PLO: With its Jewish Nation-State law, Israel is legalizing apartheid

RAMALLAH - 19 July 2018: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) strongly denounced on Thursday the Israeli parliament's, the Knesset, adoption of the “Jewish Nation-State” law, WAFA news agency reported.

PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi said in a statement that the Jewish Nation-State law “gives license to apartheid, discrimination, ethnic cleansing, and sectarianism at the expense of the Palestinian people. Such racist and prejudicial legislation is illegal by all standards of international law, democracy, humanity, justice, tolerance, and inclusion.”

Ashrawi said, “Once again, the right-wing government coalition has exposed its true character by demonstrating that it is bent on sustaining an official policy of ethnic purity and supremacy, thereby regulating the indigenous Palestinian citizens to second-class status.”

She added: “This also affirms Israel's willful intent to erase the Palestinian narrative, presence and continuity on the land, while actively eradicating the history, culture and identity of the Palestinian people which predate the creation of the state of Israel.”

The PLO official said “the US administration's blind bias in favor of Israel and its total disdain for international law have emboldened Israel to persist with such unlawful and immoral policies.”

Ashrawi called on all members of the international community and people of conscience “to question such legislation and blatant discriminatory policies and bring Israel to compliance with the norms and standards of civilized behavior.”

She stressed: “Despite all Israeli efforts at eradicating our rights and our identity, the Palestinian people's resilience and determination to attain their freedom and historical validation will prevail."

The Israeli Knesset voted 62 to 55 early Thursday to approve the Jewish Nation-State Basic Law that constitutionally enshrines the identity of the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

It guarantees the ethnic-religious character of Israel as exclusively Jewish and entrenches the privileges enjoyed by Jewish citizens, while simultaneously anchoring discrimination against Palestinian citizens.