Israel As an Apartheid State
A Cruel System of Domination and Crimes Against Humanity
Part 1
Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has created and maintained an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians, which is enforced across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) through reinforcing discriminatory laws, policies and practices. When seen as a totality, Israel controls virtually every aspect of Palestinians’ lives and routinely violates their human rights.
The reason there is continued conflict today is because in the early twentieth century a few white people in Europe thought they could take control of other countries, of other people, who were not white, divide them, and take their land. They thought they had the right to do this. Consider the Balfour Declaration, Nov. 2nd 1917. One white racist, Lord Balfour, promised another white racist, Lord Rothschild, Palestine for the Jewish people. That’s what the Balfour Declaration was about. Who were they to give anything to anyone?
Moving forward to Nov. 1947, the United Nations passed a resolution to partition Palestine. The resolution—which was considered by the Jewish immigrants in Palestine to be a legal basis for the establishment of Israel, was rejected by the Arab community. They wanted to keep living in the entirety of their country. Furthermore, no one had consulted them regarding any of this.
If you look at the original partition map, the partition was not done in a very fair way. The United Nations gave the biggest part to the smaller population of Jewish immigrants.
How would we like it if the United Nations came and sliced up our country and gave it to a group of newly arrived immigrants? Everyone assumed this would work out for everyone.
Additionally, by 1947, the Zionist* movement in Israel had established a fighting force of around 40,000 well trained men. There was no armed force on the Palestinian side. There never has been a Palestinian army.
Jewish historians have written, as soon as the United Nations partitioned Palestine, the Zionist militia began a massive campaign that can only be described as terrorism and ethnic cleansing against the unarmed civilian population. It was a brutal attack that lasted twelve months, at the end of which, almost eighty percent of Palestine was conquered, and hundreds of towns and villages were destroyed. Between 800,000 to a million Palestinian civilians were forced into exile.
Americans have to remember the history of displaced indigenous peoples in the U.S. is not accurately taught in our history books. There’s always a scrubbing of truth and facts. So, it’s no surprise that Western Americans have only been fed the revisionist story of Israel and how the resisting Arab/Palestinians are the bad guys. Would Americans say the revolutionary militia that fought for our independence from England were terrorists? No, we wanted out from under the subjugating English monarchy.
In February of 2022 Amnesty International published a report (here) on the seventy-five-year history of the systematic annihilation, segregation, and oppression of the Palestinian people.
“Amnesty International has demonstrated that Israel has imposed a system of oppression and domination over Palestinians wherever it exercises control over the enjoyment of their rights—across Israel and the OPT and with regard to Palestinian refugees. The segregation is conducted in a systematic and highly institutionalized manner through laws, policies and practices, all intended to prevent Palestinians from claiming and enjoying equal rights to Jewish Israelis within Israel and the OPT, and thus intended to oppress and dominate the Palestinian people.”
Across Israel and the OPT, millions of Palestinians live in densely populated areas that are generally underdeveloped and lack adequate essential services such as garbage collection, electricity, public transportation and water and sanitation infrastructure.
Amnesty International has concluded that Israel has perpetrated the international wrong of apartheid, as a human rights violation and a violation of international law. It has assessed that almost all of Israel’s civilian administration and military authorities, as well as governmental and quasi-governmental institutions, are involved in the enforcement of the system of apartheid against the Palestinians.
In order to end this madness, the U.S., its allies, and the U.N. must adopt and enforce the recommendations and guidelines set forth in the Amnesty International Report and establish a unified country in Israel with equal rights and opportunities for all citizens. In part 2 of this article some of these recommendations are discussed. However, it’s much better to read the entire report.
The Palestinians continue to reject a two-state solution that divides their country and leaves them second class citizens with less land, less resources and less opportunities.
Part 2
From Amnesty International Norway’s report, “Israel’s Apartheid Against the Palestinians”:
“INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY INACTION- Despite the legal remedies that exist and the other action that could have been taken, for over seven decades, the international community has stood by as Israel has been given free rein to dispossess, segregate, control, oppress and dominate Palestinians. The numerous UN Security Council resolutions adopted over the years have remained unimplemented with Israel facing no repercussions for actions that have violated international law apart from formulaic condemnations.”
“Without taking any meaningful action to hold Israel to account for its systematic and widespread violations and crimes under international law against the Palestinian population, the international community has contributed to undermining the international legal order and has emboldened Israel to continue perpetrating crimes with impunity. In fact, some states have actively supported Israel’s violations by supplying it with arms, equipment and other tools to perpetrate crimes under international law and by providing diplomatic cover, including at the UN Security Council, to shield it from accountability. By doing so, they have completely failed the Palestinian people and have only exacerbated Palestinians’ lived experience as people with lesser rights and inferior status to Jewish Israelis.”
“Given these conclusions, Amnesty International is providing the following wide-ranging recommendations (report here) to the Israeli authorities and other relevant stakeholders to dismantle the system of apartheid against Palestinians and end the associated human rights violations. It is making recommendations to the Israeli authorities covering laws, practices and policies that relate to Palestinians in general, as well as specific ones relating to each of the domains of control – Israel,
“Given the scale and seriousness of the violations documented in the report, Amnesty International is calling on the international community to urgently and drastically change its approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and recognize the full extent of the crimes that Israel perpetrates against the Palestinian people.”
“The UN must take all steps to reasonably ensure the rights of Palestinians. To do this they must put pressure on the government of Israel to dismantle the system of oppression and domination and ensure individual remedies and reparations to all those whose rights have been violated. Dismantling this appalling system of apartheid is essential for the millions of Palestinians who continue to live in Israel and the OPT, as well as for the return of Palestinian refugees who continue to be displaced in the region, so that they can enjoy their basic human rights free from discrimination.”
Just a few of the recommendations in the report. There are many more:
End the system of apartheid by dismantling measures of discrimination, segregation and oppression currently in place against the Palestinian population and undertake a review of all laws, regulations, policies and practices that discriminate on racial, ethnic or religious grounds, and repeal or amend them to bring them into line with international human rights law and standards, in particular Israel’s obligations to ensure the principle of non-discrimination under international law.
Grant equal and full human rights to all Palestinians in Israel and the OP.
Immediately order members of all state authorities to end and refrain from all future conduct that violates international law, including forcible transfer of population, arbitrary arrest, administrative detention, torture and other ill-treatment, unlawful killings and infliction of injuries, as well as restrictions on other fundamental rights, such as arbitrarily restricting Palestinians’ freedom of movement and residence in their communities, their right to family life, and their rights to access livelihoods, housing, food, water, essential healthcare services and education.
Suspend from active duty any military or official personnel suspected of ordering or committing grave violations of international law pending the completion of investigations.
Develop clear guidelines requiring law enforcement officials to report abuses, and ensure that officers at all levels of the chain of command know about these guidelines and are held responsible for enforcing them, with penalties imposed, following fair proceedings, for failing to report, or covering up, violations or misconduct by security forces.
Order prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigations into all allegations of crimes against humanity and other serious human rights violations by state officials and actors. Where there is sufficient admissible evidence, bring those reasonably suspected of individual criminal responsibility, including command responsibility, to trial in proceedings that meet international standards of fairness.
Provide victims of human rights violations, crimes against humanity and serious violations of international humanitarian law – and their families – with full reparations. These should include restitution of and compensation for all properties acquired on a racial basis, including restitution of and compensation for properties confiscated by the Custodian of Absentee Property.
Accede to the Apartheid Convention and to the Rome Statute; issue a declaration accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction since 1 July 2002; and incorporate the provisions of these treaties into domestic law.
And the list goes on. Its time to act on these recommendations. The sooner the better for the Palestinians, the Israelis, and the world.
*Zi·on·ist: A supporter of Zionism; a person who believes in the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.
Source: “HEATED: Ivan Lewis and Miko Peled on Palestine and Israel” (watch on YouTube).
