Five former European foreign ministers have signed an open letter in which they recognize that Israel’s policies against the Palestinians “amount to the crime of apartheid.”
The letter was signed by former Danish Foreign Minister Mogens Lykketoft, former Finish Foreign Minister Erkki Sakari Tuomioja, former Slovenia Foreign Minister Ivo Vajgl, former British Cabinet Minister Sayeeda Warsi and former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine.
“As the world is watching in horror events unfolding in Ukraine, conversation around the urgency of protecting a rules-based global order is dominating political and public discourse,” the five former foreign ministers were quoted as saying by French daily Le Monde on Thursday.
“The international community has rallied behind multilateralism and the need to adhere to international law and protect human rights. Indeed, it is the only way forward in an increasingly polarized global landscape.”
At the same time, they said, “we are reminded how the international community has too often remained silent and failed to act in the face of grave violations of international law and impunity for serious abuses in other contexts.”
“Safeguarding the international legal order means applying principles uniformly and consistently.
The same standards and commitment to protecting Ukrainian civilian population and demanding accountability for Russia’s international law violations should be applied globally, including to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The foreign ministers said that it is “crucial that the international community’s consensus regarding the illegality and immorality of over five decades of occupation forms the backbone of European policy that governs our relationship with Israel.”
“The EU and its member states continue to advocate for a two-state solution based on sovereignty and equality for both Israelis and Palestinians as the cornerstone of their Middle East policy.”
“Yet the reality on the ground in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory is moving in the complete opposite direction,” they noted.
“We see no alternative but to acknowledge that Israel’s policies and practices against the Palestinians living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza amount to the crime of apartheid,” the former foreign ministers said.
Earlier this year, leading rights group Amnesty International released a report declaring ‘Israel’ is carrying out “the crime of apartheid against Palestinians.” Amnesty’s report details how ‘Israel’ enforces a system of oppression and domination against the Palestinians.
Israeli human rights group B’Tselem also asserted that Israeli policies had been designed to enforce “Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea”.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch last year became the first international rights group to publicly concluding that Israeli occupation authorities are committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians.
