🔘 continued 🔘
16. It also includes action taken by Israel to deny Palestinian political participation by criminalizing political speech and membership of, or connection with, Palestinian political parties.
17. As the United Nations rightly says, by depriving Palestinians of their fundamental rights, Israel has taken away their “agency and ability to unite, self-govern and develop as a polity”.
18. The consequence of this breach is that Israel must immediately, unconditionally and totally withdraw from all of the Palestinian territory.
19. Israel is determined to ensure that the Palestinian people do not now and do not ever exercise their right to self-determination. Israel considers itself an exception. No State reserves to itself the right to systematically violate the right of a people to self-determination – except Israel. No State seeks to justify the indefinite occupation of another’s territory – except Israel. No State commits annexation and apartheid with impunity – except, it seems, Israel.
20. But Israel must not be allowed such blatant impunity. It must not be allowed to continue to inflict scars for generations to come on those that survive this holocaust. Israel must be made to behave like all civilized nations, stop violating international law and United Nations resolutions, and respect the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
21. Palestine must be free.