JERUSALEM, 27 April, 2021 (TON): On Tuesday, the international rights watchdog accused Israel of pursuing policies of discrimination and persecution against Palestinians and against its own Arab minority.

According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch published a 213-page report aimed not to compare Israel with apartheid-era South Africa but rather at assessing whether specific acts and policies constitute apartheid as defined under international law.

“Across Israel and the (Palestinian territories), Israeli authorities have pursued an intent to maintain domination over Palestinians by exercising control over land and demographics for the benefit of Jewish Israelis,” the report says.

Israel’s foreign ministry rejected the claims as “both preposterous and false” and accused HRW of harboring an “anti-Israeli agenda,” saying the group had sought “for years to promote boycotts against Israel.”

The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the report.

However, just weeks ago the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it would investigate war crimes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military and armed Palestinian groups such as Hamas named as possible perpetrators.