Israelis fearful as UN commission set to probe apartheid charges against Israel

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory says it will investigate apartheid charges against Israel, stoking serious fears among Israeli authorities that the probe would recognize the regime as apartheid due to its ongoing atrocities against Palestinians.

The three members of the commission said during a briefing at the United Nations in New York on Thursday that future reports will investigate apartheid by Israel.

They said the investigation had so far focused on the “root causes” of the conflict, which they ascribe to Israel’s presence in the West Bank.

Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief who chairs the commission, called apartheid “a manifestation of the occupation.”

“We’re focusing on the root cause which is the occupation and part of it lies in apartheid,” Pillay said.

“We will be coming to that. That’s the beauty of this open-ended mandate, it gives us the scope,” she added.

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Commission member Miloon Kothari also said the open-ended nature of the probe allowed it to examine the apartheid charge.

“We will get to it because we have many years and issues to look at,” he said.

“We think a comprehensive approach is necessary, so we have to look at issues of settler colonialism,” Kothari said.

“Apartheid itself is a very useful paradigm, so we have a slightly different approach but we will definitely get to it,” he added.

The UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Watch and other international human rights organizations have accused Israel of apartheid in the past two years.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that the Israeli Foreign Ministry was planning a campaign to head off accusations of apartheid by the commission.

A leaked cable reportedly revealed Israeli officials were concerned about the damage the commission’s first report could do if it referred to Israel as an “apartheid” regime.

The commission presented its latest report to the UN General Assembly on Thursday.

Palestinians rights group says Israel implements apartheid regime of discriminatory laws, policies

A prominent Palestinian rights group says Israel has been implementing an apartheid regime of discriminatory laws for decades.

The 28-page report condemns Israel for violating international law by making its control over the West Bank permanent and by annexing Palestinian-owned land in occupied al-Quds and the West Bank as well as Syrian land in the Golan Heights.

It also slams Israel for discriminatory policies against Arab citizens, stealing natural resources, and gender-based violence against Palestinian women.

In March 2021, former International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announced in a statement the launch of a war crimes investigation in the Palestinian territories, which have been under Israeli occupation since 1967.

The probe is expected to include the 2014 Israeli military onslaught against the Gaza Strip, the “Great March of Return” demonstrations in 2018, and the Israeli settlement expansion across Palestinian lands, including East al-Quds.

Bensouda said at the time that her inquiry would be conducted “independently, impartially and objectively, without fear or favor.”

Israel apartheid proven again as Tel Aviv bans reunification of Palestinian families

Rights groups say Israeli authorities must be held accountable for enforcing a system of oppression and domination against Palestinians.

Last year, the Israeli advocacy group B’Tselem said Israel is an “apartheid regime” that systematically oppresses the Palestinians via military occupation and racist laws.

US daily Patriot-News said American politicians must explain to the people why more than $4 billion of taxpayer money is given annually to support apartheid Israel.

“Politicians must explain why the US government gives more money per capita to Israel than to any country in the history of US foreign aid. Elected leaders, tasked with supporting democracies, must explain to Americans why they support an apartheid regime that denies even the most basic human rights to Palestinians,” wrote the largest newspaper serving the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area.

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