“Abusive Israeli Policies Constitute Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution” – Human Rights Watch
JVL Introduction
International criminal law has developed two crimes against humanity for situations of systematic discrimination and repression: apartheid and persecution. Crimes against humanity stand among the most odious crimes in international law.
Following on recent publications by two Israeli organisation Yesh Din and B’Tselem, the international NGO Human Rights Watch, has produced its own unequivocal evaluation.
- On the basis of its research, Human Rights Watch concludes that the Israeli government has demonstrated an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians across Israel and the OPT. In the OPT, including East Jerusalem, that intent has been coupled with systematic oppression of Palestinians and inhumane acts committed against them. When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid.
- Israeli officials have also committed the crime against humanity of persecution.
The criteria used to make these judgments are international legal criteria. They do not “single out” Israel.
You can read a summary of the report A Threshold Crossed here.
This article was originally published by Human Rights Watch on Tue 27 Apr 2021. Read the original here.
Abusive Israeli Policies Constitute Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution
Crimes Against Humanity Should Trigger Action to End Repression of Palestinian
Loading article text…
How will Starmer deal with this, I wonder?
At one time, apartheid South Africa stood alone in the world apart from its cosy relationship with Israel. They probably shared the unwelcome sense of being pariah states.
I can easily believe the closeness of that relationship made it easier for Israel to adopt apartheid ideas than might otherwise have been the case.
……. and how will “capitalism’s conscience” deal with it ? Usually, When the Guardian wrestles with its conscience, it wins.
At nine o’clock this morning (27 April) the Guardian website carried a story on the Human Rights Watch report. By this evening it seems to have disappeared entirely. Perhaps Jonathan Freedland was offended, or perhaps dear Keir was shocked and had a word with the editor.
Starmer has a real problem here does he not. ? Along with his with his supporters Hodge Smeeth Mann Berger Et al CAAS. LFI
I hope we can hear from them soon on this serious matter instead of spreading false accusations of anti Semitism.
Former South African Minister Ronnie Kasrils himself Jewish on Thursday accused Israel of conducting a policy against the Palestinians that was “worse” than apartheid.
Speaking on the sidelines of a UN meeting on the situation in the Palestinian territories, Kasrils said South Africa’s townships had never been attacked by helicopter gunships and tanks, in contrast to the military means employed by Israel.
https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/israel-worse-than-apartheid-sa-kasrils-352481
Jacob Ecclestone
27th April 2021 at 20:29 “At nine o’clock this morning (27 April) the Guardian website carried a story on the Human Rights Watch report. By this evening it seems to have disappeared entirely.”
___________________________________________________
In fact, the story is still there (29.4.21) – though perhaps more deeply buried within the Guardian site than it originally was: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/27/israel-committing-crime-apartheid-human-rights-watch
In general, however, you are right – the Guardian’s Middle East coverage varies only from the appalling to the outright mendacious – as in the case of Syria, for example. Compare these pieces of serious investigative journalism on the alleged Douma chemical weapons attack:
https://thegrayzone.com/2021/04/19/in-un-speech-veteran-diplomat-issues-moving-call-for-action-on-opcws-syria-cover-up/
https://thegrayzone.com/tag/douma/
with The Guardian’s propaganda: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/07/inquiry-strikes-blow-to-russian-denials-of-syria-chemical-attack
In fact, as Declassified have discovered, The Guardian has sacked all its investigative journalists and is now getting its Syria and other similar ‘news’ direct from British intelligence (an ‘unbiased source if there ever was one!):
“How the UK Security Services neutralised the country’s leading liberal newspaper”: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-09-11-how-the-uk-security-services-neutralised-the-countrys-leading-liberal-newspaper/
The answer to my question (see above) has been, so far, exactly what I feared – silence.
Another damning report on the Israeli settler colonial regime. It’s survival depends on the imposition of a system of apartheid on the Palestinians. The two state solution is an illusion. The British Establishment and the pro Israeli lobby will continue to ignore or deny the truthful accusation of apartheid levelled against the state of Israel.