(Ed.'s Note: In the wake of the Israeli authorities denying two Muslim members of Congress entry to the country - later modified for one on condition she did not speak her mind on their treatment of Palestinians - their supporters are calling on U.S. authorities to bar Israeli officials from entering this country. Their reasons are outlined in a 2018 report by Amnesty International below. Compared to the crimes committed against Palestinians by the State of Israel, what could two U.S. congresswomen do that would even approximate them? )
*Israeli forces killed more than 290 Palestinians, including over 50 children; many were unlawfully killed as they were shot while posing no imminent threat to life.
*Israel imposed an illegal blockade on the Gaza Strip for the 11th year in a row, subjecting approximately 2 million inhabitants to collective punishment and exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.
*Freedom of movement for Palestinians in the West Bank remained restricted through a system of military checkpoints and roadblocks.
*Israeli authorities unlawfully detained within Israel thousands of Palestinians from the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), holding hundreds in administrative detention without charge or trial.
*Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees, including children, remained pervasive and was committed with impunity.
*Israel continued to demolish Palestinian homes and other structures in the West Bank and in Palestinian villages inside Israel, forcibly evicting residents.
*The Israeli justice system continued to fail to adequately ensure accountability and redress for victims of grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
*The authorities continued to deny asylum-seekers access to a fair or prompt refugee status determination process; hundreds of African asylum-seekers were deported and thousands were threatened with deportation.
*Conscientious objectors to military service were imprisoned.
*Israeli authorities continued to expand illegal settlements and related infrastructure in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, including by legalizing outposts built without state authorization on private Palestinian land. They held local elections in October across Israel and in illegal settlements including in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights.
*Israeli authorities continued to expand illegal settlements and related infrastructure in East Jerusalem and elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, including by legalizing outposts built without state authorization on private Palestinian land. They held local elections in October across Israel and in illegal settlements including in occupied East Jerusalem and the occupied Golan Heights.
To read entire report, click on link: https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/report-israel-and-occupied-palestinian-territories/