We, the undersigned Organizations, Trade Unions and Institutions, condemn and reject the expulsions taking place in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood; a Palestinian neighborhood in Occupied East Jerusalem. These actions are part of the racist and apartheid policies, laws and prosecutorial practices that Palestinians face in Jerusalem and the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We also condemn the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque with worshippers inside and the excessive use of force against them by the Israeli armed forces. Additionally, we condemn any and all acts of aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip, the targeting by lethal force resulting in war crimes, and we emphasize that this will continue as it did in 2014 when the civilians of Gaza paid a heavy price and were subjected to collective punishment by Israel.

The challenges faced by the Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah is the same faced by Palestinians in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Arab neighborhoods within the Green Line, or even the refugee diaspora in the world who are denied the right to return. These challenges are namely: discriminatory policies, racism, displacement and the pursuit of Israel’s superiority and control over the entire territory. East Jerusalem, where Sheikh Jarrah is located, is a part of the occupied Palestinian territory according to international law and should be subject to Palestinian laws and sovereignty. However, Israel is subjecting the population to its military rule and racist laws, including the law it has enacted since 1970. It stipulated, among other laws, that Jews who had lost their property during the 1948 war, following the establishment of Israel, could reclaim it and be compensated for it. On the other hand, Palestinians who had lost their property were deprived of the same right.

According to the international law, and since Jerusalem is an occupied territory, it is subject to the provisions and rules of International Humanitarian Law, which prohibits the forced eviction of the civilian population from the occupied territories and replacing them with settlers by the occupying power. This behavior is a war crime punishable under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Prosecutor of which decided on March 5, 2021, to initiate an investigation into the crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In addition, the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and attacks against worshippers, including the firing of rubber bullets, tear gas canisters, and sound bombs, and the denial of access to the Red Crescent paramedics, which resulted in hundreds of injuries, constitute grave violations of the Geneva Conventions and the rules of International Humanitarian Law.

Organizations, Trade Unions, Institutions, and Human Rights Bodies who have signed this Communiqué emphasize the following:

• We reject the forced eviction of the Palestinian population in the district of Sheikh Jarrah and all districts of East Jerusalem. We also reject the policy of home demolitions. We consider these acts to be part of the Israeli policy of apartheid, persecution, and seizure of others' property by force.
• We condemn the break-in of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the use of force against worshippers who performed religious rites, which the International Human Rights Instruments protects.
• We call for an end to Israel’s impunity, to support the course of international prosecution of what is taking place in Jerusalem and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and to support the course of the International Criminal Court in this regard.
• We call upon the United Nations General Assembly, the Security Council, the Human Rights Council, and UNESCO to take practical steps to provide international protection to the occupied and the Holy City of Jerusalem, to condemn the Israeli fueling of the conflict and its apartheid policies in the region and to take practical and genuine action for accountability and to stop the allowance of impunity.
• We condemn all and any acts of aggression against civilians in the Gaza Strip, the targeting by lethal force resulting in war crimes, similar to what happened in the 2014 attacks, in which civilians paid a heavy price and were subjected to collective punishment by Israel.
• We invite jurists, judges and lawyers, community activists, legal and human rights organizations, and institutions around the world to participate in the “International Stand in Solidarity with the Holy City” on Sunday, May 16, 2021, at 16:00 (Jerusalem time) 14:00 (London time), to express solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israel’s racist and apartheid policies, to call for respect of international law, to stop the displacement in Jerusalem and to ensure accountability. The stands in solidarities will be organized before Bar Associations, Parliaments, Israeli embassies, and United Nations headquarters in all countries around the world.

Signatories (In alphabetical order):

1. ACT Conflict Resolution - Jerusalem
2. AIJCast, United States
3. Al Haq Organization - Law in the Service of Mankind.
4. Al Mezan Center for Human Rights.
5. Aldameer Association for Human Rights.
6. Alrowwad cultural and arts society - Bethlehem
7. American Center For Justice, United States
8. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) - Jordan
9. Applied Research Institute- Jerusalem (ARIJ).
10. Arab Center for Agricultural Development (ACAD).
11. Arab NGO Network for Development - Beirut
12. Arab Renaissance for Democracy & Development (ARDD).
13. Association of Muslim scholars in Iraq - Human Rights Department 
14. Atlanta Radical Art Collective - Atlanta, United States
15. Baltimore Nonviolence Center, United States
16. Bisan Center for Research and Development.
17. Central Autonoma de Trabajadores del Perú-CATP - Perú
18. Coalition for Integrity and Accountability- AMAN.
19. CODEPINK, Washington DC, United States
20. Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe - Spain
21. DCI - Defense for Children International - Palestine.
22. Delawareans for Palestinian Human Rights - United States
23. Developmental action without borders (Naba'a) - Beirut
24. Eurpeon Alliance for Palestiniane ditanees
25. Faisal Husseini foundation - Jerusalem
26. Financial Sector and Allied Workers Union of South Africa (FAWUSA) - South Africa
27. General Union of Cultural Centers.
28. Geneva Council for International Affairs and Development (GCIAD).
29. Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) - Geneva
30. Hasanah Law Firm - Jordan
31. Health Work Committees - Ramallah
32. Human Rights and Democracy Media Center SHAMS
33. Hurryyat - Center for Defense of Liberties and Civil Rights.
34. Indiana Center for Middle East Peace - United States
35. Institute of law - Birzeit University
36. International Humanitarian Law Center - Libya
37. International-Lawyers.Org. - Switzerland
38. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ireland 
39. Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center (JLAC).
40. Jewish Voice for Peace- Atlanta, United States
41. Jordan Network for Human Rights - Jordan
42. Justice for Human Rights.
43. Lammeh.
44. Land Research Center - Hebron
45. Law for Palestine - UK.
46. Lutherans for Justice in the Holy Land - United States
47. MA'AN Development Center - Jerusalem and Gaza
48. Medialab - London
49. MENA Rights Group - Switzerland
50. Moroccan Association for human rights - Morocco
51. MUSAWA- The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession.
52. Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights.
53. National Society for Democracy and Law.
54. Palestine Institute for National Security Researches.
55. Palestinian Association for Development and Reconstruction.
56. Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedom (MADA).
57. Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.
58. Palestinian Counseling Center.
59. Palestinian Family Planning and Protection Association
60. Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council.
61. Palestinian medical relief society - Ramallah
62. Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO).
63. Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership & Rights Activation - Jerusalem
64. Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad
65. Ramallah Center for Human Rights Studies.
66. Reckless Love Fellowship, Atlanta, United States
67. Refugee Academy for Studies.
68. SAM Organization Rights and Liberties - - Geneva
69. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network.
70. Sareyyet Ramallah.
71. SFLCLAA - San Francisco, United States
72. Siwar - Jerusalem
73. SLIFDH - Yemen
74. Southern Independent Group (SIG) - London
75. The Independent Commission for Human Rights (Ombudsman Office).
76. The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights “ICSPR” - Palestine
77. The International Organisation for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination.
78. The Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy (MIFTAH).
79. The Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD).
80. The Ruckus Society, United States
81. Tpfs.
82. Union of Arab Jurists.
83. Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East, United States
84. Vegans for BDS.
85. Visit Hebron Palestine.
86. We are all Maryam organization
87. Women's Center for Legal Aid and Counseling.
88. Women's Studies Center.
89. YWCA of Palestine.