Facts on the Ground
<p style=”text-align: justify;”><img src=”images/stories/Images/2012/bds-banner.jpg” width=”200" height=”118" alt=”bds-banner” title=”Palestinian Human Rights Organizations Council (PHROC) statement on BDS movement” class=”border” style=”margin-right: 15px; float: left;” />For decades, Israel has failed to uphold its duties as Occupying Power and has instead deepened its occupation and regime of colonialism and apartheid. Human rights violations rising to the level of international crimes, including unlawful killings, torture, forced transfer, and other forms of collective punishment have become the norm. Rather than uphold their responsibilities under international law and take measures to hold Israel accountable, third states have largely turned a blind eye.</p>
<p style=”text-align: justify;”>Although world governments and international and regional bodies, like the United Nations and the European Union, still lack the political will to hold Israel accountable, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has grown to provide an important nonviolent counter-narrative and alternative for achieving the enjoyment and exercise of freedom, dignity, and justice for Palestinians.</p>