Featured blog
5 solidarity actions you can take for Palestine and Israel
13 October 2023 by EAPPI UK & Ireland
Please spare just a few minutes to take action in solidarity with the people of Palestine and Israel.
Our vision
Our vision is a future in which the military occupation of Palestine (the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) has ended and both Palestinians and Israelis enjoy a just peace with freedom, dignity and security based on international law.
Our mission
[QUOTE-START]
"With the continuing impunity for the perpetrators of violence against children and attacks on schools, EAPPI is considered one of the cornerstone responses in supporting highly vulnerable communities."
- UN official
[QUOTE-END]
Our mission is to witness life under occupation, engage with local Palestinians and Israelis pursuing a just peace, and work to change the international community's involvement with the conflict, urging them to act against injustice in the region.
What we do
EAPPI recruits ordinary people from the UK and Ireland to live alongside communities working nonviolently against the military occupation. EAs range in age from 25 to 70 years old and are from many different backgrounds, but what they all share is a deep dedication to human rights.
We use the internationally recognised model of "accompaniment" as the framework for what we do. This model is guided by International Humanitarian Law and requires both a strategic local presence and international pressure in order to be effective. It is also seen by EAPPI as a biblical model for acting justly in the way of Christ. You can read more about this model on the EAPPI International website.
Witness
[QUOTE-START]
When people come...and drink tea with me, and listen, it gives me the power to stay."
- Sabri, local contact
[QUOTE-END]
First and foremost, our EAs witness life under occupation. They are on the ground 24/7 and are often the first to respond to human rights violations. EAs live with local communities and participate in daily activities. EAs monitor and report human rights violations, bringing eyewitness accounts to the world's attention. EAPPI has more international human rights monitors on the ground than any other organisation in Israel and Palestine.
Become an EA and witness life under occupation.
Engage
EAs provide protective presence. Our presence deters the Israeli military and armed settler groups from violating the human rights of civilians, and makes local communities feel safer. Our EAs stand in solidarity with local churches and Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, upholding them in their nonviolent resistance to the occupation.
Read first-hand accounts written by EAs on our Eyewitness blog (offsite link) to see what they do.
Change
We are passionate about change! Our EAs bring change on the ground through their witness and engagement and also advocate for change through a broad international network of churches and civil society. When they return home, EAs use their witness to open the eyes of the world to the realities of occupation. They campaign in their local communities and at a national level for a just and peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on international law.
Read our working for change section to learn more about how we advocate for change, why we do it, and the principles which guide us.
It's not just us working for change though. Everyone can do something! See what you can do to help end the occupation and bring about a just peace for Palestinians and Israelis in our Get involved! section.
Watch a film about EAPPI
Eyewitness is a short film about EAPPI and the role it takes as an international presence in occupied Palestine. It shows accompaniment in action.
Pressing play on the video below will set a third-party cookie. Please see our cookies page to find out more.