An annual report by the U.S. Department of State on human rights
in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza paints a stark picture of
human rights conditions among minority populations in Israel,
and Palestinian populations in the West Bank and Gaza.
“Principal human rights problems were institutional, legal, and
societal discrimination against Arab citizens, Palestinian
residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip… non-Orthodox
Jews, and other religious groups,” begins the segment dealing
with Israel and the Golan Heights. The 100-page document, one of
194 country reports that the department issued on April 8,
provides a detailed review of findings and complaints by human
rights organizations, NGOs, government agencies and other
groups. Its review of the human rights practices of the
Palestinian Authority and Hamas, which controls Gaza, also
details numerous abuses. Just under half the report is dedicated
to conditions in Israel and the Golan Heights, the balance to
conditions in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Ba