GAZA: ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES (IDF) RAID KILLS EIGHT, INCLUDING A MOTHER AND HER FOUR CHILDREN: Yet this time the Italian Ambassador did not request a suspension of the UN Security Council meeting in protest.
Rome, April 29th, 2008
Yesterday Israeli tank shells killed eight civilians, including a mother, her four children ages seven, six and four, and a fifteen month old baby. They were having breakfast when they died under the rubble of their home in Beit Hanoun, in the northernmost part of the Gaza Strip.
Last Wednesday, April 23rd, a meeting of the UN Security Council dedicated to the Middle-East was suspended at the request of Italian Ambassador Marcello Spatafora in protest of a statement by Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi, who compared “the actual conditions in Gaza to the situation of Nazi’s concentration camps” during the Second World War. I have never said, and never will say, that Israeli policies towards the Palestinian people are the same as those adopted by Nazis against Jews, communists, homosexuals and gypsies. The uniqueness of the Holocaust belongs to our European history, the same is true for the persecutions against Jews, and we have said “never again.” Therefore, I don’t blame our Ambassador for raising objections to comparisons of Nazi and Israeli policies, as made by the Libyan Representative when talking about Gaza.
Yet, I strongly disagree with our Ambassador for not taking any initiative to stop the illegal military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, or to bring the collective punishment of the exhausted civilian population in Gaza to an end. Day after day, we hear of civilians dying, of bombardment, of house demolitions, of land confiscations: why doesn’t our Ambassador feel indignation on behalf of those women, children and elderly who in Gaza have no bread left to eat? And also for those in the Strip who are sick and are dying since they can’t access medical treatment? Or, finally, for those students in Gaza who, having obtained scholarships from renowned Universities abroad, can’t leave the Strip because Gaza is closed and its population imprisoned as in an open-air jail? On April 24th, The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugee aid (UNRWA) was forced to stop food deliveries due to the cut-off of fuel by the Israeli Authorities.
Is this not enough of an outrage for our Ambassador? Isn’t it sufficiently outrageous that Israel has refused to grant exit permits to the 1,562 Palestinian patients who need to leave Gaza for urgent treatments? Or that 133 Palestinians have already died in the Strip because of these refusals? I call on our Ambassador to go to Gaza and to see the little bodies of premature babies who may die for the lack of electricity or fuel due to the Israeli siege, remembering though, that even if he wanted to go he might not be able to: the Israeli Authorities, as the occupier, decide who can enter or exit. Even Nobel Peace Prize winner and former US President Jimmy Carter was recently denied entry.
It’s really time for Italian diplomats, EU governments and the entire International Community stop using indignation as a hypocritical tool for a ‘double standard’ policy. They must start listening and supporting the frequent denunciations of Israel’s human rights violations: denunciations coming from Palestinian, Israeli and International organizations, as well as the UN. Even the World Bank, just yesterday, highlighted the dramatic deterioration of Palestinian economy in the Occupied Territories, where, due to the “restrictions imposed by Israel to the freedom of movement and of access in the West Bank,” 35% of the population lives in conditions of absolute poverty. In 2007 the economic growth fell to zero, with continued stagnation expected in 2008. The unemployment rate is currently 23% in West Bank and 33% in Gaza Strip in spite of the 7.7 billion dollars in aid promised by donor countries.
After 40 years of occupation and 60 years of Nakbah, Palestinians have the right not only to aid but above all a future, a future of justice and peace and the creation of their own State: autonomous, sovereign, independent, based on ‘67 borders, with Jerusalem as shared capital and in peaceful co-existence and in security with the Israeli State. They request not just indignation but freedom, independence, legality and real steps from the Israeli Government and the International Community. These could begin simply by ending the military occupation, implementing UN resolutions (that have languished for years), and by ensuring the respect of universal rights. All this will bring freedom and security to Palestinians and also to Israelis: the children of Sderot will no longer have to live in fear of the illegal barrages of rockets raining on their town.
Further information: Luisa Morgantini +39 348 39 21 465 Rome office: +39 06 69 95 02 17 www.luisamorgantini.net
Following a lengthy study of the implementation of Due Process rights in the IDF Military Courts in the West Bank, Yesh Din published its comprehensive report entitled “Backyard Proceedings.”
The military justice system in the Occupied Territories tries thousands of Palestinian civilians prosecuted by the Israel Defense Forces every year. The Military Courts, which have existed for four decades, operate virtually under complete darkness. The report, “Backyard Proceedings,†provides the Israeli and international public, for the first time in more than 15 years, with information about a system that serves as a cornerstone of Israeli rule in the West Bank. The report examines the degree to which this system upholds and implements the due process rights of Palestinian detainees and defendants brought before the Military Courts. The report evaluates, among other things, the realization of a defendant’s right to know the charges against him, to prepare an effective defense, and to enjoy the presumption of innocence. The report further assesses how the principle of a public trial is applied in the Military Courts, how minors are adjudicated in the system and other related subjects. Additionally, the report examines whether the Security Legislation applying to the Occupied Territories meets the requirements of international law regarding due process rights. Through hundreds of observations, the report provides findings about the proceedings in the courtrooms.
The findings of the research described in the report reveal a series of grave defects and lapses in the implementation of due process rights in the Military Courts. On the basis of those findings Yesh Din offers recommendations for reforming legislation and policies.
Download the report’s summary (PDF) Download the full report (PDF)
Established in March 2005, Yesh Din is comprised of volunteers who have organized to oppose the continuing violation of Palestinian human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Right to education campaign of An-Najah National University
our RESPONSE to uMSu motion ‘peace through education’
Our concerns
We at the Right to Education Campaign of An-Najah National University (ANU) are concerned that students of the University of Manchester are being asked to vote on a motion that is defamatory and unrepresentative of the actual situation. We urge the University of Manchester Student Union to remove it from the agenda of the General Meeting on 14th November 2007.
Introduction to An-Najah National University
The motion ‘Peace Through Education’ is defamatory because it repeatedly implies that ANU and its Student Council promotes, facilitates or has links with terrorism. ANU is a non-governmental public university governed by a board of Trustees located in the West Bank city of Nablus. With over 16,500 students enrolled in its 19 faculties and two colleges, it is the largest university in the West Bank. ANU has been active in the service of the Palestinian community at the local and national levels and it is an integral part of local community development in almost all fields. ANU has become a cradle and an incubator for a plethora of social and civic activities. Each year the university hosts tens of activities for local and national NGOs: lectures, workshops, conferences, exhibitions, and artistic performances.
Moreover, ANU is the only university in the West Bank that has a full-fledged FM Radio Station that offers a multitude of educational, cultural, and news programs. The FM station is being utilized to enhance the interaction between the university and the local community and has a wide listenership in the Governorate of Nablus and throughout the Northern West Bank.
Likewise, ANU main library has a video conference facility that is open for the use of students and community organizations to conduct seminars and workshops with other students and organizations in other parts of Palestine and around the world thus sharing valuable experiences gained in different localities and districts in several fields and build bridges between communities in Palestine and around the globe (see www.najah.edu). Each year, a student council is voted in by the student population. Neither the University nor its Student Council is a terrorist organisation, and the implication that they are is insulting.
Occupation
The motion ‘Peace Through Education’ fails to be representative of the actual situation because it omits any reference to the occupation. The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem (named the Occupied Palestinian Territories) are under military occupation by Israel. Regardless of UN resolutions deeming the occupation illegal and demanding Israel’s withdrawal, and the International Court of Justice’s July 2004 finding that the Separation Wall is illegal, 8th June this year marked the occupation’s 40th anniversary. Israel, as an occupying power, has the responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect its occupied population and to not allow its citizens to settle on occupied land.
Yet, the following statistics accumulated since September 2000 indicate Israel’s flagrant disregard for the law, human life and dignity, and clearly show the high human cost of the Israeli military occupation:
4,345 Palestinians killed by Israelis (1,027 Israelis killed by Palestinians)
971 Palestinian children killed by Israelis (119 Israeli children killed by Palestinians)
31,531 Palestinians injured by Israelis (7,633 Israelis injured by Palestinians)
4,170 Palestinian homes demolished (0 Israeli homes demolished)
40% Palestinian unemployment (9% Israeli unemployment)
223 ‘Jewish-only’ settlements and outposts built on Palestinian land
65 UN resolutions issued to Israel, none to OPT.
(Sources: If Americans Knew – www.ifamericansknew.org, B’Tselem, the Israeli Human Rights Information Center – www.btselem.org, Peace Now – www.peacenow.org.il)
The above figures place side by side Palestinian and Israeli deaths and injuries to show the disproportionate use of force against the Palestinian population. All deaths and injuries are to be regretted, indeed no single death or injury is any less devastating than another, but Palestinian casualties often go under-reported or not reported at all.
Education under occupation
The motion ‘Peace Through Education’ is additionally unrepresentative of the situation because it speaks merely of ‘students being regularly disrupted on their way to university by Israeli checkpoints’, education ‘being infringed upon’ and ‘hindered’. The impact of the Israeli military occupation on higher education can be measured in many ways, all of which defy this mild description. Here is a brief summary of the ways in which the educational process is obstructed at An-Najah as a direct consequence of the occupation:
56 students killed as a result of the occupation; 1 lecturer, Professor Khaled Salah, and his son (16) shot dead in their home by Israeli military;
According to today’s estimates, over 100 students and six members of staff are in prison, some held without charge;
Approximately 10,000 students daily or weekly subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment at checkpoints;
Thousands of hours lost waiting at checkpoints; Approximately 30 students of Palestinian origin living in Israeli with Israeli identity cards having to enter Nablus illegally to study (Israeli ID holders are not permitted to enter Nablus); Prevention of students from Gaza from studying at An-Najah, which is the only West Bank or Gazan university to offer some subjects such as Optometry; Denial of visas to foreign students and lecturers and Palestinian lecturers with foreign nationalities to take up teaching posts or places on courses; Barring of the importation of educational equipment and material.
The accusations of radicalism against ANU and its students show total ignorance of the real situation and belittle the unbearable suffering endured by Palestinian society under the yoke of the Israeli military occupation. ANU students and staff regularly express their condemnation of the atrocities committed by the Israeli military occupation authorities and they have the right to do so. Many students and employees lost family members, or have family members in Israeli jails. Many of our students and staff members have been injured themselves, tortured, and are humiliated on a daily basis on checkpoints. The expressions of condemnation are not the source of violence but are a direct result of the violence practiced on Palestinian society. The Israeli military occupation is the ultimate manifestation of violence and terrorism against an unarmed, defenceless, civilian population.
We urge the proposers of the motion ‘Peace Through Education’ to inform themselves more about the impact of the occupation upon the Occupied Palestinian Territories by reading, for example: the UN’s ‘The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank’ -
http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/TheHumanitarianImpactOfIsraeliInfrastructureTheWestBank_full.pdf), or Amnesty International’s 2007 report ‘Enduring occupation: Palestinians under Siege in the West Bank‘ – (http://www.amnesty.org.uk/uploads/documents/doc_17772.pdf) or
B’Tselem’s 2007 report ‘Ground to a Halt: Denial of Palestinian’s Freedom of Movement in the West Bank’ -
http://www.btselem.org/english/publications/summaries/20070807_ground_to_a_halt.asp
Additionally, we urge the University of Manchester Student Union to withdraw the motion ‘Peace Through Education’ because it is unrepresentative and defamatory.
Right to Education Campaign
An-Najah National University
Nablus
11th November 2007
By Robert D. Novak
Monday, April 9, 2007; 12:00 AM
(link)
BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Hani Hayek, an accountant who is the Christian mayor of the tiny majority-Christian Palestinian village of Beit Sahour, was angry last week as he drove me along the Israeli security wall. “They are taking our communal lands,” he said, pointing to the massive Israeli settlement of Har Homa. “They don’t want us to live here. They want us to leave.”
Har Homa, dwarfing nearby dwellings of Beit Sahour, seemed larger than when I saw it at Holy Week a year ago. It is. The Israeli government has steadily enlarged settlements on the occupied West Bank, and I could see both the construction at Har Homa and road building for a dual transportation system for Israelis and Palestinians.
Jimmy Carter raised hackles by titling his book about the Palestinian question “Peace Not Apartheid.” But Palestinians allege this is worse than the former South African racial separation. Nearing the 40th anniversary of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank, the territory has been so fragmented that a genuine Palestinian state and a “two-state solution” seem increasingly difficult.
The security wall has led to virtual elimination of suicide bombings and short-term peace. But life is hard for Palestinians, whose deaths because of conflict increased 272 percent in 2006 while Israeli casualties declined. In a minor incident last week of the type that goes unnoticed internationally, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) troopers killed a Palestinian man accused of illegally entering a firing zone while collecting metal scraps to sell. The Britain- based organization Save the Children estimates that half the children in the occupied territories are psychologically traumatized.
Palestinians argue that things have gotten worse because of pervasive feelings of hopelessness. Students at Bethlehem University (run by the Catholic Brothers of De La Salle, with an enrollment that is 70 percent Muslim) sounded more pessimistic and radicalized than a year ago. Ahmad al Issa, a fourth-year journalism student, was held for a year in an Israeli prison on charges of throwing stones at Israeli troops. Now he has bought into the libel that Jewish employees at the World Trade Center were warned in advance of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The U.S.-backed boycott following the election victory of the extremist group Hamas in early 2006 has made the Palestinian Authority destitute, crippling government services. Deprived of help from the authority, with the economy in a shambles, city governments are bankrupt. Bethlehem’s mayor, Victor Batarseh, has a special problem because tourists and pilgrims no longer stay overnight in the city of Christ’s birth. Out of money and credit, he is ready to lay off the city’s 165 staffers.
Batarseh, a U.S. citizen who practiced thoracic surgery in Sacramento, is pinned down in Bethlehem. A Christian and political independent who calls himself a private-enterprise democrat, Batarseh is on the Israeli blacklist because he contributed to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which the State Department has designated a terrorist organization. Denied permits for Jerusalem, the mayor must drive to Amman, Jordan, to get to meetings in Europe.
Contact with the PFLP is not a requirement for being holed up by the Israel Defense Forces. Bethlehem University students cannot get to Jerusalem, a few minutes’ drive away, unless they sneak in illegally. The students from the separated Gaza enclave have to take classes from Bethlehem via the Internet.
Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey was at the university the same day I was, and faculty members could hardly believe a real live member of Congress was there. Smith later was given a tour of Jerusalem to see with his own eyes that the separation barrier in most places is a big, ugly and intimidating wall, not merely a fence.
Smith, an active Catholic layman, was drawn here because of the rapid emigration of the Holy Land’s Christian minority. They leave more quickly than Muslims because contacts on the outside make them more mobile. Peter Corlano, a Catholic member of the Bethlehem University faculty, told Smith and me: “We live the same life as Muslims. We are Palestinians.”
Concerned by the disappearance of Christians in the land of Christianity’s birthplace, Smith could also become (as I did) concerned by the plight of all Palestinians. If so, he will find precious little company in Congress.