By Nur Aida Poh
To discuss the Israel Apartheid, it is impossible to dismiss the South African Apartheid experience from 1948 to 1994; as although the crime of apartheid was declared an international crime of humanity applicable to all countries, it was only declared so as a response to, and a result of the South African Apartheid.
The apartheid is a term that originated from the Afrikaans word meaning “aparthood”, and it is a highly segregative political and social system adopted and institutionalized by the Nationalist Party (NP) to uphold the European minority’s supremacy and to subjugate the non-European majority, namely, the black South Africans (derogatively classified as the “pure-blooded Natives” or the “Bantu race”) in South Africa.[1] The South African Apartheid was harrowing and devastating, to say the least. Forms of grand and petty apartheid were implemented in South Africa, the former referring to segregative policies in education, healthcare, land and work rights, etc., such as creating residential areas based on skin colour. The latter refers to routinized racial segregation in daily public areas. A notorious phrase used by the NP to describe this is the “separate but equal” propaganda which later manifested into the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act in 1953.
This article-series does not claim that the situation in Palestine is the same with, or comparable to the South African apartheid, as no two events in history can ever be the same. However, the crime of apartheid was created to prevent any forms of institutionalized segregation on the basis of race, and have stipulated specific acts that can constitute the crime of apartheid, not constitute a second South African-specific apartheid. This is an important distinction that should be highlighted early on before understanding the Israel Apartheid analogy. This article will draw parallels between the crime of apartheid and Israel’s actions in the oPt. Some policies such as the Israel colour-coded ID cards do harken back to South Africa’s 1952 Pass Laws Act, and some comparisons might be made in this article, but it is not for the purpose of comparing the type or degree of segregation in both countries, but to illustrate how both the NP and the Israeli government uses policies to restrict movement and disempower Black South Africans and Arab Palestinians.[2]
Crime of Apartheid
UNGA labeled apartheid as a crime of humanity in 1966; and is endorsed by the UNSC in 1984. The crime of apartheid is defined by the International Convention of the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid (ICSPCA or Apartheid Convention) in 1973, and Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the ICC as:
“a crime against humanity and that inhuman acts resulting from the policies and practices of apartheid and similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination,” supplemented by Article 2: “which shall include similar policies and practices of racial segregation and discrimination as practised in southern Africa” – as covering “inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over any other racial group of persons and systematically oppressing them.”[3][4]
From the definition above, we can conclude that the crime of apartheid is divided into three main elements: intentionality, institutionalized segregation and one or more inhumane acts.[5]
Though the Israel government did not openly declare their intention to commit the crime of apartheid (it would not make sense for a government who has been denying more than five decades of Israeli expansion to admit committing any apartheid-esque crimes), the non-exhaustive list below are examples, and policies that explicate Israel’s intentionality in segregating Palestinian people. As HRW mentioned in its 2020 report, persecution itself is defined as “the intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights”, therefore examples of the persecution of Palestinian people can be regarded as conveying intentionality. As intentionality, segregation and inhumane acts are all interlinked, examples under intentionality could also have segregative aspects, vice-versa. The examples are classified under the three components for better understanding.
Intentionality
To measure intentionality, we need to look at not only Israel’s discriminatory policies, but also, the historical context in which these policies were implemented.
● Absentees’ Law, the Citizenship Law, and the Law of Return in the Nakba aftermath
The first article in this series has introduced the Nakba exodus of 1948, in which approximately 700,000 Palestinians fled to neighbouring countries for fear of their lives, not only as a result of war, but as a result of targeted persecution by Zionist militias at that point of time. Some scholars refer to this act as ethnic cleansing, which is defined as “the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups.”[6] The expulsion of Arab Palestinians from their homes, destruction of their properties, historical monuments and culture all point towards an attempt to erase the Palestinian identity, i.e. ethnic cleansing. Ben-Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister at the time had declared in a letter to his son that the Israeli government “must expel Arabs and take their place” even as early as in 1937.[7] The Haganah, or the Zionist militia group who was later outlawed by the British were deployed from 1920 to 1948, took deplorable measures that in part culminated into the Nakba.[8] Cities such as Haifa and Jaffa were captured, Palestinians were forcefully expelled, and those who stayed “were forced into barbed-wire fenced areas, like a prison”.[9]
In 1952, the Israel government implemented the Citizenship Law, in which citizenships are only given to those who have registered in 1952 and have been present in Israel and future Israel territories from 1948 to the enactment of the law is granted citizenship; repealing the previous 1925 Palestinian Citizenship Order that granted all residents in the Palestinian Mandate citizenship.[10] The 1950 Absentees’ Law on the other hand, is a law that legalized the confiscation of all property of individuals (i.e. Palestinians as specified in the law) who were not present from November 1947 (i.e. start of civil war) to May 1948 and transfers it to Israeli “Custodians”, of which he/she has full rights over the property.[11]
Viewing these policies at the heel of having caused an exodus, a pattern seems to emerge.
Firstly, creating an unlivable, dangerous environment for Arab Palestinians to the point that two-thirds of the whole population had to flee, secondly, disempowering and impoverishing them by transferring all their property to Israelis, and thirdly, by rendering them stateless and preventing permanently their return. This pattern collectively points towards ethnic cleansing.
In contrast, the Law of Return was also enacted for Israelis at the same time period, where all Jews and their family members are free to claim Israeli citizenship regardless of whether they have ever stepped foot in Israel, provided they share the same faith.[12]
These four policies when viewed together convey the clear intention to subjugate, to expel, to erase the Arab Palestinians, and enforce an Israel supremacy. These policies act as the foundation to future segregative strategies and laws that ultimately leads to the Israeli Apartheid.
2. Segregation
Segregative policies occur within modern day Israel, amongst Palestinians who hold Israeli citizenships, in the West Bank, and in East Jerusalem. However, for the purpose of this article, only certain segregative laws will be highlighted.
● Building Permits and Demolition Orders
As mentioned earlier, demolitions of Palestinian homes and infrastructure required to live, are of the norm in the oPt. Even as you read this article, houses in Silwan are being demolished.[13][14] However, as anti-Palestinians will argue, these evictions are legal under Israeli law (note: not international law).[15] To illustrate the segregation in building and demolishing policies, we compare Palestinian homes and structures with Israeli settlements (which are illegal in both international law and Israeli law). Palestinians require building permits in order for them to construct buildings even in Palestinian property within the oPt. However, according to the 2015 OCHA report, from 2010-2014 only 1.5% of the 2000 permits submitted to the Industrial Cooperation Authority (ICA) were approved. The Palestinians have no choice but to build “illegally” in order to live. The absence of the building permits become the basis for demolitions, of which 77% occur even in private Palestinian land. When building permits are rarely issued, and demolition orders are issued more frequently, it is more rational to argue that these building permits and demolition orders are used as a weapon to dispossess Palestinians of their own private land, and transfer control to the Israeli government. On the other hand, demolitions of the illegal Israeli settlements are more transparent, and the settlers are given support and compensation. Further, only 12.9% of Israeli settlements are executed, of which around 70% has been voluntarily demolished by the settlers and 30% by the ICA. Of the approximately 20% of Palestinian structures demolished, around 72% have been forcibly demolished by the ICA, and none have received compensation from the ICA.[16]
● West Bank Wall, Pass Laws
The West Bank wall separates the oPt with modern Israel. Job opportunities, healthcare, access to water and other basic human rights are not given or protected in the oPt, as will be illustrated under “inhumane acts” later. Therefore, the Wall, in addition to the checkpoints act as physical barriers that segregate the Palestinians and the Israelis. 70,000 Palestinians travel for work daily, and all of them require passes to travel to and back from the West Bank and modern Israel. These passes cost from 1,500 - 2,500 shekels per month, which converts into around 400 to 600 USD - a cost that most might consider too burdensome an amount especially when considering the expensive daily expenses.[17]The conditions of the wall are demeaning, with the lack of sanitation and overcrowding, to the point that Palestinians get injured with broken ribs, legs and suffocation, even death, at the borders.[18] Unfortunately, not all of the deaths at the wall are attributable to the conditions, but also the result of excessive force by security officers. The exact numbers of deaths at these checkpoints are not recorded, however, human rights group al-Haq released a report listing at least 9 killings at the checkpoints between 2001 and 2002.[19] Women have given birth at these checkpoints, and some die during childbirth.[20] These extreme conditions should be viewed in light of the fact that these conditions are man-made and could easily be prevented through an increase in efficiency and better infrastructure. On the other hand, Israelis pass through these walls with ease and safety, supporting again the argument that these acts of segregation and disempowerment are purposeful.
3. Inhumane acts
Inhumane acts could be proven through the persecution, and killing of Palestinians which unfortunately increased this year, even in the West Bank.[21] However, this section will explicated through the Palestinians’ access to water, and how Israel policies not only violate human rights, but also prevent a conducive and productive lifestyle for Palestinians, as a strategy to disempower and subjugate them (i.e. apartheid).
● Water
The West Bank experiences water shortages mostly due to man-made reasons. The control of the water resources in the West Bank was granted to the Israeli government in the 1995 Oslo Accords during the interim period and is still under the Israeli authority today. According to the Accords, Israel and Palestine share 80% and 20% of the water from the mountain aquifers. However, Palestinians in the West Bank currently only receive 75% of the stipulated amount of water and are forced to purchase water from Israel’s national water company Mekorot at more than twice the price agreed upon in the Accords. The quality of the water is poor, and only two-thirds of the amount of water purchased is received due to the pipeline leakages connecting the reservoirs and West Bank. Repairs of these leakages are not granted, as pipelines fall under the category of infrastructure that also require building permits. This results in almost a third of Palestinians in the West Bank without proper access to water, especially in the Northern areas of Nablus, Jenin and Tubas. The average Palestinian consumes less than 60 litres of water per day, although Northern Palestinians
consume only 25 litres per day as opposed to the recommended 100 litres consumption by the World Health Organization.[22] This water shortage is especially pronounced in the summer, where demand for water is high due to the drying of West Bank wells, and Mekorot gives priority in water provision to Israeli settlements as opposed to Palestinians.[23] The distinction in treatment between Israelis and Palestinians is further shown through the available access to water all year round for Israelis in the settlements and the destroying of alternate sources of water for Palestinians such as “illegal” wells, reservoirs and even less-than-sanitary water collected naturally through water cisterns.[24] The construction of further water-related infrastructure is also impeded due to the requirement of building permits halting social and economic development of the Palestinian people, especially when considering how the majority of Palestinian’s survival and livelihoods depend on farming and growing crops.
● Other human rights deprivations
Poverty, lack of job opportunities, and living in the constant fear of having their houses demolished have resulted in Palestinians being forced to live in limbo. Schools, shops, and other means of achieving a productive lifestyle and a stable livelihood all still depend on building permits that as mentioned before, are rarely issued. Palestinians have to rely on agriculture, which as mentioned earlier cannot be prosperous due to lack of water and poor water quality. With the wall being an additional barrier to seek opportunities in modern Israel, on top of the discrimination faced even within Israel, Palestinians have no recourse to improving their lives and achieve stability. Even during COVID, makeshift health centres, even mobile means of providing healthcare are seized by the Israeli authorities.[25]
Palestinians as Second-Class Citizens in Apartheid Israel
The non-exhaustive examples above prove that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid. Intentionality, segregation and inhumane acts occur daily, and are institutionalized in Israeli law. Palestinians are disempowered, and cannot rely on the domestic legal system to achieve justice. Therefore, it is our duty as global citizens to raise awareness on the apartheid in the oPt. The apartheid label is not used to only garner shock and gain international attention, but it is a route to seek specific methods of observing the situation in Palestine in the eyes of international law, and try the parties involved accordingly. It is unique, and requires international response for the injustice to cease; similar to how the South African apartheid was dismantled, largely in part to international cooperation with domestic forces, and also through implementing economic sanctions and condemning the NP acts on the global stage.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/27/israel-committing-crime-apartheid-human-rights-watch [2] https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cspca/cspca.html [3]https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.10_International%20Convention%20on%20the%20Suppression%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Apartheid.pdf [4] https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/documents/rs-eng.pdf [5]https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution [6] https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethnic-cleansing [7] https://jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2013/04/the-ben-gurion-letter/ [8] https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-israel-the-violent-legacy-of-1948-11621520989 [9] https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/palestineremix/lost-cities-of-palestine.html#/10 [10] Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Law of Return 5710-1950," accessed April 7, 2020, https://mfa.gov.il/mfa/mfa-archive/1950-1959/pages/law%20of%20return%205710-1950.aspx [11] Uri Davis, "Israeli apartheid," in Apartheid Israel: Possibilities for the Struggle Within (London: Zed Books, 2003), 99-102. [12] Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Law of Return 5710-1950," [13] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRToxbqIOtB/ [14] https://egyptianstreets.com/2021/06/30/13-injured-as-israeli-forces-begin-demolition-works-in-silwan/ [15] Read OCHA, ‘Under Threat’ for more information on Israel’s laws and justifications on demolitions [16] OCHA, “Under Threat,” 3 [17] Amira Hass, "Exploitation and Profiteering: Palestinians Forced to Pay a Fortune to Work in Israel," Haaretz.com, last modified October 23, 2019, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-every-third- palestinian-worker-in-israel-is-forced-to-buy-a-work-permit-1.8016313. [18] Jaclynn Ashly, "Israel's Checkpoint 300: Suffocation and Broken Ribs at Rush Hour," Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera, last modified March 9, 2019, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/israel-checkpoint-300-suffocation-broken-ribs-rush-hour- 190309084118708.html. [19] Al-Haq, "Death Traps: Israel's Use of Force at Checkpoints in the West Bank," Al-Haq | Defending Human Rights in Palestine Since 1979, accessed April 7, 2020, https://www.alhaq.org/cached_uploads/download/alhaq_files/publications/Death_Traps___Israels_Use_of_Forc e_at_Checkpoints_in_the_West_Bank.pdf. [20] BBC, "BBC NEWS | Middle East | Israeli Jailed over Baby Tragedy," accessed April 7, 2020, https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7612887.stm. [21] https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/palestinian-casualties-soar-in-west-bank/2246669 [22] B'Tselem, "Israel's Policy in Area C," 20-21 [23] Amnesty International, "The Occupation of Water," Amnesty International, accessed April 7, 2020, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/11/the-occupation-of-water/. [24] B'Tselem, "Israel's Policy in Area C," 20-21 [25] https://www.instagram.com/p/CRRHL52oNio/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
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