Middle East
Amnesty International accuses Israel of apartheid
In the report, Amnesty International describes how Israel, from the organization’s point of view, exercises a “system of oppression and domination” towards the Palestinians. Photo: Maya Alleruzzo/AP/dpa
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Amnesty International accuses Israel of reminiscent of apartheid in its treatment of the Palestinians – and thus draws itself criticism. The German Amnesty section is holding back.
The human rights organization Amnesty International accuses Israel of committing the crime of apartheid in its dealings with the Palestinians.
Apartheid is the name given to the doctrine of the separation of individual ethnic population groups – above all in South Africa until 1994. “We have found that Israel’s cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion in all of its controlled areas clearly amount to apartheid,” Amnesty International Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in London on Tuesday. She called on the international community to take action. However, there was also criticism of Amnesty.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Jair Lapid denied the allegations. Amnesty is a “radical organization that reproduces propaganda without serious examination”. She cites lies circulated by terrorists. “Israel is not perfect – but it is a democracy committed to international law, open to scrutiny, with a free press and a strong Supreme Court.” Lapid also criticized Amnesty for not labeling Syria, Iran or “murderous regimes” in Latin America and Africa as apartheid states.
The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, described the publication as “negligent” – also because the report fueled an already widespread Israel-related anti-Semitism in Europe. The German Amnesty section must “dissociate itself from the anti-Semitic report”.
Its website said the German Amnesty section has a special responsibility because of history and because anti-Semitism is at a worrying high. «In the national current and historical context, an objective, factual debate on the classification made by the report is hardly possible. In order to counteract the risk of instrumentalization or misinterpretation of the report, the German Amnesty section will not plan or carry out any activities related to this report.”
In the report, Amnesty International describes how Israel, from the organization’s point of view, exercises a “system of oppression and domination” towards the Palestinians both in Israel itself and in the Palestinian territories and other countries. These included the confiscation of Palestinian land, unlawful killings and drastic restrictions on movement. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977.
The Amnesty headquarters called on the International Criminal Court to take the facts of apartheid into account in investigations. She also called on the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Israel and sanctions. Apartheid is an internationally defined crime against humanity.