The United States on Wednesday expressed dispute with Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) accusation that Israel is causing “apartheid” against the Palestinians but said it was dedicated to condemning abuses.
President Joe Biden’s State Department, yet, said it would not “offer public evaluations of reports by outside groups” — a shift from Donald Trump’s administration which vociferously criticized support groups that criticised ally Israel.
“It is not the view of this administration that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The spokesperson renewed a call on both Israel and the Palestinians to “refrain from unilateral actions that exacerbate tensions” including settlement activity and incitement to violence.
Israel, which is facing an investigation at the International Criminal Court opposed by the United States, denounced the report and accused the New York-based group of having an anti-Israel agenda.
Human Rights Watch in a report on Tuesday said that Israel is “committing the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution,” saying Israel had an “overarching” policy to “maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United States said the report was full of “lies and fabrication” that were “bordering on anti-Semitic. “
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