14 july 2019
Michael Lynk, the UN special rapporteur for the situation in Palestine, on Friday raised concern about the lack of human rights accountability for Israeli violations in Palestine, warning that such situation encourage further territorial annexation.
Lynk's remarks came in Amman of Jordan following his week-long visit, where he met with Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations after he was denied entry to Palestine by the Israeli occupation authority.
”The United Nations has stated on numerous occasions that the Israeli settlements are illegal, its annexation of east Jerusalem is unlawful, and its violations of the human rights of the Palestinians breach international covenants and treaties," he said, adding Israel's refusal of his entry was against its obligations as a UN member.
“Now is the time for the international community to hold Israel fully accountable for its actions, and to determine whether Israel’s role as the occupying power has crossed the bright red line into illegality.”
Lynk's remarks came in Amman of Jordan following his week-long visit, where he met with Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations after he was denied entry to Palestine by the Israeli occupation authority.
”The United Nations has stated on numerous occasions that the Israeli settlements are illegal, its annexation of east Jerusalem is unlawful, and its violations of the human rights of the Palestinians breach international covenants and treaties," he said, adding Israel's refusal of his entry was against its obligations as a UN member.
“Now is the time for the international community to hold Israel fully accountable for its actions, and to determine whether Israel’s role as the occupying power has crossed the bright red line into illegality.”
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The African Group has called on the United Nations (UN) to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians.
The African Group – sometimes known as the Group of African States – is a regional assembly within the UN comprised of 54 member states from the African continent. It represents 28 per cent of all UN members. The group yesterday addressed the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, one item of which discussed the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). The group’s representative, Andre da Conceicao Domingos of Angola, called for the international community to act to end Israel’s now 52-year-old occupation and the blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007, as well as to end Israel’s illegal settlement project, imprisonment of Palestinians and policy of collective punishment. Some members of the African Group also submitted individual statements, with Nigeria’s representative Muhammad Isa stressing the need to avoid double standards in the implementation of international law and human rights. He also demanded accountability from Israel in this regard. South Africa’s representative Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko also addressed the session, telling the council that “Israel’s occupation is virtually indistinguishable from annexation”. Mxakato-Diseko also condemned Israel’s theft of Palestinian water resources and pointed out that while Israel markets desalination and water technology to the world, it is responsible for water scarcity in the oPt. African states have long been outspoken supporters of the Palestinian cause. This weekend the grandson of iconic South African leader Nelson Mandela, Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, attended London’s Palestine Expo – Europe’s biggest Palestine exhibition which shed light on the plight of Palestinian refugees and those living under Israel’s occupation. Addressing the conference, Mandela said that “we have a moral duty to support BDS and to support the Palestinian struggle,” referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Mandela congratulated the Palestine Expo for “creating a unique experience which proudly celebrates Palestinian art, history and culture whilst fostering discussion and activism in the UK”, but emphasised to audiences that the event “reminds us of the reality of a nation that has now withstood 71 years of the Nakba,” during which 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes. Mandela was also critical of an attempt by anti-Palestine group UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) to cancel the Palestine Expo. Last week it emerged that UKLFI had made several attempts to cancel the exhibition, claiming its organisers are “major promoters” of BDS. The group also tried to convince the German owners of London Olympia – where the event took place – to cancel the exhibition in light of a non-binding motion recently passed in Germany claiming that BDS is “anti-Semitic”. The South African MP slammed these moves, claiming they “reflect the |
desperation that Apartheid Israel and its lackeys are resorting to in silencing peaceful popular protest”. He stressed: “We say to them and all who seek to deny our basic human rights such as freedom of expression – hands off BDS, hands off Palestine Expo.”
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
~Middle East Monitor/Days of Palestine
8 july 2019
US Special Representative for International Negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, has revealed the US administration’s requirements for reopening the PLO’s representative office in Washington.
“The PLO office in Washington can be reopened once negotiations are resumed,” Greenblatt said. “Palestinians can contact the White House directly without having to travel to the US embassy after the closure of the US Consulate in Jerusalem.”
“The PLO office could have been kept open if it was involved in a peace process,” Greenblatt told local al-Ayyam newspaper. “Because President Abbas threatened Israel with going to the ICC, we had to close it.”
He said that the US were not able to sign the resolution because after the declaration of Jerusalem, President Abbas boycotted us, and it was impossible for us to actually sign a decision on the organization’s office because you did not participate in the peace process. According to his speech.
“Maybe that can be fixed. I am not a lawyer now, I have to check him out, when you participate in the peace process.”
Regarding the closure of the consulate in Jerusalem, he said: “We have a responsibility to American taxpayers. If we have a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem because we have now recognized that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the presence of two diplomatic missions in Jerusalem is a waste of money from taxpayers. “
“What we have done is that we have established a unit for Palestinian affairs at the embassy, the same group of people who have the same knowledge of dealing with the Palestinians and are in the same building. The integration took place in the embassy, so I know it is different, but I understand that in this regard The link between the US government and the Palestinian people will be the same as before.
“More importantly, if someone is uncomfortable dealing with the embassy from the Palestinian side, anyone is welcome to contact me directly at the White House, and they do not have to deal with the embassy,” Greenblatt said.
In another context, Greenblatt said that the US administration did not decide when to publish the political vision of the solution. “We did not decide when to make the political vision. We consider the Israeli elections to decide whether to launch them before or after the elections before or after the formation of the government. President Trump decision soon.
But he said that the American team understands that things will not be easy. “It will not be a surprise,” he said. “Anyone who believes that we can have a plan that everyone accepts immediately does not understand this conflict, so we are quite ready for a very difficult launch and impossible to reverse.”
“We understand that no one can come up with a plan that everyone accepts, but I think the only way to overcome this conflict is for everyone to agree that no one can make a perfect plan, and the parties have to go into the room together and sit down and talk about each issue and negotiate On every issue until the agreement. “
The US administration faced great difficulties in bringing participants to the economic workshop in Bahrain, prompting Greenblatt to stress that if the Palestinian and Israeli sides did not reach the negotiating room, things would fail.
“But if we do not get to the room because people are not ready to enter, that’s what happened with the Palestinian side in Bahrain, nothing will happen and we understand that,” Greenblatt said.
“This will not be the first time that the peace process has failed. If that happens, the idea that the United States, the United Nations or the European Union has some magic formula to make this conflict disappear is not true, so people either accept the fact that they need to go in and do the hard work of whether they can get out of it. The other side or want to be unwilling to enter the room, this is the reality and we understand that. “
“The second part of the Bahrain workshop now is that we will receive feedback from all participants, that is to say all countries and all businessmen, I hope so many others, and of course we would like to get feedback from the Palestinian leadership, We think it will be important comments. “
“We do not want to make it a political reaction, in the sense that the political comments will come to the political plan and be compatible with each other, but I think the Palestinian leadership must understand that, although they say otherwise, the conference represented a great success, “People believe in the Palestinian people, they want to help the Palestinian people, and they can create an incredible economy for the Palestinian people if we reach peace, and I do not want to miss this opportunity for the Palestinian leadership.”
“Separately, we want to receive reactions from ordinary Palestinians, so we will be inviting invitations. There may be one idea: to invite Palestinian journalists to the White House or to be somewhere neutral, and to make our team make direct offers to the Palestinian media And make the Palestinian media able to monitor and explain the meaning of the plan for people. “
“The economic plan is not final, we have done a lot of work on it, Jared Kouchner and many other members of the administration, but we know it still needs to work and more observations we receive, especially from the Palestinians, then the plan becomes better.”
“We are not trying to impose anything on the Palestinians, but if it happens over the coming months when we announce the political plan, if the Palestinians and the Israelis can get into a room together and resolve this process, that’s what they can be waiting for, I know that some people on the Palestinian side say that we are trying to settle the national cause of the Palestinian people. We are not, but we firmly believe that without a serious economic plan, there will be no successful peace agreement. “
Asked about his continued Twitter comments against the Palestinians, Greenblatt said: “I do not condemn the Palestinians, but some of the statements of the leadership, some of which are not everything, and I have to get things out of the text about terrorism, glorification of terrorists, Official American or talk about the plan, and this is very different from the Israelis who have no comparison in this aspect. There was a Palestinian woman who was killed by stones that an Israeli had allegedly thrown at me, but I was turned away. And the case of the rabbi who made racist statements about the Palestinians, I talked about it. “
“But what I’m not doing is getting involved in politics. People are asking me: Why do not I Twitter against Netanyahu if he makes a statement? It is a political statement that I will not interfere in. I do not interfere with President Abbas’s political statements. I am speaking only when it directly affects peace efforts, terrorism or such things. “
“The PLO office in Washington can be reopened once negotiations are resumed,” Greenblatt said. “Palestinians can contact the White House directly without having to travel to the US embassy after the closure of the US Consulate in Jerusalem.”
“The PLO office could have been kept open if it was involved in a peace process,” Greenblatt told local al-Ayyam newspaper. “Because President Abbas threatened Israel with going to the ICC, we had to close it.”
He said that the US were not able to sign the resolution because after the declaration of Jerusalem, President Abbas boycotted us, and it was impossible for us to actually sign a decision on the organization’s office because you did not participate in the peace process. According to his speech.
“Maybe that can be fixed. I am not a lawyer now, I have to check him out, when you participate in the peace process.”
Regarding the closure of the consulate in Jerusalem, he said: “We have a responsibility to American taxpayers. If we have a diplomatic mission in Jerusalem because we have now recognized that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the presence of two diplomatic missions in Jerusalem is a waste of money from taxpayers. “
“What we have done is that we have established a unit for Palestinian affairs at the embassy, the same group of people who have the same knowledge of dealing with the Palestinians and are in the same building. The integration took place in the embassy, so I know it is different, but I understand that in this regard The link between the US government and the Palestinian people will be the same as before.
“More importantly, if someone is uncomfortable dealing with the embassy from the Palestinian side, anyone is welcome to contact me directly at the White House, and they do not have to deal with the embassy,” Greenblatt said.
In another context, Greenblatt said that the US administration did not decide when to publish the political vision of the solution. “We did not decide when to make the political vision. We consider the Israeli elections to decide whether to launch them before or after the elections before or after the formation of the government. President Trump decision soon.
But he said that the American team understands that things will not be easy. “It will not be a surprise,” he said. “Anyone who believes that we can have a plan that everyone accepts immediately does not understand this conflict, so we are quite ready for a very difficult launch and impossible to reverse.”
“We understand that no one can come up with a plan that everyone accepts, but I think the only way to overcome this conflict is for everyone to agree that no one can make a perfect plan, and the parties have to go into the room together and sit down and talk about each issue and negotiate On every issue until the agreement. “
The US administration faced great difficulties in bringing participants to the economic workshop in Bahrain, prompting Greenblatt to stress that if the Palestinian and Israeli sides did not reach the negotiating room, things would fail.
“But if we do not get to the room because people are not ready to enter, that’s what happened with the Palestinian side in Bahrain, nothing will happen and we understand that,” Greenblatt said.
“This will not be the first time that the peace process has failed. If that happens, the idea that the United States, the United Nations or the European Union has some magic formula to make this conflict disappear is not true, so people either accept the fact that they need to go in and do the hard work of whether they can get out of it. The other side or want to be unwilling to enter the room, this is the reality and we understand that. “
“The second part of the Bahrain workshop now is that we will receive feedback from all participants, that is to say all countries and all businessmen, I hope so many others, and of course we would like to get feedback from the Palestinian leadership, We think it will be important comments. “
“We do not want to make it a political reaction, in the sense that the political comments will come to the political plan and be compatible with each other, but I think the Palestinian leadership must understand that, although they say otherwise, the conference represented a great success, “People believe in the Palestinian people, they want to help the Palestinian people, and they can create an incredible economy for the Palestinian people if we reach peace, and I do not want to miss this opportunity for the Palestinian leadership.”
“Separately, we want to receive reactions from ordinary Palestinians, so we will be inviting invitations. There may be one idea: to invite Palestinian journalists to the White House or to be somewhere neutral, and to make our team make direct offers to the Palestinian media And make the Palestinian media able to monitor and explain the meaning of the plan for people. “
“The economic plan is not final, we have done a lot of work on it, Jared Kouchner and many other members of the administration, but we know it still needs to work and more observations we receive, especially from the Palestinians, then the plan becomes better.”
“We are not trying to impose anything on the Palestinians, but if it happens over the coming months when we announce the political plan, if the Palestinians and the Israelis can get into a room together and resolve this process, that’s what they can be waiting for, I know that some people on the Palestinian side say that we are trying to settle the national cause of the Palestinian people. We are not, but we firmly believe that without a serious economic plan, there will be no successful peace agreement. “
Asked about his continued Twitter comments against the Palestinians, Greenblatt said: “I do not condemn the Palestinians, but some of the statements of the leadership, some of which are not everything, and I have to get things out of the text about terrorism, glorification of terrorists, Official American or talk about the plan, and this is very different from the Israelis who have no comparison in this aspect. There was a Palestinian woman who was killed by stones that an Israeli had allegedly thrown at me, but I was turned away. And the case of the rabbi who made racist statements about the Palestinians, I talked about it. “
“But what I’m not doing is getting involved in politics. People are asking me: Why do not I Twitter against Netanyahu if he makes a statement? It is a political statement that I will not interfere in. I do not interfere with President Abbas’s political statements. I am speaking only when it directly affects peace efforts, terrorism or such things. “
July 8, 2019 / Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) / France, Europe
In a report [pdf] published today, the US corporate watchdog SumOfUs documented that the French insurance giant AXA is investing over $91 million in Israel’s five largest banks and Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, all companies directly involved in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people.
A growing global coalition responded to the report findings today by pledging more protests, and launching an online campaign expected to deliver thousands of emails to AXA’s CEO, calling on AXA to respect international law and divest from the complicit Israeli companies.
The new SumOfUs research report, “Axa: Financing War Crimes [pdf]”, details AXA’s investments in the Israeli banks, which are the backbone of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and in Elbit Systems, which profits from arming Israel’s military.
One AXA subsidiary, AXA IM, recently divested from Elbit Systems, but another AXA affiliate, AXA Equitable Holdings, has retained investments in Elbit. In December 2018, HSBC divested from Elbit Systems, following protests by progressive British organizations.
The SumOfUs report states:
“As long as these companies support the expansion, construction and maintenance of the illegal Israeli settlements and associated infrastructure, in addition to the unlawful use of armed force against Palestinians, AXA’s investments will make it complicit in serious violations of international law, potentially guilty of French law violation, and definitely in contradiction with its responsible investment policies.”
Imen Habib, coordinator of BDS France, a leading member of the Coalition Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid, said:
“Israel can only maintain its regime of occupation and apartheid over the Palestinian people through support from governments and companies such as AXA. As long as AXA maintains its investments in these Israeli banks and Elbit Systems, protests by our growing global coalition will intensify. With Israel and the US, with the European Union’s complicity, plotting to undermine Palestinian rights to justice, freedom and self-determination, it’s even more vital that principled civil society coalitions hold complicit companies such as AXA to account.”
Over the last year, the Coalition to Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid, which has grown to include groups in nine countries in Europe and the Arab world, has organized coordinated days of protest outside AXA offices, a protest outside of AXA’s annual meeting in Paris, and other actions.
Alys Samson Estapé, the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s Europe Coordinator, said:
An insurer should protect lives. Instead, AXA is profiting from the destruction of Palestinian lives and livelihoods. Palestinian civil society has called on companies to cut ties of complicity with companies directly involved in Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights.
To meet its obligations to respect international law, AXA must divest, following the lead of investors like the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church (UMC), the Dutch pension fund PGGM and the Norwegian, Luxembourg and New Zealand governments.
The five Israeli banks that AXA invests in – Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, Israel Discount Bank and First International Bank of Israel – all provide “direct and substantial” support to the maintenance and development of Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and the Israeli research organization Who Profits [pdf].
Elbit Systems has manufactured cluster munitions banned by international law, and white phosphorus shells, both used against Palestinian civilian populations. It also builds drones used to attack Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, and provides technology for Israel’s apartheid wall, ruled a violation of international law.
SumOfUs reported that AXA’s investments in the five Israeli banks and Elbit Systems increased from $66 million in 2018 to $91 million in 2019, despite AXI IM’s divestment from Elbit Systems.
In a report [pdf] published today, the US corporate watchdog SumOfUs documented that the French insurance giant AXA is investing over $91 million in Israel’s five largest banks and Israel’s largest private arms manufacturer, Elbit Systems, all companies directly involved in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinian people.
A growing global coalition responded to the report findings today by pledging more protests, and launching an online campaign expected to deliver thousands of emails to AXA’s CEO, calling on AXA to respect international law and divest from the complicit Israeli companies.
The new SumOfUs research report, “Axa: Financing War Crimes [pdf]”, details AXA’s investments in the Israeli banks, which are the backbone of Israel’s illegal settlement enterprise, and in Elbit Systems, which profits from arming Israel’s military.
One AXA subsidiary, AXA IM, recently divested from Elbit Systems, but another AXA affiliate, AXA Equitable Holdings, has retained investments in Elbit. In December 2018, HSBC divested from Elbit Systems, following protests by progressive British organizations.
The SumOfUs report states:
“As long as these companies support the expansion, construction and maintenance of the illegal Israeli settlements and associated infrastructure, in addition to the unlawful use of armed force against Palestinians, AXA’s investments will make it complicit in serious violations of international law, potentially guilty of French law violation, and definitely in contradiction with its responsible investment policies.”
Imen Habib, coordinator of BDS France, a leading member of the Coalition Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid, said:
“Israel can only maintain its regime of occupation and apartheid over the Palestinian people through support from governments and companies such as AXA. As long as AXA maintains its investments in these Israeli banks and Elbit Systems, protests by our growing global coalition will intensify. With Israel and the US, with the European Union’s complicity, plotting to undermine Palestinian rights to justice, freedom and self-determination, it’s even more vital that principled civil society coalitions hold complicit companies such as AXA to account.”
Over the last year, the Coalition to Stop AXA Assistance to Israeli Apartheid, which has grown to include groups in nine countries in Europe and the Arab world, has organized coordinated days of protest outside AXA offices, a protest outside of AXA’s annual meeting in Paris, and other actions.
Alys Samson Estapé, the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s Europe Coordinator, said:
An insurer should protect lives. Instead, AXA is profiting from the destruction of Palestinian lives and livelihoods. Palestinian civil society has called on companies to cut ties of complicity with companies directly involved in Israel’s violations of Palestinian human rights.
To meet its obligations to respect international law, AXA must divest, following the lead of investors like the Presbyterian Church USA and the United Methodist Church (UMC), the Dutch pension fund PGGM and the Norwegian, Luxembourg and New Zealand governments.
The five Israeli banks that AXA invests in – Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Mizrahi Tefahot, Israel Discount Bank and First International Bank of Israel – all provide “direct and substantial” support to the maintenance and development of Israel’s illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, according to reports by Human Rights Watch and the Israeli research organization Who Profits [pdf].
Elbit Systems has manufactured cluster munitions banned by international law, and white phosphorus shells, both used against Palestinian civilian populations. It also builds drones used to attack Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip, and provides technology for Israel’s apartheid wall, ruled a violation of international law.
SumOfUs reported that AXA’s investments in the five Israeli banks and Elbit Systems increased from $66 million in 2018 to $91 million in 2019, despite AXI IM’s divestment from Elbit Systems.
