From Condemnation to Consequences
The campaign “From Condemnation to Consequences” runs 4-31 March 2026, calling on states to hold Israel accountable for ending the illegal occupation of Palestine.
In light of the escalating crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the clear, yet unfulfilled, legal obligations of the international community, the campaign demands concrete, legally-grounded consequences for Israel's persistent violations of international law.
The war that broke out on 28 February 2026, between the United States and Israel with Iran, should not distract the world community from the ongoing de-facto annexation by Israel of the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. War with Iran further complicates the possibility of finding an equitable solution to the core conflict in the Middle East, and Israel's de-facto annexation measures continue while the world is looking somewhere else.
The campaign “From Condemnation to Consequences”, organized by the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI), is firmly rooted in recent landmark decisions by the WCC and the International Court of Justice, and directly addresses the urgent need to challenge the system of impunity that has allowed the occupation and the related severe violations of international law and human rights to deepen.
With feature stories from the ground, webinars, factsheets, and calls to action, the campaign empowers people with the tools they need to approach decision-makers and policymakers with credible explanation of the legal framework grounded in authoritative findings.
Advocacy efforts focus on the specific legal and moral obligations of the international community to act.
Reach out to your elected officials, or to your faith leaders to call for renewed efforts for a just and sustainable resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
To speak about being accountable to my neighbor is to stand near the heart of the Gospel. In Scripture, accountability is never merely administrative or moral; it is covenantal. It is born from God’s faithful commitment to humanity and from the web of relationships into which God has placed us.
–Biblical reflection by Bishop Dr. Imad Haddad, ELCJHL
These stories form a chain of testimonies speaking to the longstanding injustices people living under occupation are forced to endure – as shared by local communities and witnessed by participants in the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.
In the shadows of the occupation, in the heart of refugee camps and besieged villages in Jerusalem, a powerful force of resilience is quietly at work. It is the force of Palestinian women, who, in the face of systematic oppression, are building, organizing, and leading their communities. They are the psychologists, the lawyers, the community organizers, and the mothers who refuse to let their families and their culture be erased.
In the Qalandia refugee camp, Fadwa, a psychologist, and her daughter Rawan, a law student, run a women's center born from tragedy. After a deadly 2016 army raid, they created a space for women to heal and to build economic independence. Through embroidery workshops and business training, they are not just providing an income; they are weaving the fabric of their community back together. Their work is a defiant act of creation in a world of destruction. Before the latest restrictions, they organized visits to Al-Aqsa; now, they focus on survival and empowerment within the camp's walls, even as military raids intensify and their own sons are held in administrative detention without charges.
This spirit is echoed in Nabi Samuel, where Nawal established a women's center, a beacon of hope in a village being slowly strangled by de-facto annexation. Though Israeli authorities demolished the center's new building just three months after its construction, Nawal was not deterred. The center continues its work, securing funding for a playground and planning new projects, a testament to her unwavering commitment to her community's future.
The resilience of these women is often forged in the crucible of profound personal trauma. In Al-Walaja, a mother who watched bulldozers destroy the home built for her son's wedding—a pain she herself endured when her own home was demolished in 1991—declares with unshakable resolve, "We will not leave. This is our land. If they knock down our house, we will still stay!" In the Shu'fat camp, Areersh, a 27-year-old mother of five, was forcibly evicted from her home during a military raid. In the terror of the moment, she was separated from her newborn baby. After retrieving her child, she returned to find her home ransacked, her family's belongings deliberately destroyed.
These stories are not just accounts of suffering; they are chronicles of an unbreakable spirit. They reveal a form of resistance that is not fought with weapons, but with sewing machines, with community meetings, with the refusal to abandon a vandalized home, and with the fierce, unyielding love of a mother for her children. In the struggle for justice in Palestine, it is these women who are on the frontlines, holding their communities together and keeping the flame of hope alive.
In the Shu'fat refugee camp in Jerusalem, the closure of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools was not just an administrative act; it was, as one community leader described, "like a war." For the thousands of Palestinian refugees living in Jerusalem's camps, it was a clear signal of a systematic policy to erase their history, their rights, and their very identity as refugees. This is the frontline of a battle over memory and existence, where the right of return is under direct assault.
The human cost of this erasure is embodied in the story of Fawaz Julani. On the morning of his son's wedding in November 2024, the 57-year-old was shot by Israeli forces at a checkpoint. He was not a threat; he was on his way to the mosque to pray. The bullet shattered his jaw and cranial bone, leaving him in a coma for 30 days. Today, he lives with debilitating neurological damage, unable to eat or sleep properly, and facing 200,000 shekels in medical bills for a surgery he cannot afford. His lawyer advised him not to file a complaint, fearing he would be accused of a crime himself. "If you go after us, we will go after you," the police warned him. For Fawaz, there is no justice, only the daily struggle to survive.
This individual suffering is compounded by collective punishment. In December 2025, a massive army raid locked down the Shu'fat camp for nearly 12 hours. Hundreds of soldiers destroyed a local market, deployed snipers on rooftops, and arrested 70 people, only to release them without charge.
Yet, in the face of this relentless pressure, the spirit of the community endures. In the vacuum left by UNRWA budget cuts and official neglect, grassroots organizations have become a lifeline. In Qalandia, Fadwa, a psychologist, runs a women's center that provides psychological support and economic opportunities. In Shu'fat, Dr Salim Anati’s charitable society has opened its own school to replace the closed UNRWA facilities, while also running drug rehabilitation programs and legal aid services. These are acts of profound resistance, a refusal to be erased.
This resilience is rooted in a dream that has been passed down through generations. It is the dream of Farid, an 83-year-old survivor of the 1948 Nakba, who still has vivid memories of being driven from his village. "This is our land and we will do everything we can to stay," he insists. His dream is not of vengeance, but of justice: a state where all can live with equal rights, and where all refugees can return to their homes. It is this dream that the policy of erasure seeks to extinguish, and it is this dream that the international community has a duty to protect.
In the historic neighborhood of Silwan, in east Jerusalem, the threat of forced displacement is a daily reality, a slow and systematic erasure of a community that has lived on this land for generations. The stories of its residents paint a grim picture of a coordinated campaign of demolitions and evictions, where the pretext of urban planning masks the reality of settler expansion.
For Shafi Ahmed Shafir, the fight to save his home ended in rubble. After 25 years of fruitless attempts to obtain a building permit from the Jerusalem Municipality, his house was demolished on 30 December 30 2025, leaving his family of seven homeless. His story is not unique. In the Al Bustan area of Silwan, 35 homes have been demolished in the last two years, and 120 more face the same fate. The promise of a “King David Park” is the official justification, but for the families of Silwan, it is a transparent attempt to replace them with settlers.
Just days before, on 22 December, a four-story building in Wadi Queddum, home to 11 families and around 90 people, was demolished with only seven minutes' notice. Residents watched in horror as their belongings were hauled away by individuals in yellow vests, believed to be settlers, working in tandem with municipal authorities. A 17-year-old boy who tried to intervene was injured and arrested.
In the Abu Tur area, Zohair Rajabi watched as his neighborhood is dismantled, house by house. His cousin's family, which includes a son in a coma and a daughter with a disability, was evicted in mid-December. The family's ownership documents, dating back to 1966, were rejected by Israeli courts. Now, they are forced to pay exorbitant rent in another neighborhood, their lives uprooted and their future uncertain.
These are not isolated incidents, but part of a deliberate policy of forced displacement that is transforming the demographic landscape of Jerusalem. The stories from Silwan are a stark reminder that for Palestinians, the law is a tool of dispossession, not protection. They underscore the urgent need for the international community to move beyond condemnation and impose real consequences on a system that systematically violates the most fundamental human rights.
Three ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (WCC-EAPPI) travelled to Kafr ‘Aqab on 29 January, following reports of demolitions and a heavy presence of Israeli Security Forces (ISF) in the preceding days.
Upon arrival, the accompaniers witnessed a scene of widespread destruction. Large amounts of debris from recently demolished structures were scattered across the area. Amongst the rubble, a significant quantity of fresh produce—including fruits and vegetables—was visible, indicating that the destroyed buildings were primarily shops that had served the local community.
A local contact, Firas, informed the accompaniers that he had heard reports of between 40 and 70 shops being demolished in the operation.
While the accompaniers were documenting the scene, the sound of gunshots suddenly erupted from the other side of the Separation Wall. Smoke became visible, and the distinct smell of tear gas filled the air. As the team was leaving the area, smoke grenades were reportedly thrown over the wall toward their location. The accompaniers observed that there was no ISF presence on their side of the wall, suggesting the projectiles were fired blindly into the area. Several people were seen suffering from the effects of the tear gas.
The incident in Kafr ‘Aqab occurs amid growing concern over settlement expansion in the area. In the nearby Al Matar area, also known as Atarot, plans are advancing for a major new Israeli settlement. The project includes the construction of 9,000 new housing units on the site of the former Qalandiya airport. Critics of the plan warn that this development is a strategic move to sever East Jerusalem from the West Bank, particularly from Ramallah, and to complete the encirclement of the Old City with Israeli settlements. The project is part of a larger vision of a "Greater Jerusalem" under Israeli control, which further complicates the prospects for a just peace for all in the region.
For the community of Jabal al Baba, Jerusalem, the future can be measured in days. On 8 January 2026, community leader Attalah received a court order: in 45 days, construction will begin on a new road. This is no ordinary infrastructure project. As part of the notorious E1 settlement plan, this road is designed to completely encircle the village, cutting it off from the adjacent town of El-Eizariya and, with it, access to schools, hospitals, and livelihoods. It is a death sentence for a community, delivered by bulldozer and bureaucracy.
This slow strangulation is not a future threat; it is a daily reality. Just days after receiving the court order, Attalah’s son, Yusef, faced a medical crisis. He needed critical surgery on his leg in Jerusalem, but the permit to travel was not granted. For a time, it seemed he would be denied essential medical care, a stark illustration of how the permit regime can turn a health emergency into a life-threatening ordeal. While Yusef was eventually able to have the surgery, his story is a chilling reminder of the community’s vulnerability.
Life in Jabal al Baba is a constant struggle against a system designed to make life impossible. Military and security personnel enter the community simply “to show that they have the power.” Settlers drive up to the entrance, a constant, menacing presence. “Attalah was feeling pessimistic about the future,” one report notes, a sentiment that is all too understandable in the face of such relentless pressure.
Yet, in the midst of this despair, life goes on. On a sunny day in January, the village playground was filled with the laughter of 50 children. The women’s center is active, and the community garden is tended. This is the paradox of Jabal al Baba: a vibrant community that refuses to be erased, even as the walls close in around it. Their story is a powerful testament to the resilience of the human spirit, but it is also an urgent call to action. The international community must move beyond condemnation and demand real consequences to stop the E1 plan and ensure that the road being built around Jabal al Baba does not become a road to nowhere.
For Palestinian students in Jerusalem, the simple act of going to school is a daily exercise in navigating a landscape of intimidation and control. The right to education, a fundamental human right, is under constant assault, not only through overt acts of harassment but also through the subtle and systematic erosion of cultural and educational autonomy.
Christian schools in Jerusalem find themselves in a particularly precarious position. Despite their long history and their compliance with the Israeli-imposed curriculum, they are not immune to the pressures of the occupation. Their students are routinely subjected to arbitrary ID checks, bag searches for “book inspections,” and the constant threat of detention. This harassment creates an environment of fear and anxiety, turning the journey to school into a daily ordeal.
This reality stands in stark contrast to the educational freedoms enjoyed by other communities within Israel, which are permitted to teach their own culturally and religiously specific curricula. For Palestinian Christian schools, however, compliance is not a shield. They are forced to adopt a curriculum that often erases their own history and identity, while simultaneously facing the same patterns of harassment as schools that resist. This double standard reveals a clear policy of cultural and educational suppression, aimed at undermining the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem.
The situation is even more dire for communities like Khan al-Ahmar, where the school itself is under immediate threat. On 22 January 2026, Israeli Civil Administration forces raided the school, documenting every classroom, the playground, and even the toilets. For the community, this was a clear signal that a forced displacement and the complete erasure of their children’s educational future is imminent.
The daily struggle for education in Jerusalem is a powerful reminder that the occupation is not just about land and borders; it is about the very right to exist, to learn, and to preserve one’s identity. The international community must move beyond condemnation and demand real consequences for these systematic violations. The future of a generation is at stake.
In early February 2026, the Israeli government and Knesset advanced two significant measures that civil society organizations warn will accelerate the annexation of Palestinian land and risk the large-scale dispossession of residents in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. These actions, though seemingly administrative, represent a strategic effort to solidify Israeli control through legal and bureaucratic means.
On 3 February, the Knesset’s Education, Culture, and Sports Committee voted to advance a bill that would establish a new civilian Israeli authority to govern antiquities in the West Bank. This new body, under the Ministry of Heritage, would replace the military-led Civil Administration’s archaeology unit. A joint alert by Israeli organizations Peace Now, Emek Shaveh, and the Geneva Initiative stated this is the first time the Knesset has sought to apply Israeli civilian law directly to territory in the West Bank, a move they describe as an unequivocal act of de jure annexation. The legislation grants the Minister of Heritage sweeping powers to declare antiquity sites and expropriate land, a move that could impact over 6,000 sites, many located within Palestinian towns.
Parallel to this, the Israeli government is accelerating its plan to complete land registration, or Settlement of Land Title, across all of East Jerusalem by 2029. According to a report by the organization Ir Amim, this process has become a primary tool for dispossessing Palestinians. Since the process was reinitiated in 2018, 85 percent of the land that has completed registration has been registered to the Israeli state or to settlers, with only one percent registered to private Palestinian landowners.
The new government resolution formally integrates the Custodian of Absentee Property into the process, a body with the power to seize land from Palestinians deemed “absentee” under a 1950 law. This creates a perilous situation for Palestinian landowners, who risk having their property confiscated by the Custodian if they participate in the process, or having it registered as state land if they do not. The appointment of a known settler activist to oversee the Custodian’s operations has further amplified alarm among human rights groups.
Taken together, these two initiatives signal a coordinated strategy to entrench Israeli sovereignty over occupied territory. The antiquities law provides a pretext for taking control of land deep inside the West Bank under the guise of heritage protection, while the land registration process systematically transfers Palestinian-owned land in East Jerusalem to the state and settlers. Both actions undermine the foundations of the Oslo Accords and international law, further diminishing the prospects for a just and lasting peace in the region.
In the hills northwest of Jerusalem, a quiet but profound injustice is unfolding. For the residents of three Palestinian villages—Beit Iksa, Nabi Samuel, and Hay Al-Khalaila—the ground has literally shifted beneath their feet. Through a bureaucratic sleight of hand, they have been rendered illegal in their own ancestral homeland. This is de-facto annexation, a slow, creeping form of dispossession that operates not with tanks, but with permits and military orders.
In early 2025, an Israeli military order declared 20,000 dunums of land, including these three villages, a “Seam Zone.” Trapped on the “Israeli” side of the Segregation Wall, the residents, who hold West Bank identity cards, now find themselves in a legal black hole. They are cut off from the rest of the West Bank and require special Israeli-issued permits to access their own homes, farms, and holy sites. As one resident of Nabi Samuel, Aeed Barakat, explains, the permit system is a tool of control, restricting everything from freedom of movement to the ability to bring bottles of water into the community.
The consequences of this silent annexation are devastating. In Nabi Samuel, land has been confiscated to build a parking lot for a national park that has already consumed most of the village’s territory. A women’s center, a vital community hub, was demolished just three months after its construction. Men have had their magnetic cards confiscated, cutting them off from work, food, and medical care. For the people of these villages, daily life has become a maze of bureaucratic obstacles designed to make their existence untenable.
This is not a random security measure; it is a deliberate strategy. The isolation of these villages is a key component of the “Greater Jerusalem” plan, which aims to create a belt of Israeli settlements that encircles East Jerusalem, severing it from the West Bank and consolidating Israeli control. By turning Palestinian land into a “Seam Zone,” Israel is redrawing the map, entrenching its occupation, and unilaterally destroying any prospect of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state.
The story of Beit Iksa, Nabi Samuel, and Al-Khalaila is a stark illustration of the need to move from condemnation to consequences. When international law is systematically dismantled through bureaucratic means, the international community has an obligation to act. The residents of these villages are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for their fundamental rights to be respected. They are asking not to be made illegal in the only homes they have ever known.
The story of Muarrajat East is one of a community systematically uprooted, a testament to the relentless pressure of settler expansion in the Jordan Valley. In July 2025, the entire community of 13 families was forced to flee their homes after a settler outpost was established in their village. Their displacement was not a single event, but a harrowing journey of repeated dispossession.
Initially, the families sought refuge near Wadi Qelt, but within days, settlers stole their sheep, and the military gave them two hours to leave. They then relocated to the Al-Nuweimeh area, where they now live in tents, enduring the scorching summer heat and the biting winter cold. The promises of assistance from the Palestinian Authority have gone unfulfilled, and the humanitarian support they have received has been sporadic and insufficient.
For Aaliya, a young woman from the community, the trauma of displacement has been a catalyst for activism. She has shared her story with international media, including Al Jazeera, and has spoken to international partners about the hardships her community has faced. She is now writing her master’s thesis on the evacuation of her village, determined to document the injustice they have endured.
But even in their new location, the community is not safe. The lack of grazing land has made it impossible to sustain their traditional livelihoods, and the absence of a school has jeopardized their children’s future. An attempt by the men of the community to return to their homes in late July was met with overwhelming force. About 70 settlers, with bulldozers, demolished their homes and set them on fire.
Alia Mleihat, another resident, lives in constant fear after her name and photo were shared on Israeli social media by settlers. She has been harassed and intimidated, and her cousin was pepper-sprayed by settlers at a nearby junction. The community is wary of outsiders, their trust eroded by the constant threat of violence and the feeling of abandonment.
The story of Muarrajat East is a powerful indictment of the international community’s failure to protect Palestinian communities from forced displacement. It is a story of resilience in the face of overwhelming odds, but it is also a story of a community on the brink. Without meaningful intervention, the story of Muarrajat East will be repeated across the Jordan Valley, as more and more communities are erased from the map.
In the rolling hills of Ar Rakeez, in South Hebron Hills, an occupied Palestinian territory, Sheikh Saeed, an elderly Palestinian shepherd, greets visitors with a spirit that belies the profound injustices he has endured. “We can expect no justice on earth, only justice with our God,” he says, his voice a testament to a faith that has been tested by violence, displacement, and the loss of a limb. His story is a powerful microcosm of the daily struggle for dignity under occupation, and the vital role of international accompaniment in sustaining hope.
In late 2025, Sheikh Saeed’s life was once again upended by a series of traumatic events. On 15 December, and again on 26 December, he was arrested by the Israeli military following confrontations with settlers who had trespassed on his land. The second arrest was particularly brutal; he was pinned to the ground, blindfolded, and left in the rain for hours before being released without charge. These incidents are part of a relentless pattern of harassment that includes the contamination of his well, the destruction of his property, and constant intimidation.
This campaign of harassment is not new. In April 2025, Sheikh Saeed was shot by a settler, an injury that led to the amputation of his leg. The subsequent medical treatment he received in an Israeli hospital was, in his own words, like being in a “prison,” where he was subjected to discriminatory and inhumane treatment. Yet, through it all, his resilience shines. He finds strength in his faith, often recounting stories of prophets who endured great hardship, and even manages to joke about his own suffering.
The presence of ecumenical accompaniers from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel has been a critical source of support for Sheikh Saeed and his family. The accompaniers provide a protective presence, documenting abuses and offering a measure of security that allows the family to continue their daily lives. “When internationals are there,” explains Sheikh Saeed’s son, Elias, “he can focus on other things… or actually getting some sleep and rest.”
Sheikh Saeed’s story is a powerful reminder of the human cost of the ongoing occupation and the system of impunity that enables settler violence. It underscores the urgent need for the international community to move beyond mere condemnation and demand meaningful consequences for violations of international law. As the “From Condemnation to Consequences” campaign highlights, the path to a just peace requires holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring that the rights and dignity of all people are protected. For Sheikh Saeed and his family, every day is an act of faith and resistance, a quiet defiance in the face of overwhelming injustice.
In the village of Al-Walaja, Bethlehem, surrounded by the ever-expanding Israeli settlement of Har Gilo, the dream of building a future is fragile. For one family, that dream was shattered in the most brutal way imaginable. In November 2025, two newly built houses, one intended for a son who was a month away from marriage, were reduced to rubble by Israeli bulldozers. There was no demolition order, no legal process, just the raw, unapologetic force of the occupation.
The family had complied with a stop-work order issued a year prior, appealing to the courts with all the necessary ownership documents. Their appeal was refused. The day before the demolition, the army came and measured the road. The next morning, they returned with a large contingent of soldiers and a bulldozer. The son’s wedding has been cancelled indefinitely, and he is now heavily in debt. “We will not leave. This is our land. If they knock down our house, we will still stay!” the mother declared, her words a defiant cry against the systematic erasure of her community.
This is not the first time this family has faced such devastation. The parents themselves had their home demolished in 1991, delaying their own marriage for two-and-a-half years. This generational trauma is a hallmark of life in Al-Walaja, where home demolitions are not random acts of violence, but a deliberate policy of land-grabbing to make way for settlement expansion. As the mother reflects, with a faith that has endured unimaginable loss, “This is the life we have, Alhamdillilah, thanks be to God, we only have Him.”
Their story is not an isolated one. Another resident of Al-Walaja recently received an order to demolish the second floor of his house himself, or face a 60,000 shekel fine for the authorities to do it for him. Across the village, 38 homes, housing 250 people, are under threat of demolition, their fate hanging in the balance of a Supreme Court decision. The international community’s attention, so crucial in cases like Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan, is desperately needed here.
The systematic destruction of homes in Al-Walaja is a clear violation of international law and a grave injustice. It is a stark reminder that without meaningful consequences, the cycle of displacement and dispossession will continue, leaving a trail of ruined lives and shattered futures in its wake.
Campaign asks: From Condemnation to Consequences – Calling on States to Hold Israel Accountable to End the Illegal Occupation
We call on states, churches, and international institutions to impose consequences for violations of international law, including targeted sanctions, divestment, and arms embargoes. Full support must be given to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and UN mechanisms both regarding investigations of crimes on all sides as well as initiatives towards a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis. Specifically we are asking states, churches, and international institutions to:
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Uphold international law.
- Put pressure on the government of Israel to stop current annexation moves. Support the end of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories, in line with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, issued in July 2024.
- Scale up emergency support for Palestinian villages threatened and affected by forced displacement due to settler violence and occupation policies and demand that those who have been displaced can return to their villages.
- Scale up support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as well as Palestinian, Israeli, and International civil society organizations working towards a just peace.
- Cooperate with the International Criminal Court, and exercise available bases of extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction to investigate and try crimes under international law in national courts, consistent with international standards.
- Stop trade of goods and services with illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and to suspend bilateral agreements until the occupation has come to an end.
- Implement sanctions against Israeli settlers involved in violent crimes against Palestinian communities, members of settler organisations, and Israeli government officials supporting the settler movement and advocating for the annexation of the West Bank, in contradiction to international law.
- Cease the sale of arms, munitions, and other military equipment that is at risk of being used to violate international humanitarian and human rights law against any party.
Calling on States to Hold Israel Accountable to End the Illegal Occupation
Hear the testimonies of local communities on the realities they live, learn about the injustices of illegal military occupation, and the actions needed to move from condemnation to consequences – to call on states to hold Israel accountable to end the occupation.
An opening webinar launched the campaign: From Condemnation to Consequences – Calling on states to hold Israel accountable to end the illegal Occupation
