Experts call for full UN probe over Israel's Gaza war crimes

World's most experienced judges and human rights investigators called Monday for a full int'l probe into Israeli abuses during Gaza attack.

Monday, 16 March 2009

A group of the world's most experienced judges and human rights investigators called Monday for a full international investigation into alleged Israeli abuses of international law in Gaza.

In a letter to the secretary general of the United Nations, the 16 signatories, including Richard Goldstone, a former chief prosecutor for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said both sides in the conflict had allegations to answer for and needed to be held to account.

In the open letter supported by Amnesty International, they stress the need for an investigation into "all serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties to the conflict."

Not limited only on UN attacks

The letter says that the UN investigation "should not be limited only to attacks on UN facilities."

"Without setting the record straight in a credible and impartial manner, it will be difficult for those communities that have borne the heavy cost of violence to move beyond the terrible aftermath of conflict.

"A prompt, independent and impartial investigation would provide a public record of gross violations of international humanitarian law committed and provide recommendations on how those responsible for crimes should be held to account."

Israel launched a three-week offensive in Gaza on Dec. 27, 2008.

A Palestinian human rights group said last week its own investigation had shown that 1,434 Gazans were killed during the attack, including 960 civilians, 239 police officers and 235 fighters. Among the civilians were 288 children and 121 women.

Thirteen Israelis were killed during the war, including 3 hit by rockets fired into Israel.

In their letter, Goldstone and others said they were "shocked to the core" by the events in Gaza and said an independent investigation was needed to adhere to the laws enshrined in the Geneva Conventions on conflict.

"The world must vigilantly demand respect for these standards and investigate and condemn their violations," said the letter.

It said the commission of enquiry should be established by the United Nations, but not be limited to investigating attacks on U.N. facilities and have the "greatest possible" expertise.

Source : http://www.worldbulletin.net

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Clinton criticised Israel's plans to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes

Clinton: Israeli Quds demolitions breach of int'l obligations

Clinton criticised Israel's plans to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in Quds as a violation of its international obligations.

Wednesday, 04 March 2009 16:10

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticised on Wednesday Israel's plans to demolish dozens of Palestinian homes in Quds as a violation of its international obligations.

"Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the 'road map'," Clinton said, referring to the peace plan.

"It is an issue that we intend to raise with the government of Israel and the government at the municipal level in Jerusalem," she added at a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Abbas said that unless Israel's incoming leaders were committed to a two-state solution and halted settlement construction and Jerusalem demolitions, "we will not consider them as peace partners".

Israel plans demolitions of more than 80 Palestinian homes.

Clinton met Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Salam Fayyad, the prime minister, on Wednesday in Ramallah, the administrative headquarters of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA).

A day after pledging the new Obama administration would "always" protect Israel's security, Clinton visited the Israeli-occupied West Bank to meet President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority.

Clinton is on her first visit to the region as secretary of state during a time of political transition in Israel, which held an election on Feb. 10 that led to right-winger Benjamin Netanyahu being invited to form a government by April 3.

Clinton on Tuesday pledged that Washington would be "vigorously engaged" in the pursuit of a Palestinian state, an outcome she said would be in Israel's best interests.

Saleh Rafat, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation's Executive Committee, said Abbas would tell Clinton during the meeting there would be no peace negotiations unless Israel agreed unequivocally to a two-state solution.

Settlement expansions

Rafat said Abbas also would urge Clinton to press Israel to stop settlement expansion in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli settlements on occupied land are deemed illegal by the World Court.

Netanyahu, mirroring the policy of the outgoing government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, has said he would not build new settlements but expand existing ones to accommodate the "natural growth" of their populations.

A U.S.-backed peace "road map" that has served as the foundation of Israeli-Palestinian talks calls for a halt to all Israeli settlement expansions.

In her talks in Jerusalem on Tuesday, Clinton also called for the consolidation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where Israel in December launched a devastating 22-day offensive killing nearly 1400 Palestinians and wounding more than 5000.

Source : http://www.worldbulletin.net

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Palestinians Plan to Demolish Homes Again

Palestinians on Strike over Israeli Plan to Demolish Homes

By Robert Berger
Jerusalem
28 February 2009

A new land dispute in Jerusalem that could force hundreds of Arabs from their homes is stirring up Palestinian anger.

Palestinians went on strike in protest over Israel's plans to demolish 88 Arab homes in disputed East Jerusalem. Schools and shops are closed in East Jerusalem and throughout the West Bank.

The strike was called after Israeli municipal officials and security forces visited several homes in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan near Jerusalem's Old City. That raised fears that the demolition of the houses is imminent.

One of the Palestinian strikers, East Jerusalem shopkeeper Mounzar Karadi, said Israel is not interested in peace.

"The peace process is not existing any more after more houses demolished, more land taken, more settlements have been built in the West Bank," he said. "People became desperate, hopeless, and the situation is very bad."

Jerusalem Municipality officials say the homes slated for demolition were built illegally and they are simply imposing the law. But Palestinians say they cannot get building permits and that Israel is trying to drive Arab residents out of Jerusalem.

The city, which is holy to both Jews and Muslims, is one of the thorniest issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel sees Jerusalem as its eternal capital while Palestinians see it as the capital of their future state.

The outgoing Israeli government was prepared to relinquish parts of Jerusalem under a peace deal with the Palestinians, but former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not. Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party have been tasked with forming the next Israeli government, putting him in line to recapture the prime minister's job if he can form a coalition. He has vowed that Jerusalem will never be divided again.

Source : voanews.com

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Arab countries delay payment of Gaza funds

Arab countries delay payment of Gaza funds amid Palestinian rivalry

CAIRO — A senior Arab League official said Saturday Arab countries have not delivered any of the more than $1 billion US they pledged to rebuild Gaza after Israel's devastating offensive.

The official says the money pledged in mid-January has been held up because of disagreements between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas about who should receive donations.

He says Arab countries are waiting to see whether a solution to the disagreement is reached at an international meeting on Gaza reconstruction in Egypt on Monday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion for Gaza reconstruction, Qatar $250 million and Algeria $100 million.

Hamas seized control of Gaza from Fatah in 2007.

Source : The Canadian Press

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Israel And Gaza

Entanglement with Israel eroding our moral credibility

Considering Congress rarely, if ever, defies Israel's interests, it's remarkable Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Reps. Brian Baird, D-Wash, and Keith Ellison, D-Minn., toured Gaza to view firsthand the enormity of Israel's military devastation to a civilian population already enduring two years of blockade on all commercial goods ["U.S. lawmakers tour Gaza Strip," Nation & World, Feb. 20].

For decades, our nation has blindly supported Israel's militarism, expansionism, illegal occupation and constant confiscation of Palestinian land. America is Israel's funder, enabler and protector in its violation of U.N. resolutions and international laws.

President George Washington warned us of a "passionate attachment" to a foreign nation that seeks to impose its interests above ours. Thomas Jefferson similarly warned of "foreign entanglements" with such nations, while James Madison blamed such entanglements on domestic "factions," today's "special interests."

Our national interest in the Middle East and world surpasses any value in our relationship with Israel, which has cost us dearly in money, lives and moral credibility.

British Historian Arnold Toynbee said: "Right and wrong are the same in Palestine as anywhere else. What is peculiar about the Palestine conflict is that the world has listened to the party that has committed the offense and has turned a deaf ear to the victims."

-- Mohamed Khodr, Winchester, Va.

The most aggressive Middle East nation

The Times reported great concern about the amount of Iran's uranium, which, with a bit of added purification, would be suitable for atomic bombs ["Report on Iran has a shock," Nation & World, Feb. 20].

Has anyone investigated the nuclear capability of the most aggressive Middle East nation, Israel?

Israel has proven its criminal nature not only by its invasion of Palestine, despite Britain's mandate to maintain peace there, but also by pre-emptive strikes against its neighbors, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

Further, it has been reported that Israel has asked our nation for "Bunker Buster" bombs to be used in a fourth pre-emptive attack, this time against Iran.

The Feb. 20 Times also reported a congressional contingent examining the impact of Israel's attacks in Gaza, during which Israel killed over 1,300, many of whom were civilians, while losing only 13 soldiers.

Before we condemn Iran for nearing nuclear-bomb capability, I think we should investigate the atomic-bomb capability of Israel, the area's most implacable nation, and apply sanctions against it as appropriate.

-- Spencer Higley, Edmonds

Source : The Seattle Times

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