| UKPALMHN Solidarity Spaces Monday 15 December and Monday 22 December 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. “After two long years during which use of the word ‘ceasefire’ was enough to put you at risk of losing your livelihood or political career, after resolutions calling for a ceasefire were blocked repeatedly by the US at the UN Security Council, ‘ceasefire’ has become something we are expected to be grateful for, now that ‘ceasefire’ means continued genocide.” Selma Dabbagh, Rebranding Genocide Israel’s genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip continues unabated despite ceasefire Source: Amnesty International Date: 27 November Amnesty International states unequivocally that Israel continues to commit genocide in Gaza after the ceasefire, deliberately imposing conditions of life aimed at the physical destruction of the Palestinian population. The report highlights Israel’s ongoing obstruction of food, medical supplies, fuel, reconstruction materials, infrastructure repair and humanitarian access, which together sustain life-threatening deprivation across Gaza. It further notes that forced displacement, expansion of the “yellow line,” restrictions on return, and denial of access to investigators entrench a system designed to maintain these destructive conditions. Press release: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/11/israels-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza-continues-unabated-despite-ceasefire/ Official public statement: https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/0527/2025/en/ Rebranding Genocide Source: London Review of Books (blog) Date: 28 November 2025 “For Palestinians, the rebranding of genocide is not an abstract debate about terminology but a lived experience of loss, displacement and deliberate destruction.” In this personal essay, British-Palestinian writer and lawyer Selma Dabbagh argues that the term “genocide” has been cynically rebranded as “conflict” — masking ongoing atrocities and allowing the international community to normalise the destruction in Gaza. She describes repeated ceasefire violations, widespread destruction, enforced displacement, and the creeping expansion of control over Gaza as evidence that what continues is not a ceasefire but a methodical campaign of dispossession and erasure. https://www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/november/rebranding-genocide Israel is quietly expanding its occupation of Gaza under cover of “ceasefire” Source: Truthout Date: 4 December Palestinian journalist Dalia Abu Ramadan describes how Israeli forces have been steadily shifting the so-called Yellow Line deeper into Gaza, quietly expanding the area under military control even while claiming to observe a ceasefire. She reports that residents returning to their neighbourhoods are confronted with new military fences and barricades, and that the army has bulldozed large strips of land to create additional buffer zones. These incremental incursions occur without public announcement, allowing the effective occupation line to move, while international observers focus on the ceasefire itself. Abu Ramadan, who hopes to graduate from the Islamic University in Gaza, argues that these tactics reveal a systematic effort to tighten control under the guise of reduced hostilities. https://truthout.org/articles/israel-is-quietly-expanding-its-occupation-of-gaza-under-cover-of-ceasefire/ How Israel’s genocide in Gaza extends to digital annihilation Source: Middle East Eye Date: 2 December In this opinion piece, Palestinian journalist Sujoud Awais argues that the ongoing genocide in Gaza is being extended into digital spaces through systematic erasure of archives, censorship, and information blackouts that wipe out Palestinian presence online. She describes how what is lost is not only lives and land, but also history, memory and collective identity — emphasising that digital annihilation is part of the broader campaign of dispossession. Awais, who has previously contributed to peer-reviewed publications, warns that the erasure of Palestinian digital heritage is a deliberate strategy to silence future generations as well as those living today. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/how-israel-genocide-gaza-extends-digital-annihilation Pregnant women in Gaza face catastrophic scenarios Source: The Electronic Intifada Date: 29 November 2025 By Farah Samer Zaina, a writer, translator and English lecturer from northern Gaza. The article describes how pregnant women in Gaza are experiencing sharply increased rates of miscarriages, neonatal deaths, premature births and congenital deformities — often after perilous journeys through conflict zones just to reach medical care. It documents how severe shortages of nutritious food, vitamins and prenatal care — alongside displacement, malnutrition and toxic exposure — are deeply endangering maternal and fetal health. The piece underscores that the crisis is structural: the ongoing war, destruction of infrastructure, lack of medical access, and dire living conditions mean pregnancy in Gaza now carries far greater risk than before. https://electronicintifada.net/content/pregnant-women-gaza-face-catastrophic-scenarios/51072 Child amputees in Gaza use makeshift prosthetics as Israeli restrictions block medical supplies Source: Drop Site News Date: 25 November 2025 The article describes how children in Gaza who have lost limbs — including 10-year-old Rateb Abu Qleiq — are forced to fashion makeshift prosthetic limbs because proper prosthetics are unavailable. Rateb lost his right leg below the knee after an Israeli airstrike that also killed his mother and brother; desperate to walk again, he and his cousin used scavenged plastic sewage pipe and string to build a crude prosthetic. The piece reports that Gaza now has the world’s highest per-capita number of child amputees, with thousands in need of rehabilitation, while medical supply blockades and destruction of prosthetic-care facilities — including Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics — make recovery nearly impossible for many. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/gaza-child-amputees-makeshift-prosthetics-limbs-israeli-restrictions-hamad-hospital Meet Sana, 7 months old, her father, journalist Yehya Subaih was murdered 5 hours after she was born, 7 May 2025 Source: Bisan Owda (a brief video with @wizard_bisan1 on Insta) Date: 24 November https://www.instagram.com/p/DRceUAfiovi/ Israel is threatening to demolish a popular West Bank youth football pitch Source: Middle East Eye Date: 5 December No psychological relief for Palestinian children … The article reports that an artificial-grass football pitch in the Aida refugee camp, built in 2021, has become a central space for local children — both boys and girls — to play. It notes that several girls from the camp have gone on to represent Palestine national youth football team at youth-level competitions. The threatened demolition of the pitch by Israeli authorities therefore risks undermining a vital community resource and a rare pathway for young Palestinians to engage in sport and represent their country. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-threatening-demolish-popular-west-bank-youth-football-pitch FEATURED EVENTS The Logic of Extermination/The Logic of Denial: An Online Symposium Date: Sunday14 December at 6pm (UK time) Source: The Psychosocial Foundation × Parapraxis This full-day online symposium explores how the “logic of extermination” and the “logic of denial” operate in the context of the genocide in Gaza and other long-standing racialised violences, bringing together international scholars across three panels. It serves as a fundraiser for the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, emphasising how psychological, political and historical frameworks are interwoven in mass violence. https://www.thepsychosocialfoundation.org/store/p/logics-of-extermination-and-denial USA-Palestine Mental Health Network: Reading Circles Programme 2026 The USA-Palestine Mental Health Network is offering a series of facilitated reading circles in 2026, each centred on key texts exploring Palestinian experience, mental health, resistance, and structural violence. These groups provide structured collective reading and discussion spaces, with each circle running for six sessions and operating on a donation basis. Reading circles (all groups are in English) UK-friendly times: Cycle 25 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine by Professors Lara & Stephen Sheehi. Thursdays from 15 January–19 February 2026. Cycle 26 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine. Saturdays from 7 February–14 March 2026. Cycle 1 – Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights by Omar Barghouti. Sundays from 11 January–15 February 2026. Not UK-friendly times: Group VII – Incarcerated Childhood and the Politics of Unchilding by Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kervorkian. Bi-weekly on Mondays from 23 February–4 May 2026. Cycle 24 – Psychoanalysis Under Occupation: Practicing Resistance in Palestine. Wednesdays from 14 January–18 February 2026. https://mailchi.mp/c1b6e5dfc738/new-reading-circles-for-2026-48677?e=f02f8a3048 FEATURED ACTIONS Councillor Pledge for Palestine In the run up to local elections in May 2026, Palestine Solidarity Campaign has launched an important new initiative asking local councillors to sign a Pledge for Palestine committing to:- Uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestine people.- Stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid.- Ensure their council isn’t complicit – including through divesting pension funds from complicit companies. On the action page, enter your postcode and you will see the names of your local councillors and a template letter (that you can alter if you wish) that will be sent to them automatically. Asking sitting councillors to sign the Pledge for Palestine will help to identify target seats in which councillors who do not support divestment could be replaced with those who do.Further information and the action page is available here: https://mailchi.mp/palestinecampaign/nov2025lobby-4931105?e=27bd721334 Eurovision – No stage for war crimes At the time of writing, the petition has 587,000 signatures After two years of genocide in Gaza and near-daily attacks since the ceasefire, last week Israel was confirmed for Eurovision 2026. Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia have already pulled out in protest. But for organisers to change course, more key countries must follow their lead. We need to pressure national broadcasters to withdraw right now, while this decision is fresh. We can’t let Israel whitewash its crimes with songs and sparkle while the brutal apartheid and suffering for Palestinians continues. https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/eurovision_no_for_war_crimes_loc/ Write to your MP: Sign the Early Day Motion (EDM) on cluster munitions and demand an end to contracts with Elbit Systems Israel has used banned cluster munitions in its recent bombings of Lebanon, but our government continues to give contracts to the manufacturer of these banned bombs and allows them to operate factories in Britain. Imran Hussain MP has tabled Early Day Motion (EDM) 2376 highlighting this and demanding the government takes action. Please take two minutes to email your MP to ask them to sign EDM 2376 demanding an end to contracts with Elbit Systems and the closure of their British factories. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/clustermunitions 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, sanctions and divestment (BDS).” Write to your MP: Support Divestment from Israeli Apartheid Write to your MP to demand they support Amendment 2 to the Pensions Scheme Bill which would direct pension funds to end investments that contribute to grave violations of international law. PSC’s research has found that Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) funds, administered by local councils, invest £12.2billion+ in companies with proven involvement in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. Local divestment campaigns are active across Britain, and are achieving significant gains, with 23 local councils having passed a motion or issued a statement to support divestment. Write to your MP to ask they support divestment from companies enabling Israeli apartheid. https://palestinecampaign.eaction.org.uk/support-divestment |
الشبكة البريطانية الفلسطينية للصحة النفسية 