By
Ben White is a freelance journalist, writer and activist, specialising in Palestine/Israel.
A
new United Nations report accuses Israel of having established "an
apartheid regime that oppresses and dominates the Palestinian people as a
whole".
The publication comes amid renewed debate about whether,
through its settlement policy and rejection of Palestinian
self-determination, the Israeli government is creating - or even has
already created - a de facto "one-state", which critics warn would
constitute a form of apartheid.
It urged governments to "support boycott, divestment and
sanctions [BDS] activities and respond positively to calls for such
initiatives".
The report - Israeli
Practices towards the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid -
was commissioned and published by the UN Economic and Social Commission
for Western Asia (ESCWA) and launched in Beirut.
John Reynolds, a lecturer in law at the National University of
Ireland, Maynooth, told Al Jazeera the report "breaks new ground in the
context of the UN's analysis of the situation in Palestine".
