"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.