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Assissination, siege and war crimes
January 9, 2001
"The Israeli government, both as a group and
as individuals, bears full responsibility for
the crimes that were committed. We will do
everything possible, including declaring
members of this government war criminals who
are eligible for trial by the world tribunal."
Palestinian Authority "Minister"
As Ariel Sharon approaches the pinnacle of power in Israel, everyone is getting
more and more nervous. Yasser Arafat's crowd is even wondering if the Israelis
will use the next excuse to bring their regime to an end; or maybe just to knock
off more of its leadership, possibly including some of the bigger players. There
are even those who believe there is a conspiracy between the Israelis and Arafat
to use their expanded assassination policy to eliminate those who might join
in a coup against Arafat's rule. All this may well account for the new escalation
by some in the Arafat Authority to publicly accuse the Israelis of "war crimes",
upping the ante
PALESTINIANS ACCUSE ISRAEL OF WAR CRIMES
JERUSALEM (Reuters - 1/09) - The Palestinian Authority wants members of the Israeli
government to face war crimes charges for what the Palestinians say is a policy
of assassinating their activists, a Palestinian official said Tuesday.
The Israeli army has killed a number of Palestinians who it says carried out
or planned to carry out attacks on Israelis, but it denies having a policy of
political assassination or committing any war crimes.
The Palestinian Authority says more than 30 Palestinian activists have been assassinated
since the start of a Palestinian uprising for independence in late September.
"The Israeli government, both as a group and as individuals, bears full responsibility
for the crimes that were committed," Palestinian Information Minister Yasser
Abed Rabbo said in a statement.
"We will do everything possible, including declaring members of this government
war criminals who are eligible for trial by the world tribunal," he said.
He appeared to be referring to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
He did not say which Israeli ministers he considered should face charges.
Israel's deputy defense minister, Ephraim Sneh, told Reuters last week that security
forces were authorized to "hit precisely those top operatives of terrorist organizations
who mastermind and organize" attacks on Israelis.
But Israeli officials say such attacks are not carried out against Palestinian
political figures.
Earlier Tuesday, a lawyer said the series of killings were against Israeli law
and contravened the Geneva Convention.
The lawyer, Naila Atiaa, filed a petition calling on Israel's Supreme Court to
stop the army. She said she was asking for the Supreme Court to issue an injunction
until it ruled on her petition.
The Palestinians say one victim of the attacks was Thabet Thabet, a local political
leader of President Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction who was shot dead in the West
Bank town of Tulkarm last month.
At least 305 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs and 43 other Israelis have died in
almost 15 weeks of violence.
ISRAEL ESCALATES ITS POLICY OF POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS
We, members of Palestinian civil society, urgently call on the international
community to pressure Israel to end its policy of systematically assassinating
Palestinian leaders in the Occupied Territories.
In the past two months, over 20 Palestinian activists and leaders have been murdered
by Israeli security forces in an attempt to silence the recent uprising for independence.
Following the latest assassination of Dr. Thabet
Thabet outside his home on December 31 2000, even Israeli political figures have
denounced the murder policy. Dan Meridor, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs
and Defense Committee was quoted in the Israeli newspaper Ha
'aretz (January 4, 2001) as stating, "a democratic state cannot adopt a policy
of liquidation as a form of deterrence and punishment". Justice Minister Yossi
Beilin and other Israeli political leaders have also demanded
that the Israeli security services stop assassinating Palestinian activists.
These acts of state-sponsored terrorism at the hands of Israel are illegal according
to the Fourth Geneva Convention, which prohibits "any measure of such a character
as to cause physical suffering or extermination to persons living under occupation".
UN Security Council Resolution 1322 adopted on October 7, reaffirmed Israeli's
status as the "occupying power" in these areas and denounced Israel's use of
excessive force against Palestinian
civilians. Source: Palestine Monitor - January 8.
GAZA STRIP AND WEST BANK WITNESS UNPRECEDENTED SIEGE AND CLOSURE
Never since 1967 have Gazans faced such harsh Israeli military measures aimed
at curbing the movement of people and goods within and outside the Strip, which
has now been divided into four parts by the Israeli army. The
Gaza International airport and the Rafah crossing point to Egypt have also been
sealed. Several witnesses report that life has become unbearable forcing business
to halt and students to stay home as they are unable to
reach their schools and universities. To many Gazans, the full closure and military
siege is reminiscent of the Ansar III prison erected in the area by the Israeli
army during the first Intifada (1987-1993), only on a much
larger scale.
The Union of Palestinian Students and other local student organizations have
written letters of protest to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, asking the international
organization to put pressure on Israel to stop "its war,
military and economic siege of the Palestinian Territories and allow students
to resume their schooling". While student representatives point out that the
international community may not physically prevent Israel from
imposing its current siege, they hope that unveiling the Jewish state's current
policy of economic suffocation and humiliation will show the rest of the world
that it is not serious about peace.
Israeli authorities justify this heightened state of closure, enforced in the
wake of a car bomb explosion in Netanya last week, on the grounds that it will
prevent further attacks. In reality, the internal and external
closure of the West Bank and Gaza, in place since the beginning of the Intifada
three months ago, is merely a collective punishment measure and an economic weapon
to force Palestinians to surrender. As a result of the
internal closure since September 28, 2000, the Palestinian economy has incurred
losses that amount to US$ 388 million. Some US$ 117 million was also lost in
the form of Palestinian labor income from Israel due to the
external closure of the Territories. Moreover, as a form of reprisal immediately
following the bomb explosion in Netanya, Israel once again stopped all payment
to the Palestinian Authority of the various taxes collected on its behalf, a
retaliatory measure initially implemented during the first weeks of the Intifada.
The current siege will further harm the Palestinian economy, which was otherwise
forecast to grow by 5% in 2001, to a point where it may take years for it to
recover. By its systematic attempt to destroy the Palestinian economy, Israel
is deliberately threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state.
The West Bank has hardly been spared as the Israeli army's tanks recently encircled
villages located in area A (under full Palestinian control) in clear violation
of the Oslo accord and related agreements. It is worth
mentioning that many areas of the West Bank and Gaza where the Israeli army is
currently stationed to enforce its closure should have been liberated as per
the Wye Plantation accord and subsequent agreements, which illustrates
yet again Israel's total disregard for agreements it nonetheless willfully endorsed.
International law, soon to be reinforced by the International Criminal Court
to which Israel has finally agreed to adhere, forbids collective punishment such
as that suffered by Palestinians under full closure. Putting a civilian population
under siege also violates the Fourth Geneva Convention, which deals specifically
with the responsibilities of military powers during periods of prolonged occupation.
We, members of Palestinian civil society are deeply concerned by the short-term
and longer-term psychological and economic impact of Israel's prolonged policy
of closure and encirclement. We urgently appeal to the international community
to insist that Israel lift the siege on Palestinian villages and towns. We add
our voice to the widespread call for international protection to prevent further
escalation of the situation. Source: Palestine Monitor - January 9.
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January 2001
Leila Khalid - refugee from Haifa, fighter for Palestine (January 31, 2001) When Palestinian liberation fighter Leila Khaled
hijacked her first plane in 1969, she became
the international pin-up of armed struggle.
Then she underwent cosmetic surgery so she could
do it again. Thirty years on, she talks to
Katharine Viner about being a woman at war.
The end of Israel? (January 30, 2001) At a time with rampant current events breaking daily, often hourly,
there is much need to remember the importance of sometimes taking time
for reflection, of sometimes stepping back to contemplate both the past
and the future.
Sharon - the REAL legacy of Clinton and Barak (January 30, 2001) As the Barak era fades from view -- more short-lived than anyone predicted
just a long year and a half ago -- his epitaph is already being written
and Ariel Sharon's government and policies are already being debated.
Looming civil war in Palestine (January 29, 2001) Fears are growing in the international
community that Yasser Arafat's
Palestinian Authority (PA) is heading
for collapse.
Arafat blasts, Peres maneuvers, Barak sinks (January 29, 2001) For all practical purposes Ehud Barak is gone and Yasser Arafat is now
desperately trying to save his own skin.
Barak's 3 no's, and Bush's 7 minute call (January 28, 2001) The Americans leaked it, a 7-minute Saturday call from the new U.S.
Pres to the sinking Israeli PM -- leaked its brevity that is.
The Bomb and Iraq (January 28, 2001) As war clouds gather in the Middle East public opinion is being prepared
for a possible regional war that could likely include a combined Western/Israeli
effort to take out the weapons of mass destruction in Syria, Iraq and Iran.
The "nuts" in the next room (January 27, 2001) In recent years Israel's most important and serious newspaper, Ha'aretz, has
taken to not only reporting Palestinian affairs much more deeply but to interviewing
major Palestinian personalities abroad.
Get ready for Prime Minister Sharon (January 27, 2001) The new Ma'ariv-Gallop poll
questioned a particularly large sample of 1,100 people, putting special emphasis
on the Arab population and new immigrants.
Panic in the Barak camp (January 27, 2001) All the tricks and lies of the Israeli Labor Party have now come back to haunt
it. Barak, never a politician, bears the brunt of popular blame for all the
political deceptions and tricks that have for so long accumulated.
War alert in Europe and Middle East (January 27, 2001) We've noted the "war fever" growing in the region for some months now. There's considerable anxiety about who may now strike first.
Israeli and Jewish soul-searching (January 26, 2001) The Intifada, coupled with Israeli brutality and recognition that the term
"Apartheid Peace" is in fact applicable after all, are having an effect on at
least some Israelis and some Jews; even while Ariel Sharon marches to the Prime
Minister's office in Jerusalem (and maybe because of this).
"Disastrous" American intervention (January 26, 2001) ou've got to wonder about these Palestinian "negotiators". What others saw
decades ago those who have been most involved are apparently beginning to see
only now.
Sharon marches on, Barak stumbles on (January 25, 2001) The 554,000 Arabs eligible to vote represent 12.3
percent of the electorate. The Arab turnout in 1999
was 76%, and 95% voted for Barak.
An alliance of the outcasts? Iran, Iraq and Syria (January 24, 2001) So the Israelis are going to elect war-criminal tough-guy General Ariel Sharon
to be Prime Minister. This after the most top-heavy military-intelligence government
in peacetime history for Israel -- that of General Ehud Barak.
General Powell says no to sanctions on behalf of Corporate America (January 23, 2001) Hamas has struck again and the "negotiations" are "suspended"
again.
Two Israelis were assassinated by masked men while eating at a restaurant
in Tulkarm. Though this time it was Israelis who were killed it was another
warning to Yasser Arafat. Last week similarly masked men in Gaza killed
a
close Arafat friend, the head of Palestinian TV in Gaza, just as it was rumored
Arafat was about to sign some kind of new deal with the Israelis.
EyeWitness Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa (January 23, 2001) The depressing element of this entire struggle
is that the Arafat regime survives and...will
be the one to ultimately determine the fate
of the Palestinian people.
War Fever - Israel and Syria (January 23, 2001) Tensions continue to grow in the Middle East region, armies continue to prepare,
public opinion continues to be manipulated. Though Ehud Barak too is a militarist
-- a former commando, General, and Chief of Staff of the Army -- Ariel Sharon
brings with him historical baggage and war-criminal image which could easily
contribute to a clash of armies sooner rather than later, even if not fully intended
by either side.
EyeWitness Gaza (January 22, 2001) A year or so ago, I visited the Mouwasi area in Gaza. It was a green paradise,
on top, and in the midst, of white sand dunes. I particularly remember this Guava
grove, where the guavas hanging from the trees were the
size of large oranges; I hadn't seen anything like that ever before.
Reaping what they have sown (January 22, 2001) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak abruptly cut short
a radio interview on Sunday after being asked about
his poor showing in opinion polls, prompting speculation
he was buckling under pressure of a February 6 election.
Israel's president departs (January 21, 2001) There has never been, and there probably
never will be, a president who had such
fantastic relations with the State of
Israel. It's unbelievable.
Ross officially join Israeli lobby (January 19, 2001) During the Lebanon War of 1982 -- some think of it as Sharon's war -- the
Israelis and their American Jewish friends felt they had a difficult time when
it came to public relations. And when the American Marines pulled out, symbolizing
the failure of the Israelis to force Lebanon into the American-Israeli orbit
and out of the Syrian-Arab one, the Israelis realized that they had much power
in Washington on Capitol Hill, but not enough power with the media, intellectuals,
and think-tanks.
War preparations in Israel (January 19, 2001) It's always called "The Peace Process" but more behind-the-scenes the whole Middle
East region continues to be an arms bazaar with more weapons being sold to the
countries in the area than ever before, most by American arms merchants and allies.
Palestinian TV Head killed (January 17, 2001) It may have been a warning to Arafat not to dare sign any new agreements, as
has been rumored in the past few days he was planning to do tomorrow in fact.
It may have been another Israeli assassination - though usually they don't
take such risks and use such methods, strongly preferring instead to use high-technology
and long-distance means.
Iraq, Saddam and the Gulf War (January 17, 2001) It was 10 years ago yesterday that the U.S. unleashed the power of the Empire
against the country of Iraq after created the regional conditions that lead to
the Iraq-Iran and then the Iraq-Kuwait-Saudi wars. In that period of time somewhere
in the number of 1.5 million Iraqis have been killed, the history of the Middle
East altered, the future of the region more uncertain and dangerous than ever.
Last night in Gaza ghetto (January 16, 2001) It's quite a game of international political brinkmanship. At the same time
that Yasser Arafat is being tremendously pressured, and quite possibly further
tricked, to sign some kind of "framework agreement" with Clinton and Barak before
it is too late -- his regime is also being threatened with extinction both from
within and without.
Generals Sharon and Barak as politicians (January 16, 2001) With Jan 20 (Clinton leaves office) and Feb 6 (Barak likely to be defeated by
Sharon) fast approaching, desperation and near panic are evident in the traditional
power centers, including various Arab capitals.
"Unilateral separation" one way or another (January 15, 2001) The separation plan would go into effect...in
the event of one of the following three scenarios:
as a response to a unilateral declaration of
statehood on the part of the Palestinians; under
a severe security threat; or as part of an
agreement with the Palestinian Authority
Up in arms against Apartheid (January 13, 2001) At the end of the second millennium, three million Palestinians are imprisoned
in ghettoes by the very man whom the Palestinian leadership hailed as the saviour
of peace. Netanyahu had driven the peace ship off course. Barak scuttled it.
Locking in Oslo (January 12, 2001) The Americans and the Israelis continue to try to twist the screws. Their
minimum goal now is to "lock in" the "Oslo Peace Process" approach to the conflict.
It may be an "Apartheid Peace", and it may have resulted in considerable bloodshed,
but even so it is leading to a form of "Palestinian Statehood" and "separation"
that the Israelis strongly desire as the best alternative for themselves.
Sharon charges on (January 12, 2001) he long-serving (now recalled to Cairo) Egyptian Ambassador to Israel was quoted
saying last week that if an Israeli-Palestinian agreement isn't reached in the
next two weeks there won't be an agreement for the next two decades.
"Sharon leads to peace" (January 11, 2001) The last time the Israeli "Arab vote" was pushed toward Shimon Peres for Prime
Minister -- back in 1996 -- there was much resistance. Then Peres was acting
Prime Minister after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Army had
just committed the Qana massacre in Southern Lebanon, and Peres was busy trying
to cover it up.
Grandfather Sharon (January 10, 2001) If the polls remain as disastrous as they now are for Ehud Barak, expect him
to be pushed out and Shimon Peres substituted. Barak has no chance; Peres has
some, especially with the "Arab vote".
The Dangerous weeks, months ahead (January 10, 2001) Guys like Commando-General-Prime Minster Ehud Barak don't go easily from the
scene. Barak's daring-do was lavishly praised just a few years ago; now it has
even the military types fretting. No telling just what Barak and friends might
try in the next few weeks.
Assissination, siege and war crimes (January 9, 2001) The Israeli government, both as a group and
as individuals, bears full responsibility for
the crimes that were committed. We will do
everything possible, including declaring
members of this government war criminals who
are eligible for trial by the world tribunal."
Palestinian Authority "Minister"
Soul-searching Israelis (January 9, 2001) The "liberals" among them, the most cosmopolitan and internationally-oriented
of the Israelis, are now getting extra nervous. Not only is Ariel Sharon coming
to power, not only is regional war possible, not only are the cold treaties with
Egypt and Jordan in jeopardy, but even Israel's future has come into question
Israel acts while Arafat talks (January 8, 2001) srael continues to take major steps designed to shrink, isolate and control
the Palestinian areas forever. The policy is termed "unilateral separation"
and it is linked to bringing about a so-called "Palestinian State" that serves
Israeli interests, making everything worse than ever for the Palestinian "natives".
Clinton's Israel speech (January 8, 2001) On his way out the Presidential door Bill Clinton went to New York City to speak
to his American Jewish supporters and further grease his way toward his future.
This is the Bill Clinton that turned the U.S. government over to the Israeli/Jewish
lobby in his years in office; of course pretending otherwise.
Specter of an "ugly future" (January 5, 2001) Lofty, humanitarian goals like 'peace
and democracy'? No, America's primary
interest in the Middle East is effective
control of the world's most important
energy reserves, Noam Chomsky tells
Ha'aretz
Prime Minister Sharon (January 5, 2001) Did President Hindenburg and the German intelligentsia feel this way in 1930s
when they saw that Adolf Hitler, and his brownshirt thugs, were about to be elected
to power?
Barak and Sharon (January 5, 2001) While the Labor "Doves" are busy running ads in Arab papers showing dismembered
corpses in Palestinian Refugee Camps -- with the caption "Sharon" -- the reality
is that Generals Ehud Barak and Ariel Sharon are more two of a kind than anything
else.
Arab nations add their voices to the chorus of despair (January 4, 2001) All chance of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians in the near
future is vanishing, destroyed by hardening opinions on both sides,
continuing violence, the precarious position of the political leaders
involved and disagreements over key issues.
Darling of American Jewry (January 4, 2001) Over the years, most of the strongest
advocates of Israel have usually been
people who are not Jewish....[I] look
forward to working with him...
Barak publicly warns of regional war (January 4, 2001) Amid veiled threats from the Israelis to start targeting even more senior Arafat
Regime persons, and even to bring the Arafat "Palestinian Authority" to an end,
Ehud Barak has also started publicly talking about the possibility of regional
war.
No deal for Arafat (January 3, 2001) In particular, the Palestinians are concerned that
the proposed settlement would create Palestinian
territorial islands separated from each other by
Israeli territory and therefore not viable as a nation.
They object to a proposed land swap that would allow
some Israeli settlers to remain on the West Bank in
exchange for land that the Palestinians claim is
desert and a toxic waste dump.
Arafat rushes to Washington (January 2, 2001) Clinton and the Israelis have set the stage for the last act of their multi-year
drama attempting to trap the Palestinians on controlled reservations and calling
it "an end to the conflict". But like a modern-day computer game the users can
interact and change the outcome to various scenarios.
Top Palestinian Leader in the Arafat Regime (January 2, 2001) The whole house of political quicksand built by Bill Clinton at the behest of the Israelis (and popularly known as the "Peace Process") is bubbling, steaming, and swallowing many of its key participants.
Arafat hangs up on threatening Clinton (January 1, 2001) The coming issue of TIME magazine reports that Arafat hung up the phone receiver
on Clinton a few days ago, turning to an aide and saying: "He's threatening me!
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