catastrophic psychological consequences which will not be limited to the short term and to those directly affected, but will have long-term, intergenerational effects. This commentary argues that to understand trauma responses among Gazans, we need to go beyond individual illness and, instead, link the biomedical sphere with the political sphere through the concept of social suffering and, thereby, expose the socio-political conditions of life and the collective trauma-inducing nature of the Israeli military occupation and repression. Addressing these complex trauma responses requires approaches that bring together the political, social and personal-level components of mental health with a focus on three factors: safety and allyship; the right to agency and acknowledgement, accountability and reparations. https://gh.bmj.com/content/9/9/e014835 Holy Redemption: Stealing Palestinian Land 55-minute world exclusive investigative documentary by TRT, a Turkish public broadcast service. The shocking, impactful documentary – with much undercover footage – unveils the violent fanaticism of armed illegal Jewish settlers who aim to uproot Palestinians from the occupied West Bank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF6B5UVupyA Palestinian trauma, healing and olive trees 40-minute Middle East Monitor conversation with Ashira Darwish, one of the producers of ‘Where the Olive Trees Weep’, a powerful documentary about the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people living under Israeli occupation. She explains that Palestinians aren’t suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, there’s been no ‘post’ for them as they continue to live under occupation and colonialism. “Ongoing stress disorder” is what they experience daily. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1m4B_HyPjY Voice notes from Gaza A moving 10-minute video In 2023, Dr Iain Overton taught a group of students in Gaza living with disabilities how to tell their stories on social media. A year on, their University lies in ruins, they are all refugees and one of them is dead. This is their story. https://x.com/iainoverton/status/1839629049301233960 Israel is torturing & abusing Palestinian prisoners, international pressure is urgently needed An article by an advocate from Addameer, the leading Palestinian prisoner support and human rights association. Since October 7, Addameer has documented a dramatic increase in the number of arbitrary arrests and detentions, the use and intensity of violence, and the gravity of the crimes committed against Palestinian detainees. In almost a year, over 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested, and the number detained by the Israeli Occupation grew from over 5,000 to 9,900. 3,332 of the detainees are under administrative detention, which means that the occupation’s military court can hold any Palestinian infinitely (no matter age or gender) for up to 6 months without any evidence or charge against them. https://www.newarab.com/opinion/tortured-abused-we-mustnt-forget-about-palestinian-prisoners Mental Health workshop for activists Thursday 10 October from 7.00-9.00 pm at Palestine House, 113 High Holborn, London WC1V 6JJ (Tickets cost £17) In observance of World Mental Health Day on 10 October, join Richmond and Kingston PSC at Palestine House for an empowering and interactive workshop. This special workshop will explore the intersections of mental health and activism, creating a safe space for activists to reflect on their own mental health needs and understand the role of solidarity in their movements. It will be led by Psychotherapist Mustafa Jayyousi, who is a Palestinian activist and psychotherapist/NLP coach. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mental-health-workshop-for-activists-with-psychotherapist-mustafa-jayyousi-tickets-1014476846557 Palestine: Repair & Return Az Theatre (London) and Theatre for Everybody (Gaza) will be presenting three performances in the series called Palestine: Repair & Return at the P21 Gallery, 21-23 Chalton Street London NW1 1JD Thur 17 Oct at 7pm – Stories of Learning and Teaching Thur 31 Oct at 7pm – Stories of Women and Health Thur 21 Nov at 7pm – Stories of Water The first event (Learning and Teaching) will present voices and stories from Palestine about how Palestinians are managing to continue learning and teaching, how communities are resisting attempts at ‘scholasticide’ and the destruction of schools and universities. https://p21.gallery/news/192 Amos Trust presents Requiem Monday 21 October at 7.30pm in Central Hall, Westminster Tickets are free but you will need to register. Requiem provides a chance to stop, to mourn and to reflect. With first-hand accounts of life in Gaza during the last year written by the young writers of We Are Not Numbers and a soundscape created by acclaimed musician and producer, Brian Eno. https://www.amostrust.org/gaza-requiem Want to take Action? Our website has a list of up to date of petitions, letter writing campaigns and other ways you can express your solidarity. https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Think it’s all hopeless? Look at this link celebrating the successes of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement on its 19th anniversary in July 2024: https://bdsmovement.net/BDS_Impacts-In-Times-Of-Genocide UK-Palestine Mental Health Network Statement A year of genocide: decades of impunity2 October 2024 We, the following organisations dedicated to supporting mental health through justice for Palestine, issue this statement on the anniversary of October 7th 2023. One year ago, on the very day of the Hamas attacks, Israel began its genocidal onslaught on the citizens of Gaza and on its entire infrastructure. Few of us then, even as we witnessed bloodthirsty calls for annihilation from Israel’s politicians, could have predicted that in October 2024, Gaza would still be under remorseless bombardment, and its citizens under constant threat of permanent displacement and dispersal. The consequences of this lethal year for the long term physical and mental health of the citizens of Gaza and the impact on the functioning of its communities is incalculable. As mental health practitioners, we share our profound outrage, sorrow and collective shame at the enormity of what has been and continues to be inflicted on the people of Gaza. We take stock at this juncture of the impact of a year of continuous bombardment, killing, catastrophic injury, displacement, starvation and disease. While every citizen of Gaza has suffered immeasurably, we draw particular attention to the effects on children, Gaza’s citizens of the future. UNRWA Commissioner- General Phillipe Lazzarini has termed this a “War on children and their future” Denying children a future in their own land, stunting their growth both physically and psychologically is, and always has been, part of the logic of settler colonialism. Children in Gaza, if they survive, have been dealt a legacy of terrible injury and disabilities which will require years of rehabilitation in the absence of any resources to enable this. They have been evicted from their homes but also from childhood itself, either by the loss of parents and extended family or by having to take on adult tasks beyond their capabilities. One year is the entire life of a baby, half the life of a toddler and a quarter of the life of a four year old. A child of ten, surviving this past year, has the legacy of at least three previous lethal bombardments of their homes, families and communities. Children in Gaza, for whom education has been a major source of resilience and pride, now have no school buildings to return to and no prospect of any such provision. UNRWA, the main provider of schooling, has been under severe attack by Israel, which also denies the entrance into Gaza of adequate supplies of food. Uniquely among world conflicts, the citizens of Gaza have no means of escape from the relentless bombardment, snipers and killer drones. The wanton murder of civilians, destruction of vital infrastructure, despoliation of the built and natural environment, killing of healthcare workers and others providing aid have led to unparalleled outrage and protest in civil society worldwide. Shock at the initial genocidal onslaught has intensified with every passing month. And yet, despite rulings by the ICJ and the request by the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC to issue arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister and Defence Secretary, the slaughter continues. It does so because of the active collusion and complicity of the major Western powers which, over the decades, have granted Israel absolute impunity to pursue its aggressive settler colonial expansion, land theft, ethnic cleansing, incarceration and violent suppression of human rights. As mental health practitioners we know that when no external boundaries are set and no restraints imposed on abusive and violent behaviour, the perpetrator is empowered to pursue their own interests only, objectifying and dehumanising others. As we have seen in Gaza, in the rest of occupied Palestine, in the torture chambers of Sde Teiman, and now in the massacre of Lebanese civilians, cruelty and sadism flourish in conditions of impunity. In protesting the year-long genocide in Gaza, we have called for our governments to end this impunity by demanding Israel be held accountable under international law, ending the supply of the weapons enabling this genocide and sanctioning its leaders. So far the new Labour government has made a few very modest steps in this direction and all of us in our various roles within civil society must keep up the pressure. In the past year there has been increased consciousness of the realities of Israel’s colonial, racist and apartheid practices and the complicity of world powers. Many in the ‘helping professions’ – healthcare workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, social workers – have mobilised to call for an end to collusion with Israel, to resist normalisation with its institutions and to refuse to be intimidated by strategies of silencing. One year on, we are profoundly affected by the suffering inflicted on Palestine but rather than giving into exhaustion and despair, we are more engaged than ever in the collective action required of us to abide by our professional ethics and oppose this geonicide. Gaza’s children, who are active citizens as well as victims, are asking no less of us. UK- Palestine Mental Health NetworkSocial Workers for a Free PalestineFamily Therapists for PalestineGroup Analysts for PalestinePsychoanalytic Voices for PalestineLiberate Mental HealthPsychotherapists & Counsellors for Social Responsibility(Carol Jones on behalf of) Socialist Health Alliance, LondonHealing Justice LondonCommunities for Holistic Accessible Rights-based Mental HealthThe Red Clinic The UK-Palestine Mental Health Network was founded in 2014 to promote mental wellbeing, liberation, dignity and social justice for Palestinians and all peoples and societies It is part of a worldwide movement with fifteen participating national networks. ukpalmhn@gmail.com Assembly point for UKPALMHN for National March for Palestine on Saturday 5 October at 12 noon. Bloomsbury Square Gardens, London WC1A 2PJ

National March for Palestine Saturday 21 September at 12 noon in Liverpool Assemble at  St Georges Hall Plateau, opposite Lime Street Station and march to the gates of the Labour party conference The role of Palestinian schools in healing childhood wounds: psychological support for war-affected generations A short opinion piece by Samah Jabr, Head of Mental Health Unit, Palestinian Ministry of Health The article covers areas in which schools can promote the mental health of children and practical recommendations for Palestinian schools. The original article is in Arabic but many modern browsers, including Chrome, offer a simple feature to translate the page into English. https://www.alquds.com/ar/posts/133532

Can You See Me? Arab Immigrants’ Quests for Identity and Belonging An article on Psychotherapy.net by Lama Khouri who co-founded the Palestine-Global Mental Health Network and sits on the board of the USA-Palestine Mental Health Network. In this in-depth piece, a Palestinian analyst shares her poignant experiences as an immigrant, and the personal and professional challenges they brought. https://www.psychotherapy.net/article/can-you-see-me-arab-quest-for-identity Two volunteers of the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) killed in Gaza PTC (UK) has announced the tragic killing of two of its volunteers who were working with children in Gaza. https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/two-palestine-trauma-centre-uk-volunteers-killed/ Palestine In Mental Health – calling all mental health workers, have you felt managed, disciplined or silenced on Palestine? From Tarek Younis, Racial Justice Researcher, Healing Justice LDN Please participate in an interview to explore the racial politics of our mental health systems/ experiences of racism and how this has impacted mental health workers. Share challenges, collate and build a picture of this experience within these systems. Full confidentiality and anonymity is ensured. Nothing will shared without consent. You will receive £30 payment for your participation. To join send an email to tarek@healingjusticeldn.org Israel wages massive military attack on Palestinians in the illegally occupied West Bank, under cover of its Gaza genocide The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calls for maximizing grassroots and civil society pressure on all states, the United Nations, and regional bodies. Channel your rage, frustration, and grief into effective, strategic BDS action and build pressure and people power to stop the genocide and to eventually help Palestinians dismantle Israel’s 76-year-old regime of settler-colonial apartheid, the root cause of this oppression and unspeakable violence. https://bdsmovement.net/Israel-Wages-Massive-Military-Attack-West-Bank Urgent action needed to protect Palestinian farm The Tent of Nations near Bethlehem is one of the last Palestinian hilltop farms in the West Bank that is still in Palestinian hands. The farm is under immediate and growing threat from settler activity. The Nassar family that has owned the farm since Ottoman times has two crucial court cases coming up on Wednesday 11 September and Tuesday 8 October. The Friends of Tent of Nations UK has produced a briefing pack and template letter to MPs to raise awareness about the farm and the upcoming court cases. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FxFuQyWPEYcOk0peDRdbdvSsNupnqgvPRjUyTRKbjaA/edit Questions from Gaza’s children Members of the Palestine Trauma Centre (UK) team in Gaza have spoken about the questions their children ask of them as they endure nearly eleven months of bombardment, death, injury, starvation and displacement. We asked if they would like to send these questions out to the wider world and they have responded with the attached list from children. They are of course utterly heart-breaking and we want to do them justice and show our accountability to the children in whatever ways we can, by sending them to our elected representatives, to all children’s charities and through our international networks. Please add your voices. Please add your voices. Those of you who work with children will, we are sure, have ideas about how to share them with colleagues and with mental health directorates. Please share any thoughts you have about how to support this campaign to demand an immediate ceasefire to safeguard the children of Gaza who are being forced to confront and question such iniquities.