M I D - E A S T R E A L I T I E S - QUOTE OF THE WEEK
While Israeli officials - from both Labor and Likud - continue to lie their way forward pushing the Palestinians from one disaster to another and institutionalizing a novel form of Middle Eastern apartheid in the still occupied territories, human rights groups and the United Nations continue to attack Israeli policies.
Earlier this year, under tremendous pressure to sidetrack the report, Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali released an unprecedented U.N. report that savagely attacked Israel for the unprecedented massacre at the U.N. base in Qana, Lebanon as well as for the massive cover-up that followed. A short time later Amnesty International took what for it was an unprecedented step in releasing its own report confirming that of the U.N.
Recently, another U.N. special committee, this one the U.N. Anti-colonialism Committee, has found that Israeli policies toward the Palestinians have actually worsened since the Oslo and subsequent agreements -- plus of ocurse the human rights record of Yasser Arafat's "Palestinian authority" that now works with in tandem with the Israelis is abominable.
"One of the characteristics of the Israeli occupation, the beating of Palestinian suspects by Israeli civilians, soldiers, and police officers, mirrors a culture of sadism", the U.N. Committee Chairman, Leonardo da Silva from Sri Lanka, recently stated.
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