19 dec 2014
Press Release: Israeli Supreme Court approves regulations that ban Palestinians from Gaza from entering Israel for their compensation cases against the Israeli military.
On 16 December 2014, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected a petition submitted by human rights organizations against Israel’s policy of preventing residents of Gaza who have submitted compensation lawsuits for damages against the Israeli military, and their witnesses, from entering Israel to attend their own court hearings.
Adalah filed the petition in 2012 in cooperation with the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel on behalf of four individuals from Gaza who filed tort lawsuits against the Israeli military for killings, injuries and extensive property damages and whose requests for permission to enter Israel to pursue their cases were repeatedly denied.
Former Adalah Attorney Fatmeh El-'Ajou filed the case. Adalah General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen and Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher represented the petitioners before the Supreme Court.
Although the Court rejected the petition, in the judgment pointed out the conflict of interests created by this policy between the state's position as the defendant before the court and as the authority that determines who can and who cannot enter Israel to access the court.
Justice Elyakim Rubinstein stated in the decision that the state simultaneously wears two hats, as the party “responsible for security on the one hand, and as the defendant on the other,” and that “it must take care as far as possible not to confuse the two issues.”
After the petition was filed, the Attorney General (AG) proposed new procedures before the Supreme Court for “examining requests to enter by Palestinian residents of Gaza for the purpose of pursuing judicial proceedings in Israel.”
These regulations openly and absurdly specified that the AG should look into the possibility of facilitating the pursuit of legal cases only provided that it does not harm the state’s position in the case.
In response to the petitioners’ argument that these regulations resulted in clear conflict of interests, the justices stated in their final judgment that, “We do not deny that we have criticisms regarding this section [of the regulations]… but the question goes back to the two hats that the state wears in this case, as we have stated above.”
In its decision, the court did not address the grave violation of the constitutional rights of the complainants and of their rights to compensation for damages incurred by them resulting from the state’s policy of closure. Justice Rubinstein stated that the case should not be viewed, “from a constitutional perspective, but a practical perspective…” adding that the filing and pursuit of lawsuits must not “harm security.”
Although the court criticized the new regulations, it is nonetheless asking the complainants to abide by them. The fact is that the AG did not provide one example of an individual who obtained a permit to enter Israel under these regulations.
The court’s judgment effectively denies Gaza residents the possibility of accessing courts in Israel, and it endorses a set of illegal regulations that violate the complainants’ constitutional rights.
The regulations further prevent lawyers who are citizens of Israel from holding meetings with their clients from the Gaza Strip to pursue these cases.
The lack of an effective means of accessing the Israel courts will lead to the dismissal of these tort lawsuits on the grounds that the complainant or his/her eyewitnesses failed to attend court hearings.
Responding to the decision, Adalah’s General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen stated that,
“The court’s decision is fundamentally at odds with international humanitarian law, which clearly and definitely establishes the right of victims, who live under Occupation, to submit claims for damages to the courts of the occupying power, and stipulates that the legal proceedings available to them should be effective and just. The decision also contradicts claims made by the Israeli Foreign Ministry before the courts of European states that Palestinians have the opportunity to submit lawsuits to the Israeli courts and that there is therefore no need for foreign courts to decide on this matter.”
Raji Sourani, the Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated in response to the decision:
"After a series of administrative and legislative measures, which concluded with Amendment No 8 of the Tort Law, this Supreme Court decision provides clear cut evidence of total injustice for Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes. It declares boldly and unequivocally from the highest judicial level that the system is boycotting the victims, and not vice versa. With this decision, the court shamefully states that Palestinians have no other choice to achieve justice and dignity but through international justice mechanisms."
Issam Younis, the Director of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza emphasized in response to the Court's judgment:
"Yet again, the Israeli justice system is dealing with politics rather than justice, and denies victims of serious violations of international law any chance to seek redress. The dozens of victims of such violations in Gaza get a clear message from the Israeli Supreme Court: no matter what you suffer, there is no chance to expect justice in the Israeli court system. Unless the international community intervenes to protect this assault on international law, we can only expect the worst.”
Case Citation: HCJ 7042/12, Abu Daqqa, et al. v. the Interior Minister, et al. (judgment delivered 16 December 2014)
On 16 December 2014, the Supreme Court of Israel rejected a petition submitted by human rights organizations against Israel’s policy of preventing residents of Gaza who have submitted compensation lawsuits for damages against the Israeli military, and their witnesses, from entering Israel to attend their own court hearings.
Adalah filed the petition in 2012 in cooperation with the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel on behalf of four individuals from Gaza who filed tort lawsuits against the Israeli military for killings, injuries and extensive property damages and whose requests for permission to enter Israel to pursue their cases were repeatedly denied.
Former Adalah Attorney Fatmeh El-'Ajou filed the case. Adalah General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen and Adalah Attorney Sawsan Zaher represented the petitioners before the Supreme Court.
Although the Court rejected the petition, in the judgment pointed out the conflict of interests created by this policy between the state's position as the defendant before the court and as the authority that determines who can and who cannot enter Israel to access the court.
Justice Elyakim Rubinstein stated in the decision that the state simultaneously wears two hats, as the party “responsible for security on the one hand, and as the defendant on the other,” and that “it must take care as far as possible not to confuse the two issues.”
After the petition was filed, the Attorney General (AG) proposed new procedures before the Supreme Court for “examining requests to enter by Palestinian residents of Gaza for the purpose of pursuing judicial proceedings in Israel.”
These regulations openly and absurdly specified that the AG should look into the possibility of facilitating the pursuit of legal cases only provided that it does not harm the state’s position in the case.
In response to the petitioners’ argument that these regulations resulted in clear conflict of interests, the justices stated in their final judgment that, “We do not deny that we have criticisms regarding this section [of the regulations]… but the question goes back to the two hats that the state wears in this case, as we have stated above.”
In its decision, the court did not address the grave violation of the constitutional rights of the complainants and of their rights to compensation for damages incurred by them resulting from the state’s policy of closure. Justice Rubinstein stated that the case should not be viewed, “from a constitutional perspective, but a practical perspective…” adding that the filing and pursuit of lawsuits must not “harm security.”
Although the court criticized the new regulations, it is nonetheless asking the complainants to abide by them. The fact is that the AG did not provide one example of an individual who obtained a permit to enter Israel under these regulations.
The court’s judgment effectively denies Gaza residents the possibility of accessing courts in Israel, and it endorses a set of illegal regulations that violate the complainants’ constitutional rights.
The regulations further prevent lawyers who are citizens of Israel from holding meetings with their clients from the Gaza Strip to pursue these cases.
The lack of an effective means of accessing the Israel courts will lead to the dismissal of these tort lawsuits on the grounds that the complainant or his/her eyewitnesses failed to attend court hearings.
Responding to the decision, Adalah’s General Director Attorney Hassan Jabareen stated that,
“The court’s decision is fundamentally at odds with international humanitarian law, which clearly and definitely establishes the right of victims, who live under Occupation, to submit claims for damages to the courts of the occupying power, and stipulates that the legal proceedings available to them should be effective and just. The decision also contradicts claims made by the Israeli Foreign Ministry before the courts of European states that Palestinians have the opportunity to submit lawsuits to the Israeli courts and that there is therefore no need for foreign courts to decide on this matter.”
Raji Sourani, the Director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights stated in response to the decision:
"After a series of administrative and legislative measures, which concluded with Amendment No 8 of the Tort Law, this Supreme Court decision provides clear cut evidence of total injustice for Palestinian victims of Israeli war crimes. It declares boldly and unequivocally from the highest judicial level that the system is boycotting the victims, and not vice versa. With this decision, the court shamefully states that Palestinians have no other choice to achieve justice and dignity but through international justice mechanisms."
Issam Younis, the Director of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights in Gaza emphasized in response to the Court's judgment:
"Yet again, the Israeli justice system is dealing with politics rather than justice, and denies victims of serious violations of international law any chance to seek redress. The dozens of victims of such violations in Gaza get a clear message from the Israeli Supreme Court: no matter what you suffer, there is no chance to expect justice in the Israeli court system. Unless the international community intervenes to protect this assault on international law, we can only expect the worst.”
Case Citation: HCJ 7042/12, Abu Daqqa, et al. v. the Interior Minister, et al. (judgment delivered 16 December 2014)
17 dec 2014
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that Washington will veto a proposed Palestinian resolution to end the Israeli occupation at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday.
According to Palestinian sources, Kerry said at a meeting with the top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, that America will veto the bid.
Palestinians are set to press ahead Wednesday with a UN bid to boost their hopes of statehood, despite a warning that the U.S. will block the move, officials said.
Kerry has held three days of intense talks in Europe seeking to head off such a resolution with the UN Security Council.
Erekat reportedly told Kerry that Palestinians would go ahead as planned, receiving a sharp warning from the U.S. official that his administration would veto the resolution.
In an escalating battle of wills, the chief Palestinian negotiator shot back that if Washington uses its veto to scupper their plans, the Palestinians would then seek membership in a series of international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
“Palestinians have nothing else to lose,” Erekat added. “We’ve already seen it all with the Israeli occupation,” he said in reference to the terror tactics, land misappropriation, desecration break-ins, assassination of Palestinian officials, house demolitions, and abduction campaigns launched against the Palestinian people and leadership.
According to Palestinian sources, Kerry said at a meeting with the top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, that America will veto the bid.
Palestinians are set to press ahead Wednesday with a UN bid to boost their hopes of statehood, despite a warning that the U.S. will block the move, officials said.
Kerry has held three days of intense talks in Europe seeking to head off such a resolution with the UN Security Council.
Erekat reportedly told Kerry that Palestinians would go ahead as planned, receiving a sharp warning from the U.S. official that his administration would veto the resolution.
In an escalating battle of wills, the chief Palestinian negotiator shot back that if Washington uses its veto to scupper their plans, the Palestinians would then seek membership in a series of international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
“Palestinians have nothing else to lose,” Erekat added. “We’ve already seen it all with the Israeli occupation,” he said in reference to the terror tactics, land misappropriation, desecration break-ins, assassination of Palestinian officials, house demolitions, and abduction campaigns launched against the Palestinian people and leadership.
10 dec 2014
Adama Dieng, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, condemned Israel for having committed crimes against humanity and genocides against the Palestinian people.
“What happened in Sabra and Shatila is a crime against humanity and all acts of mass-execution are crimes against humanity,” Adama Dieng said as he briefed reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.
The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has been appointed by the UN General-Secretary to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
At least 5,000 Palestinian refugees were mass-murdered in the notorious Sabra and Shatila massacre perpetrated in Lebanon by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and Lebanese Phalange militias in September 1982.
The UN adviser voiced his belief that the latest operations in Gaza might have led to war crimes emanating from the disproportionate use of violence by the IOF.
He said preliminary findings and probes currently conducted by the UN Human Rights Council into the offensive are expected to be released by next March.
At least 2,000 Palestinians, including 500 children, were killed while more than 11,000 were left wounded in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip launched on July 8.
“What happened in Sabra and Shatila is a crime against humanity and all acts of mass-execution are crimes against humanity,” Adama Dieng said as he briefed reporters at UN Headquarters in New York.
The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has been appointed by the UN General-Secretary to raise awareness of the causes and dynamics of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
At least 5,000 Palestinian refugees were mass-murdered in the notorious Sabra and Shatila massacre perpetrated in Lebanon by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) and Lebanese Phalange militias in September 1982.
The UN adviser voiced his belief that the latest operations in Gaza might have led to war crimes emanating from the disproportionate use of violence by the IOF.
He said preliminary findings and probes currently conducted by the UN Human Rights Council into the offensive are expected to be released by next March.
At least 2,000 Palestinians, including 500 children, were killed while more than 11,000 were left wounded in the latest Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip launched on July 8.
Palestine became an official observer at the Hague's International Criminal Court, on Monday, according to UN envoy Riyad Mansour.
The Palestinian official said the move would strengthen possibilities for Palestinian statehood, Ma'an News Agency reported.
Mr. Mansour additionally stated that Palestine's new status at the ICC was "another victory for Palestinians at the international level, bringing them closer to restoring their rights, and opening the door wide to drag leaders of the Israeli occupation to the dock of this court, so the souls of the victims can finally rest in peace."
He said that Palestine was now moving in the direction of becoming full members of the ICC.
Palestine's recognition comes as a procedural move at the opening session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, according to an Associate Press report.
The PLO had, in 2009, appealed to the ICC's prosecutor's office for official investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
There has so far been no probe, according to Ma'an, as Palestine is not an ICC member state and its status as a state is uncertain within some international circles.
However, the PLO obtained the status of observer state at the United Nations, in late November of 2012, opening the door for an ICC investigation.
The Palestinian official said the move would strengthen possibilities for Palestinian statehood, Ma'an News Agency reported.
Mr. Mansour additionally stated that Palestine's new status at the ICC was "another victory for Palestinians at the international level, bringing them closer to restoring their rights, and opening the door wide to drag leaders of the Israeli occupation to the dock of this court, so the souls of the victims can finally rest in peace."
He said that Palestine was now moving in the direction of becoming full members of the ICC.
Palestine's recognition comes as a procedural move at the opening session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, according to an Associate Press report.
The PLO had, in 2009, appealed to the ICC's prosecutor's office for official investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Israeli military in Gaza.
There has so far been no probe, according to Ma'an, as Palestine is not an ICC member state and its status as a state is uncertain within some international circles.
However, the PLO obtained the status of observer state at the United Nations, in late November of 2012, opening the door for an ICC investigation.
9 dec 2014
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The Israeli military committed war crimes during its Gaza offensive this summer and must be investigated, human rights monitor Amnesty International said on Tuesday.
The destruction of four multi-story buildings during the last four days of the 50-day war were in breach of international humanitarian law, the group said in a report. "All the evidence we have shows this large-scale destruction was carried out deliberately and with no military justification," said Philip Luther, director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa program. |
"War crimes must be independently and impartially investigated and those responsible should be brought to justice in fair trials."
Evidence including statements by the Israeli military at the time indicate the attacks were "a collective punishment against the people of Gaza" designed to destroy their livelihoods, Luther added.
There was no immediate reaction to the Amnesty statement from Israeli authorities.
However, Israel has refused to cooperate with a UN inquiry into possible war crimes during the conflict, accusing it of bias.
Evidence including statements by the Israeli military at the time indicate the attacks were "a collective punishment against the people of Gaza" designed to destroy their livelihoods, Luther added.
There was no immediate reaction to the Amnesty statement from Israeli authorities.
However, Israel has refused to cooperate with a UN inquiry into possible war crimes during the conflict, accusing it of bias.
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The Israeli army has launched a series of criminal investigations into incidents in the war, including the shelling of a UN school that medics said killed at least 15 people and the bombing of a beach where four children died.
Critics, however, have said that the investigations by Israel will not be independent. More than 2,100 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in the war between Israel and Hamas-led militants, which ended on August 26. On the Israeli side 73 people were killed, 67 of them soldiers. Militant facilities |
One of the landmark buildings destroyed was the Municipal Commercial Center in Rafah, which contained a shopping mall, a medical clinic and offices, and provided livelihoods for hundreds of families, the Amnesty International report said.
Residents of the buildings about to be destroyed were warned to leave by the Israeli military, but that they did not have time to salvage important belongings, it added.
Scores of people from nearby buildings were injured, and hundreds lost their homes, according to the rights group.
Israeli authorities had said that one building housed a command center of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and that another had "facilities linked to Palestinian militants," according to the report.
However, Luther said the military still "had an obligation to choose means and methods of attack that would minimize harm to civilians and their property."
"The Israeli army have previously conducted air strikes on specific apartments in high-rise buildings without their complete destruction," he added.
The rights group said it had sent its findings about the airstrikes to Israeli authorities with questions about why each attack was carried out, but had not received an adequate response.
The report called for Amnesty International and other rights groups to be allowed access to Gaza and for the UN inquiry to be allowed "to conduct its investigation without hindrance."
New Amnesty International Report: Israel 'deliberately and wantonly' targeted residential towers
Residents of the buildings about to be destroyed were warned to leave by the Israeli military, but that they did not have time to salvage important belongings, it added.
Scores of people from nearby buildings were injured, and hundreds lost their homes, according to the rights group.
Israeli authorities had said that one building housed a command center of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, and that another had "facilities linked to Palestinian militants," according to the report.
However, Luther said the military still "had an obligation to choose means and methods of attack that would minimize harm to civilians and their property."
"The Israeli army have previously conducted air strikes on specific apartments in high-rise buildings without their complete destruction," he added.
The rights group said it had sent its findings about the airstrikes to Israeli authorities with questions about why each attack was carried out, but had not received an adequate response.
The report called for Amnesty International and other rights groups to be allowed access to Gaza and for the UN inquiry to be allowed "to conduct its investigation without hindrance."
New Amnesty International Report: Israel 'deliberately and wantonly' targeted residential towers
5 nov 2014
A Palestinian child sits above ruins of his home, and looks at thousands of destroyed homes in Gaza
Israeli forces have killed scores of Palestinian civilians in attacks targeting houses full of families which in some cases have amounted to war crimes, Amnesty International has disclosed in a new report on the latest Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip.
Families under the Rubble: Israeli attacks on inhabited homes details eight cases where residential family homes in Gaza were attacked by Israeli forces without warning during Operation Protective Edge in July and August 2014, causing the deaths of at least 104 civilians including 62 children. The report reveals a pattern of frequent Israeli attacks using large aerial bombs to level civilian homes, sometimes killing entire families.
“Israeli forces have brazenly flouted the laws of war by carrying out a series of attacks on civilian homes, displaying callous indifference to the carnage caused,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
“The report exposes a pattern of attacks on civilian homes by Israeli forces which have shown a shocking disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, who were given no warning and had no chance to flee.”
The report contains numerous accounts from survivors who describe the horror of frantically digging through the rubble and dust of their destroyed homes in search of the bodies of children and loved ones.
In several of the cases documented in the report, possible military targets were identified by Amnesty International. However the devastation to civilian lives and property caused in all cases was clearly disproportionate to the military advantages gained by launching the attacks.
“Even if a fighter had been present in one of these residential homes, it would not absolve Israel of its obligation to take every feasible precaution to protect the lives of civilians caught up in the fighting. The repeated, disproportionate attacks on homes indicate that Israel’s current military tactics are deeply flawed and fundamentally at odds with the principles of international humanitarian law,” said Philip Luther.
In the single deadliest attack documented in the report, 36 members of four families including 18 children were killed when the three-storey al-Dali building, was struck. Israel has not announced why the building was targeted, but Amnesty International has identified possible military targets within the building.
The second deadliest attack appears to have targeted a member of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, who was outside the Abu Jame’ family home. The house was completely levelled killing 25 civilians including 19 children. Regardless of the intended targets, both of these attacks constitute grossly disproportionate attacks and under international law, they should have been cancelled or postponed as soon as it was evident that so many civilians were present in the house.
Israeli officials have failed to give any justification for carrying out these attacks. In some of the cases in this report Amnesty International has not been able to identify any possible military target. In those cases it appears that the attacks directly and deliberately targeted civilians or civilian objects, which would constitute war crimes.
In all of the cases researched by Amnesty International no prior warning was given to residents of the homes which were attacked. If it had been given, excessive loss of civilian lives could clearly have been avoided.
“It is tragic to think that these civilian deaths could have been prevented. The onus is on Israeli officials to explain why they chose to deliberately flatten entire homes full of civilians, when they had a clear legal obligation to minimize harm to civilians and the means of doing so,” said Philip Luther.
The report highlights the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s attacks on homes, which have shattered the lives of entire families. Some of the homes attacked were overflowing with relatives who had fled other areas of Gaza in search of safety.
Download [PDF]
Israeli forces have killed scores of Palestinian civilians in attacks targeting houses full of families which in some cases have amounted to war crimes, Amnesty International has disclosed in a new report on the latest Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip.
Families under the Rubble: Israeli attacks on inhabited homes details eight cases where residential family homes in Gaza were attacked by Israeli forces without warning during Operation Protective Edge in July and August 2014, causing the deaths of at least 104 civilians including 62 children. The report reveals a pattern of frequent Israeli attacks using large aerial bombs to level civilian homes, sometimes killing entire families.
“Israeli forces have brazenly flouted the laws of war by carrying out a series of attacks on civilian homes, displaying callous indifference to the carnage caused,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International.
“The report exposes a pattern of attacks on civilian homes by Israeli forces which have shown a shocking disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians, who were given no warning and had no chance to flee.”
The report contains numerous accounts from survivors who describe the horror of frantically digging through the rubble and dust of their destroyed homes in search of the bodies of children and loved ones.
In several of the cases documented in the report, possible military targets were identified by Amnesty International. However the devastation to civilian lives and property caused in all cases was clearly disproportionate to the military advantages gained by launching the attacks.
“Even if a fighter had been present in one of these residential homes, it would not absolve Israel of its obligation to take every feasible precaution to protect the lives of civilians caught up in the fighting. The repeated, disproportionate attacks on homes indicate that Israel’s current military tactics are deeply flawed and fundamentally at odds with the principles of international humanitarian law,” said Philip Luther.
In the single deadliest attack documented in the report, 36 members of four families including 18 children were killed when the three-storey al-Dali building, was struck. Israel has not announced why the building was targeted, but Amnesty International has identified possible military targets within the building.
The second deadliest attack appears to have targeted a member of the al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, who was outside the Abu Jame’ family home. The house was completely levelled killing 25 civilians including 19 children. Regardless of the intended targets, both of these attacks constitute grossly disproportionate attacks and under international law, they should have been cancelled or postponed as soon as it was evident that so many civilians were present in the house.
Israeli officials have failed to give any justification for carrying out these attacks. In some of the cases in this report Amnesty International has not been able to identify any possible military target. In those cases it appears that the attacks directly and deliberately targeted civilians or civilian objects, which would constitute war crimes.
In all of the cases researched by Amnesty International no prior warning was given to residents of the homes which were attacked. If it had been given, excessive loss of civilian lives could clearly have been avoided.
“It is tragic to think that these civilian deaths could have been prevented. The onus is on Israeli officials to explain why they chose to deliberately flatten entire homes full of civilians, when they had a clear legal obligation to minimize harm to civilians and the means of doing so,” said Philip Luther.
The report highlights the catastrophic consequences of Israel’s attacks on homes, which have shattered the lives of entire families. Some of the homes attacked were overflowing with relatives who had fled other areas of Gaza in search of safety.
Download [PDF]
19 oct 2014
A consortium of European pro-Palestine institutions and activists on Saturday called for the need to stand up for Palestinians’ rights, stop Israeli illegal settlement, prosecute Israeli war criminals, and lift the Gaza siege. Addressing a large audience at the European al-Wafaa Conference for the Relief of Gaza, held in the Dutch city of Rotterdam, professor of political science at the University of Amsterdam, Ana Tung, urged the pro-Palestine activists and politicians based in the Netherlands to immediately step in so as to make sure Israel’s terrorism against Palestinians would not re-occur in any form.
Having personally been to Gaza a few years ago, Tung said the situation in Palestine needs serious efforts to work out the tragic state of affairs.
Fridz Idlingz, in charge of the Arab-Austrian Relations Committee, raised alarm bells over the countless hindrances lying ahead of the Gaza reconstruction process particularly Israel’s potential infringement of ceasefire accords during the reconstruction or post-reconstruction phases.
Danish activist Tomi Nelson said the very meaning of a peace process can only see the day when Palestinians restore their rights and freedoms and when the notorious Gaza siege and the Israeli illegal settlement expansion are brought to a standstill.
Jewish-French activist Olivia Zemor drew attention to the need to step up pressure on the Israeli occupation via the so-called Boycott-of-Israel campaigns and the crossing out of all cooperation accords with Israel.
Two Danish female participants, speaking on behalf of a pro-Palestine organization based in Denmark, said they received pledges to donate 15 ambulances and called for urgent intervention to ensure the package be dispatched to the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
Having personally been to Gaza a few years ago, Tung said the situation in Palestine needs serious efforts to work out the tragic state of affairs.
Fridz Idlingz, in charge of the Arab-Austrian Relations Committee, raised alarm bells over the countless hindrances lying ahead of the Gaza reconstruction process particularly Israel’s potential infringement of ceasefire accords during the reconstruction or post-reconstruction phases.
Danish activist Tomi Nelson said the very meaning of a peace process can only see the day when Palestinians restore their rights and freedoms and when the notorious Gaza siege and the Israeli illegal settlement expansion are brought to a standstill.
Jewish-French activist Olivia Zemor drew attention to the need to step up pressure on the Israeli occupation via the so-called Boycott-of-Israel campaigns and the crossing out of all cooperation accords with Israel.
Two Danish female participants, speaking on behalf of a pro-Palestine organization based in Denmark, said they received pledges to donate 15 ambulances and called for urgent intervention to ensure the package be dispatched to the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.
7 july 2014
Update, 8 May 2015
In light of Ayelet Shaked’s appointment as justice minister in the new Israeli coalition government, and renewed interest in her anti-Palestinian views, an image of her now-deleted Facebook posting has been added below, along with the full and complete translation.
Original post
A day before Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khudair was kidnapped and burned alive allegedly by six Israeli Jewish youths, Israeli lawmaker Ayelet Shaked published on Facebook a call for genocide of the Palestinians.
It is a call for genocide because it declares that “the entire Palestinian people is the enemy” and justifies its destruction, “including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure.”
It is a call for genocide because it calls for the slaughter of Palestinian mothers who give birth to “little snakes.”
If Shaked’s post does not meet the legal definition of a call for genocide then nothing does.
Shaked is a senior figure in the Habeyit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party that is part of Israel’s ruling coalition.
Her post was shared more than one thousand times and received almost five thousand “Likes.”
Uri Elitzur, to whom she refers, and who died a few months ago, was leader of the settler movement and speechwriter and close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Here’s a translation of Shaked’s posting:
This is an article by the late Uri Elitzur, which was written 12 years ago, but remained unpublished. It is as relevant today as it was at the time.
The Palestinian people has declared war on us, and we must respond with war. Not an operation, not a slow-moving one, not low-intensity, not controlled escalation, no destruction of terror infrastructure, no targeted killings. Enough with the oblique references. This is a war. Words have meanings. This is a war. It is not a war against terror, and not a war against extremists, and not even a war against the Palestinian Authority. These too are forms of avoiding reality. This is a war between two people. Who is the enemy? The Palestinian people. Why? Ask them, they started.
I don’t know why it’s so hard for us to define reality with the simple words that language puts at our disposal. Why do we have to make up a new name for the war every other week, just to avoid calling it by its name. What’s so horrifying about understanding that the entire Palestinian people is the enemy? Every war is between two peoples, and in every war the people who started the war, that whole people, is the enemy. A declaration of war is not a war crime. Responding with war certainly is not. Nor is the use of the word “war”, nor a clear definition who the enemy is. Au contraire: the morality of war (yes, there is such a thing) is founded on the assumption that there are wars in this world, and that war is not the normal state of things, and that in wars the enemy is usually an entire people, including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure.
And the morality of war knows that it is not possible to refrain from hurting enemy civilians. It does not condemn the British air force, which bombed and totally destroyed the German city of Dresden, or the US planes that destroyed the cities of Poland and wrecked half of Budapest, places whose wretched residents had never done a thing to America, but which had to be destroyed in order to win the war against evil. The morals of war do not require that Russia be brought to trial, though it bombs and destroys towns and neighborhoods in Chechnya. It does not denounce the UN Peacekeeping Forces for killing hundreds of civilians in Angola, nor the NATO forces who bombed Milosevic’s Belgrade, a city with a million civilians, elderly, babies, women, and children. The morals of war accept as correct in principle, not only politically, what America has done in Afghanistan, including the massive bombing of populated places, including the creation of a refugee stream of hundreds of thousands of people who escaped the horrors of war, for thousands of whom there is no home to return to.
And in our war this is sevenfold more correct, because the enemy soldiers hide out among the population, and it is only through its support that they can fight. Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. Actors in the war are those who incite in mosques, who write the murderous curricula for schools, who give shelter, who provide vehicles, and all those who honor and give them their moral support. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.
There are celebrations of mourning and honor in two homes of two despicable murderers. I assume they have put up outdoor mourning structures, and all the dignitaries of the city come to honor the mother and father who raised the devil. Those two houses should be bombed from the air, with intention to destroy and to kill. And it should be announced that we will do this from now on to every home of every martyr.
There is nothing more just, and probably nothing more efficient. Every suicide attacker should know that he takes with him also his parents and his house and some of the neighbors. Every brave Um-Jihad who sends her son to hell should know she’s going with him, along with the house and everything inside it.”
Prevention cannot be focused. That’s how it is in wars. Whatever’s focused cannot prevent. It is not we who started this dastardly war and it is not we who can stop it. The keys to the ceasefire are in the hands of the members of the Palestinian nation. We can only singe their fingers until they wish to use them.
Shocking words like this from Israeli leaders have an impact. And they are words backed by actions.
When Israel rampages against the entire Palestinian population, subjecting them to what Human Rights Watch calls “collective punishment,” it sends a clear message to the Israeli public that any Palestinian is fair game for “revenge.”
In light of Ayelet Shaked’s appointment as justice minister in the new Israeli coalition government, and renewed interest in her anti-Palestinian views, an image of her now-deleted Facebook posting has been added below, along with the full and complete translation.
Original post
A day before Palestinian teenager Muhammad Abu Khudair was kidnapped and burned alive allegedly by six Israeli Jewish youths, Israeli lawmaker Ayelet Shaked published on Facebook a call for genocide of the Palestinians.
It is a call for genocide because it declares that “the entire Palestinian people is the enemy” and justifies its destruction, “including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure.”
It is a call for genocide because it calls for the slaughter of Palestinian mothers who give birth to “little snakes.”
If Shaked’s post does not meet the legal definition of a call for genocide then nothing does.
Shaked is a senior figure in the Habeyit Hayehudi (Jewish Home) party that is part of Israel’s ruling coalition.
Her post was shared more than one thousand times and received almost five thousand “Likes.”
Uri Elitzur, to whom she refers, and who died a few months ago, was leader of the settler movement and speechwriter and close advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Here’s a translation of Shaked’s posting:
This is an article by the late Uri Elitzur, which was written 12 years ago, but remained unpublished. It is as relevant today as it was at the time.
The Palestinian people has declared war on us, and we must respond with war. Not an operation, not a slow-moving one, not low-intensity, not controlled escalation, no destruction of terror infrastructure, no targeted killings. Enough with the oblique references. This is a war. Words have meanings. This is a war. It is not a war against terror, and not a war against extremists, and not even a war against the Palestinian Authority. These too are forms of avoiding reality. This is a war between two people. Who is the enemy? The Palestinian people. Why? Ask them, they started.
I don’t know why it’s so hard for us to define reality with the simple words that language puts at our disposal. Why do we have to make up a new name for the war every other week, just to avoid calling it by its name. What’s so horrifying about understanding that the entire Palestinian people is the enemy? Every war is between two peoples, and in every war the people who started the war, that whole people, is the enemy. A declaration of war is not a war crime. Responding with war certainly is not. Nor is the use of the word “war”, nor a clear definition who the enemy is. Au contraire: the morality of war (yes, there is such a thing) is founded on the assumption that there are wars in this world, and that war is not the normal state of things, and that in wars the enemy is usually an entire people, including its elderly and its women, its cities and its villages, its property and its infrastructure.
And the morality of war knows that it is not possible to refrain from hurting enemy civilians. It does not condemn the British air force, which bombed and totally destroyed the German city of Dresden, or the US planes that destroyed the cities of Poland and wrecked half of Budapest, places whose wretched residents had never done a thing to America, but which had to be destroyed in order to win the war against evil. The morals of war do not require that Russia be brought to trial, though it bombs and destroys towns and neighborhoods in Chechnya. It does not denounce the UN Peacekeeping Forces for killing hundreds of civilians in Angola, nor the NATO forces who bombed Milosevic’s Belgrade, a city with a million civilians, elderly, babies, women, and children. The morals of war accept as correct in principle, not only politically, what America has done in Afghanistan, including the massive bombing of populated places, including the creation of a refugee stream of hundreds of thousands of people who escaped the horrors of war, for thousands of whom there is no home to return to.
And in our war this is sevenfold more correct, because the enemy soldiers hide out among the population, and it is only through its support that they can fight. Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. Actors in the war are those who incite in mosques, who write the murderous curricula for schools, who give shelter, who provide vehicles, and all those who honor and give them their moral support. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.
There are celebrations of mourning and honor in two homes of two despicable murderers. I assume they have put up outdoor mourning structures, and all the dignitaries of the city come to honor the mother and father who raised the devil. Those two houses should be bombed from the air, with intention to destroy and to kill. And it should be announced that we will do this from now on to every home of every martyr.
There is nothing more just, and probably nothing more efficient. Every suicide attacker should know that he takes with him also his parents and his house and some of the neighbors. Every brave Um-Jihad who sends her son to hell should know she’s going with him, along with the house and everything inside it.”
Prevention cannot be focused. That’s how it is in wars. Whatever’s focused cannot prevent. It is not we who started this dastardly war and it is not we who can stop it. The keys to the ceasefire are in the hands of the members of the Palestinian nation. We can only singe their fingers until they wish to use them.
Shocking words like this from Israeli leaders have an impact. And they are words backed by actions.
When Israel rampages against the entire Palestinian population, subjecting them to what Human Rights Watch calls “collective punishment,” it sends a clear message to the Israeli public that any Palestinian is fair game for “revenge.”
Shaked evidently has much worse in mind. Here’s an image of the original Facebook post, which Shaked subsequently deleted: Israeli lawmaker Ayelet Shaked’s now deleted Facebook posting calling for genocide of the Palestinians.
Hate trickles down In another sickening example of the country’s endemic racism, Israeli website shtieble.net, which is oriented toward an Orthodox Jewish audience, referred to lynching victim Muhammad Abu Khudair in a headline as a “little terrorist.”
on Twitter בינתיים באתר החרדי שטיבל: נער ערבי בן 17 שנשרף בעודו בחיים=מחבל pic.twitter.com/h7bgtO2sHT
— LiatBS (@liatbs) July 7, 2014 The hate trickles down. These two images were posted on the photo-sharing website Instagram – they are among hundreds posted on various social media sites inciting “revenge” and celebrating violence against Palestinians.
Hate trickles down In another sickening example of the country’s endemic racism, Israeli website shtieble.net, which is oriented toward an Orthodox Jewish audience, referred to lynching victim Muhammad Abu Khudair in a headline as a “little terrorist.”
on Twitter בינתיים באתר החרדי שטיבל: נער ערבי בן 17 שנשרף בעודו בחיים=מחבל pic.twitter.com/h7bgtO2sHT
— LiatBS (@liatbs) July 7, 2014 The hate trickles down. These two images were posted on the photo-sharing website Instagram – they are among hundreds posted on various social media sites inciting “revenge” and celebrating violence against Palestinians.
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The first image, posted on 3 July, apparently shows an Israeli soldier with a weapon on his shoulder and the word “revenge” with two bloody daggers tatooed or drawn on his back.
In the second image, posted on 6 July, the badly injured face of Palestinian American 15-year-old Tariq Abukhdeir appears next to an image of a pig. Abukhdeir was savagely beaten by Israeli forces in eastern occupied Jerusalem last Thursday. He is a cousin of Muhammad Abu Khudair. |
Not “fringe”
In a New York Times article today, Isabel Kershner presents the rampant racism that apparently led six Israeli youths to lynch Muhammad Abu Khudair as a “fringe” phenomenon.
It is no such thing. Incitement comes from the top.
Shaked is not alone in inciting this kind of genocidal hatred and it was Netanyahu who was the first to incite “vengeance” after the bodies of three murdered Israeli teenagers were found in the West Bank one week ago.
And the Times is not alone in helping to whitewash it.
I strongly recommend David Sheen’s latest article for Muftah on the phenomenon of racism in Israel and its widespread denial: “Jewish Groups’ Whitewash of Israeli Racism Ensures It Will Fester.”
With thanks to Ofer Neiman for assistance with research and Dena Shunra for translation.
In a New York Times article today, Isabel Kershner presents the rampant racism that apparently led six Israeli youths to lynch Muhammad Abu Khudair as a “fringe” phenomenon.
It is no such thing. Incitement comes from the top.
Shaked is not alone in inciting this kind of genocidal hatred and it was Netanyahu who was the first to incite “vengeance” after the bodies of three murdered Israeli teenagers were found in the West Bank one week ago.
And the Times is not alone in helping to whitewash it.
I strongly recommend David Sheen’s latest article for Muftah on the phenomenon of racism in Israel and its widespread denial: “Jewish Groups’ Whitewash of Israeli Racism Ensures It Will Fester.”
With thanks to Ofer Neiman for assistance with research and Dena Shunra for translation.
