According to UN special rapporteur, Israel violates Palestinians' rights in West Bank, Gaza through occupation, confiscation of land, 'ethnic cleansing' of East Jerusalem.


Israel's policies in the West Bank and Gaza Strip appear to amount to apartheid due to its systematic oppression of the Palestinian people and de facto expropriation of their land, a United Nations investigator said in a report.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said that Palestinian rights are being violated by Israel's prolonged occupation of Palestinian territory and "ethnic cleansing" of East Jerusalem.

Gaza, despite the disengagement of Israel in 2005, remains "occupied" under an unlawful Israeli blockade that controls borders, airspace and coastal waters, and especially hurts farmers and fishermen, he said. The humanitarian situation in the Hamas-ruled enclave is dire amid fuel shortages, he added.