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The movement has focused on raising global attention towards the ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli regime against indigenous Palestinians.
The global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which rallies against the illegal occupation of Palestine has slammed a new US-Israeli declaration as “a fest of hate, racism, and warmongering”.
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In a statement sent to Doha News on Thursday, the peaceful movement said the Israel-American document “further exacerbates US complicity in funding, defending and enabling Israel’s decades-old regime of military occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid”.
The attack on BDS “is only the latest desperate attempt to shield apartheid Israel from growing calls for meaningful accountability”.
The stern statement was published on Thursday, just hours after Washington and Tel Aviv zeroed in on the peaceful movement in a joint declaration on the US-Israel Strategic Partnership.
“While fully respecting the right to freedom of expression, they firmly reject the BDS campaign. The two countries will use the tools at their disposal to fight every scourge and source of antisemitism,” read a joint declaration on the US-Israel Strategic Partnership.
The declaration was signed between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid after a meeting between the two in Jerusalem on Thursday, the second day of Biden’s trip to the Middle East.
Under the document, the US and Israel vowed “to respond whenever legitimate criticism crosses over into bigotry and hatred or attempts to undermine Israel’s rightful and legitimate place among the family of nations.”
“The United States and Israel affirm that they will continue to work together to combat all efforts to boycott or de-legitimise Israel, to deny its right to self-defence, or to unfairly single it out in any forum, including at the United Nations or the International Criminal Court,” added the declaration.
Responding to the document, the movement said the mere mention of BDS highlights its growing impact worldwide.
“By placing BDS among their top priorities, their declaration simultaneously attests to the fast rising impact of the BDS movement and shreds to pieces the US administration’s already flimsy pretense of respect for freedom of expression and human rights,” said BDS.
Launched in 2005, BDS was inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement and has since focused on raising global attention towards ongoing crimes committed by the Israeli regime against the indigenous Palestinian population.
The campaign’s ongoing success has led to attacks by pro-Israeli groups which have resorted to defaming it as alleged “anti-semitic” movement.
At the inauguration of the Doha Forum this year, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani warned of the accusations of anti-Semitism.
“Anti-Semitism is now used wrongly against everyone who criticises Israel’s policies, and this impinges on the struggle against racism and actual anti-Semitism,” said the Qatari leader in March.
Israel was established in 1948 through the ethnic cleansing of at least 800,000 Palestinians as well as the destruction of more than 530 Palestinian towns and villages. The occupying state continues to carry out flagrant human rights violations against Palestinians in an effort to make way for Jewish settlers, as highlighted by global rights groups.
Last year, Israel designated six Palestinian NGOs as “terrorist” organisations, triggering uproar worldwide.
The entities include : Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association; Al-Haq; Bisan Center for Research and Development; Defense for Children International-Palestine; the Union of Agricultural Work Committees; the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees.
This week, foreign ministries of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden described the designation of the NGO’s as unjustified.
“Should evidence be made available to the contrary, we would act accordingly. In the absence of such evidence, we will continue our cooperation and strong support for the civil society in the OPT. A free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for the two-state solution,” the European ministries said in a joint statement.
The US is a loyal backer of the Israeli regime, pumping $3.3 billion annually into its economy in addition to $500 million for the joint US-Israeli research, development, and deployment of missile systems.
The declaration on Thursday also spoke of “unbreakable bonds” between the two, as well as Washington’s unshakeable commitment to secure Israel.
Biden arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport in Lydd on Wednesday to kickstart his tour on illegally occupied Palestinian land.
His arrival also came days after the 74-year mark of the Israeli occupation of Lydd which saw a brutal massacre dubbed by Israel as Operation Danny.
Amnesty has marked the occasion by calling on Biden to end his support for Israel’s human rights violations against indigenous Palestinians and condemn its systematic abuses.
Since announcing his visit, rights groups have called on the US president to address the Israeli regime’s crimes against Palestinians.
Plastered on bill boards and buildings are apartheid posters unravelled by Israeli human rights organisation B’tselem to welcome the US president.
“When the US stops backing Israeli apartheid, it will end,” the rights group said on Wednesday.
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