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Is Israel an apartheid state?
In brief
Several major human rights groups say yes, and Israel and its defenders strongly deny it. The disagreement rests on whether Israel and the West Bank should be judged as one system, and on whether discrimination alone, or only an intent to dominate one racial group, defines apartheid.
What is claimed
- B'Tselem (January 2021), Human Rights Watch (April 2021) and Amnesty International (February 2022) concluded that Israel maintains a system of domination over Palestinians that meets the legal definition of apartheid.
- They argue that Palestinians in the West Bank live under military law while nearby settlers live under civil law, and that Palestinian citizens of Israel face unequal treatment in land and housing.
What the record shows
- Apartheid is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and under the Apartheid Convention.
- In its July 2024 advisory opinion the ICJ found that Israel's policies in the occupied territory breach Article 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which bans racial segregation and apartheid, but it did not rule on which of the two applies.
- About a fifth of Israel's citizens are Arab. They vote, sit in the Knesset and serve on the Supreme Court, and Israel's 2018 Nation-State Law was criticized as relegating them.
The case and the answers
The strongest case against
- Seen as a single regime controlling the whole territory from the river to the sea, Israel gives different rights to different groups.
- Separate legal systems in the West Bank, land policies and the Nation-State Law show systematic discrimination.
The best answers
- Israeli Arabs are full citizens with the vote. Apartheid in South Africa denied Black citizens political rights altogether.
- The West Bank is a separate territory under occupation and the Palestinian Authority governs most Palestinians there. The conflict is over national claims, not race.
- Apartheid requires an intent to maintain racial domination. Security barriers followed terror attacks and negotiation offers, and not a racial plan.
Key dates
- 1973 UN Apartheid Convention opens for signature.
- Jul 2018 Israel passes the Nation-State Law.
- Jan 2021 B'Tselem report.
- Apr 2021 Human Rights Watch report.
- Feb 2022 Amnesty International report.
- 19 Jul 2024 ICJ advisory opinion refers to CERD Article 3.
Who addresses this
Profiles with articles, videos and podcasts. Open a profile for the full list.
- Natasha HausdorffInternational law
- Hen MazzigIsraeli Arab and minority experience
- Eylon LevyInterviews and responses
- Elliot KaufmanCommentary
Direct sources and further study
- Human Rights Watch: A Threshold Crossed (2021)Report that argues apartheid
- Amnesty International: Israel's Apartheid Against Palestinians (2022)Report that argues apartheid
- Wikipedia: Israel and the apartheid analogyNeutral overview with sources on all sides
- NGO MonitorCritic of the NGOs behind the reports
Related on NOWlej
Nation-State Law · Law of Return · Judea and Samaria · Oslo Accords
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Links to outside sources are provided for study and do not imply endorsement. Figures and rulings are described as of the date shown.