CNN Indonesia
Wednesday, 15 Nov 2023 22:15 IWST
Illustration. Irish MPs call Israel a terrorist-apartheid state. Photo: AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX
Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Parliamentarian Ireland Richard Boyd Barrett stamped Israel as terrorists and apartheid.
The lawmaker from the People Before Profit party said Israel was an “apartheid settler colonial state” and was built on “ethnic cleansing”.
“The important point about Israel is that, as a state since 1948, [negara ini] built on the basis of ethnic cleansing, on the basis of terrorism against the Palestinian people, on the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, on the constant theft of Palestinian land, the cleansing of the Palestinian people from their homes and villages,” Barrett said as reported Anadolu.
Apartheid is a rule or system that once existed in South Africa where there was segregation or discrimination on the basis of race.
He added that Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip were a “genocide” filled with “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”.
To date, Israeli attacks have killed more than 11,300 Palestinians. Victims included more than 7,700 women and children.
Various public facilities were damaged, such as hospitals, mosques, churches, destroyed as a result of air and ground attacks that have been ongoing since October 7 2023. Meanwhile, nearly 1,200 victims have also fallen in Israel.
“It’s hard to see the death and destruction, the massacre that Israel is committing against the entire population of Gaza. This is a war crime. This is a crime against humanity. This is genocide. This is ethnic cleansing,” Barrett said.
Meanwhile, Western leaders sided with Israel. But Barrett argues that they actually know that Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Even though they knew, he continued, they chose to give impunity to Israel because it benefited the West.
“Joe Biden made this clear in comments several years ago where he said, ‘If Israel didn’t exist, the United States would create it.’ “This is the real relationship. Western countries use Israeli violence to subjugate the Palestinian people and control this region, and we must call this out,” he explained.
On the other hand, Barrett praised the mass pro-Palestinian movement around the world. According to him, the public must continue to urge the government to “demand the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador” and the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Learning from the experience of apartheid in South Africa, Algeria which freed itself from colonialism and Ireland which was largely free from British colonialism, he believed that Palestine could also be free.
“This can be done, but everyone in the world who believes in decency and justice needs to stand with the Palestinian people in these difficult times,” Barrett said.
(the/dna)
2023-11-15 15:15:59
#Member #Irish #Parliament #Brands #Israel #Terrorist #Apartheid
