Early Monday, an exclusive report by The Guardian stated that Palestine has filed a complaint against Israel for using discriminatory measures and relocating Palestinians in a way to maintain "a colonial occupation."
Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Khraishi, delivered the complaint in Geneva to the members who are responsible for supervising the execution of the UN Convention - an international convention that works on eliminating all forms of racial discrimination since 1965.
In the complaint, Palestine is accusing Israel of violating Article 3 of the UN Convention by deliberately changing the demographics in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, to have "a Jewish demographic majority in the entirety of historic Palestine," The Guardian reports.
Article 3, which Israel is reportedly violating, declares: "States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction."
Since Palestine gained the observer status at the UN General Assembly in 2012 and has signed the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in 2014, Palestine is considered part of the state members.
"It is clear that Israel’s acts are part of a widespread and oppressive regime that is institutionalised and systematic; that accords separate and unequal treatment to Palestinians," the summary of the complaint reads, as reported by The Guardian.
The case's statement mentions the inequality faced by Palestinians when it comes to "freedom of movement compared to Israeli settlers" and how they "are subject to 'confiscation and seizure' of their land, including home demolitions."
"Israel violates the right to equal treatment before tribunals by using separate legal systems for Palestinians and settlers, and points to higher maximum sentences for Palestinian defendants," Oliver Holmes, journalist at The Guardian, wrote.
Israel will be given a three-month period to "submit written explanations ... including any remedies it has taken."
The initiated move against the occupier will hopefully lead other state members like the U.S. to "ensure that such practices are not continued," said Ammar Hijazi, from the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs, according to The Guardian.