Middle East Monitor / February 1, 2022
The Palestinian Authority said on Monday that Israel “practices the worst forms of ethnic cleansing” and “carries out crimes” against the Palestinians, Anadolu has reported. The PA made its comment after Amnesty International accused Israel of “apartheid” as well as “war crimes and crimes against humanity”.
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid criticized the Amnesty report, which is due to be released in full today. Lapid claimed that Israel is a democratic state while overlooking the fact that it has been “occupying another nation, stealing their land and practicing the worst form of ethnic cleansing against them.”
The PA statement described Lapid’s claim that Israel is committed to international law as a “joke”. It asked, “Which international law is Israel committed to?”
Amnesty International’s report has been described as “a landmark” with “new research and analysis detailing violations by Israel against the Palestinian people.” The report focuses “on the policies and practices of the Israeli government towards Palestinians across all territories under its control and sets out Israel’s obligations under international law.”
The human rights organization added that the “comprehensive” report “documents how massive seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions, and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians are all components of a discriminatory system which amounts to a crime against humanity under international law.”
