Oxfam reaction to violence in Jerusalem

Published: 10th May 2021


In reaction to the escalated violence in Jerusalem over the past few days, Oxfam's Country Director in the Occupied Palestinean Territory and Israel, said:

"Oxfam is deeply concerned at the tension and violence witnessed over the past few days in Jerusalem and the potential for further escalation. Palestinian families who have lived in Jerusalem for generations are being threatened with evictions and systemic discrimination benefiting the agenda of violent settler organizations, fanning the flames of current confrontations.

"No Palestinian ever feels safe in their own home or in their place of worship. The international community’s continued lack of substantive action is not helping the situation – it is making it worse for all inhabitants. Palestinians feel unheard and unsupported in the face of restrictions of their movement, forced evictions, and settler violence.

"All sides must act immediately to reduce tensions and de-escalate the violence to ensure everyone feels safer and more secure,’ said Shane Stevenson, Oxfam’s Country Director in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. 

"We condemn violence against civilians by all sides."
 

Notes to editors

  • According to OCHA in 2020, at least 218 Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, including families in Sheikh Jarrah, have eviction cases filed against them. The majority of these have been initiated by settler organizations, placing 970 people, including 424 children, at risk of forcible transfer.
     
  • Oxfam staff and partners have themselves been affected by the violence and have had to leave their homes.
     

Contact information

Matt Grainger in the UK | matt.grainger@oxfam.org
Lisa Rutherford in the UK | LRutherford@oxfam.org.uk | +44 (0)7917 791 836 | Skype: lisarutherford23

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