GENEVA (Reuters) - Israel's raid on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza could end up as a case before the International Criminal Court (ICC), a lawyer who investigated the May raid for the United Nations Human Rights Council said on Tuesday.
The mission investigating the raid was not asked to make any recommendations and did not do so. But the suggestion that the case could end up at the ICC - to which Israel is not a signatory - maintains pressure on Israel over the incident.
Pakistan, on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), proposed a resolution on Monday at the council calling on the UN General Assembly to consider the report of the three-member fact-finding mission.
The council will vote on the resolution on Friday and it is likely to pass because the OIC and its allies have a majority in the 47-member body.
The mission, with which Israel refused to cooperate, found that the commando raid, in which nine pro-Palestinian activists - eight Turks and a Turkish-American - were killed was unlawful and violated human rights and international law.
Israel, which has blockaded Hamas-ruled Gaza since 2007, dismissed the UN investigators' work in advance as unnecessary and irrelevant, and has said the human rights council is hopelessly biased against Israel anyway.
The Mavi Marmara, the ship on which the nine were killed, was flying the flag of the Comoros Islands, which is a party to the Rome Statute setting up the ICC, said Sir Desmond de Silva, a prominent British lawyer on the mission.
As a result the case could theoretically end up before the ICC, he said. "It is in the hands of others to take forward or not as the case may be," de Silva told a news conference.
Like other members of the mission, de Silva rejected US and Israeli statements that its work had been biased.
"We've done, I think, an honest job in a reasonable time and so far as my conscience is concerned we've arrived at decisions that were spot on," he said.
"We went where the evidence led us."
The chairman of the mission, Trinidadian Judge Karl Hudson-Phillips, said that under the principle of "complementarity", a country had the right to conduct its own investigation into serious allegations before they went to the ICC, provided it was a genuine investigation and not a sham.
"Whether or not the principle of complementarity can be said to apply to the steps that the government of Israel has taken is doubtful in my view," he said.
Hudson-Phillips said he was unaware of any criticism of fact in his report made by Israeli authorities except for differences between the mission's assessment and an Israeli investigation of accounts of the treatment of three Israeli commandoes who boarded the Mavi Marmara and were briefly taken prisoner.
Source:
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Israel paves the way for killing by remote control
Spot and Shoot, as it is called by the Israeli military, may look like a video game but the figures on the screen are real people – Palestinians in Gaza – who can be killed with the press of a button on the joystick. The Spot and Shoot system – officially known as Sentry Tech – has mostly attracted attention because it is operated by 19- and 20-year-old female soldiers, making it the Israeli army’s only weapons system operated exclusively by women. The female soldiers, located far away in an operations room, are responsible for aiming and firing remote-controlled machine-guns mounted on watch-towers every few hundred meters along an electronic fence that surrounds Gaza. The women are supposed to identify anyone suspicious approaching the fence around Gaza and, if authorized by an officer, execute them using their joysticks. The system was phased-in two years ago for surveillance, but operators were only able to open fire with it more recently. The army admitted using Sentry Tech in December 2009 to kill at least two Palestinians several hundred meters inside the fence.
The system is one of the latest “remote killing” devices developed by Israel’s Rafael armaments company, the former weapons research division of the Israeli army and now a separate governmental firm. According to Giora Katz, Rafael’s vice president, remote-controlled military hardware such as Spot and Shoot is the face of the future. He expects that within a decade at least a third of the machines used by the Israeli army to control land, air and sea will be unmanned.
Rapid progress with the technology has raised alarm at the United Nations. Philip Alston, its special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, warned last month of the danger that a “PlayStation mentality to killing” could quickly emerge.
According to analysts, however, Israel is unlikely to turn its back on hardware that it has been at the forefront of developing – using the occupied Palestinian territories, and especially Gaza, as testing laboratories. Remotely controlled weapons systems are in high demand from repressive regimes and the burgeoning homeland security industries around the globe. “These systems are still in the early stages of development but there is a large and growing market for them,” said Shlomo Brom, a retired general and defence analyst at the Institute of National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.
Rafael is reported to be developing a version of Sentry Tech that will fire long-range guided missiles. Another piece of hardware recently developed for the Israeli army is the Guardium, an armored robot-car that can patrol territory at up to 80km per hour, navigate through cities, launch “ambushes” and shoot at targets. It now patrols the Israeli borders with Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel is most known for its role in developing “unmanned aerial vehicles” – or drones, as they have come to be known. Originally intended for spying, and first used by Israel over south Lebanon in the early 1980s, today they are increasingly being used for extrajudicial executions from thousands of feet in the sky.
Author: Jonathan Cook
Source:
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Israel commandos 'peacefully' board Jewish Gaza-bound aid boat
Israeli naval commandos have peacefully boarded a Jewish aid boat attempting to break a naval blockade on Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces said at 11:30 A.M. Tuesday.
Shortly before, an Israeli warship had hailed the catamaran carrying Jewish activists toward the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the group's website.
Full Story:
Shortly before, an Israeli warship had hailed the catamaran carrying Jewish activists toward the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to the group's website.
Full Story:
Monday, September 27, 2010
UN Fact-Finding Mission Says Israelis "Executed" US Citizen Furkan Dogan
Furkan Dogan, a 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when he was killed by Israeli commandos. (Photo: freegazaorg; Edited: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)
The report of the fact-finding mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla released last week shows conclusively, for the first time, that US citizen Furkan Dogan and five Turkish citizens were murdered execution-style by Israeli commandos.
The report reveals that Dogan, the 19-year-old US citizen of Turkish descent, was filming with a small video camera on the top deck of the Mavi Marmara when he was shot twice in the head, once in the back and in the left leg and foot and that he was shot in the face at point blank range while lying on the ground.
The report says Dogan had apparently been "lying on the deck in a conscious or semi-conscious, state for some time" before being shot in his face.
The forensic evidence that establishes that fact is "tattooing around the wound in his face," indicating that the shot was "delivered at point blank range." The report describes the forensic evidence as showing that "the trajectory of the wound, from bottom to top, together with a vital abrasion to the left shoulder that could be consistent with the bullet exit point, is compatible with the shot being received while he was lying on the ground on his back."
Based on both "forensic and firearm evidence," the fact-finding panel concluded that Dogan's killing and that of five Turkish citizens by the Israeli troops on the Mavi Marmari May 31 "can be characterized as extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions." (See Report [.pdf] Page 38, Section 170)
The report confirmed what the Obama administration already knew from the autopsy report on Dogan, but the administration has remained silent about the killing of Dogan, which could be an extremely difficult political problem for the administration in its relations with Israel.
The Turkish government gave the autopsy report on Dogan to the US Embassy in July and it was then passed on to the Department of Justice, according to a US government source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the administration's policy of silence on the matter. The source said the purpose of obtaining the report was to determine whether an investigation of the killing by the Justice Department (DOJ) was appropriate.
Asked by this writer whether the DOJ had received the autopsy report on Dogan, DOJ spokesperson Laura Sweeney refused to comment.
The administration has not volunteered any comment on the fact-finding mission report and was not asked to do so by any news organization. In response to a query from Truthout, a State Department official, who could not speak on the record, read a statement that did not explicitly acknowledge the report's conclusion about the Israeli executions.
The statement said the fact-finding mission's report's "tone and conclusions are unbalanced." It went on to state, "We urge that this report not be used for actions that could disrupt direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine that are now underway or actions that would make it not possible for Israel and Turkey to move beyond the recent strains in their traditional strong relationship."
Although the report's revelations and conclusions about the killing of Dogan and the five other victims were widely reported in the Turkish media last week, not a single story on the report has appeared in US news media.
The administration has made it clear through its inaction and its explicit public posture that it has no intention of pressing the issue of the murder of a US citizen in cold blood by Israeli commandos.
On June 13, two weeks after the Mavi Marmara attack, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement saying that Israel "should be allowed to undertake an investigation into events that involve its national security" and that Israel's military justice system "meets international standards and is capable of conducting a serious and credible investigation."
Another passenger whom forensic evidence shows was killed execution-style, according to the OHCHR report, is Ibrahim Bilgen, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen. Bilgen is believed by forensics experts to have been shot initially from the helicopter above the Mavi Marmara and then shot in the side of the head while lying seriously wounded.
The fact-finding mission was given forensic evidence that, after the initial shot in chest from above, Bilgen was shot in the head with a "soft baton round at such close proximity that an entire bean bag and its wadding penetrated the skull and lodged in the chest from above," the mission concluded.
"Soft baton rounds" are supposed to be fired for nonlethal purposes at a distance and aimed only at the stomach, but are lethal when fired at the head, especially from close range.
The forensic evidence cited by the fact-finding mission on the killing of Dogan and five other passengers came from both the autopsy reports and pathology reports done by forensic personnel in Turkey and from interviews with those who wrote the reports. Experts in forensic pathology and firearms assisted the mission in interpreting that forensic evidence.
The account, provided by the OHCHR of the events on board the Mavi Marmara on its way to help break the economic siege of Gaza May 31 of this year, refutes the version of events aggressively pushed by the Israeli military and supports the testimony of passengers on board.
The report suggests that, from the beginning, Israeli policy viewed the Gaza flotilla as an opportunity to use lethal force against pro-Hamas activists. It quotes testimony by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak before the Israeli government's Turkel Committee that specific orders were given by the Israeli government "to continue intelligence tracking of the flotilla organizers with an emphasis on the possibility that amongst the passengers in the flotilla there were terror elements who would attempt to harm Israeli forces."
The idea that the passenger list would be seeded with terrorists determined to attack Israeli defense forces appears to have been a ploy to justify treating the operation as likely to require the use of military force against the passengers.
When details of the Israeli plan to forcibly take over the ships in the flotilla were published in the Israeli press on May 30, the passengers on board the Mavi Marmara realized that the Israelis might use deadly force against them. Some leaders of the IHH (the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Aid), which had purchased the ships for the mission, were advocating defending the boat against the Israeli boarding attempt, whereas other passengers advocated nonviolence only.
That led to efforts to create improvised weapons from railings and other equipment on the Mavi Marmara. However, the commission concluded that there was no evidence of any firearms having being taken aboard the ship, as charged by Israel.
The report notes that the Israeli military never communicated a request by radio to inspect the cargo on board any of the ships, apparently contradicting the official justification given by the Israeli government for the military attack on the Mavi Marmara and other ships of preventing any military contraband from reaching Gaza.
According to the OHCHR report, Israeli Chief of General Staff Gabi Ashkenazi testified to the Turkel Committee August 11 that the initial rules of engagement for the operation prohibited live fire except in life-threatening situations, but that that they were later modified to target protesters "deemed to be violent" in response to the resistance by passengers.
That decision apparently followed the passengers' successful repulsion of an Israeli effort to board the ship from Zodiac boats.
The report confirms that, from the beginning of the operation, passengers were fired on by helicopters flying above the Mavi Marmara to drop commandos on the deck.
Contrary to Israeli claims that one or more Israeli troops were wounded by firearms, the report says no medical evidence of a gunshot wound to an Israeli soldier was found.
The OHCHR report confirms accounts from passengers on the Mavi Marmara that defenders subdued roughly ten Israeli commandos, took their weapons from them and threw them in the sea, except for one weapon hidden as evidence. The Israeli soldiers were briefly sequestered below and some were treated for wounds before being released by the defenders.
The OHCHR fact-finding mission will certainly be the most objective, thorough and in-depth inquiry into the events on board the Mavi Marmara and other ships in the flotilla of the four that have been announced.
The fact-finding mission was chaired by Judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips, Q.C., retired judge of the International Criminal Court and former attorney general of Trinidad and Tobago, and included Sir Desmond de Silva, Q.C. of the United Kingdom, former chief prosecutor of the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone and Ms. Mary Shanthi Dairiam of Malaysia, founding member of the board of directors of the International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific.
The mission interviewed 112 eyewitnesses to the Israeli attack in London, Geneva, Istanbul and Amman, Jordan. The Israeli government refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission by making personnel involved in both planning and carrying out the attack available to be interviewed.
The Turkish governments announced its own investigation of the Israeli attack on August 10. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the formation of a "Panel of Inquiry" on August 2, but its mandate was much more narrowly defined. It was given the mission to "receive and review the reports of the national investigations with the view to recommending ways of avoiding similar incidents in the future."
Source:
Jewish aid ship nears Gaza
Ship with 8 Jewish activists sails for Gaza, in another bid to send humanitarian supplies and break the crippling siege.
An aid ship carrying 8 Jewish activists from Europe, Israel, and the US is less than 24 hours from reaching Gazan coastal waters.
Having left the port of Famagusta in Turkish-held northern Cyprus Sunday afternoon, the Irene is set to test the Israeli blockade sometime early Tuesday.
Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, has repeatedly warned that Israel will intercept any ship nearing Gaza, which is run by the Palestinian movement Hamas.
"In the tradition of the civil rights movement...we assert our right to continue to Gaza under international law," Glyn Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera.
The 10-meter catamaran is tiny in comparison with the six-ship May 31 aid convoy that contained 10,000 tons of aid and over 700 activists.
But the voyage is a gesture by left-leaning European Jewish groups to highlight what it sees as a flawed Israeli policy of collective punishment against 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Yousef Rizka, a Hamas official, said: "The government has received Jewish activists arriving to Gaza before. The government positively views all attempts to break the siege on Gaza".
Israel eased its naval blockade following harsh international condemnation for storming the Mavi Marmara. The nine deaths aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were a public relations disaster for Israel.
Since then, groups from Iran, Ireland, Lebanon, and Libya, among others, have been trying to reach Gaza -- with varying degrees of success.
Groups represented on board the Irene include the UK-based Jews for Justice for Palestinians and the German Jewish Voice organization.
"The boat's cargo includes symbolic aid in the form of children's toys and musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets for Gaza's fishing communities and prosthetic limbs," read a statement from European Jews for a Just Peace movement, the activist network that coordinated the voyage.
"We stand in the proud Jewish tradition of justice, of championing the rights of the downtrodden, of implacable opposition to prejudice and racism," continued the statement.
Kate Katzenstein-Leiterer, a leader of the German Jewish Voice, was quoted in June as saying, "We want Israel to behave in a way that it can be recognized as a democratic state. Now it is recognized as a criminal state. That is not what we want."
Reuven Moskovitz, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor among the passengers on the British-flagged vessel, is a founding member of the Jewish-Arab village Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace).
“We are two peoples, but we have one future”, said Moskovitz in a statement on the Jewish Boat to Gaza website.
Another passenger is Rami Elhanan, an Israeli whose daughter died in a 1997 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem shopping centre.
Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli military pilot and Irene crew member, represents Combatants for Peace. Eli Osherov, a reporter from Channel 10 in Israel, is also on board.
Adam Keller, spokesman for Gush Shalom, another Israeli peace group, said he expected the incident to end "less tragically than the previous one," adding that the Israeli Navy would probably divert the boat peacefully to the port of Ashdod in daylight on Tuesday.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Andy David described the voyage as "a provocative joke that isn't funny".
Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera that the organisers have "a particular point to make, as the voice of Jews who have an alternative opinion to that of the Israeli establishment".
Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies
An aid ship carrying 8 Jewish activists from Europe, Israel, and the US is less than 24 hours from reaching Gazan coastal waters.
Having left the port of Famagusta in Turkish-held northern Cyprus Sunday afternoon, the Irene is set to test the Israeli blockade sometime early Tuesday.
Ehud Barak, Israel's defence minister, has repeatedly warned that Israel will intercept any ship nearing Gaza, which is run by the Palestinian movement Hamas.
"In the tradition of the civil rights movement...we assert our right to continue to Gaza under international law," Glyn Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera.
The 10-meter catamaran is tiny in comparison with the six-ship May 31 aid convoy that contained 10,000 tons of aid and over 700 activists.
But the voyage is a gesture by left-leaning European Jewish groups to highlight what it sees as a flawed Israeli policy of collective punishment against 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.
Yousef Rizka, a Hamas official, said: "The government has received Jewish activists arriving to Gaza before. The government positively views all attempts to break the siege on Gaza".
Israel eased its naval blockade following harsh international condemnation for storming the Mavi Marmara. The nine deaths aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were a public relations disaster for Israel.
Since then, groups from Iran, Ireland, Lebanon, and Libya, among others, have been trying to reach Gaza -- with varying degrees of success.
Groups represented on board the Irene include the UK-based Jews for Justice for Palestinians and the German Jewish Voice organization.
"The boat's cargo includes symbolic aid in the form of children's toys and musical instruments, textbooks, fishing nets for Gaza's fishing communities and prosthetic limbs," read a statement from European Jews for a Just Peace movement, the activist network that coordinated the voyage.
"We stand in the proud Jewish tradition of justice, of championing the rights of the downtrodden, of implacable opposition to prejudice and racism," continued the statement.
Kate Katzenstein-Leiterer, a leader of the German Jewish Voice, was quoted in June as saying, "We want Israel to behave in a way that it can be recognized as a democratic state. Now it is recognized as a criminal state. That is not what we want."
Reuven Moskovitz, an 82-year-old Holocaust survivor among the passengers on the British-flagged vessel, is a founding member of the Jewish-Arab village Neve Shalom (Oasis of Peace).
“We are two peoples, but we have one future”, said Moskovitz in a statement on the Jewish Boat to Gaza website.
Another passenger is Rami Elhanan, an Israeli whose daughter died in a 1997 suicide bombing at a Jerusalem shopping centre.
Yonatan Shapira, a former Israeli military pilot and Irene crew member, represents Combatants for Peace. Eli Osherov, a reporter from Channel 10 in Israel, is also on board.
Adam Keller, spokesman for Gush Shalom, another Israeli peace group, said he expected the incident to end "less tragically than the previous one," adding that the Israeli Navy would probably divert the boat peacefully to the port of Ashdod in daylight on Tuesday.
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Andy David described the voyage as "a provocative joke that isn't funny".
Secker, the ship's captain, told Al Jazeera that the organisers have "a particular point to make, as the voice of Jews who have an alternative opinion to that of the Israeli establishment".
Source: Al Jazeera and Agencies
Saturday, September 25, 2010
My son's Story
It has been over a year since my son has been put in jail for an innocent trip he took overseas with his friend over 3 years ago!
My son and his friend have been friends since childhood and being close and adventurous wanted to go overseas to learn Arabic and see family members and for my son also to look for a bride
Ziyad Yaghi a teen ager no more than 19 was trying to do it the right way, but the FBI decided to use this for their own gain and indicted my son and his friend with charges after almost 3 years from coming back from overseas!
The charges are; that they went overseas to kill people!
Ziyad now has been in jail for over a year! His young life ahead of him threatened with life imprisonment if found guilty! Ziyad was trying to go to College just before they arrested him!
Ziyad Yaghi is a young man who would get mad if I did not feed homeless people and shelter them! A young man with such a sweet heart, who would not let me kill ants that have crept on to my kitchen sink!
I have written to President Obama pleading with him to end this injustice but he did not respond! I also wrote to the ACLU, ADC, MFLA and much more, with no sympathy at all!
What can I do? How can this racial profiling end? How can this targeting against Muslim people be stopped??
This is our country, yet we are being oppressed in our own country simply because we are Muslims!
On July 27th of 2009, I came home after helping an older lady run her errands and found that my son’s cell phone was on the computer desk. I got kind of worried and then tried to reassure myself that he just forgot his cell phone
Few minutes later the same lady I was helping called and told me that my son and his friend have been arrested!
I thought that she was just hallucinating due to her age but then she said call Omar’s dad (Omar is my son’s friend who has also been arrested)! I called Omar’s dad and he was crying and affirmed the information!
I screamed and ran upstairs and downstairs crying and yelling, “Why God oh why until there was no strength left in me”!
Ziyad called the same day saying that he does not even know why he is in jail and was talking in such a faint voice
Oh my God! I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS MY COUNTY AND IS DOING THIS TO US!
The next day, I was visited by two FBI guys questioning me about a certain individual of their interest whom they also arrested. I told them that I don’t know anything about what they are inquiring and they told me that they “feel” that my son knows something and that they want to pressure him enough so he can tell the “truth”
Neither Ziyad nor I know tell this day what the FBI are looking for!!! All what we know is that they have took an innocent person and put him in jail because of their assumptions
A young man’s life has been interrupted and mistreated because of an assumption! My life has been interrupted and filled with depression and tears. I cannot even hold a professional job neither a full time job because of what is happening to us!
If there is anything any one can do to help us, please do. Being silent will just make things worse and hurt more innocent lives
Please join me on FB under Laila Yaghi and sign the petitions and NEVER FORGET all these innocent people who are in jail and all these mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters who are crying because of this malicious injustice and tyranny that has happened to them
DO SOMETHING NOW! SILENCE IS ACCEPTANCE
Friday, September 24, 2010
Foe my son
Court
As I sit in court
I watch the decomposing hearts and faces of people
Robot like
Fed information of lies
Hate in their eyes
Anger lashed out in some direction
Called the Islamic new wave of hate
Innocent lives are shattered
Moms clinging to their seats
Mouths dry
While they watch the reflection of the decomposing faces
While the lawyers try faintly to defend their clients
Mothers cry
Sisters watch wide eyed
While the stage is being played
Every one there knows it is a game
But every one there must join the game
For gain…
©Laila Yaghi©
Please join me on FB under Laila Yaghi and under Please Support Ziyad Yaghi to read about what happened to my son
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Turkey: We expect formal apology, compensation from Israel over Gaza flotilla
Turkish president addressed UN general assembly and praised UN report on Gaza flotilla raid, which says Israeli forces violated international law.
By Shlomo Shamir and News Agencies
Turkey is still waiting for an apology from Israel over the Gaza flotilla raid, Turkish president Abdullah Gul told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
The UN Human Rights Commission released a report on the incident on Wednesday. The report, compiled by three United Nations appointed human rights experts, said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine activists, earlier this year.
Gul said that he still expects Israel to pay monetary compensation to the families of those killed in the raid, which he said was a scathing infraction of international law.
"In the light of international law, Turkey's expectation is a formal apology and compensation for the aggrieved families of the victims and the injured people," Gul said.
The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to the report late Wednesday by saying the Human Rights Council had a biased, politicized and extremist approach. They have since said that will "study" the report.
Gul lauded United States President Barack Obama's efforts to encourage the Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct peace talks.
However, he cautioned: "It would be very difficult to make progress towards permanent peace unless we put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza."
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu praised Gaza flotilla report, telling Anatolia news agency that it report was fair, impartial and used strong evidence.
"We expected the council to release a strong report based on strong evidence, and in this sense the report met our expectations," said Davutoglu. "We hope that Israel will learn to use language of international law and act in line with it."
The Human Rights Council's report was compiled by former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva, Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam.
The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, was re-established in 2006 by then UN Security General, Kofi Annan, following accusations that its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, openly and systematically discriminated against Israel.
But the new body has also passed several resolutions condemning Israel over the past few years, especially for its actions in the Palestinian territories, and is often of accused of unfair bias against Israel.
Source:
By Shlomo Shamir and News Agencies
Turkey is still waiting for an apology from Israel over the Gaza flotilla raid, Turkish president Abdullah Gul told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
The UN Human Rights Commission released a report on the incident on Wednesday. The report, compiled by three United Nations appointed human rights experts, said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine activists, earlier this year.
Gul said that he still expects Israel to pay monetary compensation to the families of those killed in the raid, which he said was a scathing infraction of international law.
"In the light of international law, Turkey's expectation is a formal apology and compensation for the aggrieved families of the victims and the injured people," Gul said.
The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded to the report late Wednesday by saying the Human Rights Council had a biased, politicized and extremist approach. They have since said that will "study" the report.
Gul lauded United States President Barack Obama's efforts to encourage the Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct peace talks.
However, he cautioned: "It would be very difficult to make progress towards permanent peace unless we put an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza."
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu praised Gaza flotilla report, telling Anatolia news agency that it report was fair, impartial and used strong evidence.
"We expected the council to release a strong report based on strong evidence, and in this sense the report met our expectations," said Davutoglu. "We hope that Israel will learn to use language of international law and act in line with it."
The Human Rights Council's report was compiled by former UN war crimes prosecutor Desmond de Silva, Trinidadian judge Karl T. Hudson-Phillips and Malaysian women's rights advocate Mary Shanthi Dairiam.
The Human Rights Council, based in Geneva, was re-established in 2006 by then UN Security General, Kofi Annan, following accusations that its predecessor, the UN Commission on Human Rights, openly and systematically discriminated against Israel.
But the new body has also passed several resolutions condemning Israel over the past few years, especially for its actions in the Palestinian territories, and is often of accused of unfair bias against Israel.
Source:
UNHRC report on the Gaza flotilla attack. (full)
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Bill Clinton's 'Russian immigrants are obstacle to peace' comment draws fire in Israel
Former U.S. President tells press that Russian immigrants and settlers are those least interested in peace in Israel.
By Jonathan Lis and Natasha Mozgovaya
Former United States president Bill Clinton came under fire from Russian-born Israeli politicians on Wednesday, a day after he told the media that the Russian immigrant population in Israel is an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.
"An increasing number of the young people in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem," Clinton told a roundtable with press in New York. "It's a different Israel. Sixteen percent of Israelis speak Russian."
Foreign Policy magazine quoted Clinton as saying that Russian immigrants are the Israelis least interested in a peace deal with Palestinians. "They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there," Clinton said. "They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it."
The magazine said that Clinton also mentioned a conversation with former Soviet dissident turned Knesset member Natan Sharansky, who, according to Clinton, was the only Israeli minister to reject the comprehensive peace agreement the former president proposed at the Camp David Summit in 2000.
"I said, ‘Natan, what is the deal [about not supporting the peace deal],'" Clinton was quoted as saying. "He said, ‘I can't vote for this, I'm Russian... I come from one of the biggest countries in the world to one of the smallest. You want me to cut it in half. No, thank you.'"
Clinton reportedly replied, "Don't give me this you came here from a jail cell. It's a lot bigger than your jail cell."
But Sharansky denied Wednesday that such a conversation with Clinton ever took place. “A report of President Clinton's comments has been brought to my attention which I hope is inaccurate. I appreciate President Clinton's commitment to peace and talent for political analysis" he said.
“However, as to the basic facts, I was never at Camp David and never had the opportunity to discuss the negotiations there with President Clinton. It may be that he had in mind our conversations at Wye Plantation years before, where I expressed my serious doubts, given the dictatorial nature of the PA regime, whether Mr. Arafat would be willing to bring freedom to his people, an essential element of a sustainable peace," said Sharansky.
"History has shown that these concerns were justified. If the reports of President Clinton's comments are accurate, I am particularly disappointed by the president's casual use of inappropriate stereotypes about Israelis, dividing their views on peace based on ethnic origins. I must add that these are uncharacteristic comments from a man who has always been a sensitive and thoughtful listener and conversation partner," said Saransky.
Yisrael Beitenu, the ultra-right wing party comprised mainly of Russian migrants, condemned Clinton's statement Wednesday.
The party released a statement criticizing Clinton for meddling in Israel's internal affairs and for his "crude generalizations".
"The people of Israel are one, and the Russian immigrants, as the other citizens of Israel, yearn for true peace based on recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people," said the statement.
"It seems that Clinton has forgotten that it was the [former] chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat who refused to Clinton's peace offer, which included unbearable concessions on the part of Israel," said the statement.
Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver from Yisrael Beiteinu, said Wednesday in response to Clinton's comments that any external attempt to create division within Israeli society is wrong.
"The Russian immigration contributed to the development of Israel in every field, including science, culture, sports, economy and defense. This year, the entire country is celebrating the Twentieth anniversary of this immigration… reflecting the fact that the Israeli people are united," said Landver.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he regretted Clinton's remarks.
"As an old friend of Israel, Clinton surely knows that the immigrants [from the former Soviet Union] have made a huge contribution to the strengthening and development of Israel and the IDF," said Netanyahu.
Source:
By Jonathan Lis and Natasha Mozgovaya
Former United States president Bill Clinton came under fire from Russian-born Israeli politicians on Wednesday, a day after he told the media that the Russian immigrant population in Israel is an obstacle to peace with Palestinians.
"An increasing number of the young people in the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem," Clinton told a roundtable with press in New York. "It's a different Israel. Sixteen percent of Israelis speak Russian."
Foreign Policy magazine quoted Clinton as saying that Russian immigrants are the Israelis least interested in a peace deal with Palestinians. "They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there," Clinton said. "They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it."
The magazine said that Clinton also mentioned a conversation with former Soviet dissident turned Knesset member Natan Sharansky, who, according to Clinton, was the only Israeli minister to reject the comprehensive peace agreement the former president proposed at the Camp David Summit in 2000.
"I said, ‘Natan, what is the deal [about not supporting the peace deal],'" Clinton was quoted as saying. "He said, ‘I can't vote for this, I'm Russian... I come from one of the biggest countries in the world to one of the smallest. You want me to cut it in half. No, thank you.'"
Clinton reportedly replied, "Don't give me this you came here from a jail cell. It's a lot bigger than your jail cell."
But Sharansky denied Wednesday that such a conversation with Clinton ever took place. “A report of President Clinton's comments has been brought to my attention which I hope is inaccurate. I appreciate President Clinton's commitment to peace and talent for political analysis" he said.
“However, as to the basic facts, I was never at Camp David and never had the opportunity to discuss the negotiations there with President Clinton. It may be that he had in mind our conversations at Wye Plantation years before, where I expressed my serious doubts, given the dictatorial nature of the PA regime, whether Mr. Arafat would be willing to bring freedom to his people, an essential element of a sustainable peace," said Sharansky.
"History has shown that these concerns were justified. If the reports of President Clinton's comments are accurate, I am particularly disappointed by the president's casual use of inappropriate stereotypes about Israelis, dividing their views on peace based on ethnic origins. I must add that these are uncharacteristic comments from a man who has always been a sensitive and thoughtful listener and conversation partner," said Saransky.
Yisrael Beitenu, the ultra-right wing party comprised mainly of Russian migrants, condemned Clinton's statement Wednesday.
The party released a statement criticizing Clinton for meddling in Israel's internal affairs and for his "crude generalizations".
"The people of Israel are one, and the Russian immigrants, as the other citizens of Israel, yearn for true peace based on recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people," said the statement.
"It seems that Clinton has forgotten that it was the [former] chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat who refused to Clinton's peace offer, which included unbearable concessions on the part of Israel," said the statement.
Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver from Yisrael Beiteinu, said Wednesday in response to Clinton's comments that any external attempt to create division within Israeli society is wrong.
"The Russian immigration contributed to the development of Israel in every field, including science, culture, sports, economy and defense. This year, the entire country is celebrating the Twentieth anniversary of this immigration… reflecting the fact that the Israeli people are united," said Landver.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that he regretted Clinton's remarks.
"As an old friend of Israel, Clinton surely knows that the immigrants [from the former Soviet Union] have made a huge contribution to the strengthening and development of Israel and the IDF," said Netanyahu.
Source:
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Arab-backed anti-Israel resolution at IAEA could pass
Eleventh-hour bid to block measure focuses on non-aligned countries.
By Yossi Melman
Israel is making an eleventh-hour effort to block a resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Assembly calling on the country to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open the Dimona nuclear complex to inspection.
The resolution is being proposed by Egypt and the Arab states with a vote expected tomorrow or Friday.
How the vote will go is unclear. Israel is focusing its efforts are persuading countries in the nonaligned bloc not to back the Arab initiative.
Last year, the agency's General Assembly passed a similar resolution by a four-vote margin. Egypt now apparently feels more confident it will rally more support as the gathering comes months after a preparatory meeting in New York on the NPT, and the United States has also called for a nuclear-free Middle East.
The 2009 resolution called on IAEA chief Yukiya Amano to prepare a report on how best to implement it. His report earlier this month said he had invited Israel to consider joining the NPT. Arab countries called Amano's report "weak and disappointing," adding that "the report neither contained an assessment [of] the Israeli nuclear capabilities, nor did the Agency try to obtain any information about these capabilities, especially concerning a military dimension...." Israel has been promised the support of the U.S., the European Union and other Western countries and also South American states.
Dr. Shaul Horev, head of Israel's Atomic Energy Committee and who is heading the Israeli delegation at the assembly, addressed the body and noted that the IAEA is targeting Israel and raises an anti-Israeli agenda "whose purpose is to avoid serious discussion on violations of the NPT by countries in the Middle East." He noted that four countries in the Middle East have already violated their commitment to the NPT - a reference to Iran, Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Horev said Israel is "concerned by the developments," and that the threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons does not stem from countries who are not party to the treaty, like Israel, India and Pakistan, but from countries who are signatories of the treaty and who violate it.
He expressed sorrow that Egypt has adopted the stance that it has and recalled that Cairo has not ratified the treaty, which would transform Africa into a nuclear-free continent.
Source:
By Yossi Melman
Israel is making an eleventh-hour effort to block a resolution of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Assembly calling on the country to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and open the Dimona nuclear complex to inspection.
The resolution is being proposed by Egypt and the Arab states with a vote expected tomorrow or Friday.
How the vote will go is unclear. Israel is focusing its efforts are persuading countries in the nonaligned bloc not to back the Arab initiative.
Last year, the agency's General Assembly passed a similar resolution by a four-vote margin. Egypt now apparently feels more confident it will rally more support as the gathering comes months after a preparatory meeting in New York on the NPT, and the United States has also called for a nuclear-free Middle East.
The 2009 resolution called on IAEA chief Yukiya Amano to prepare a report on how best to implement it. His report earlier this month said he had invited Israel to consider joining the NPT. Arab countries called Amano's report "weak and disappointing," adding that "the report neither contained an assessment [of] the Israeli nuclear capabilities, nor did the Agency try to obtain any information about these capabilities, especially concerning a military dimension...." Israel has been promised the support of the U.S., the European Union and other Western countries and also South American states.
Dr. Shaul Horev, head of Israel's Atomic Energy Committee and who is heading the Israeli delegation at the assembly, addressed the body and noted that the IAEA is targeting Israel and raises an anti-Israeli agenda "whose purpose is to avoid serious discussion on violations of the NPT by countries in the Middle East." He noted that four countries in the Middle East have already violated their commitment to the NPT - a reference to Iran, Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Horev said Israel is "concerned by the developments," and that the threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons does not stem from countries who are not party to the treaty, like Israel, India and Pakistan, but from countries who are signatories of the treaty and who violate it.
He expressed sorrow that Egypt has adopted the stance that it has and recalled that Cairo has not ratified the treaty, which would transform Africa into a nuclear-free continent.
Source:
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Court Says Criminal Probe Into Fatal Shooting Of Two Palestinians “Unnecessary”
by Saed Bannoura
The Israeli High Court Of Justice had decided that a petition demanding a full investigation into the fatal shooting of two Palestinians in Awarta village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is “unnecessary” as the Israeli army had already ordered an investigation.
Last month, representing the families of the victims, Israeli attorney, Michael Sfrad, of the Israeli Human Rights group Yesh Din filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice and demanded the court to open a criminal investigation into the shooting.
On Wednesday, the state told the High Court that Chief Military Prosecutor, Avihai Mandelblit had already ordered a military investigation that would start by the beginning of October.
The two farmers were identified as Mohammad Faisal Qawareeq, 19, and Salah Mohammad Kamel Qawareeq, 19.
The deadly shooting of the two Palestinians took place this past March when Israeli soldiers stopped two farmers who were walking near Itamar settlement.
The army claimed that soldiers asked the two farmers to present their identity cards but they said that they were not carrying them; the two farmers said they were on their way to their farmlands.
The soldiers claimed that the two farmers acted in a suspicious way and that they and that their responses were not clear.
The commander of the unit said that he shot the two to death when one of them attempted to attack one of the soldiers with a pitchfork.
The commander was removed from his position and, reportedly, will not be allowed to serve as a military commander in the future.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, stated that the incident could have had a different outcome, and that the deadly results could have be avoided.
Local farmers reported that the soldiers separated the two farmers from each other, and forced them on the ground without cuffing them.
The farmers added that the two were not carrying anything when they were forced to sit on the ground, and that they were both shot while sitting and not while standing, an issue that negates the army claims that the two attempted to attack the soldiers.
Source:
The Israeli High Court Of Justice had decided that a petition demanding a full investigation into the fatal shooting of two Palestinians in Awarta village near the northern West Bank city of Nablus, is “unnecessary” as the Israeli army had already ordered an investigation.
Last month, representing the families of the victims, Israeli attorney, Michael Sfrad, of the Israeli Human Rights group Yesh Din filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice and demanded the court to open a criminal investigation into the shooting.
On Wednesday, the state told the High Court that Chief Military Prosecutor, Avihai Mandelblit had already ordered a military investigation that would start by the beginning of October.
The two farmers were identified as Mohammad Faisal Qawareeq, 19, and Salah Mohammad Kamel Qawareeq, 19.
The deadly shooting of the two Palestinians took place this past March when Israeli soldiers stopped two farmers who were walking near Itamar settlement.
The army claimed that soldiers asked the two farmers to present their identity cards but they said that they were not carrying them; the two farmers said they were on their way to their farmlands.
The soldiers claimed that the two farmers acted in a suspicious way and that they and that their responses were not clear.
The commander of the unit said that he shot the two to death when one of them attempted to attack one of the soldiers with a pitchfork.
The commander was removed from his position and, reportedly, will not be allowed to serve as a military commander in the future.
Israeli Army Chief of Staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, stated that the incident could have had a different outcome, and that the deadly results could have be avoided.
Local farmers reported that the soldiers separated the two farmers from each other, and forced them on the ground without cuffing them.
The farmers added that the two were not carrying anything when they were forced to sit on the ground, and that they were both shot while sitting and not while standing, an issue that negates the army claims that the two attempted to attack the soldiers.
Source:
Friday, September 10, 2010
ABQ Says "Sanction Israel"
ISRAEL AND AIPAC CAN KISS MY YOU KNOW WHAT. I AM PROUD OF THE PEOPLE DOING THIS. MAY GOD (ALLAH) BLESS THEM.
A half dozen members of the Albuquerque-based grassroots human rights organization--the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel--explain why they are so pleased to see their billboard message up again calling for the U.S. to be a more honest broker between the Israeli government and the Palestinians.
Message from the producer
"Check out this seven minute video on youtube i shot and edited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGMdydoOexY
A half dozen members of the ABQ based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel stand in front of their billboard (just put up in a new location at 1001 Candelaria NE, just west of I-25) and explain why they support ending military aid to Israel.
Anyone who wants to help keep this message up longer than the next month or so please send a check to:
Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
PO Box 10856
Albuquerque, NM 87184-0856
Susan Schuurman
member, Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
ABQ NM"
You can contact someone at 30 Billion to learn more about this effort, by clicking on the contact page at the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel Website.
A half dozen members of the Albuquerque-based grassroots human rights organization--the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel--explain why they are so pleased to see their billboard message up again calling for the U.S. to be a more honest broker between the Israeli government and the Palestinians.
Message from the producer
"Check out this seven minute video on youtube i shot and edited. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGMdydoOexY
A half dozen members of the ABQ based Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel stand in front of their billboard (just put up in a new location at 1001 Candelaria NE, just west of I-25) and explain why they support ending military aid to Israel.
Anyone who wants to help keep this message up longer than the next month or so please send a check to:
Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
PO Box 10856
Albuquerque, NM 87184-0856
Susan Schuurman
member, Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
ABQ NM"
You can contact someone at 30 Billion to learn more about this effort, by clicking on the contact page at the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel Website.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
During war there are no civilians
Sitting in on the Rachel Corrie trial alarmingly reveals an open Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians.
Nora Barrows-Friedman
"During war there are no civilians," that’s what “Yossi,” an Israeli military (IDF) training unit leader simply stated during a round of questioning on day two of the Rachel Corrie trials, held in Haifa’s District Court earlier this week. “When you write a [protocol] manual, that manual is for war,” he added.
For the human rights activists and friends and family of Rachel Corrie sitting in the courtroom, this open admission of an Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians -- Palestinian or foreign -- created an audible gasp.
Yet, put into context, this policy comes as no surprise. The Israeli military’s track record of insouciance towards the killings of Palestinians, from the 1948 massacre of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem to the 2008-2009 attacks on Gaza that killed upwards of 1400 men, women and children, has illustrated that not only is this an entrenched operational framework but rarely has it been challenged until recently.
Rachel Corrie, the young American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer, as she and other members of the nonviolent International Solidarity Movement attempted to protect a Palestinian home from imminent demolition on March 16, 2003 in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Corrie has since become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity as her family continues to fight for justice in her name.
Her parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, filed a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for Rachel’s unlawful killing -- what they allege was an intentional act -- and this round of testimonies called by the State’s defense team follows the Corries’ witness testimonies last March. The Corries’ lawsuit charges the State with recklessness and a failure to take appropriate measures to protect human life, actions that violate both Israeli and international laws.
Witnesses insisted that the bulldozer driver couldn’t see Rachel Corrie from his perch. The State attorneys called three witnesses to the stand on Sunday and Monday to prove that the killing was unintentional and took place in an area designated as a “closed military zone.” Falling under the definition of an Act of War, their argument sought to absolve the soldiers of liability under Israeli law.
The Rachel Corrie trials focus on one incident, one moment, one death, one family’s grief. However it’s important to include the context within which the Israeli military operated on that day in March of 2003 in order to properly understand the gravity of the trial and the reverberations seven and a half years later.
Yossi, the military training leader, described the area where Corrie was killed as an “active war zone.” The State’s defense argues the same. Yet what was happening in Rafah that was so important to Corrie that she confronted a 4-meter high armored bulldozer in the first place?
According to statistics from Human Rights Watch, Israel had been expanding its so-called “buffer zone” at the southern Gaza border after the breakout of the second Palestinian intifada in late 2000. “By late 2002,” reports HRW, “after the destruction of several hundred houses in Rafah, the IDF began building an eight meter high metal wall along the border.”
The area that Israel designates as its buffer zone has since enveloped nearly 35% of agricultural land, according to an August 2010 report published by the United Nation’s Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA says that this policy has affected 113,000 Palestinians inside the Gaza strip over the last ten years as their farms, homes, and villages were intentionally erased from the map.
Rachel Corrie’s nonviolent action -- standing in front of the bulldozer in direct confrontation to this project -- cost her her life.
The home Rachel Corrie died trying to protect was razed, along with hundreds of others. The Gaza Strip remains a sealed ghetto. And countless Palestinian families have not seen justice waged in their favor after the deaths of their loved ones.
In 2005, an arrest warrant was issued against Major General Doron Almog -- a senior soldier in charge of Israel’s Southern Command -- by a British court related to the destruction of 59 homes in Rafah in
2002 under his authority. He was warned before boarding a flight to the UK that he could be arrested upon arrival, and canceled his trip.
Related to the Rachel Corrie case, Maj. Almog gave a direct order to the team of internal investigators to cut the investigations short, according to Israeli army documents obtained by Israeli daily Haaretz.
This indicates that the impunity of Israeli soldiers and policy-makers can -- and will -- be challenged in a court of law. And when the trials continue next month, the Corries will be back in the courtroom in anticipation of a long-sought justice for their daughter.
Source: Al Jazeera
Nora Barrows-Friedman
Rachel Corrie's plight symbolised the ruthless policy of Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the social psyche of millions of people outside of the West Bank and Gaza Strip [Getty Images]
"During war there are no civilians," that’s what “Yossi,” an Israeli military (IDF) training unit leader simply stated during a round of questioning on day two of the Rachel Corrie trials, held in Haifa’s District Court earlier this week. “When you write a [protocol] manual, that manual is for war,” he added.
For the human rights activists and friends and family of Rachel Corrie sitting in the courtroom, this open admission of an Israeli policy of indiscrimination towards civilians -- Palestinian or foreign -- created an audible gasp.
Yet, put into context, this policy comes as no surprise. The Israeli military’s track record of insouciance towards the killings of Palestinians, from the 1948 massacre of Deir Yassin in Jerusalem to the 2008-2009 attacks on Gaza that killed upwards of 1400 men, women and children, has illustrated that not only is this an entrenched operational framework but rarely has it been challenged until recently.
Rachel Corrie, the young American peace activist from Olympia, Washington, was crushed to death by a Caterpillar D9-R bulldozer, as she and other members of the nonviolent International Solidarity Movement attempted to protect a Palestinian home from imminent demolition on March 16, 2003 in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Corrie has since become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity as her family continues to fight for justice in her name.
Her parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, filed a civil lawsuit against the State of Israel for Rachel’s unlawful killing -- what they allege was an intentional act -- and this round of testimonies called by the State’s defense team follows the Corries’ witness testimonies last March. The Corries’ lawsuit charges the State with recklessness and a failure to take appropriate measures to protect human life, actions that violate both Israeli and international laws.
Witnesses insisted that the bulldozer driver couldn’t see Rachel Corrie from his perch. The State attorneys called three witnesses to the stand on Sunday and Monday to prove that the killing was unintentional and took place in an area designated as a “closed military zone.” Falling under the definition of an Act of War, their argument sought to absolve the soldiers of liability under Israeli law.
The Rachel Corrie trials focus on one incident, one moment, one death, one family’s grief. However it’s important to include the context within which the Israeli military operated on that day in March of 2003 in order to properly understand the gravity of the trial and the reverberations seven and a half years later.
Yossi, the military training leader, described the area where Corrie was killed as an “active war zone.” The State’s defense argues the same. Yet what was happening in Rafah that was so important to Corrie that she confronted a 4-meter high armored bulldozer in the first place?
According to statistics from Human Rights Watch, Israel had been expanding its so-called “buffer zone” at the southern Gaza border after the breakout of the second Palestinian intifada in late 2000. “By late 2002,” reports HRW, “after the destruction of several hundred houses in Rafah, the IDF began building an eight meter high metal wall along the border.”
The area that Israel designates as its buffer zone has since enveloped nearly 35% of agricultural land, according to an August 2010 report published by the United Nation’s Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA says that this policy has affected 113,000 Palestinians inside the Gaza strip over the last ten years as their farms, homes, and villages were intentionally erased from the map.
Rachel Corrie’s nonviolent action -- standing in front of the bulldozer in direct confrontation to this project -- cost her her life.
The home Rachel Corrie died trying to protect was razed, along with hundreds of others. The Gaza Strip remains a sealed ghetto. And countless Palestinian families have not seen justice waged in their favor after the deaths of their loved ones.
In 2005, an arrest warrant was issued against Major General Doron Almog -- a senior soldier in charge of Israel’s Southern Command -- by a British court related to the destruction of 59 homes in Rafah in
2002 under his authority. He was warned before boarding a flight to the UK that he could be arrested upon arrival, and canceled his trip.
Related to the Rachel Corrie case, Maj. Almog gave a direct order to the team of internal investigators to cut the investigations short, according to Israeli army documents obtained by Israeli daily Haaretz.
This indicates that the impunity of Israeli soldiers and policy-makers can -- and will -- be challenged in a court of law. And when the trials continue next month, the Corries will be back in the courtroom in anticipation of a long-sought justice for their daughter.
Source: Al Jazeera
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Solidarity Ships To Sail To Gaza
by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies
Deeb Hijazi, coordinator of the National Initiative Committee Against the Siege, based on Lebanon, stated that four flotillas will be sailing to Gaza on September 18.
Hijazi said that the “Artery of Life 5” will be sailing on September 18 as this date marks the 28th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatilla massacres in Lebanon in 1982.
He stated that the first flotilla will be launched from London, the second from Morocco, the third from the Arab Peninsula, and the fourth from Asia.
The ships will carry humanitarian and medical supplies, in addition to dozens of supporters from several countries, mainly from Asia.
On May 31, the Israeli Navy commandos violently boarded and attacked Mavi Marmara Turkish ship of the Freedom Flotilla that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies, killed nine peace activists and wounded several others, some seriously.
Israel claimed that the ships “attempted to violate the naval siege on the Hamas-led government in Gaza”, and justified its deadly attack on the ships and the activists.
Israel considers any attempt to break its illegal siege on more than 1.5 million
Palestinians in Gaza as an act that harms its security, and as an act that shows support to the Hamas movement, the ruling party in Gaza.
More than 275 patients, including infants and children, died due to the siege imposed on Gaza, while hundreds could face the same fate as Gaza hospitals and medical centers run out of basic supplies.
Although Israel claimed it would allow urgent humanitarian supplies into Gaza, the situation remains dire and far from any positive development.
Source:
Deeb Hijazi, coordinator of the National Initiative Committee Against the Siege, based on Lebanon, stated that four flotillas will be sailing to Gaza on September 18.
Hijazi said that the “Artery of Life 5” will be sailing on September 18 as this date marks the 28th anniversary of the Sabra and Shatilla massacres in Lebanon in 1982.
He stated that the first flotilla will be launched from London, the second from Morocco, the third from the Arab Peninsula, and the fourth from Asia.
The ships will carry humanitarian and medical supplies, in addition to dozens of supporters from several countries, mainly from Asia.
On May 31, the Israeli Navy commandos violently boarded and attacked Mavi Marmara Turkish ship of the Freedom Flotilla that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian and medical supplies, killed nine peace activists and wounded several others, some seriously.
Israel claimed that the ships “attempted to violate the naval siege on the Hamas-led government in Gaza”, and justified its deadly attack on the ships and the activists.
Israel considers any attempt to break its illegal siege on more than 1.5 million
Palestinians in Gaza as an act that harms its security, and as an act that shows support to the Hamas movement, the ruling party in Gaza.
More than 275 patients, including infants and children, died due to the siege imposed on Gaza, while hundreds could face the same fate as Gaza hospitals and medical centers run out of basic supplies.
Although Israel claimed it would allow urgent humanitarian supplies into Gaza, the situation remains dire and far from any positive development.
Source:
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Zionist Party in the USA
Leherensuge has posted a great article. One that should be read by all.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Foreign report: Israel has one of world's largest 'eavesdropping' intel bases
The base, near Kibbutz Urim, is central to the activities of the main Israel Defense Forces signals intelligence unit, 8200, according to report in Le Monde Diplomatique.
By Yossi Melman
Israel has one of the largest signals intelligence (SIGINT) bases in the world in the western Negev, Le Monde Diplomatique reported. The base, near Kibbutz Urim, is central to the activities of the main Israel Defense Forces signals intelligence unit, 8200, the report says.
According to the report, the base has 30 antennas and satellite dishes of different sizes and types, capable of eavesdropping on telephone calls and accessing the e-mail of "governments, international organizations, foreign companies, political groups and individuals."
One of the base's main purposes is to listen to transmissions from ships passing in the Mediterranean, the report says. The base is also the center of intelligence activity that "taps underwater communication cables, mostly in the Mediterranean, connecting Israel with Europe."
The data collected at the Negev site is relayed for processing to a 8200 base near Herzliya, the paper says. Other reports say 8200's base is near the Mossad headquarters, which receives the intelligence along with IDF units, the paper says.
The report quotes a former soldier in 8200 who said her job was to intercept telephone calls and e-mails in English and French.
"It was very interesting work, which centered on locating and identifying the 'gems' out of routine communications," she said.
The report says that the base's antennas can be identified if you go to the right websites. The antennas there are lined up in rows, it says.
The author of the article, Nick Hager, is a New Zealand investigative reporter specializing in intelligence and technology related stories involving signals intelligence. In 1996 he wrote a book on the role of New Zealand in international intelligence gathering, and discussed cooperation between New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Australia and Canada.
Le Monde Diplomatique repeats assessments in Israeli and foreign media about 8200's contribution to Israel's intelligence capabilities.
The unit has several bases, and is described as being the main body for signals intelligence collection in Israel, according to the report and other foreign media. Besides SIGINT, which involves communications, it also deals in ELINT, collecting signals from various electronic sources, including radar.
There are also 8200 units specializing in code breaking.
The unit's great, known successes include the interception of a telephone call between Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Hussein of Jordan during the first day of the Six-Day War, and the interception of the telephone call between Yasser Arafat and the terrorist group that hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in the Mediterranean in 1985.
Hager compares the Urim base's capabilities to those of the U.S. National Security Agency, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters and a similar organization in France.
"However, there is one difference," he says at the end of the report. While those units were uncovered long ago, "the unit at Urim remained unknown until this report."
Source:
By Yossi Melman
Israel has one of the largest signals intelligence (SIGINT) bases in the world in the western Negev, Le Monde Diplomatique reported. The base, near Kibbutz Urim, is central to the activities of the main Israel Defense Forces signals intelligence unit, 8200, the report says.
According to the report, the base has 30 antennas and satellite dishes of different sizes and types, capable of eavesdropping on telephone calls and accessing the e-mail of "governments, international organizations, foreign companies, political groups and individuals."
One of the base's main purposes is to listen to transmissions from ships passing in the Mediterranean, the report says. The base is also the center of intelligence activity that "taps underwater communication cables, mostly in the Mediterranean, connecting Israel with Europe."
The data collected at the Negev site is relayed for processing to a 8200 base near Herzliya, the paper says. Other reports say 8200's base is near the Mossad headquarters, which receives the intelligence along with IDF units, the paper says.
The report quotes a former soldier in 8200 who said her job was to intercept telephone calls and e-mails in English and French.
"It was very interesting work, which centered on locating and identifying the 'gems' out of routine communications," she said.
The report says that the base's antennas can be identified if you go to the right websites. The antennas there are lined up in rows, it says.
The author of the article, Nick Hager, is a New Zealand investigative reporter specializing in intelligence and technology related stories involving signals intelligence. In 1996 he wrote a book on the role of New Zealand in international intelligence gathering, and discussed cooperation between New Zealand, the U.S., Britain, Australia and Canada.
Le Monde Diplomatique repeats assessments in Israeli and foreign media about 8200's contribution to Israel's intelligence capabilities.
The unit has several bases, and is described as being the main body for signals intelligence collection in Israel, according to the report and other foreign media. Besides SIGINT, which involves communications, it also deals in ELINT, collecting signals from various electronic sources, including radar.
There are also 8200 units specializing in code breaking.
The unit's great, known successes include the interception of a telephone call between Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and King Hussein of Jordan during the first day of the Six-Day War, and the interception of the telephone call between Yasser Arafat and the terrorist group that hijacked the Achille Lauro cruise ship in the Mediterranean in 1985.
Hager compares the Urim base's capabilities to those of the U.S. National Security Agency, Britain's Government Communications Headquarters and a similar organization in France.
"However, there is one difference," he says at the end of the report. While those units were uncovered long ago, "the unit at Urim remained unknown until this report."
Source:
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Israel Continues to Violate Right to Education in Palestine
by IMEMC Staff
The Center says that this ban is not based on security needs, but is based on discrimination against a specific category of persons in this case, students.
As some major fields of study are not available in Gazan universities, thousands of Gazan students, particularly those who seek to obtain post-graduate degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary studies, radiology, medical engineering, environment protection, law and democracy, and human rights used to travel to the West Bank to study there.
However the problem is expected to become bigger as, the Israeli government has recently approved a law to deport anyone who is not permitted by the state of Israel to live in the West Bank. This law, puts tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank at risk of deportation, especially hundreds of students, originally from Gaza.
Source:
A report by the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights shows that Palestinian students are routinely denied the right to education due to the Israeli occupation.
According to the report, a blanket ban has been imposed on Palestinian students from the Gaza Strip, preventing them enrolling at Palestinian universities in the West Bank to continue their education.
The Center says that this ban is not based on security needs, but is based on discrimination against a specific category of persons in this case, students.
As some major fields of study are not available in Gazan universities, thousands of Gazan students, particularly those who seek to obtain post-graduate degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary studies, radiology, medical engineering, environment protection, law and democracy, and human rights used to travel to the West Bank to study there.
However the problem is expected to become bigger as, the Israeli government has recently approved a law to deport anyone who is not permitted by the state of Israel to live in the West Bank. This law, puts tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank at risk of deportation, especially hundreds of students, originally from Gaza.
Source:
Top Ten Reasons for Skepticism
On August 20, the Obama Administration announced that it will reconvene under its auspices direct Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations beginning on September 2.
While the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation fully supports a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace and hopes that the Obama Administration is successful in these efforts, it nevertheless has profound reasons to be skeptical about the likelihood of success for the following reasons (not necessarily listed in order of importance):
1. No more photo-ops, please. There is a desperate need for a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East. Negotiations can be a key to that. But the last thing Palestinians and Israelis need are phony negotiations. They only breed disillusionment, resentment, and cynicism about the possibility of Israeli-Palestinian peace based on human rights and justice. So rather than enter into negotiations for the sake of negotiations, the Obama Administration should exert real political pressure on Israel by cutting off military aid to once and for all get it to commit to dismantling its regime of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians, and make clear that the framework for all negotiations will be based on international law, human rights, and UN resolutions. As long as it fails to do so, U.S. civil society must keep up the pressure through campaigns of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) to change these dynamics and by joining up with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.
2. The United States is not evenhanded. For decades, the United States has arrogated the role of convening Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. To convince the world that it is suitable to play this role, the United States declares that it is evenhanded, when it in fact arms Israel to the teeth and is aware that Israel will employ these U.S. weapons to conduct its human rights abuses of and apartheid policies toward Palestinians. Under international law, an outside party that provides weapons to a party in an armed conflict violates laws of neutrality. The United States is scheduled to provide Israel with $30 billion in weapons from 2009-2018 (part and parcel of a broader strategy to further militarize the region with an additional $60 billion in weapons sales to Gulf States). The United States cannot credibly broker Israeli-Palestinian peace while bankrolling Israel’s military machine and simultaneously ignoring Israel's human rights violations.
3. Israeli colonization of Palestinian land continues. In one of its most abject policy failures, the Obama Administration has contented itself with resuming direct negotiations without securing an Israeli freeze on the colonization of Palestinian land, despite spending an initial nine months trying to do so. Israeli colonization of Palestinian land, including the expansion of settlements, the eviction of Palestinians from their homes, the building of the Apartheid Wall, continues apace. Previous failed rounds of negotiations have demonstrated that Israel utilizes negotiations as a fig leaf to actually increase its pace of colonization of Palestinian land, and there is every reason to believe that it will continue to do so. Meanwhile, Israel’s ongoing colonization of Palestinian land creates difficult-to-reverse “facts on the ground” that only make a two-state solution—purportedly the end game of the negotiations—less achievable.
4. Negotiations supersede accountability. The Obama Administration, building on decades of previous U.S. efforts to shield Israel from accountability, has worked actively to scuttle international attempts to hold Israel accountable for its previous violations of international law and human rights, and its commission of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. Both after the Goldstone Report and Israel’s attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, the United States used its leverage at the United Nations to prevent Israel from being held accountable, arguing that accountability undermines prospects for peace negotiations. On the contrary, for peace negotiations to be successful, Israel must be held accountable for its actions and shown that it will pay a price for its illegal policies. Otherwise, it has no reason to alter its behavior.
5. No terms of reference. In his August 20 press briefing, Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell confirmed that the United States is not insisting on any guiding principles for the negotiations, or “terms of references” in diplomatic parlance, and that these terms will be worked out by the parties themselves. In other words, Israel will be free to marshal its overwhelming power to refuse to negotiate on the basis of human rights, international law, and UN resolutions, the only viable basis for a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. Instead, Israel—backed by the United States—will negotiate based on its own exclusive terms of reference, namely what is in Israel’s “security interests.” As in previous failed rounds of negotiations, Palestinian rights will not enter into the conversation.
6. No timeline. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes that negotiations “could” be concluded within a year. Of course, successful Israeli-Palestinian negotiations could be wrapped up within in a year. In contrast to “peace process industry” pundits, there is nothing intrinsically complex or complicated about resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict if Israel were to negotiate in good faith by declaring an end to its policies of occupation and apartheid against Palestinians. After all, South Africa concluded negotiations to end apartheid within a few months once the decision had been made to transition to democracy. However, Israel has given no indication whatsoever that it is prepared to alter its policies toward Palestinians, setting the stage for prolonged and fruitless negotiations.
7. Can a leopard change its spots? A recently-leaked video from 2001 shows current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrogantly bragging that “I actually stopped the Oslo Accord [shorthand for the failed 1993-2000 Israeli-Palestinian “peace process’].” (The Institute for Middle East Understanding has provided a useful translation and transcript of the video here.) His current Foreign Minister, Avigdor Leiberman, lives in an illegal Israeli colony built on stolen Palestinian land and has openly declared his support for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. With this negotiating team in place, how can Palestinians expect even a bare modicum of fairness and justice to emerge from these negotiations?
8. Increased U.S. military aid to and cooperation with Israel make it less likely to negotiate in good faith. In July, Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew Shapiro told the Brookings Institution that “I’m proud to say that as a result of this commitment [to Israel’s security], our security relationship with Israel is broader, deeper, and more intense than ever before.” Indeed, it is. President Obama has requested record-breaking levels of military aid to Israel, and stepped up joint U.S.-Israeli military projects, such as the missile defense system “Iron Dome.” This increased level of military aid only makes Israel more reliant on military might in its attempt to subdue Palestinians into submission, and less likely to negotiate with them fairly as equals.
9. All the parties are not at the negotiating table. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell, who previously brokered a peace agreement in Northern Ireland, when discussing its success often referred to the necessity of having all the parties to the conflict around the negotiating table. What held true though for negotiations in Northern Ireland, apparently doesn’t apply to Israel/Palestine since Hamas, which currently governs the Israeli-occupied and -besieged Gaza Strip and legitimately won the 2006 legislative elections held at the behest of the United States, was not invited to participate in the negotiations. If, by some long-shot, an agreement were to emerge from these negotiations, it is difficult to see how it would be implemented without having Hamas as part of the discussions.
10. Negotiations help Israel mitigate its growing international isolation. Last, but certainly not least, images of Israeli and Palestinian political leaders negotiating presents the world with a false sense of normalcy and allows Israel the opportunity to state that it is making a legitimate effort to achieve peace. With Israel as the party pressing for direct negotiations, it is quite transparent that its desire for these talks has more to do with easing its growing international isolation and defusing the energy from the international movement for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), rather than with genuinely negotiating a just and lasting peace. This point brings the analysis full circle: advocates for changing U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine to support human rights, international law, and equality should not be lulled into complacency by the resumption of negotiations, but need to keep up the pressure with campaigns of BDS to change the dynamics that will eventually lead to the possibility of a just and lasting peace.
Source:
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
'Israel uses wiretapping equipment it sold to Turkey on Turkish citizens'
Turkish newspaper: IDF using equipment sold to Turkey in 2007 to listen in on Turkish citizens, including political activists, members of opposition parties and academics.
By Zvi Bar'el
A claim that Israel is using wiretapping equipment it sold Ankara to listen in on Turkish citizens is making headlines in that country.
According to the pro-government newspaper Taraf, the Turkish army's deputy chief of staff, Aslan Guner, purchased sophisticated wiretapping equipment in Israel in 2007 to aid Turkey in fighting the Kurdish PKK, which is considered a terror group by Turkey.
However, the newspaper claims the Israel Defense Forces communications branch has allegedly used the equipment to listen in on 2,000 Turkish citizens, including political activists, members of opposition parties and academics.
According to information Taraf received from a senior army officer, Turkey gave Israel technical details of the GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications, used in Turkish cell phones, so it could conform the equipment to it. This information, according to the officer, allows Israel to listen in on the cell phone conversations of any Turkish citizen.
In response to the allegations, Guner, who at the time was also head of military intelligence, said that the equipment purchase had been authorized by the Turkish Defense Ministry and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also signed it.
"The equipment was purchased to fight terror but if someone listened to other people it should be exposed," Guner said.
The Turkish army said in a statement that it has launched an investigation into whether the system was used illegally.
Political activists allegedly targeted by the wiretaps are planning to sue those responsible, as Turkish law prohibits the military's electronic communications command from installing wiretapping equipment. Only Turkey's national intelligence organization, the police and the gendarmerie, a branch of the military responsible for maintaining public order, may install such equipment, after receiving permission from the court and the Communications Ministry.
Though Israel supplies Turkey with aerial drones and electronics used to fight terror, Ankara has also accused Israel of being behind PKK attacks. PKK actions increased immediately after the flotilla to Gaza, and critics allege that Israel wants to use them to show that it can strike at Turkey's soft underbelly.
Report: U.S. to cancel drills
The anti-government newspaper Hurriyet reported yesterday that the United States planned to cancel its participation in military exercises with Turkey in October, ostensibly to force Turkey to invite Israel, which has taken part in the exercises since 2001.
However, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said the U.S. had already participated in two such exercises this year and traditionally did not take part in more than two per year.
The spokesman made no reference to Israel's exclusion. But last year, after Turkey excluded Israel from a joint exercise, both the United States and Italy canceled their participation.
Source:
By Zvi Bar'el
A claim that Israel is using wiretapping equipment it sold Ankara to listen in on Turkish citizens is making headlines in that country.
According to the pro-government newspaper Taraf, the Turkish army's deputy chief of staff, Aslan Guner, purchased sophisticated wiretapping equipment in Israel in 2007 to aid Turkey in fighting the Kurdish PKK, which is considered a terror group by Turkey.
However, the newspaper claims the Israel Defense Forces communications branch has allegedly used the equipment to listen in on 2,000 Turkish citizens, including political activists, members of opposition parties and academics.
According to information Taraf received from a senior army officer, Turkey gave Israel technical details of the GSM, or Global System for Mobile Communications, used in Turkish cell phones, so it could conform the equipment to it. This information, according to the officer, allows Israel to listen in on the cell phone conversations of any Turkish citizen.
In response to the allegations, Guner, who at the time was also head of military intelligence, said that the equipment purchase had been authorized by the Turkish Defense Ministry and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also signed it.
"The equipment was purchased to fight terror but if someone listened to other people it should be exposed," Guner said.
The Turkish army said in a statement that it has launched an investigation into whether the system was used illegally.
Political activists allegedly targeted by the wiretaps are planning to sue those responsible, as Turkish law prohibits the military's electronic communications command from installing wiretapping equipment. Only Turkey's national intelligence organization, the police and the gendarmerie, a branch of the military responsible for maintaining public order, may install such equipment, after receiving permission from the court and the Communications Ministry.
Though Israel supplies Turkey with aerial drones and electronics used to fight terror, Ankara has also accused Israel of being behind PKK attacks. PKK actions increased immediately after the flotilla to Gaza, and critics allege that Israel wants to use them to show that it can strike at Turkey's soft underbelly.
Report: U.S. to cancel drills
The anti-government newspaper Hurriyet reported yesterday that the United States planned to cancel its participation in military exercises with Turkey in October, ostensibly to force Turkey to invite Israel, which has taken part in the exercises since 2001.
However, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Ankara said the U.S. had already participated in two such exercises this year and traditionally did not take part in more than two per year.
The spokesman made no reference to Israel's exclusion. But last year, after Turkey excluded Israel from a joint exercise, both the United States and Italy canceled their participation.
Source:
Bedouin families told to leave by June
JERICHO (Ma’an) -- Israeli authorities issued warrants ordered Bedouin families lodging in tents and sheds on land between Jericho and Jerusalem to leave the area by June 2011.
Ahmad Ka'abna, who was issued a warrant, said around 600 households would face evacuation if the order is enforced.
Resident Fayiz Ka'abna, who supports a family of 11, asked “We have been living in the area for more than half a century when the West bank was under Jordanian rule, and we are to leave now?”
Civil Administration representatives were not immediately available by phone for comment.
Source:
Ahmad Ka'abna, who was issued a warrant, said around 600 households would face evacuation if the order is enforced.
Resident Fayiz Ka'abna, who supports a family of 11, asked “We have been living in the area for more than half a century when the West bank was under Jordanian rule, and we are to leave now?”
Civil Administration representatives were not immediately available by phone for comment.
Source:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
