WANA (Oct 24) – In a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Geneva requested the formation of a special committee to examine the racist policies and apartheid crimes committed by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people.

 

This request follows the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on September 18, 2024, during the 10th emergency special session of the General Assembly, which focused on examining the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and actions in the occupied Palestinian territories.

 

In this correspondence, Iran’s mission presented evidence and documentation of Israel’s apartheid crimes. The request is based on evidence showing that Israel has established a dual legal system that grants Jewish settlers special rights and privileges, while Palestinians are subjected to strict military laws.

 

Iran emphasized that this discriminatory and racist system is an example of apartheid, which must be addressed at the international level. One of the key examples highlighted in the provided documents is the extensive land confiscation from Palestinians.

 

The letter also details that “in addition to land confiscation, the Israeli regime has looted water resources in the West Bank and Gaza and has exploited these resources for the expansion of its settlements. Israel extracts 90% of the groundwater resources belonging to Palestinians, while Palestinians have access to only 10% of these resources. Moreover, Israel has issued military orders that prevent Palestinians from accessing water sources such as the Jordan River. Between 2009 and 2019, Israel demolished or confiscated more than 547 Palestinian water and sanitation structures. During this period, water consumption by Israeli settlers in the West Bank was four times higher than that of Palestinians.”

 

Iran’s mission also pointed to the restrictive construction permit laws imposed by the Israeli regime on Palestinians, noting that in the past two decades, out of thousands of Palestinian construction permit requests, only 245 permits were issued, accounting for less than 4% of all applications. In contrast, between 2009 and 2020, more than 23,000 housing units were built for Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

 

In this communication, the Islamic Republic of Iran stressed that the evidence provided shows that Israel, by implementing a series of discriminatory and racist policies, has committed “inhuman acts” in accordance with Article 2 of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid.

 

These actions include dispossession, deprivation of access to water and services, demolition of structures, and the enforcement of discriminatory laws, all of which are clearly identified as apartheid crimes.

 

The Islamic Republic of Iran, by submitting these documents to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, called for serious international action to end this apartheid regime and to prosecute those responsible.