Israel Calls on Amnesty Not to Release Apartheid Report

Palestinian men climb a section of Israel's separation barrier. (AFP file photo)
Palestinian men climb a section of Israel's separation barrier. (AFP file photo)
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Israel Calls on Amnesty Not to Release Apartheid Report

Palestinian men climb a section of Israel's separation barrier. (AFP file photo)
Palestinian men climb a section of Israel's separation barrier. (AFP file photo)

Israel on Monday called on Amnesty International not to publish an upcoming report accusing it of apartheid, saying the conclusions of the London-based international human rights group are “false, biased and antisemitic.”

Amnesty is expected to join the New York-based Human Rights Watch and the Israeli rights group B'Tselem in accusing Israel of the international crime of apartheid based on its nearly 55-year military occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state and because of its treatment of its own Arab minority.

Israel dismissed the other reports as biased, but is adopting a much more adversarial stance this time around. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has said Israel expects intensified efforts this year to brand it as an apartheid state in international bodies and hopes to head them off.

In a statement issued Monday, he said Amnesty “is just another radical organization which echoes propaganda, without seriously checking the facts," and that it “echoes the same lies shared by terrorist organizations.”

“Israel isn’t perfect, but we are a democracy committed to international law, open to criticism, with a free press and a strong and independent judicial system," Lapid said.

Amnesty did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Amnesty's report “denies the state of Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people.”

“Its extremist language and distortion of historical context were designed to demonize Israel and pour fuel onto the fire of antisemitism,” it added.

Neither Human Rights Watch nor B’Tselem compared Israel to South Africa, where an apartheid system based on white supremacy and racial segregation was in place from 1948 until the early 1990s. Instead, they evaluate Israel’s policies based on international conventions like the Rome Statute, which defines apartheid as “an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group.”

They argue that Israel’s various policies in the territories under its control are aimed at preserving a Jewish majority in as much of the land as possible by systematically denying basic rights to Palestinians. Israel says its policies are aimed at ensuring the survival and security of the world’s only Jewish state.

The International Criminal Court is already investigating potential war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinian militants in the occupied territories. After last year’s Gaza war, the UN Human Rights Council set up a permanent commission of inquiry to investigate abuses in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, including “systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.”

Israel has accused both the ICC and the UN rights body of being biased against it.



Lebanon Ready for Syria Pact to Repatriate Non-Terror Convicts

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
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Lebanon Ready for Syria Pact to Repatriate Non-Terror Convicts

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)
Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar (NNA)

Lebanon’s Justice Minister Adel Nassar said Beirut had received no warnings from Damascus about potential retaliatory measures to push for the release of Syrian detainees held in Lebanese prisons, dismissing any talk of escalation as unnecessary.

“There’s no need for escalation. We’re fully open to resolving this issue through direct dialogue and a formal treaty with the Syrian authorities, one that allows the transfer of Syrian convicts, except those sentenced for killing Lebanese soldiers or for terrorism charges,” Nassar told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Nassar revealed that his ministry had already prepared a draft agreement aimed at moving the stalled file forward, stressing that resolving the issue is in Lebanon’s interest as much as Syria’s.

“This would ease the severe overcrowding in our prisons,” he said. “We’re determined to take every step in full compliance with Lebanese law and judicial procedures.”

According to Nassar, some 1,700 Syrians are currently detained in Lebanon, including 389 with final verdicts. The rest are still on trial.

“Their treatment is identical to that of Lebanese inmates,” he added. “We’re holding court sessions directly at Roumieh prison to address logistical constraints, and there’s also an intention to do the same for the military court.”

Addressing the recent Cabinet appointment of Maher Shaito as financial public prosecutor, a move widely seen as a win for the minister after rejecting a nominee backed by the Hezbollah-Amal alliance, Nassar insisted the process was purely institutional.

“This was a victory for state institutions. I can’t nominate someone I don’t believe is qualified,” he said. “After consulting senior judges and the head of the Higher Judicial Council, it was clear there was consensus around Shaito due to his credentials and track record.”

He stressed that the appointment involved “no deals or political bartering,” adding that while he found Judge Ziad Hamadeh unsuitable for that specific post, “I never said he was unfit for another position.”

Nassar described his meeting Saturday with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri as “positive,” saying Berri expressed support for the minister’s efforts under the principle of judicial independence.

On long-awaited judicial appointments, Nassar said the Judicial Council was working “around the clock” and had promised to complete the file by the end of the month. “Some 600 names are currently under consideration,” he noted.

As Lebanon approaches the fifth anniversary of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, Nassar said he would not interfere with the timeline of investigative judge Tarek Bitar, who is handling the politically sensitive case.

“Judge Bitar is continuing his probe, and I’m offering full cooperation within the limits of my authority, especially when it comes to securing information from abroad,” he said. “We won’t allow any obstruction of his work.”

Nassar said the timing of the indictment “depends on whether he receives the answers to all his questions,” adding: “There’s no legal deadline obliging him to issue a ruling by a specific date.”

Responding to reports that he and other ministers had objected to certain appointments during the last Cabinet session, Nassar confirmed his opposition to the newly named Banking Control Commission, saying ministers had not been briefed beforehand.

He also voiced strong objection to linking the disarmament of Hezbollah to any other file.

“I told Cabinet and President Joseph Aoun that the issue of arms must not be conditional. I believe in the exclusive right of the state to bear arms - there can be no functioning state otherwise,” he said.

Nassar added that Aoun had promised to refer any final document related to the ongoing US-mediated talks on the weapons issue back to the Cabinet for discussion.