Short answer: it’s contested. Major human-rights bodies
say yes; Israel and some legal scholars say no; no court
has issued a binding judgment branding “Israel” an
apartheid state, though a 2024 ICJ advisory opinion
found Israel’s policies in the occupied territory
breach CERD Article 3 on racial segregation/apartheid.
(Skip several paragraphs with various citations)
The term carries specific legal elements. Whether they
are satisfied “state-wide” or only in parts of the OPT
is the core dispute. Present consensus splits between
leading NGOs/UN experts who say the elements are met and
Israeli government–aligned and some academic voices who
say they are not. No binding court ruling settles it yet.