The Russell Tribunal equated Israel's behavior with historical colonialism

Nova

23-11-2010

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London, November 20th, 2010

Alice Walker, American writer won the Pulitzer Prize, has compared today's treatment of Palestinians by Israel to the historic racism of the British Empire before the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.

The main objective of the London session is to judge the complicity of major companies in violation of international law by Israel. 

According to Walker: "What is happening to the Palestinians, has happened to many people, including my own origins: African, Native American, poor European immigrants." Hugh Lanning, PCS deputy general secretary, said in his testimony that British unions continue their campaign against companies that are complicit in the occupation and that next year will develop a list of companies whose complicity is most evident.

 
Lanning said that among the most important goals, would the Israeli company Caramel Agrexco (selling products from illegal Israeli settlements to large European retail chains) and Veolia, dedicated to domestic waste management and involved in "racist" transport policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The Israeli scholar Dalit Baum, the group Who Profits?, said many Palestinians, forced to work in the illegal Israeli settlements due to poor charge below the Israeli minimum wage. The coordinator of the Union of Palestinian Farmers, Fayez al Taneeb showed, by video, maps, comparing the current Palestinian territories with the 'Bantustans' under the apartheid regime. He noted that currently the Palestinian-controlled territory represents 12% of historic Palestine, while the 'Bantustans' in the apartheid era accounted for 13% of South African territory.