SHAH ALAM - Amnesty International has declared Israel guilty of apartheid.
The human rights organisation had through a report said the massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfers, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians were all components of a system which amounts to apartheid under international law.
It revealed in its comprehensive report released yesterday (Feb 1) called 'Israel’s Apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel System of Domination and Crime against Humanity' that acts committed within a system of oppression and domination with the intention of maintaining it, constitute the crime of apartheid.
These acts, it said has been defined in the Apartheid Convention and the Rome Statute.
The organisation’s secretary general Agnès Callamard said the report revealed the true extent of Israel’s apartheid regime.
"Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights,” Callamard said.
The international community, she said must act and pursue the many avenues to justice, most of which, according to her, ‘remain shamefully unexplored’.
The organisation has also called for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel as well as targeted sanctions like asset freezes against Israeli authorities.
"Governments that continue to supply Israel with arms and shield it from accountability at the UN are supporting a system of apartheid, undermining the international legal order, and exacerbating the suffering of the Palestinians,” she added.
Callamard said the scale and seriousness of the violations documented in the report calls for a drastic change in the international community’s approach to the human rights crisis in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT).
The first step, she said was to put a stop to home demolitions and forced evictions.
"Israel must grant equal rights to all Palestinians in both Israel and the OPT.
"They must dismantle the apartheid system and start treating Palestinians as human beings with equal rights and dignity.
"Until it does, peace and security will remain a distant prospect for Israelis and Palestinians alike,” she said.
To read the full report, click here.