In 2021, there were violent clashes in Jerusalem and fatal exchanges of rocket fire and bombs between Gaza and Israel.
On 01 February 2022, Amnesty International accused Israel of maintaining a ‘cruel system of domination’ over Palestinians.
In its recent report, Amnesty International compiled records of Israeli violence within its borders and in occupied territories over the past four years. According to Amnesty International, ‘Israel has used military rule as a key tool to establish its system of oppression and domination over Palestinians.’
Over the years, there have been reports of violence and attacks by Israeli soldiers directed by the Israeli government against Palestine. In 2021, for instance, after the eviction of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah, an East Jerusalem suburb, there were violent clashes in Jerusalem and fatal exchanges of rocket fire and bombs between Gaza and Israel. In October 2020, an Israeli court ordered the eviction of four Palestinian families from the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah. These families, who had faced multiple court cases filed against them by various pro-settler organizations since 1972, saw the expulsion as an extension of an official Israeli policy to displace as many Palestinians from Jerusalem as possible to maintain a majority Jewish identity in the city.
Despite these incidents, Israeli authorities reject any claim of apartheid and have accused Amnesty International of delegitimizing Israel’s existence and encouraging hate. Israel claims that its ‘Arab citizens have equal rights’. Israel granted the Palestinian Authority limited autonomy during the peak of the peace process in the 1990s and withdrew its soldiers and settlers from Gaza in 2005. However, Israel maintained control over Gaza, and Gaza Strip settlers’ access to water, electricity, telecommunications, and other utilities⎈
Recommended Reading
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