Palestine files 'colonial occupation' complaint against Israel

The complaint was delivered to the UN by the Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi, to the body that monitors the implementation of the UN convention against racism.

The complaint is expected to trigger a drawn-out and high-profile investigation by world bodies.

In the 350-page document seen by the Guardian, which accuses Israel of establishing an apartheid regime, Palestinians say that Israel is implementing policies that have "the common aim of displacing and replacing the Palestinian people for the purpose of maintaining a colonial occupation".

Several Israeli violations in the occupied territories are listed, accusing the government of seeking to sustain "a Jewish demographic majority in the entirety of historic Palestine" by deliberately changing the demographics in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

"Not only is the purpose of the settlement regime discriminatory in itself, it is further maintained by a system of discriminatory measures, severely depriving Palestinians of their fundamental rights," the report says.

The complaint was filed under violations to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and is believed to be the first interstate one under the treaty.

The convention, ratified by Israel in 1979, is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a body of 18 independent experts.

Palestine is considered part of the state members having gained observer status at the UN General Assembly in 2012 and signed the convention in 2014.

A written defence must be submitted by Israel within three months and include any steps taken to rectify the situation.

The complaint, which "does not reach the level of a court order", according to Ammar Hijazi from the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs, would oblige other signatories to the convention, which include the US, to "ensure that such practices are not continued", reported the Guardian.

In addition to the violations relating to the right to equal treatment under the law, Palestinians claim that Israel is in breach of Article 3 of the convention, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

Article 3 declares: "States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction."

The summary of the complaint by Palestine concludes that Israel enforces racist policies in the occupied territories. 

"It is clear that Israel's acts are part of a widespread and oppressive regime that is institutionalised and systematic; that accords separate and unequal treatment to Palestinians."