On 11th February, Liberal Democrats parliamentarians were briefed on Israel’s decision to deregister international NGOs operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

MPs and peers heard from Rohan Talbot, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at Medical Aid for Palestinians – one of 37 INGOs facing forced closure by 1 March – about Israel’s wider and systematic obstruction of aid access to Gaza, and how the deregistration of international aid organisations threatens to deepen the already catastrophic humanitarian situation there.

The briefing highlighted the essential role INGOs play in supporting Palestinian-led health services, bearing witness to Israel’s crimes, and delivering aid at scale – and the narrow window now open for Parliament to act before life-saving operations are brought to a halt.

The session was chaired by Brian Mathew MP.