A prominent rights group has called on Israel to end its “brutal” occupation of Palestine and “stop fueling apartheid and systematic human rights violations”.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said Israel’s occupation of Palestine has been characterized “by widespread and systematic human rights violations against Palestinians”.

“The occupation has also enabled and entrenched Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on Palestinians,” she said. 

Callamard added that the occupation has over the years “evolved into a perpetual occupation in flagrant violation of international law”.

“The world must recognize that ending Israel’s illegal occupation is a prerequisite to stopping the recurrent human rights violations” in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the secretary general of the international NGO said