US rejects Human Rights Watch’s report of Israeli apartheid

Washington (QNN)- The United States on Wednesday voiced disagreement with Human Rights Watch’s report which said that the occupation state of ‘Israel’ is guilty of the international crimes of apartheid and persecution because of discriminatory policies toward native Palestinians in the 1948-occupied and in 1967-occupied territories.

“It is not the view of this administration that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid,” a State Department spokesperson claimed.

US President Joe Biden’s State Department, however, said it would not “offer public evaluations of reports by outside groups.”

The spokesperson also renewed a call on both Israelis and the Palestinians to “refrain from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions” including settlement activity and incitement to violence.

On Tuesday, the Human Rights Watch issued a 213-page report, in which it joined a growing number of commentators and rights groups who view the conflict not primarily as a land dispute but as a single occupation regime in which native Palestinians — who make up roughly half the population of the 1948-occupied territories, the West Bank and Gaza — are systematically denied basic rights granted to zionist colonizers.

‘Israel’ has been claiming that native Palestinians in the 1948-occupied territories enjoy full civil rights. It views Gaza, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005 under the fire of the Palestinian resistance, as a hostile entity ruled by the Islamic resistance group Hamas, and it considers the West Bank to be disputed territory subject to peace negotiations — which collapsed more than a decade ago.

Human Rights Watch focused its report on the definitions of apartheid and persecution used by the International Criminal Court, which launched a probe into possible Israeli war crimes last month.

Citing public statements by Israeli leaders and official policies, HRW said that ‘Israel’ has “demonstrated an intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians” in the 1948-occupied territories, the West Bank and Gaza, coupled with “systematic oppression” and “inhumane acts.”

“When these three elements occur together, they amount to the crime of apartheid,” it said.

The group also cited “grave abuses” in the occupied territories, including land confiscation, the systematic denial of building permits, home demolitions and “sweeping, decades-long restrictions on freedom of movement and basic human rights”, proving the charge of persecution.

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