A UN human rights envoy has likened
John Dugard, a UN special rapporteur on human rights in thePalestinian territories, made his remarks to the UN Human Rights Council onThursday.
Dugard, a South African lawyer, said restrictions onmovement and separate residential areas gave a sense of "deja vu" toanyone with experience of apartheid, noting that apartheid was "contraryto international law".
He said: "Of course there are similarities between theOPT [
He also told the council that the situation "places indanger the whole international human rights enterprise".
He said that Western states would never rally support amongdeveloping nations for effective action against perceived abuses elsewhere,such as
Dugard, who was appointed to his position in 2001, saidthat
'Reign of terror'
He said about 500,000 Israeli settlers were now livingin the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories seized by
"Settlers, largely unrestrained by the Israel DefenceForces [the Israeli military], subject many Palestinians to a reign of terror -particularly in
Source:Agencies