“Mr. President this is apartheid,” stated the Israeli left-wing NGO B’Tselem in a signage campaign it launched hours before US President Joe Biden’s anticipated arrival in Israel.
It has placed the large signs off buildings in the two Palestinian cities of Bethlehem and Ramallah.
Biden is a strong proponent of a two-state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and plans to meet separately with Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas during his three-day trip.
“The US must acknowledge that the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is governed by an apartheid regime, and change its attitude to Israel accordingly. When the attitude changes – so will the regime.”
B’Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad
Apartheid claims
B’Tselem last year, however, issued a report which charged that in reality, there is only one Israeli “apartheid regime” that controls the entire area from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
Two international NGOs, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International issued similar reports.
Israel and the United States have rejected all such claims, with US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides calling it “absurd.”
B’Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad said on Wednesday, “The US must acknowledge that the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea is governed by an apartheid regime, and change its attitude to Israel accordingly. When the attitude changes – so will the regime.”
The left-wing NGO Peace Now in contrast put up a sign in Tel Aviv with an Israeli and a Palestinian flag that stated, “President Biden, welcome to the two countries we love the most.”