Palestinians, BDS celebrate Amnesty report alleging Israeli apartheid

Palestinian officials are hoping the anti-Israel report will lead to prosecution of the Jewish state at the International Criminal Court.

By World Israel News Staff

The Palestinian Authority and anti-Israel groups are praising the Amnesty International report released yesterday that accuses Israel of practising apartheid.

“The State of Palestine welcomes the report by Amnesty International on Israel’s apartheid regime and racist policies and practices against the Palestinian people,” the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“Amnesty International joins a long list of distinguished Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations and experts in exposing Israel’s colonial occupation for what it is: an institutionalized system of oppression and domination over the Palestinian people, designed to legitimize its colonial settlement expansion, deny the Palestinian people their inalienable right to self-determination, and erase Palestinian history, present, and future in their homeland,” the statement reads.

Palestinian officials are hoping the anti-Israel report will lead to prosecution of the Jewish state at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Senior PLO official Ahmed Majdalani praised the report, the Post said, calling it “an international testimony and new documentation that qualifies to prosecute Israel for its crimes.” The report, he said, “gives an accurate description of the racist and fascist occupation practices and war crimes” against the Palestinians.

Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative party, called on the Arabs to stop normalizing their relations with Israel due to the Amnesty report’s allegations.

“It is shameful for some Arab countries to normalize their relations with the apartheid regime,” Barghouti said. “Instead, the Arabs should boycott it and impose sanctions on it.”

Yuval Shany, a senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute and a member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Law, said it’s “highly unlikely” the ICC would pursue apartheid allegations given the complexities involved, AP reported.

Using the language of apartheid is “a bridge too far,” he said.

“We warmly welcome the publication of Amnesty International’s report, titled, “Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians: Cruel system of domination and crime against humanity,” The BDS Movement said in a press release calling for donations. “Our South Africa moment is nearing. With your support, we can and shall #DismantleApartheid to live in freedom, justice and equality.”

“The State of Israel absolutely rejects all the false allegations that appear in the report,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“The report consolidates and recycles lies, inconsistencies, and unfounded assertions that originate from well-known anti-Israeli hate organizations, all with the aim of reselling damaged goods in new packaging. Repeating the same lies of hate organizations over and over does not make the lies reality, but rather makes Amnesty illegitimate.”