QR CodeQR Code

HRW Urges EU to Denounce ‘Israeli’ Apartheid at Association Council Meeting

30 Sep 2022 20:43

Islam Times - The Human Rights Watch group urged the European Union and its member states to condemn the ‘Israeli’ authorities’ crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution during the EU-‘Israel’ Association Council meeting on October 3, 2022.


The EU and its member states should also press the ‘Israeli’ authorities to end the crackdown on Palestinian civil society, according to HRW.

“European officials should know they’ll be shaking hands with representatives of a government committing crimes against humanity and that has outlawed prominent civil society groups challenging these abuses,” said Omar Shakir, Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.

“Pretending it’s business as usual with ‘Israel’ amid escalating repression sends the message that EU condemnation is worth little more than the paper it’s written on.”

The EU-‘Israel’ Association Council is a forum aimed at facilitating political dialogue and strengthening cooperation with the Zionist entity. The last Association Council meeting was held in 2012 and further gatherings were paused after the Zionist regime authorities objected to the EU’s position regarding West Bank settlements.

Several Palestinian, European, and international nongovernmental organizations, as well as 47 Members of the European Parliament, have raised serious concerns around the Association Council meeting.

The meeting also comes just weeks after ‘Israeli’ occupation authorities raided and ordered the closing of the offices of seven prominent Palestinian civil society organizations, some of which receive funding from the EU and its member states. The Zionist regime authorities moved to shutter the Palestinian rights groups despite statements by the EU and a number of its member states dismissing their allegations against the organizations.

Additionally, in August, 49 Palestinians in Gaza, including 17 children, were martyred during the latest ‘Israeli’ attack against the besieged enclave. The Tel Aviv regime’s 15-year-long closure of Gaza has deprived its more than 2 million residents of opportunities to better their lives and devastated the economy, with 80 percent of the population now reliant on humanitarian aid.


Story Code: 1017019

News Link :
https://www.islamtimes.org/en/news/1017019/hrw-urges-eu-to-denounce-israeli-apartheid-at-association-council-meeting

Islam Times
  https://www.islamtimes.org