He described how MAP doctors and other staff had been unable to save the life of a badly injured Palestinian girl because their equipment had been destroyed by Israeli bombing and the Israeli blockade had left them without the necessary drugs.
Despite all the obstacles MAP is facing, Rohan also highlighted how it is working to deliver the best medical services it can provide. With donations from the UK and across the world, and working closely with other on-the-ground organisations such as Save the Children, Oxfam, and the Red Crescent, MAP has set up what is now, with full facilities, the only paediatric and neonatal clinic in Gaza.
Rohan also emphasised the importance of sustained advocacy in the UK on behalf of the Palestinians, including the regular briefing and lobbying of MPs. In response to a question, he expressed frustration that arms supplied from the UK were still contributing to death and destruction in Gaza and the West Bank.
Asked how in the present circumstances MAP keeps going, Mr Talbot’s reply included: “Because of people like you. It is hard to keep hoping the situation will get better –but you give us the will to carry on.“
The event was organised by Justice for Palestinians, Leamington Spa (JfP) at St Peter’s Hall. Palestinian food was provided by Coventry’s Bagel Brunch and music by the Outside Up jazz trio led by JfP supporter, Adrian Litvinoff.
JfP was set up in 2009 by a small group of Jewish people living in south Warwickshire, and now includes Moslems, Christians and people of other faiths and none.
Its key aim is to raise awareness of the oppression and life-threatening situations facing Palestinians living in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.
Since the October 2023 Hamas assault on Israel – which it unconditionally condemns – it has held 76 weekly ‘vigils’ rotating between Leamington, Warwick and Kenilworth at which the names of both Israeli and Palestinian children killed in the last 18 months are read out.