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Barghouti welcomes Catalonia parliament's recognition of Israel’s crime of apartheid

June 17, 2022 at 12:00 pm

Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative Movement, Mustafa Al-Barghouti in Gaza City on 23 April 2014 [Ashraf Amra/ApaImages]

Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative, Mustafa Barghouti, yesterday welcomed the  Catalonia Parliament’s decision to recognise Israel as a state that commits the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people.

The decision makes it the first parliament in Europe to publicly recognise that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid, Barghouti said.

The Palestinian official saluted the Catalan civil society organisations for their efforts to reach this decision, stressing that it is a victory for the Palestinian people and for Palestinian efforts over 22 years to show the world that Israel is an “occupation regime” that commits the crime of apartheid.

“This is a message to all governments that are involved in normalisation agreements with Israel, that they become partners in the crime of apartheid,” he added.

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In a historical vote yesterday, the Parliament of Catalonia recognised Israel as committing the crime of apartheid against the Palestinian people and demanded authorities not give any assistance or support to it.

Although the UN acknowledges Israel’s use of apartheid measures and policies against Palestinians, as well as its continued violation of international law in the West Bank, little has been done by the global institution or its member states to hold Tel Aviv to account.

Prominent human rights groups Human Rights Watch and B’Tselem have concluded that Israel meets the threshold for being designated as a country that practices apartheid and crimes against humanity.