Major escalation taking place right now in Israel & Palestine, with significant human rights implications. @hrw is investigating these events. Some preliminary takeaways based on what we know now & years of our reporting. 1/7
Israeli gov moving to evict Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah under law allowing Jewish Israelis to takeover their homes based on prior ownership claim. This would displace families who are refugees barred by law from reclaiming land gov took from them as recent @hrw report shows 2/7
Planned Sheikh Jarrah evictions stem from an Israeli govt policy of “maintaining a solid Jewish majority” in Jerusalem (& target demographic ratios btw Jewish Israelis & Palestinians there it has set out) & underscore reality of apartheid that millions of Palestinians face 3/7
Israeli authorities’ brutal treatment of protesters in occupied East Jerusalem, including in/around al-Aqsa mosque, stem from a systematic practice of excessive force & impunity for serious abuses. Its actions here seek to quell demonstrations & Palestinian mass mobilization 4/7
Rockets indiscriminately fired by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centers endanger the lives, homes & properties of tens of thousands of Israeli civilians. These attacks are unjustified & are war crimes, as @hrw has extensively documented over years 5/7
Israel's use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated Gaza on population living in open-air prison for 14 years bound to result in civilian harm. Alarming reports of many Palestinians killed today. @hrw has documented many Israeli war crimes over years 6/7
These events highlight need to end impunity for serious abuses & for @IntlCrimCourt to investigate & prosecute those implicated. Cycles of escalations will persist so long as intl community continues to fail to take the human rights measures situation of this gravity warrants 7/7
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Almost all responses by Israeli officials & their supporters to @hrw apartheid/persecution report have tried to change the topic, often by name calling. Almost none have engaged on merits. A thread laying out our largely unchallenged apartheid finding. 1/6 hrw.org/news/2021/04/2…
Legal treatises, including the Rome Statute to @IntlCrimCourt, identify apartheid as a crime against humanity consisting of three elements: (1) an intent by one group to dominate another; (2) systematic oppression by dominant group over marginalized one; & (3) inhumane acts. 2/6
First, @hrw documented an intent by Israeli authorities to maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians across Israel & occupied territory (OPT), using their control over land & demographics to pursue a policy in effect of "maximum land, minimal Palestinians." 3/6
Breaking: @hrw finds that Israeli authorities are committing crimes against humanity of apartheid & persecution. Thread w findings in 213pg report on Israel's rule of Palestinians. Time to recognize reality for what it is, find #Courage2FightApartheid 1/27 hrw.org/news/2021/04/2…
While coined in relation to South Africa, legal treatises recognize apartheid as a universal legal term. Apartheid is prohibited as a matter of customary international law & is also a crime against humanity consisting of three primary elements. 2/27
The related crime against humanity of persecution consists of (1) a discriminatory intent, when leading to (2) severe deprivation of fundamental rights of a racial, ethnic or other group. 3/27
Today @hrw released its most significant piece of research on rights abuses inside Israel in years, looking at discriminatory land policies that treat Palestinian & Jewish communities in starkly unequal terms. A thread with some highlights 1/11
93% of land in Israel is state land. Nearly 1/2 seats of gov body that allocates state land belongs to Jewish Nat Fund, whose mandate is to develop land for Jews & no-one else. Palestinians makeup 21% of pop, but only ~3% of land belongs to Palestinian towns where most live 2/11
An estimated 350 of 370 Jewish towns established btw 1948 & 53 were built on land confiscated from Palestinians. For first 18 years of history, Israel placed most Palestinians in Israel under military rule, confining them to enclaves & severely restricting their movement 3/11
Israel regularly denies entry to those who challenge its policies & seek to see the occupation for themselves. But that’s not full story. Those who make it in face systematic harassment at Ben Gurion, particularly those of Arab descent. A thread on my experience today 1/14
Israel revoked my work permit in May 2018 over my rights advocacy, but court-ordered injunctions froze enforcement of deportation. I’ve only traveled since when gov permits me & guarantees my re-entry. Ahead of my Sep 24 Supreme Court appeal, I was permitted to visit family 2/14
At Ben Gurion Airport, security officials upon entry questioned me & gave me its highest security designation (denoted by #6 at beginning of barcode sticker on passport)- same designation I’ve gotten each of 15+ times I’ve flown from here 3/14
Brilliant investigative piece by @jrosyfield on how Israel-PA security coordination fostered by US translates into double repression for Palestinians & how US sees maintenance of this ugly status quo as the solution. Thread of damning nuggets uncovered 1/6 thedailybeast.com/how-trump-help…
Palestinian police hold mtgs w/ ‘Volunteer Units of Judea & Samaria’, Israeli settlers who guard illegal outposts on confiscated Palestinian land. So as PA officials rail against settlements & call for dismantling them, their police effectively coordinating w settler militias 2/6
PA forces provide Israeli army with intel on Palestinians used to prosecute them in military courts defined by systematic abuse, discrimination & sham trials w near 100% conviction rate. One Western police adviser said “Israeli prosecutors very impressed w/ evidence they got” 3/6