Jewish charity chief condemns Israeli settler violence against Palestininans.

 

Hagai El-Ad

This Jewish man, Hagai El-Ad, is a human rights activist who heads an organisation called B'Tselem ("in the image of God"). He recently condemned Israeli settler violence in Hawara in the West Bank.

Israeli settlers have illegally occupied Palestinian lands in the West Bank and have built settlements. Following the deaths of two Israeli's by Palestinian gunmen, Israeli settlers rampaged through the town of Hawara torching homes and vehicles. This is not an isolated incident, and as the B'Tselem director general points out, Israeli pogroms against Palestinians take place on a regular basis and have the backing of the Israeli police, army, and government.

Sir Kier Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, says that while his party "fully opposes and condemns illegal settlements, annexation, and the eviction of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestine territories", Labour does not oppose Zionism and is not in favour of sanctions being imposed on Israel.

Many people have described the State of Israel as an apartheid racist state. This includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela's grandson, Zwelivelile Mandela. Amnesty International have also called the Israel an apartheid and racist state for the way it subjugates and discriminates against the indigenous Palestinian people.

Although the Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law, Kier Starmer has said publicly that he "supports Zionism without qualification." Most people know that the State of Israel which came into being in 1948, is predicated on the subjugation and expulsion of the Palestinian people. This is reflected in Israel's nation-state law. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netenyahu, said on 26 November 2014, that Israel was "The nation-state of the Jewish people, and the Jewish people alone."