Israel

Civilians are once again paying the price for the failures of political leaders to negotiate a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis. Oxfam calls for an immediate end to all violence.

In reaction to Israel’s announcement to sending surplus vaccines to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Honduras, and Guatemala, Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Acting Country Director Dina Jibril said: Israel’s deal to exchange surplus vaccines for UN votes and embassies, while the vast majority of almost 5 million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza are left to wait for the potentially life-saving vaccine is shameful and shortsighted. 

Hospitals and Palestinians in Gaza, one of the most densely populated places on the planet, are bracing for the Coronavirus pandemic with only three to four hours of electricity per day, as fuel entry restriction by Israel, has forced Gaza’s single electricity plant to shut down and compounded the risk of infection for two million Palestinians, Oxfam warned today. 

This serious—and likely irreversible— plan to acquire occupied territory by force is a violation of the most basic principles of international law. 

The Trump administration’s plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict disregards international law and diminishes prospects for a just and lasting peace, said the Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam today. 

Over 150,000 people from around the world have joined 35 organizations in calling for world leaders to press the Israeli government to lift the blockade on Gaza as its reconstruction could take 17 years with just 5% of building materials allowed in one year on since the end of the last conflict.

Israeli and Palestinian leaders must seize the opportunity of the new ceasefire to end the violence once and for all. Lasting peace for all civilians will only be possible if Israel permanently lifts its restrictions on Gaza’s economy and people.

After ceasefire talks collapsed and violence erupted yet again, Oxfam today called on all states to immediately suspend transfers of arms or ammunition to Israel and any Palestinian armed group.

One year since the ceasefire between the Government of Israel and Hamas, the promised economic improvements for people in Gaza have failed to materialize.

With a ceasefire holding, Oxfam sees an opportunity to break the cycle of violence and lift the blockade once and for all.