Israel/Palestine
In reply to the discussion: Israel, the un-apartheid state – a comparison with Australia [View all]I believe that there is no material, *functional* difference between the decades long military occupation of the West Bank and South Africa's relationship to its nominally independent bantustans. Who holds the title deed is of little concern to me. That it is an almost functionally identical power and infrastructure relationship is, however, of considerable concern. I think its profoundly disingenuous when people split legal hairs over distinctions without differences. SA treated its bantustans as foreign powers, with both the responsibilities and (supposedly) privileges that implies. They had their own governments. But Apartheid SA effectively controlled their trade, borders, resources, airspace, et al, for the benefit of white South Africa, denying those governments most of the powers enjoyed by the governments of sovereign states, and in consequence denying their nominal citizens proper self-determination. Israel does the same in the West Bank.