Former Mossad Intelligence Chief Says Israel Implements Appartheid In The West Bank

JAKARTA - Israel implemented an apartheid system in the occupied West Bank, the former head of intelligence of Mossad said, making it the second former top official to condemn the occupation over the past few weeks.

"There is an apartheid country here. In an area where two people are being tried based on two legal systems, it is an apartheid country," said Tamir Pardo in an interview with the Associated Press, as quoted by The National News September 8.

Pardo, who served as head of the intelligence agency from 2011 to 2016, said his views on the West Bank were not extreme, but facts.

His comments follow similar accusations by Israeli retired general Amiram Levin some time ago, saying soldiers were involved in war crimes in the occupied West Bank.

Pardo said Israelis can get in a car and drive wherever they want, except for the blockaded Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Palestinians cannot drive anywhere.

Israelis are prohibited from entering Palestinian territory in the West Bank, but can drive across Israel and 60 percent of the Israeli-controlled West Bank region.

While Palestinians need permission from Israel to enter their country, they often have to go through military checkpoints to be able to move to the West Bank.

He said he had repeatedly urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide on Israel's border demarcation.

"Israel needs to decide what it wants. Countries that do not have borders have no boundaries," he said.

It is known that Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967, controlling the region Palestinians aspire to as part of an independent country in the future.

Israel's actions in the West Bank so far this year, made 2023 the bloodiest year since 2005, breaking last year's record.

More than 180 Palestinians have been killed this year, according to an Associated Press tally.

Attacks that occur almost daily in Jenin and Nablus cities, where soldiers send Apache helicopters and drones to attack militants in densely populated areas.

A two-day raid on Jenin's refugee camp in July, which killed 12 people and left most of the area in rubble, has come under widespread criticism.