Press Release Issued by Sharek Youth Forum
Continued Ban on Activities in the Youth Village: A Flagrant Violation of International Law and an Attack on the Right to Exist

On Land Day, we chose to be on our land without slogans or banners. We went to the Youth Village area to practice our natural right to volunteer and cultivate the land. However, the familiar scene repeated itself: settlers arrived, followed by occupation soldiers, turning a peaceful civic activity into a target of repression and prevention.

As usual, the excuse was ready: “Closed military zone due to its proximity to the settlement.”

At Sharek Youth Forum, we consider this escalation a flagrant and unacceptable violation of all international conventions and treaties, particularly Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Fourth Geneva Convention, which guarantee individuals and peoples the right to use their land, move freely, work, and assemble peacefully.

The repeated prevention of activities in the Youth Village has become a deliberate policy aimed at emptying the land of its rightful owners in an attempt to expand settler control and undermine youth and community work.

Accordingly, we demand the following:

* The immediate cessation of all violations targeting the Youth Village and its surrounding areas.
* This will enable institutions and youth to carry out volunteer and development activities without intimidation or military interference.
* The international community is legally responsible for protecting civilians, activists, and development workers.
* The dispatch of international monitoring missions to threatened areas to document and witness field violations.

The land is not just a slogan—it is a daily action.
And we remain here… planting and taking root, despite repression and confiscation.

Issued by:
Sharek Youth Forum
Ramallah – Palestine
15/5/2025