The existence of an apartheid regime against the occupied Palestinian territories is no longer a matter of controversy, but rather a stark reality.
Therefore, it is urgent now, in light of the escalation of strikes and reprisals in the Gaza Strip, to put an end to Israel's impunity and force its government to resume negotiations.
With these sentences, the French Mediapart website opened an article - written by Rene Bachmann - in which he said that the debate - which looks at judging the term "apartheid" - is it acceptable to define the type of regime that Israel imposes on the Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel - is no longer It is appropriate because Israel is responsible within its borders and in the occupied Palestinian territories for the crime of apartheid as is clearly established, evidenced by the continuation of the military occupation and the development of settlements in the West Bank, as well as the strategy of using military force with impunity as just happened in Gaza.
And apartheid - as the writer explains - after it was the ideology of a regime established in South Africa in the twentieth century, has officially become since 1976 a violation of international law and constitutes a crime against humanity, as it has become since the United Nations International Convention in 1973, and the Rome Statute that established the Criminal Court International, one of the ten crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the Court.
The crime of apartheid exists
On the basis of two detailed definitions of the apartheid system, attorney Michael Sfard, and 5 recognized jurists, examined international law in 2020 for the Israeli NGO Yesh Din (There Is Justice) regarding the civil and legal status as well as the daily life of Palestinians, and their response was clear that "The crime of apartheid against humanity is being committed in the West Bank. The perpetrators of the crime are Israelis and the victims are Palestinians."
This was not the first time that this accusation had been leveled against the Israeli government, but it was since the construction of the separation wall began in 2002. Early in 2005, Israeli political analyst Menachem Klein denounced the government's plan to impose a Jewish majority in Jerusalem thanks to the wall, as he emphasized. This is the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (B’Tselem) in a report in 2021, confirmed by Human Rights Watch, and supported by Amnesty International.
All of these accusations - as the writer says - were supported by the Knesset's vote in July 2018, at the initiative of then Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on a "Basic Law" with constitutional value, practically changing the definition of the state adopted by Ben-Gurion in 1948. According to this new text Israel is no longer a Jewish state that “guarantees complete equality in social and political rights for all its citizens without discrimination of creed, race or sex, and guarantees complete freedom of conscience, worship, education and culture.” Rather, it is the “national state of the Jewish people” that monopolizes “the right to exercise national self-determination.” within the State of Israel for the Jewish people.
B'Tselem notes that "this law stipulates that discrimination of Jews in Israel is fundamental and legitimate. All state institutions must promote Jewish supremacy in the entire area under Israeli control." It was this law that prompted Avraham Burg, former Labor MP and former Knesset speaker And the head of the Jewish Agency, to request the Jerusalem District Court to cancel his registration as a Jew from the population registry.
Burg explained to Mediapart the reasons for his decision, saying, "Without a constitutional balance of rights and liberties, a non-Jewish Israeli citizen would be subject to a status of inferiority, comparable to that assigned to Jews for generations." I imply that I belong to the group of gentlemen, the situation which I reject."
it is time
However, such a position - as the writer says - is not expected from Netanyahu's supporters, nor is it expected from them to stop blackmailing those who criticize or denounce the policies of the State of Israel with anti-Semitism, and take this despicable process as a weapon of deterrence, but it is expected - from those who define themselves as friends Israel - Denouncing its mistakes and crimes, and the responsibility of Israel's rulers and elected leaders is the fundamental transformation of Israel into a state like other countries subject to criticism and condemnation.
How can we condemn the Russian military invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law, without comparing it to the Israeli military occupation that violates the same law?
How can we accept the army's complete immunity when it puts itself at the service of the settlers, or opens fire on Palestinian civilians, or is killed by a sniper's bullet, the Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh?
The site concluded that it may be time for France and Europe to make clear to the Israeli regime that, while respecting its history and people, it can no longer accept its stubborn refusal to negotiate, its continued military occupation and the intensification of its settlement, and its systematic resort to the violence of arms to maintain the status quo, especially that the Ukrainian crisis has shown That there is no shortage of tools to put pressure on a country that violates international law.
But who would dare point out that Israel does this every day?