ISRAEL GETS

The government has proposed irrational changes, including barring 20 international groups from entering the Jewish state

THE recent declaration by US President Donald Trump to endorse Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the negative global response have caused Israel to become more paranoid and defensive overnight. The incident has led to a series of overexaggerated policies and political statements from the state.

Firstly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) to be scrapped, stating that the agency was aiding “fictitious refugees”. Netanyahu’s comments came less than a week after Trump threatened to cut off American funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Last week, the world witnessed proposed changes that will add a clause to Israel’s penal law, allowing the death penalty to be used against those convicted of “terrorist activity”. It can’t be denied that this new death penalty bill specifically “targets Palestinians”.

Recently, one of Israel’s irrational responses was to publish a list of 20 international groups whose members will be barred from entering the Jewish state. These groups have been associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The BDS campaign is a Palestinian-led non-violent movement launched in 2005 by more than 250 Palestinian civil society organisations calling for the international community to act against Israel via economic and cultural boycotts. BDS was inspired by the South African Boycott Apartheid movement launched in the 1950s but only