Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Empty structures that used to hold solar panels - Israeli army destroys a Dutch development project in the Palestinian village Jubbet adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan, 28 Jun 2017
Empty structures that used to hold solar panels - Israeli army destroys a Dutch development project in the Palestinian village Jubbet adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan, 28 Jun 2017 - Credit: Photo: Comet-ME / Facebook
Politics
Israel
Palestinian
Human Rights Watch
apartheid
foregin relations
Sunday, 10 October 2021 - 10:20
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Netherlands should recognize apartheid in Israel: Human Rights Watch

The Netherlands can set an example for other countries by recognizing that a system of apartheid exists in Israel, said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, during an interview with NU.nl.

Last April, HRW said it considered the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians as systematic discrimination. The Palestinian people are restricted in their movement, they do not receive fair and equal treatment from governmental agencies, and they are sometimes forced to leave their homes, the organization said.

The HRW director said that "apartheid" is the correct term because, "The Israeli policy in the occupied areas is specifically targeted to place one group of people above another, while both population groups in the region are equal in size.

CIDI, a lobbying group for Israeli and Jewish issues in the Netherlands, did not immediately release a statement about the new interview, but has condemned HRW’s stance in the past. In May it said that many experts on the issue believe the HRW argument is “unfounded and one-sided, and does not do justice to the great complexity of the conflict.” When posters were put up across Rotterdam accusing Israel of apartheid, CIDI responded with its own campaign. “This accusation is easy to repeat over and over, but also easy to contradict and refute,” the organization said

Many countries have been afraid to speak out about the mistreatment of Palestinians due to the delicate political situation in the area, according to Shakir. It should be up to the Netherlands to take the first step, the HRW director said.

"The Netherlands already has an important symbolic position due to the presence of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. The relationship between the Netherlands and Israel has been historically good, but there is also room to hold each other accountable within that friendship," Shakir told NU.nl.

Shakir said the Netherlands also does not have to wait for the European Union to make the first step by classifying the treatment of Palestinians as apartheid.

Former UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, former Israeli ambassadors, and Cabinet members in France and Luxembourg have already accused Israel of implementing a system of apartheid there.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Former cop accused of handling €4.2 million in money laundering scheme
  • Police break-up doctors’ protest at Parliament; Cabinet looking for work pressure solutions
  • Dutch inflation down to 9.9 percent in June
  • Facebook completely withdraws plan for controversial data center
  • Man, 35, arrested in Lelystad girl's Amber Alert case
  • Cabinet too slow in compensating parents hurt by child benefits scandal, says ombudsman

Top stories

  • Cabinet wants to ban protests in front of politicians’ homes after farmers incidents
  • Schools will remain open even during a severe Covid outbreak
  • Abolition of slavery commemorated in Amsterdam; Many companies give a day off
  • Girl named in Amber Alert found safe, police say
  • Police far more likely to bust up climate protests than farmer protests, lawyer claims
  • MP's want to lower healthcare deductible, Cabinet wants to freeze it

© 2012-2022, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content