Amnesty joins rights groups in accusing Israel of apartheid

Amnesty's findings form part of a growing international movement to redefine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a struggle for equal rights rather than a territorial dispute.

Palestinians girls walk in the street during cold weather in a slum in Gaza City. Picture: Hatem Moussa/AP

Israel has maintained “a system of oppression and domination” over the Palestinians going all the way back to its establishment in 1948 – one that meets the international definition of apartheid, Amnesty International has said.

With the release of a 278-page report compiled over four years, the London-based rights group joins Human Rights Watch and the Israeli rights group B’Tselem in accusing Israel of apartheid, both within its borders and in the occupied territories.