HRW concludes Zionist entity committing crime of apartheid against Palestinians

Human Rights Watch has concluded that the illegal Zionist entity is committing the crimes against humanity of "apartheid and persecution" against Palestinians, and said it plans to forward its findings to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for due action.

According to Press TV, in a 213-page report released on Tuesday, the New York-based human rights group said the Israeli regime was the "single authority" with primary control "over the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea… and methodologically privileging Israelis while repressing Palestinians, most severely in the occupied territory."

Kenneth Roth, executive director of the HRW, said, "This detailed study shows that Israeli authorities… are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution."

"It is coupled in the occupied territory with systematic oppression and inhumane acts against Palestinians living there," he said.

The report is based on robust sourcing, including human rights documentation, official planning documents, and statements by officials.

AFP cited Omar Shakir, the Israel and Palestine director at HRW, as saying that there had been warnings for years that "apartheid is around the corner."

"I think it's quite clear that that threshold has been crossed," Shakir said.

The HRW listed the sweeping movement restrictions on Palestinians, the seizure of Palestinian-owned land, and the forcible displacement of Palestinians as examples of the policies that constituted crimes of apartheid and persecution by the Israeli regime.

"Denying millions of Palestinians their fundamental rights, without any legitimate security justification and solely because they are Palestinian and not Jewish, is not simply a matter of an abusive occupation," Roth said. "These policies, which grant Israelis the same rights and privileges wherever they live and discriminate against Palestinians to varying degrees wherever they live, reflect a policy to privilege one people at the expense of another."

The group stressed that the ICC should "investigate and prosecute those credibly implicated" in the crimes of apartheid and persecution.

Last month, The Hague-based court announced that it had opened a formal investigation into Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

Reuters cited Shakir as saying that the HRW would send its report to the ICC prosecutor's office, "as we normally do when we reach conclusions about the commissions of crimes that fall within the Court's jurisdiction."

HRW also urged countries to "impose individual sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on officials responsible for committing these crimes" and to reconsider their ties with Tel Aviv, including military cooperation.

SS