JERUSALEM – In response to the recent violence against African migrants in Israel, NGO Monitor today released the following statement:

As an organization dedicated to the universal principles of human rights, NGO Monitor deplores acts and expressions of violence, incitement, and hatred in all forms. Israel, like many Western countries, faces difficult challenges resulting from the influx of migrants, some of which come as refugees from persecution and violence. Israeli officials should continue to work to address this complex situation, taking into account the rights, needs and responsibilities of all the parties.

In this context, we note Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the outbreak of violent attacks, stating, “I would like to make it clear that there is no place for either the expressions or the actions that we witnessed last night.”

NGOs can help meet these challenges by also addressing human rights violations and systematic abuses that occur in the refugees’ countries of origin, and during their journey, particularly in the Sinai.