Israel deepens apartheid with new laws, says legal centre

Adalah, a Palestinian-run legal centre, has accused the country of deepening apartheid through its enactment of over 30 laws since October 2023, according to the Middle East Eye via Adalah on November 26th.

In a report published on November 24th, Adalah found that laws enacted between October 7th, 2023, and July 27th, 2025, targeted a variety of political and civil rights, such as freedom of speech and the rights of detainees and prisoners.

The report stated that these laws “fundamentally violate the human rights of Palestinians,” adding that the “vague definitions of ‘terrorist act’ and ‘terror organisation’” have allowed for the suppression of Palestinians’ freedom of expression.

Adalah said that the laws enacted stem from a constitutional framework which prioritises “Jewish ethno-national supremacy.”

Israel is permitted to demolish Palestinian homes and displace civilians to allow for the expansion of Jewish-only settlements.

An estimated 700,000 Israelis live in roughly 160 settlements across the occupied territories, with some working to establish and expand settlement outposts.

Palestinians have also been arrested and detained en masse. Children are not exempt from being under Israeli detention, as more than 450 children were thought to be in Israeli detention in August.

In contrast, Israeli settlers who attack Palestinians seem to face few, if any, legal repercussions. Israeli authorities are accused of failing to protect Palestinians against violent settlers, and some government officials actively enable settlers, including by distributing illegal weapons licenses.

In the months leading up to the October 7th, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, more than 135 Palestinians were killed by Israeli violence in the occupied territories.

A bill to make it easier for Jewish people to purchase West Bank land has received support from the Israeli Foreign Affairs and Defence committee as reported on November 25th, further signalling Israel’s inclination towards restrictive laws.

Another proposed legislative change has been a death penalty bill that would apply to Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis on “nationalistic grounds.” The bill passed its first reading in the Knesset on November and requires two subsequent readings for it to become law.

Middle East Eye via Adalah and agencies, Maghrebi.org