Bipartizan

Throughout the history of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there have been many contentious points of argument, opinions, and general talking points parroted vigorously by either side. One of the things which does not, however, garner the same level of virality, is equality and the presence of an apartheid-like system. Proponents of Israel are usually quick to point out the fact that there are millions of Arab-Israeli citizens, who hold or have held high positions within the Israeli political & judicial systems, and therefore there must be equality and there can’t be an apartheid, right?

Currently, Israel and Palestine exist as a de facto one-state, controlled by Israel, where Palestinian individuals living in the occupied territories are brutally governed by a separate set of laws. A crime committed by an Israeli citizen versus a Palestinian one in the West Bank leads to vastly different outcomes, unfolding a drastic dichotomy in the treatment of both populations. Palestinians will find themselves standing before a military court, while Israelis face the civil court system. The very essence of an apartheid system, as a number of human rights groups have described.

Tamir Pardo, a former Mossad Chief, explicitly said: “in a territory where two people are judged under two legal systems, that is an apartheid state”, which further fuels the fire that Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the occupied West Bank & indirectly, Gaza. It is hard to argue with facts, and the complete disregard for human liberty and justice in the West Bank, doesn’t even come close to the suffering experienced by the people of Gaza, employed by a depraved and vengeful right-wing government, which is enforcing complete collective punishment on the 2.2 million people of Gaza, for the actions of a few thousand on October 7th, 2023.

Venturing deeper into the issue of the military courts, according to a “non-visit” report by Francesca Albanese, the current United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied territories: “Palestinians who are arrested face prosecution in military courts with a near-100% conviction rate” caused by the fact that around “97% of the convictions in military courts are the result of plea bargains”. This completely asymmetrical treatment of civilians where children “as young as 12 are subject to the same sentencing framework and carceral system as adults” is the very essence of an apartheid system, where subjugation, instilment of fear, and forced military control overrides the rights of said victims.

As outlined in the “non-visit” report, the current Israeli regime’s callous desire for expansion into the occupied territories, creates a sort of feedback loop where “the overall design of the military and security legislation of the occupying Power…appears structurally aimed at impeding the enjoyment of all the fundamental human rights”, which in turn necessitates the occupying system’s malicious attempts to “create a climate of stifling control” in which individuality and national cultural forms of expression are violently suppressed, creating an aura of oppression, where even peaceful activists and civil oppositionists are threatened, often leading to indefinite detention time, all in an attempt to prevent “political dissent against the occupation”.

These damning revelations leave little room for debate, and display the perpetual daily struggles faced by Palestinians in the occupied territories. Whilst Arab-Israelis enjoy most of the same rights as Israeli citizens -although many would reject that notion– Palestinians are still fighting for their civil rights, as well as their right to self-determination. Supporters of Israel must be honest about the realities on the ground, if we are to keep the chances of a peace process alive. The current expansionist attitudes, perpetrated by Israeli settlers, emboldened by their lack of accountability, and oftentimes direct support of the IDF, will hinder any further progression towards a peaceful resolution.

International leaders must do more than pressure Israel, in order to immediately cease settlement expansion, and they should consider serious economic & diplomatic sanctions, in order to ensure preventative action is taken with urgency. Biden’s op-ed, released November 18th, 2023, could hint at the beginning of a shift in attitudes towards illegal settlements, with the measures outlined in the article, being declared as the strictest punitive punishment issued by the Biden administration versus Israel, since their election.