Far right in Netanyahu gov’t believe Israel can ‘live without the world’: Ex-minister
Al Jazeera spoke to former Israeli Justice Minister Yossi Beilin on the International Court of Justice ruling that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.
Here’s more from Beilin:
“The government is the most rightist one ever and many of the ministers – especially from the very extreme right – believe that Israel can live without the world. And anything which is said about us, about conquering, about occupying, whatever, is biased, and they can never accept it,” Beilin told Al Jazeera.
“I must admit that I did not identify with all the parts of the [ICJ] adjudication today. There were some things that I can accept, others that I don’t,” Beilin said.
“I would say no, we don’t need to be there. We should not be there. I mean, if we remain in the territories – in the West Bank and Gaza – it means that Israel will never be a Jewish state,” he said.
“I’m an Israeli patriot. I’m a Zionist, and it’s against Zionism and any idea of Israel as a Jewish, democratic state to stay in the territories.”
Occupation is not Israel’s ‘internal issue’, says Israeli rights group
Yesh Din, which works on rights issues in the occupied territories, said the abuse of Palestinians and occupation of their land is “not an internal Israeli issue”.
In a series of posts on social media following the world court’s ruling that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem is unlawful and must end, the rights group said those in Israel should not be surprised to “find themselves on the defendants’ bench”.
“Those who impose military, forceful, and oppressive rule on millions of people for over 57 years, rob them of their rights, seek to annex their lands, and implement apartheid policies should not be surprised,” the group said.
“The occupation of the West Bank is illegal, and it is the occupier’s duty to end it immediately. The occupation is not an internal Israeli issue,” it added.
[1] The occupation of the West Bank is illegal. Israel aims to turn its control of the WB into a permanent situation. It exploits the powers granted to it by the laws of occupation to harm the rights of protected Palestinian civilians and to exploit the occupied territory while > pic.twitter.com/xD785KVXSr
— Yesh Din English (@Yesh_Din) July 19, 2024
‘Regime of oppression’ hiding behind shout of ‘anti-Semitism’, say Israeli veterans
Breaking the Silence, an advocacy group of Israeli military veterans, has issued a blistering critique of Israel’s policy towards Palestinians following the ICJ ruling on the unlawfulness of the West Bank’s occupation.
Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land was “always immoral” as well as being illegal, the veterans’ advocacy group said.
“We would know. We were amongst those sent to maintain a military dictatorship over millions,” the group said.
“We were the ones sent to uphold apartheid in the West Bank and a suffocating siege on Gaza, while the establishment claimed ‘we left Gaza’,” it added.
“We guarded settlements and outposts while also demolishing houses in the nearby Palestinian villages.”
“The occupation must end. Not because of the ICJ. Because decades of tyranny are a moral disgrace which corrupts and distorts us all. Because ultimately, the occupation takes the lives of so many innocent souls.”
The occupation has been declared illegal, but it was always immoral. Those politicians who just yesterday called for “annexation” and now suddenly shout ”antisemitism” are just hiding the fact that it’s always been a regime of oppression and discrimination on a massive scale.
— Breaking the Silence (@BtSIsrael) July 19, 2024
