Stop Israel’s war on Gaza, ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem!

Hundreds of Palestinians are on the verge of being forced to leave their homes by the Israeli government now in the Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods of occupied East Jerusalem.

28 Palestinian families threatened with displacement The Zionist occupation issued orders against them to evacuate their homes, as part of a scheme to Judaise Jerusalem and displace its residents by demolishing homes and confiscating lands, according to human rights reports.

The story began when the Jordanian government, in cooperation with UNRWA, signed an agreement to hand over residential properties, and transfer the ownership of that properties after 3 years of living in it in exchange for giving up their rights as refugees, but the residents were surprised by Jewish committees that registered their ownership of the land in the Land Registry in 1972. The residents of Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood demand the Jordanian government to stand by its agreement.

The evacuation orders, if issued and executed, would violate Israel's obligations under international law. The eviction procedures in these cases, and in other similar cases in East Jerusalem, are based on two Israeli laws, namely the Absentees' Property Law and the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970.

Given the disturbing scenes in Sheikh Jarrah during the past few days, we would like to emphasise that East Jerusalem remains part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and international humanitarian law applies to it.

The occupying power must respect private property in the occupied territory and cannot confiscate it, and it must respect the laws in force in the country. This means that Israel cannot impose its own set of laws in the Occupied Territories, including East Jerusalem, to expel Palestinians from their homes.

According to several UN Security Council resolutions, all legislative and administrative measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, that altered or allegedly altered the character and status of East Jerusalem, including the confiscation of land and property, are null and void, and must be invalidated.

Forced evictions may violate the right to adequate housing, privacy and other human rights of those evicted. Forced evictions are a major factor in creating a coercive environment that may lead to forcible transfer, which is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention, and is a grave breach of the convention.

The Israeli Occupation Forces are committing flagrant violations of international law, international humanitarian law, as well as international resolutions. Among them are the UN Security Council resolutions related to changing the landmarks of the occupied city of Jerusalem, especially resolutions: (68/252, 68/267, 271/69, 71/298, 465/80, and 2334/2016), which emphasised the invalidity of all legislative and administrative procedures , and the actions taken by the occupation authorities to change the status of Jerusalem, in addition to United Nations General Assembly resolutions (2253 and 2254 of 1967, 72/15 and 10/19 of 2017)

During the past years, the Israeli occupation authorities have intensified their campaign aimed at Judaising the occupied city of Jerusalem, by increasing the pace of demolishing Palestinian homes, while Israeli racist laws have given the Israeli judiciary a major role in implementing these policies despite their flagrant violation of the provisions of International Humanitarian Law. Thus, it should be emphasised that what is happening in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of systematic expulsion of the population constitutes a crime against humanity in accordance with the Rome Statute (Article 7/1 / D) and a war crime according to the same system (Articles 8/2 / A / 7 and 8/2 / B) / 8).

We call on Israel to immediately stop the progress of all forced evictions, including evictions in Sheikh Jarrah, and to halt any activity that would further contribute to a coercive environment and lead to the risk of forcible transfer. We also call on Israel to review the application of the Absentees' Property Law and the Law on Legal and Administrative Matters to ensure that they are consistent with Israel's obligations under International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law.

We call on Israel to respect freedom of expression and assembly, including those protesting the evictions, and to exercise maximum restraint in the use of force while ensuring safety and security in East Jerusalem.

We call on Israel to stop the attacks in Gaza now!

We call on the largest possible number to sign this petition in solidarity with the people of occupied Jerusalem.