Amnesty International has condemned Israel for committing the "crime of apartheid" against Palestinians, joining Human Rights Watch in demanding accountability for its alleged human rights abuses.
The international human rights organisation said the laws and practices of Israel's government regarding Palestinians amount to apartheid - a crime against humanity under international law.
The 211-page report, released on Tuesday, cited Israel's policies of "segregation, dispossession and exclusion".
"Amnesty International is here ... to call on the authorities of Israel to put an end to the system of apartheid it is maintaining against all Palestinians living under their effective control," Amnesty's secretary-general Agnes Callamard said in a press conference.
"Our report reveals the true extent of Israel's apartheid regime. Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem, Hebron, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights."
The report has been strongly rejected by Israel's government, which claims Amnesty is echoing propaganda without checking the facts.
"In the past, Amnesty was a respected organisation. Not anymore. Today, it is precisely the opposite," Israeli Foreign minister Yair Lapid said in a video statement one day before Amnesty's report was released.
"It isn't a human rights organisation, but just another radical organisation which echoes propaganda, without seriously checking the facts."
Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid. Source: Getty Images/AFP
"Instead of seeking the truth, Amnesty echoes the same lies shared by terrorist organisations."
Mr Lapid called on Amnesty not to release its findings ahead of the report being made public.
The elements of 'apartheid'
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines apartheid as inhuman acts "committed in the context of an institutionalised regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other racial group, and committed with the intention of maintaining that regime."
The term stems from the policies of segregation and discrimination enforced by the white South African government on the majority black population for more than 40 years in the 20th century.
Amnesty now accuses Israel of enforcing a similar system of oppression upon Palestinians "wherever it has control over their rights".
Nearly 3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, while another 1.9 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip.
A Palestinian woman reprimands Israeli forces as they demolish a house belonging to a Palestinian family in East Jerusalem. Source: Getty Images/AFP
All Israeli citizens are said to be treated equally but Amnesty believes that not to be the case.
It says the Palestinians have been considered and treated as "an inferior non-Jewish racial group" by the government.
The report cites as examples restrictions of movement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, underinvestment in Palestinian communities and the displacement of communities and the destruction of their homes.
Amnesty describes what it calls the "territorial fragmentation" of Palestinians in the country as a "foundational element of the regime of oppression".
The report also details examples of forcible transfer, torture and unlawful killings in the country, which Amnesty says Israel permits to maintain this system.
Ms Callamard says there is no justification for these acts.
More than 1.5 million people live in poverty in the Gaza Strip due to limited job opportunities and several Israel-Gaza conflicts. Source: Getty Images/LightRocket
"It is the cruelty of the system, the intricate, evolving administration of control, dispossession and inequality, the incredibly detailed bureaucratisation upon which that system is predicated, its sheer banality and at times absurdity, that has taken my breath away," she said.
"We found that Israel's cruel policies of segregation, dispossession and exclusion across all territories under its control clearly amount to apartheid. The international community has an obligation to act."
In refuting Amnesty's report, Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid admits "Israel isn't perfect".
But he says the nation is the only democracy in the Middle East, has long committed to international law, is open to criticism, has a free press and a strong and independent judicial system that represents Arabs as well as ethnic Jews.
He claims the nation has been singled out, pointing to atrocities committed by neighbouring Middle Eastern states.
"I hate to use the argument that if Israel wasn't a Jewish state, no one at Amnesty would dare to make such a claim against them, but in this case there's simply no other explanation."
Ms Callamard rejects those claims.
"We recognise the state of Israel. We oppose, denounce anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic acts the world over. But we defend our right, and the right of anyone else, to critique impartially and against international human rights law, Israel's treatment of the Palestinians," she said.
"That, dear friends, is not anti-Semitism."
Israeli troops order Palestinian merchants to close their shops in the West Bank days after stones were hurled at an Israeli settlement. Source: Getty Images/AFP
Palestinian Authority spokesman Ibrahim Milhim has praised Amnesty's findings, saying the report provided ample evidence to categorise Israel as an apartheid state.
"Amnesty International's report is one of the most just human rights reports for the Palestinian people and (one of) the most daring in monitoring the racist brutal system that the Palestinian people are subjected to," he said.
Australia 'staunch' friends with Israel
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to condemn Israel's policies against Palestinians, agreeing with Mr Lapid that "no country is perfect".
He said Australia's allyship with Israel would not waver, despite the findings of human rights violations presented to him at a press conference on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media on Wednesday. Source: AAP
"Australia has been one of the closest and strongest friends of Israel of any nation in the world other than the United States, and we continue to be a very strong friend of Israel," he said on Wednesday.
"There are criticisms made of all countries, but I can assure you that Australia and my government, in particular, will remain a staunch friend of Israel."
The United States has taken a similar stance, as one of Israel's most notable long-time allies with its State Department spokesman Ned Price rejecting Amnesty's assessment.
"We are committed to promoting respect for human rights in Israel and the West Bank and the Gaza Strip," he said.
"When speaking about Israel ... we think that it is important as the world's only Jewish state, that the Jewish people must not be denied their right to self-determination and we must ensure there isn't a double standard being applied."
