Thread by @BtSIsrael

We're at the Knesset, Israel's Parliament, for a conference on the subject of "After 54 Years: Between Occupation and Apartheid," hosted by MKs @mossi_raz and @AidaTuma.
We'll be live-tweeting. Stay with us.

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma We've only just begun, and Jewish Supremacist MK Itamar Ben-Gvir is heckling in order to close down the debate, calling the hosts of the event "terrorists". Ben-Gvir is known for having hung a picture of the Israeli mass murderer Baruch Goldstein on his living room wall.

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma Guest speaker @OmarSShakir "There are over 600 checkpoints in the West Bank that can turn a routine day into a horrifying ordeal."
Omar, Israel and Palestine director at @HRW, joins us by video link after Israel refused to renew his visa.

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw .@btselem Board Member @noyorly: "As opposed to Israelis, West Bank Palestinians not only need a special permit to enter Israel but their freedom of movement within the West Bank is also severely limited."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly Noa Galil of @Gisha_Access: "Although Israel removed its soldiers from within the Gaza Strip in 2005, it still controls Gaza's access to the sea, to the airspace and to land crossings. This isn't disengagement; this is domination by remote control."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access Executive Director of @YeshDin, @lioramihai: "The purpose of the rampant phenomenon of settler violence in the oPt is to terrorize the Palestinians and to solidify and perpetuate Israel's occupation."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai Lior continues: "Only recently we heard that the practice of IDF invasions of the homes of innocent Palestinians - 'mappings' - is to be cancelled, but that's only one small example of the home invasion missions, most of which will continue."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai Our own Executive Director, @AGvaryahu, quotes the testimony of an IDF officer who served in Hebron: "You just leave your post and you’re already on the street that separates people according to their ethnicity or nationality." breakingthesilence.org.il/testimonies/da…

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai @AGvaryahu .@AGvaryahu: "Is there really anyone who still believes that there isn't a separation-based regime in the oPt? Does anyone still need proof that there are separate laws for Israelis and Palestinians, different statistics on law enforcement, building permits, demolition orders?"

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai @AGvaryahu MK @ShahadehAbou: The problem isn't that there's a small fascist minority in this country; it's that they were able to flourish with the help of the mainstream. Ben-Gvir didn't come out of nowhere - he was given a platform by former PM Netanyahu."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai @AGvaryahu @ShahadehAbou MK Osama Saadi: "We've heard so much condemnation of the human rights organizations who are here. Now's the time to congratulate them. These organizations expose what Israel is trying to hide: the terrible injustices of the occupation."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai @AGvaryahu @ShahadehAbou .@rangoldstein, Director of @PHRIsrael: "It's about time that Israel recognizes that with power comes responsibility. People living under occupation need to be allowed their basic rights to access medical treatment."

@mossi_raz @AidaTuma @OmarSShakir @hrw @btselem @NoyOrly @Gisha_Access @YeshDin @lioramihai @AGvaryahu @ShahadehAbou @rangoldstein @PHRIsrael MK @mossi_raz: "The MKs who saw fit to disrupt this conference and tried to stop it from happening are simply afraid of hearing from the organizations who spoke here today, who hold up a mirror to Israeli society and talk about the reality we're responsible for."