Of course the settlements are illegal. Of course the occupation needs to end and in the meantime the Army and police need to keep the settlers from abusing (or worse) the Palestinians. There is no apartheid, however, as the definition under international law clearly requires that the basis for the oppression must be racial. In this case it is nationalistic, religious, and to some extent ethnic, but not racial. Neither side would care if the other side were black, green, or purple. Race is not an issue.
https colon slash slash www dot foreignaffairs dot com slash middle-east slash israel-palestine-one-state-solution
“Apartheid refers to the system of racial segregation that South Africa’s white minority government used to enshrine white supremacy from 1948 to the early 1990s. It has since been defined under international law and by the International Criminal Court as a legalized scheme of racial segregation and discrimination and deemed a crime against humanity…The term may not be a perfect fit. Israel’s system of structural discrimination is more severe than those of even the most illiberal states. But it is based not on race, as apartheid was defined in South Africa and is defined under international law, but on ethnicity, nationality, and religion…Apartheid is not a magic word that alters reality when invoked. But its entry into the political mainstream reveals a broad recognition that Israeli rule is designed to maintain Jewish supremacy throughout all the territory the state controls. Israel’s system may not technically be apartheid, but it rhymes.”
The blockade was not instituted when Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but after Hamas took over, massacred its opposition, and began attacks against Israel. No Hamas, no blockade.