Israel's settlements are on shaky ground

This opinion was published in the LA Times June 28, 2009. By Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch.

The debate over Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories is often framed in terms of whether they should be "frozen" or allowed to grow "naturally." But that is akin to asking whether a thief should be allowed merely to keep his ill-gotten gains or steal some more. It misses the most fundamental point: Under international law, all settlements on occupied territory are unlawful. And there is only one remedy: Israel should dismantle them, relocate the settlers within its recognized 1967 borders and compensate Palestinians for the losses the settlements have caused.

Removing the settlements is mandated by the laws of the Geneva Convention, which state that military occupations are to be a temporary state of affairs and prohibit occupying powers from moving their populations into conquered territory. The intent is to foreclose an occupying power from later citing its population as "facts on the ground" to claim the territory, something Israel has done in East Jerusalem and appears to want to do with much of the West Bank.

To see the rest of the article: LA Times.

Bibi comments on the Iranian protests

Talk to the hand!

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu (informally called Bibi) went on NBC's Meet the Press this past Sunday to talk Iran and peace efforts. He largely failed to communicate any new positions or say anything largely surprising. He did, however, make clear his deference to President Obama and subsequently, Israel's intent to wait for U.S. approval on action over the Iranian nuclear program.

However, I must point out Bibi's blind language. In concern to the danger of oppressive regimes: "There is no question we would all like to see a different Iran [Israel] with different policies. Remember, this is a regime that not only represses its own people. Andrei Sakharov, the great Russian scientist and humanist, said that a regime that oppresses its own people sooner or later will oppress its neighbors and, certainly, Iran [Israel] has been doing that." I am glad to see that Bibi owned up to Israel's oppressive policies in concern to the occupation and its own Arab citizens; oh, wait, he didn't, darn.

Furthermore, Bibi spoke on the domestic response to his Bar-Ilan University speech. He almost said what we would all like to hear: "What I am suggesting is that if we are asked to recognize the Palestinian state as the nation state of the Palestinian people, then the Palestinians should recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people who have been deprived of a land of their own and of security for so long." However, Bibi could not see through his own turnspeak and sadly ended the interview with such a backwards statement. Shouldn't Israel recognize a Palestinian people? Who have been deprived of their land and their safety for so long? I'll let you decide.

To see the interview and read the whole transcript, Click here: Bibi on Meet the Press.

All in a Day's Work: Beating and Torturing Children

University at Buffalo Students for Justice in Palestine will occasionally publish articles of interest, which we believe will provide particular insight into the daily lives of Palestinians. The following article was published in Counter Punch and can be found here. Thanks to Professor Holstun of the University at Buffalo for alerting us to the article.

All in a Day's Work for the IDF
Beating and Torturing Children
By JONATHAN COOK, Nazareth.

The rights of Palestinian children are routinely violated by Israel’s security forces, according to a new report that says beatings and torture are common. In addition, hundreds of Palestinian minors are prosecuted by Israel each year without a proper trial and are denied family visits.

The findings by Defence for Children International (DCI) come in the wake of revelations from Israeli soldiers and senior commanders that it is “normal procedure” in the West Bank to terrorise Palestinian civilians, including children.

Col Itai Virob, commander of the Kfir Brigade, disclosed last month that to accomplish a mission, “aggressiveness towards every one of the residents in the village is common”. Questioning included slaps, beatings and kickings, he said.

As a result, Gabi Ashkenazi, the head of the armed services, was forced to appear before the Israeli parliament to disavow the behaviour of his soldiers. Beatings were “absolutely prohibited”, he told legislators.

Col Virob made his remarks during court testimony in defence of two soldiers, including his deputy commander, who are accused of beating Palestinians in the village of Qaddum, close to Nablus. One told the court that “soldiers are educated towards aggression in the IDF [army]”.

Col Virob appeared to confirm his observation, saying it was policy to “disturb the balance” of village life during missions and that the vast majority of assaults were “against uninvolved people”.

Last week, further disclosures of ill-treatment of Palestinians, some as young as 14, were aired on Israeli TV, using material collected by dissident soldiers as part of the Breaking the Silence project, which highlights army brutality.

For the rest of the article, please click here.

Israeli PM concedes little in speech- BBC News

Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East Editor

The fact that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu felt it necessary to make a speech at all about a Palestinian state shows that American pressure works.

US President Barack Obama has taken every opportunity he can to restate his view that the only chance of Middle Eastern peace lies with the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Had Mr Netanyahu been prepared to concede the principle of some form of statehood for Palestinians after the Israeli elections in February he might have emerged with a centre-right coalition rather than one dominated by the hard right.

But he did not feel he had to until the Americans indicated he should.

The Israeli prime minister's body language suggested that he was doing it under diplomatic duress.

One Israeli journalist observed that he looked like someone vomiting up the words "Palestinian state".

That was because the idea, however hedged around with conditions, is anathema to his ideology.

To see the rest of the article: BBC News

Action Alert: Buffalo News op-ed

The Buffalo News published an editorial by Mitch Albom this morning, which questions if the Islamic world heard Obama's speech in Cairo. The article was written in response to a bombing this past week in Pakistan, which killed 40 Pakistanis in prayer, in their mosque. The author criticizes the whole Islamic worlds response to the incident:

"If something like that happened in America, we’d be talking about it for a year. Yet it happens in Pakistan, and I don’t see Muslim leaders around the world screaming for this to stop. I don’t see Arab world presidents or prime ministers or princes lamenting the bloodshed in speeches that call for an end to the violence.

"In fact, there’s not a whole lot beyond a few condemnations and the head-shaking acceptance that this is the way it is, the way it has been for centuries and the way it will be for the years to come. Eyes for eyes. Teeth for teeth. Murder in the name of God."

This generalized critique of the Islamic world stinks of American exceptionalism and ethnocentrism; exceptionalism in his "not here in America" attitude and ethnocentrism in his latent allusion to Islamic cultural savagery. Meanwhile, Mr. Albom gives Obama the status of a failed savior- the Western missionary who has tried so hard to save the doomed culture of the East; but was simply not listened to. It is this latent ethnocentrism that we must be on guard for.

The article went on to to blast Islamic fundamentalism without equally doing justice to other forms of religious fundamentalism: "Remember, Taliban sympathizers claim they are aligned with the purest and most stringent form of their religion. These aren’t atheists bombing mosques. These are people who consider themselves true believers. So true, they would kill for it." Now, the suicide bombing he was referring to was incredibly unjust, inhumane and disgusting; however, it is unfair to say that religious fundamentalism affects only Islamic society. This is a problem even here in the United States. Only a week ago, a Christian fundamentalist walked into a church and killed a doctor who performed late-term abortions. One conservative commentator appears to have condoned the murder! And in Palestine, Jewish Fundamentalists have for years violently attacked Palestinians. In one memorable case, a Jewish fundamentalist walked into a mosque during early morning prayers and shot over 30 Palestinians dead; this was in Hebron. There is no exception for the West; fundamentalism is an evil that permeates all religions, Western or Eastern.

In summary, Mr. Albom has not appeared to listen to Obama. The U.S. is not at war with Islam. There is no clash of Fundamentalism's; rather, it is only there if you choose to see it. This attitude will prove fatal if we continue to effect change across the Middle East through a modern form of "cultural imperialism." We cannot "bring democracy" to the Middle East; rather, we must work within the culutral attitudes prevalent in the area and listen to what the people want, not what we would like to see. This will bring change.

Renewed Call For an End to House Demolitions in the Jordan River Valley

Amnesty International has reported the demolitions by Israeli authorities of the homes of 18 families in the Jordan River valley, a supposed security zone. The Palestinian families have lived in the area for over sixty years, and are fighting to stay. However, the Israeli authorities are taking increasingly severe measures to evict them-denying them access to water and confiscating their trailers and tractors. And while the Palestinians continue to be harassed, Israeli authorities continue to build up settlements in the very same area. These settlements, which are illegal under international law, continue to grow despite calls by the US president to freeze their growth. Without continued International pressure to stop these house demolitions, the ability of these farmers to resist eviction becomes increasingly more difficult.

Please click the following for more information: Palestinian homes at risk.

UBSJP will be creating a letter for our supporters to sign and send to those Israeli and International authorities who are in a position to act.

Hamas letter to Obama

The following Hamas letter to Obama was sent out to subscribers of the institute for public accuracy listserv.

"As Obama was traveling to Cairo, the Palestinian group Hamas, which won the most recent Palestinian election, sent a letter to President Obama through the feminist peace group CODEPINK, which just had a delegation in Gaza. Here is the text of the letter:"

His Excellency President Barack Obama,
President of the United States of America.
June 3rd 2009
Dear Mr. President,

We welcome your visit to the Arab world and your administration's initiative to bridge differences with the Arab-Muslim world.

One long-standing source of tension between the United States and this part of the world has been the failure to resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.

It is therefore unfortunate that you will not visit Gaza during your trip to the Middle East and that neither your Secretary of State nor George Mitchell have come to hear our point of view.

We have received numerous visits recently from people of widely varied backgrounds: U.S. Congressional representatives, European parliamentarians, the U.N.-appointed Goldstone commission, and grassroots delegations such as those organized by the U.S. peace group CODEPINK.

It is essential for you to visit Gaza. We have recently passed through a brutal 22-day Israeli attack. Amnesty International observed that the death and destruction Gaza suffered during the invasion could not have happened without U.S.-supplied weapons and U.S.-taxpayers money.

Human Rights Watch has documented that the white phosphorus Israel dropped on a school, hospital, United Nations warehouse and civilian neighborhoods in Gaza was manufactured in the United States. Human Rights Watch concluded that Israels use of this white phosphorus was a war crime.

Shouldn't you see first-hand how Israel used your arms and spent your money?

Before becoming president you were a distinguished professor of law. The U.S. government has also said that it wants to foster the rule of law in the Arab-Muslim world.

The International Court of Justice stated in July 2004 that the whole of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem are occupied Palestinian territories designated for Palestinian self-determination, and that the Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal.

Not one of the 15 judges sitting on the highest judicial body in the world dissented from these principles.

The main human rights organizations in the world, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have issued position papers supporting the right of the Palestinian refugees to return and compensation.

Each year in the United Nations General Assembly nearly every country in the world has supported these principles for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict. Every year the Arab League puts forth a peace proposal based on these principles for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Leading human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch have also stated that Israels siege of Gaza is a form of collective punishment and therefore illegal under international law.

We in the Hamas Government are committed to pursuing a just resolution to the conflict not in contradiction with the international community and enlightened opinion as expressed in the International Court of Justice, the United Nations General Assembly, and leading human rights organizations. We are prepared to engage all parties on the basis of mutual respect and without preconditions.

However, our constituency needs to see a comprehensive paradigm shift that not only commences with lifting the siege on Gaza and halts all settlement building and expansion but develops into a policy of evenhandedness based on the very international law and norms we are prodded into adhering to.

Again, we welcome you to Gaza which would allow you to see firsthand our ground zero. Furthermore, it would enhance the US position; enabling you to speak with new credibility and authority in dealing with all the parties.

Very Truly Yours,

Dr. Ahmed Yousef
Deputy of the Foreign Affairs Ministry
Former Senior Political Advisor
to Prime Minister Ismael Hanniya

To see the full text of the letter, click here: Institute for Public Accuracy.