10 dec 2012
Israeli soldiers say it’s “intolerable” they can’t kill Palestinians more freely due to cameras, “rules”
Israeli occupation soldiers have complained to Israel’s Ynet that they are not allowed to be more violent against Palestinians whose land they occupy in the West Bank.
In particular, the soldiers seem unhappy that they can no longer just shoot dead Palestinians who throw stones at them because Palestinians do not like foreign armies occupying their towns. Ynet used only initials to identify the soldiers.
According to S., orders to open fire address situations of a clear and present danger and only if there is a person with the means and intent to kill. “But what is an angry mob throwing stones and sometimes rocks at you if not a life threatening situation? I wouldn’t order opening fire at a crowd of people but we can’t have a situation where you stand in front of a person with a rock and start to ask yourself is this person life threatening. If I shoot at him I go to jail.
“Intolerable” not to be able to shoot Palestinians at will
One soldier admits that the presence of cameras – presumably in the hands of Palestinian and other videographers – inhibits the soldiers from being even more abusive:
T. says the cameras on the ground undermine the forces’ efforts. “A commander or an officer sees a camera and becomes a diplomat, calculating every rubber bullet, every step. It’s intolerable, we’re left utterly exposed. The cameras are our kryptonite.”
Occasionally crimes by Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers are caught on video.
But more often they are not. In recent testimonies given to the group Breaking the Silence, Israeli soldiers admitted to horrifying crimes including deliberate and random attacks on Palestinian children, sometimes killing them and sometimes just for amusement.
In particular, the soldiers seem unhappy that they can no longer just shoot dead Palestinians who throw stones at them because Palestinians do not like foreign armies occupying their towns. Ynet used only initials to identify the soldiers.
According to S., orders to open fire address situations of a clear and present danger and only if there is a person with the means and intent to kill. “But what is an angry mob throwing stones and sometimes rocks at you if not a life threatening situation? I wouldn’t order opening fire at a crowd of people but we can’t have a situation where you stand in front of a person with a rock and start to ask yourself is this person life threatening. If I shoot at him I go to jail.
“Intolerable” not to be able to shoot Palestinians at will
One soldier admits that the presence of cameras – presumably in the hands of Palestinian and other videographers – inhibits the soldiers from being even more abusive:
T. says the cameras on the ground undermine the forces’ efforts. “A commander or an officer sees a camera and becomes a diplomat, calculating every rubber bullet, every step. It’s intolerable, we’re left utterly exposed. The cameras are our kryptonite.”
Occasionally crimes by Israeli occupation soldiers and settlers are caught on video.
But more often they are not. In recent testimonies given to the group Breaking the Silence, Israeli soldiers admitted to horrifying crimes including deliberate and random attacks on Palestinian children, sometimes killing them and sometimes just for amusement.
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In video shot by Palestinians last May, Israeli settlers can be seen attacking a village with stones, live fire and setting fire to fields as Israeli occupation forces guard the settlers.
In this video, posted a few days ago on YouTube, settlers can be seen throwing stones at Palestinians in the occupied West Bank village of Urif, again protected by soldiers. It seems unlikely that “S.” and “T.” would be too keen on Palestinians being given the right to shoot at them. Stones are only deadly weapons, it would appear, in the hands of Palestinians, and when directed against heavily-armed, invading occupation forces. Israeli soldiers kill with impunity anyway While “T.” worries about “calculating every rubber bullet,” Israeli soldiers have found ways around rules nominally meant to prevent wanton killing of Palestinians. |
Exactly one year ago, Mustafa Tamimi, 28, was killed when Israeli soldiers in the village of Nabi Saleh fired a tear gas canister at his face at point blank range, a murder witnessed by Linah Alsaafin.
In November, harrowing video caught images of Rushdi Tamimi, 31, also in Nabi Saleh, lying on the ground shortly after being shot in the stomach and thigh by Israeli occupation forces during a protest against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
The video shows the occupation soldiers threatening the woman shooting the video and preventing villagers from tending to Tamimi, who died of his wounds in hospital two days later.
In addition to Tamimi, 22-year-old Hamdi al-Falah was killed by Israeli soldiers during protests against the attack on Gaza in the West Bank city of Hebron.
“S.” who was concerned, “If I shoot at him I go to jail,” need not worry. A year after Mustafa Tamimi’s killing, no one has been brought to justice. It’s unlikely that Rushdi Tamimi’s killers will face justice either.
It’s been like that since video of Israeli soldiers brutalizing Palestinians came to light during the first intifada, which began 25 years ago this weekend.
Videos or no videos, decade after decade, Israel’s brutal occupation grinds on without accountability and with impunity for those who give the orders and those follow them.
In November, harrowing video caught images of Rushdi Tamimi, 31, also in Nabi Saleh, lying on the ground shortly after being shot in the stomach and thigh by Israeli occupation forces during a protest against Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
The video shows the occupation soldiers threatening the woman shooting the video and preventing villagers from tending to Tamimi, who died of his wounds in hospital two days later.
In addition to Tamimi, 22-year-old Hamdi al-Falah was killed by Israeli soldiers during protests against the attack on Gaza in the West Bank city of Hebron.
“S.” who was concerned, “If I shoot at him I go to jail,” need not worry. A year after Mustafa Tamimi’s killing, no one has been brought to justice. It’s unlikely that Rushdi Tamimi’s killers will face justice either.
It’s been like that since video of Israeli soldiers brutalizing Palestinians came to light during the first intifada, which began 25 years ago this weekend.
Videos or no videos, decade after decade, Israel’s brutal occupation grinds on without accountability and with impunity for those who give the orders and those follow them.
29 nov 2012
52 leading international figures call for a Military Embargo on Israel
Occupied Palestine - On the eve of the International Day of Solidarity with the People of Palestine, 52 international notables issued a statement calling for “urgent … international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel.” Though directly motivated by Israel’s latest war of aggression against the 1.6 million Palestinians in the occupied and besieged Gaza Strip, the statement is also a reaction to Israel’s decades-old military occupation and persistent denial of the UN-sanctioned rights of the Palestinian people.
Expressing horror at Israel’s latest bloodbath in Gaza which claimed 160 Palestinian lives, including 34 children, the statement argues that this recurring brutality has been allowed to continue due to the impunity Israel enjoys. It highlighted the particular complicity of the US, the EU, India, Brazil and South Korea, as Israel’s key military partners and enablers.
The statement signed by Nobel Peace laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Perez Esquível, former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters, Directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, international best-seller Naomi Klein and co-drafter of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Holocaust survivor Stéphane Hessel, among others, adds that “Israel’s attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent and disproportionate military force as “self-defence” does not stand up to legal – or moral – scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defence for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place.”
This appeal echoes the Palestinian civil society call for a military embargo on Israel issued last year and draws parallels to the effective action taken against apartheid South Africa as a practical means to pressure Israel to fall in line with international law.
The full text of the Statement follows.
Now is the time for a military embargo on Israel!
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” –Nelson Mandela
Horrified at the latest round of Israeli aggression against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip and conscious of the impunity that has enabled this new chapter in Israel’s decades-old violations of international law and Palestinian rights, we believe there is an urgent need for international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel. Such a measure has been subject to several UN resolutions1 and is similar to the arms embargo imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past.
Israel’s unchecked belligerence and persistent denial of basic human rights and self-determination to the Palestinian people call for a concerted effort by international civil society to force world governments to end the links of complicity. This impunity has allowed Israel to continue its occupation, colonization and denial of Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned rights.
While the United States has been the largest sponsor of Israel, supplying billions of dollars of advanced military hardware every year, the role of the European Union must not go unnoticed, in particular its hefty subsidies to Israel’s military complex through its research programs. Similarly, the growing military ties between Israel and the emerging economies of Brazil, India and South Korea are unconscionable given their nominal support for Palestinian freedom.
Military ties with Israel have fueled relentless acts of aggression. Israel continues to entrench its subjugation of Palestinians while provoking or initiating armed conflict with its neighbors in the region.
Israel’s attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent and disproportionate military force as “self-defence” does not stand up to legal – or moral – scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defence for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place2.
We therefore support the call from Palestinian civil society for an urgent and comprehensive military embargo on Israel as an effective, non-violent measure to stop Israel’s wars and repression and to bring about Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law. This is now a moral and legal imperative to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.
Contact: Zaid Shuaibi, mobile: 0599.830.322
1 See, for example UN General Assembly Resolution 3414 (1975): “[the UNGA] Requests all states to desist from supplying Israel with any military or economic aid as long as it continues to occupy Arab territories and deny the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people”.
2 According to the basic tenet of international law, ex injuria non oritur ius (a legal right or entitlement cannot arise from an unlawful act )
Initial List of Signatories (alphabetical order):
Expressing horror at Israel’s latest bloodbath in Gaza which claimed 160 Palestinian lives, including 34 children, the statement argues that this recurring brutality has been allowed to continue due to the impunity Israel enjoys. It highlighted the particular complicity of the US, the EU, India, Brazil and South Korea, as Israel’s key military partners and enablers.
The statement signed by Nobel Peace laureates Mairead Maguire and Adolfo Perez Esquível, former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters, Directors Mike Leigh and Ken Loach, Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, international best-seller Naomi Klein and co-drafter of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Holocaust survivor Stéphane Hessel, among others, adds that “Israel’s attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent and disproportionate military force as “self-defence” does not stand up to legal – or moral – scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defence for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place.”
This appeal echoes the Palestinian civil society call for a military embargo on Israel issued last year and draws parallels to the effective action taken against apartheid South Africa as a practical means to pressure Israel to fall in line with international law.
The full text of the Statement follows.
Now is the time for a military embargo on Israel!
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” –Nelson Mandela
Horrified at the latest round of Israeli aggression against the 1.5 million Palestinians in the besieged and occupied Gaza Strip and conscious of the impunity that has enabled this new chapter in Israel’s decades-old violations of international law and Palestinian rights, we believe there is an urgent need for international action towards a mandatory, comprehensive military embargo against Israel. Such a measure has been subject to several UN resolutions1 and is similar to the arms embargo imposed against apartheid South Africa in the past.
Israel’s unchecked belligerence and persistent denial of basic human rights and self-determination to the Palestinian people call for a concerted effort by international civil society to force world governments to end the links of complicity. This impunity has allowed Israel to continue its occupation, colonization and denial of Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned rights.
While the United States has been the largest sponsor of Israel, supplying billions of dollars of advanced military hardware every year, the role of the European Union must not go unnoticed, in particular its hefty subsidies to Israel’s military complex through its research programs. Similarly, the growing military ties between Israel and the emerging economies of Brazil, India and South Korea are unconscionable given their nominal support for Palestinian freedom.
Military ties with Israel have fueled relentless acts of aggression. Israel continues to entrench its subjugation of Palestinians while provoking or initiating armed conflict with its neighbors in the region.
Israel’s attempt to justify this kind of illegal use of belligerent and disproportionate military force as “self-defence” does not stand up to legal – or moral – scrutiny, as states cannot invoke self-defence for acts that serve to defend an unlawful situation which they have created in the first place2.
We therefore support the call from Palestinian civil society for an urgent and comprehensive military embargo on Israel as an effective, non-violent measure to stop Israel’s wars and repression and to bring about Israel’s compliance with its obligations under international law. This is now a moral and legal imperative to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.
Contact: Zaid Shuaibi, mobile: 0599.830.322
1 See, for example UN General Assembly Resolution 3414 (1975): “[the UNGA] Requests all states to desist from supplying Israel with any military or economic aid as long as it continues to occupy Arab territories and deny the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people”.
2 According to the basic tenet of international law, ex injuria non oritur ius (a legal right or entitlement cannot arise from an unlawful act )
Initial List of Signatories (alphabetical order):
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--Udi Aloni, filmmaker, Israel
--Anthony Arnove, editor and writer, US --Etienne Balibar, academic, France --Robert Ballagh, artist and president of the Ireland Institute for Historical and Cultural Studies, Ireland --Walden Bello, academic, author and member of Senate, Philippines --Shyam Benegal, director and screenwriter, India --John Berger, author, critic, UK --Howard Brenton, playwright and screenwriter, UK --Judith Butler, academic, United States --Clayborne Carson, Director, Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute, Stanford University, USA --Noam Chomsky, academic, USA --Caryl Churchill, dramatist, UK --Angela Davis, scholar and author, US --Raymond Deane, composer, Ireland --Danilo Dolci, sociologist, Italy --John Dugard, professor of international law, South Africa --Felim Egan, artist, Ireland --Adolfo Perez Esquível, Nobel Peace Laureate 1980, Argentina --Dror Feiler, musician and artist, Sweden --Don Andrea Gallo, presbyter, Italy --Charles Glass, journalist, US --Margherita Hack, astrophysicist, Italy --Denis J. Halliday, former UN Assistant Secretary-General (1994-98), Ireland --Stéphane Hessel, diplomat, Holocaust survivor and co-author of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, France |
--Tor B Jørgensen, Bishop, Norway
--Christian Juhl, member of Parliament, Denmark --Ronnie Kasrils, politician, South Africa --Aki Kaurismäki, screenwriter and film director, Finland --Marcel Khalife, musician, Lebanon --Naomi Klein, writer and activist, Canada --Paul Laverty, filmmaker, UK --Taeho Lee, Secretary General, People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, South Korea --Ken Loach, filmmaker, UK --Vibeke Løkkeberg, actress and director, Norway --Mike Leigh OBE, Director, UK (Palm D’Or 1996) --Jean-Marc Levy-Leblond, academic, France --Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate 1976, Ireland --Michael Mansfield, lawyer, UK --Miriam Margolyes, actress, UK --Cynthia McKinney, politician, United States --Saeed Mirza, filmmaker, India --Luisa Morgantini, former president of the European Parliament --Bjørnar Moxnes, member of Oslo city council --Suzanne Osten, writer and director, Sweden --Nurit Peled, professor of language, Israel --John Pilger, journalist, author, filmmaker, Australia --Ahdaf Soueif, writer, Egypt/UK --Alice Walker, author, US --Roger Waters, musician, UK --John Williams, musician, UK --Vincenzo Vita, senator, Italy --Slavoj Zizek, philosopher, Slovenia |
26 nov 2012
A call for documenting and prosecuting the Israeli war crimes
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory for Human Rights (EMOHR), based in Geneva, called for documenting the abuses and crimes committed by the Israeli army during the recent aggression on Gaza and to prosecute these violations in international courts.
EMOHR said, in a statement issued on Sunday, that the center started, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza strip, documenting the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian unarmed people and collecting the legal evidences and testimonies to prosecute the Israeli offenders who are involved in war crimes in all international forums.
The center confirmed the formation of a committee including a group of international lawyers and experts in the legal field to follow up the matter.
EMOHR published, in its statement, the names of several Israeli military leaders that supervised the Israeli aggression on Gaza, such as
- Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz,
- Southern Region commander, Tal Rousseau,
- Prince Eichel, a chief commander of the "Israeli air Force", and
- Navy Commander Ram Rothberg.
EMOHR said, in a statement issued on Sunday, that the center started, since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza strip, documenting the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian unarmed people and collecting the legal evidences and testimonies to prosecute the Israeli offenders who are involved in war crimes in all international forums.
The center confirmed the formation of a committee including a group of international lawyers and experts in the legal field to follow up the matter.
EMOHR published, in its statement, the names of several Israeli military leaders that supervised the Israeli aggression on Gaza, such as
- Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz,
- Southern Region commander, Tal Rousseau,
- Prince Eichel, a chief commander of the "Israeli air Force", and
- Navy Commander Ram Rothberg.
Bahar meets a delegation of the Egyptian Bar Association in Gaza
Ahmed Bahar, the Deputy speaker of the Legislative Council called on the Egyptian Bar Association to contribute in documenting the crimes of the occupation in Gaza in preparation for filing lawsuits against its leaders in International courts for trial as war criminals.
Bahar stated that the Israeli occupation has become very worried of such step, which constitutes a permanent inconvenience for it.
This came during a meeting between Bahar and the delegation of the Egyptian Bar Association, which was headed by the Secretary General of the Bar Association, lawyer Bahaa Abdel Rahman, accompanied by 11 other Egyptian lawyers, held in Bahar's office on Sunday
For his part; the head of the delegation said that Gaza was the best inspiration for the peoples of the Arab revolutions and Arab Spring, and asserted that the Bar Association is determined to prosecute the occupation leaders in international forums for their crimes against the Palestinian rights.
The Senior Hamas lawmaker welcomed the delegation, expressing his confidence in the Egyptian lawyers and all the Egyptian people in general.
He also praised all the efforts made by the Egyptian leadership to end the Israeli aggression and to restore stability in the Strip, and expressed his appreciation for the Egyptians who came to the Gaza Strip to support its people.
Bahar pointed, during his meeting with the lawyers, to the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people because of the aggression and the blockade, condemning the arrests of the Palestinian MPs in the West Bank and the deportation of the Jerusalemite MPs from their city.
Bahr has, earlier, received a delegation of Libyan doctors who have come to the Gaza Strip since the early days of the aggression to perform many complex surgeries and thanked them on the behalf of the Palestinian people for their excellent medical efforts.
Bahar stated that the Israeli occupation has become very worried of such step, which constitutes a permanent inconvenience for it.
This came during a meeting between Bahar and the delegation of the Egyptian Bar Association, which was headed by the Secretary General of the Bar Association, lawyer Bahaa Abdel Rahman, accompanied by 11 other Egyptian lawyers, held in Bahar's office on Sunday
For his part; the head of the delegation said that Gaza was the best inspiration for the peoples of the Arab revolutions and Arab Spring, and asserted that the Bar Association is determined to prosecute the occupation leaders in international forums for their crimes against the Palestinian rights.
The Senior Hamas lawmaker welcomed the delegation, expressing his confidence in the Egyptian lawyers and all the Egyptian people in general.
He also praised all the efforts made by the Egyptian leadership to end the Israeli aggression and to restore stability in the Strip, and expressed his appreciation for the Egyptians who came to the Gaza Strip to support its people.
Bahar pointed, during his meeting with the lawyers, to the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people because of the aggression and the blockade, condemning the arrests of the Palestinian MPs in the West Bank and the deportation of the Jerusalemite MPs from their city.
Bahr has, earlier, received a delegation of Libyan doctors who have come to the Gaza Strip since the early days of the aggression to perform many complex surgeries and thanked them on the behalf of the Palestinian people for their excellent medical efforts.