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International petition to the UN General Assembly to set up a special international penal court to try Israeli war crimes, notably in the Gaza Strip

Because it was in our name that in 1945 the United Nations charter was signed…

Because it was in our name that in 1947 the Partition plan for Palestine was approved by the UN General Assembly…

Because it was in our name that in 1949 the Geneva Conventions were signed…

Because not a single UN resolution on Palestine, also adopted in our name, has been implemented by the state of Israel ; and because the latter has, since its foundation, constantly violated the UN principles and the international conventions, in complete impunity and with growing cynicism, We, citizens of the world, have the duty today to remind the international community of its obligations !

We solemnly request

that the UN General Assembly make use of its power to create subsidiary bodies in order to set up an ad-hoc penal court (as was done for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda by the Security Council) and try the crimes committed in Palestine.

As of today we demand :

– The end of all and any exaction against the Palestinian people and an international protection of the latter

– The full and complete lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip

– The mandatory implementation of all UN resolutions on Palestine and the prescription of international law, under the constraint of international sanctions if need be. Israel is a state like any other, with the same rights and the same duties.

We request specifically that any accord of cooperation with Israel be suspended until that state respects the UN resolutions.

To sign, click here : http://www.france-palestine.org/article11097.html

SOURCE

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‘Dear Mr. Lieberman, in General, You Are not Welcome Here’

Avigdor Lieberman: Israel's foreign minister is visiting Berlin on Thursday.
Avigdor Lieberman: Israel's foreign minister is visiting Berlin on Thursday.

By Erich Follath

Throughout his political career, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has rattled sabers in the Middle East. On Thursday, Germany’s foreign minister is meeting with the ultranationalist. Here’s the dressing down Frank-Walter Steinmeier should give him when the press isn’t listening.

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Appeal For Israel Not to Deny Entry to the Pope on Visit to Palestine/Israel

6 May 2009

Fearing further repetition of Israel’s ongoing practice of arbitrarily denying entry to foreign nationals trying to enter the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, the Campaign for the Right to Enter the oPt is issuing an open appeal to the Israeli government not to deny entry to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.

In light of the hundreds of cases of foreign-passport holders—teachers, doctors, businesspersons, students, husbands and wives, clergy, pilgrims and caretakers, just to name a few—who have been turned back at ports of entry under Israel’s control while trying to reach their place of work, their families or their churches, representatives of the Campaign remain concerned by Israel’s continued failure to provide a clear, transparent and lawful policy regarding who can enter the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

On the occasion of the visit of His Holiness, the Campaign repeats its demand that Israel stop the practice of arbitrarily denying entry to foreign-passport holders wishing to visit or reside in the oPt and reminds the public that nobody is immune. While Israel is unlikely to stamp “Denied Entry” on the Pope’s Vatican passport, as it did to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, Professor Richard Falk, a few days before last Christmas, the Campaign wishes to call His Holiness’attention to the fact that even he is not immune from being told by Israeli authorities to “return to where you came from,”as they did to Professor Falk.

The Campaign is actively calling on states, religious leaders, and all people of conscience worldwide to work for an end to Israel’s unlawful restrictive measures and to the serious harm they cause to the protected Palestinian population, their family life and their educational, religious and social institutions.

The Vatican, like other high Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, has an obligation to scrutinize Israel’s exercise of authority as an occupying power and to oppose arbitrary denials of entry to the oPt. The Campaign calls on his Holiness to give his attention to these abusive practices, which have also threatened the continuity and integrity of Palestinian religious life. Failing to object to internationally unlawful acts and policies when confronted with them implies accepting them as lawful.

For more information please contact:
Campaign Coordinator
Telephone: +970.(0)59.817.3953
Facsimile: +970.(0)2.295.1551
Website: http://www.RightToEnter.ps
Email: info@righttoenter.ps

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AIPAC ED fears the growing movement to sanction Israel could fundamentally change US policy towards Israel. He’s right.

One of the most interesting speeches given at the AIPAC Policy Conference was one that received the least media attention. AIPAC Executive Director Howard Kohr addressed the capacity crowd Sunday night before Newt Gingrich, and he came with a stern and clear warning – there is a growing movement to de-legitimize Israel in the eyes of its allies.

He warned it’s growing, it’s successful and it’s coming to the US. In a conference full of fire and brimstone bluster about Iran and the omnipresent threat of annihilation, when it came to this speech Kohr was exactly on the mark.

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UN pushing Israel toward legal proceedings

Gaza under Israeli fire during the 22-day war.
Gaza under Israeli fire during the 22-day war.

Tue, 05 May 2009 10:40:15 GMT
In pursuit of the case of Israeli war crimes, the United Nations moves to report to the Security Council that UN facilities in Gaza had been targeted willfully.

After the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA) compound became the target of GPS-guided Israeli mortars on January 15, the UN set up a commission to bring Israeli human rights violations in Gaza out into the open.

The commission — led by the former British secretary-general of human rights group Amnesty International, Ian Martin — assembled a report on Israeli actions in Gaza for submission to the Security Council.

“Israel deliberately fired at UN institutions even though it knew it was forbidden”, read the report.

According to Israeli daily Ynet, the report blames Israel for disproportionate fire and excessive use of force and goes on to confirm that IDF forces shot at Palestinian civilians unnecessarily and excessively.

A member of the American delegation at the UN described the report as “unprecedented in its gravity towards Israel.”

“Israel will have to lick the wounds of the report for many years, if the current wording is accepted as it is,” the source was quoted as saying.

The report which includes serious charges against Israel has ruffled feathers in Israel, raising fears that it would prompt legal proceedings.

As the commission gets set to submit the report to the council on Tuesday, Israel made a move to reject the findings of the controversial report on Tuesday saying that Hamas “are misleading the investigators, the UN and public opinion.”

Israel is suspected of committing war crimes including the use of the deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas, as revealed in an investigation by The Times in January.

While Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, later mounting evidence forced Israeli officials to admit to having employed the shells.

Earlier in April, the IDF issued a statement claiming that Israeli probes had found that its forces did not violate international law during the recent war in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in its Tuesday statement that Israel has held an independent review of its behavior during Operation Cast Lead and “the conclusions of these probes were released two weeks ago and they proved beyond all doubt that there was no deliberate shooting by the IDF at UN facilities.”

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Durban: Israel Won the Battle, Anti-Racism Lost

Michael Warschawski

durban_review_conference_geneva

The UN Durban Review Conference on Racism held in Geneva on April 20-24.Representing the Alternative Information Center at Geneva , I was the only Israeli-Jew participating in this important gathering. Here are some of my impressions:

Between Durban II and Durban I there is no more in common than between the First Intifada and the so-call Second Intifada, i.e. absolutely nothing.

The UN Durban I Conference, held in South Africa in 2001, was a powerful statement by almost all the nations of the world against racism, and in spite of some marginal anti-Semitic incidents, an extraordinary outcry of international civil society. In fact, Durban was the last international demonstration of the decolonization era that started with the defeat of Nazi Germany and the awakening of the colonized nations.

Durban I was also the starting point of a global counter-reform launched by the big powers, under the leadership of the US and Israeli neoconservative administrations. That counter counter-offensive used the terrible accusation of anti-Semitism as its battle flag, and a permanent blackmail to paralyze any potential opposition.

The Durban II Conference against Racism was supposed to review the implementation of the Durban I decisions. In reality it was its planned assassination and funeral. The State of Israel and the USA played the leading role in that extremely well planned maneuver, with the assistance of some of the European countries. For three years, at least, they have been working hard to fix new guidelines for the conference, “the red lines” as they were labeled, mostly aimed to avoid any criticism of Israel, that in Durban I was indeed singled out in both the States and the Civil Society conferences. One must remember that 2001 was the year of Ariel Sharon’s “Defense Shield” murderous offensive against the Palestinian people, and the targeting of Israel was the direct and natural result of the massacres in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

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Israel turns back 250 tons of truckloads of food

CAIRO, April 16 (KUNA) — Israeli troops manning the land Al-Ojah checkpoint in Central Sinai sent back 13 truckloads of 250 tons of flour dispatched by the Egyptian Red Crescent to Gaza Strip on Thursday.
The official Egyptian news agency, the Middle East News Agency, quoted a source in the association as saying that the Israeli authorities have hampered dispatch of aid to the Palestinians in Gaza Strip through this checkpoint.
The source indicated that Egyptian authorities, had in the past, coordinated with the Israeli side for the dispatch of the humanitarian aid to the Palestinians. Up to 315 tons of food aid were sent to the strip through the land passageways on Monday.
He indicated that the quality of returned food materials would be affected due to hard weather conditions.
About 10,000 tons of food dispatched by Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners, have been kept in warehouses in Egypt since they were dispatched last December. He warned that they would expire soon, before delivery to the Gazans. (end) rg.hs KUNA 161817 Apr 09NNNN

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Rally protests Jerusalem home demolitions

Arabs, Jews join forces to demonstrate against home demolitions in east Jerusalem

Ronen Medzini

housedem

About 150 Jews, international human rights activists, and local Arabs hit the streets in east Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood Saturday to protest demolition orders for homes in the area.

The protesters rallied under the slogan: “Jews and Arabs against house demolitions.”

One of the stops in the march was the ruins of a home razed two weeks ago. “Under these ruins, you can still find the furniture of a whole family, with five daughters, that has no other home,” one protester declared. “This is an act by (Jerusalem Mayor) Barkat, who in his first day on the job already decided to raze homes, and is going to continue razing homes in the area.”

One of the protest organizers, Abdul Halik Shaludi, told Ynet that back in 2005 city hall issued demolition orders for 88 homes.

“We set up a protest tent back then that lasted almost five months, until the previous mayor agreed to sit with us and gave us the opportunity to create a master plan, at our expense,” he said. “We did everything, paid $77,000 from our own pocket, yet 40 days ago we were summoned by the Interior Ministry and told that they’re rejecting our plan because it contradicts city hall’s policy. The next day we erected our current protest tent, which draws people from all over the world.”

Blaming the settlers

The local activist says Mayor Barkat adopted the plans of settlers who plan to take over the neighborhood.

“It’s obviously a political story aimed at kicking us out of the eastern part of the city,” Shaludi said. “Today, almost 300 settlers live in Silwan, and every time they come in and buy another part of the neighborhood in ways that are not kosher.”

The issue of house demolitions in eastern Jerusalem was addressed by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently. The demolitions are not helpful, Clinton said at the beginning of the month, adding that the US Administration is monitoring the issue vis-à-vis the Israeli government and Jerusalem city hall.

SOURCE

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Gilad Atzmon

Gilad Atzmon – Beyond Comparison

You don’t have to be a brutal tyrant to want to commit crimes against humanity. Hatred is alive and well in Israel in nice young patriotic families. Israel is a country bad enough as it is, without making historical comparisons.

“Israel Military action is an unjustified aggression that is being carried out in a style of Hitler, in a fascist fashion.” (Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez)

“Clearly, President Chavez needs a reality check when it comes to the Middle East conflict.” (Anti-Defamation League National Director, Abraham H. Foxman)

There is a trend amongst us all, the critical voices of Israel and Zionism. Time after time we compare Israel to the Third Reich; we equate the IDF to the Wehrmacht, we find a resemblance between the Israeli Air Force’s tactics to the blitz technique of the Luftwafe, we occasionally associate Sharon’s and Olmert’s war crimes with those of Hitler. I myself have fallen into this very trap more than once. But I have now made up my mind. This fashion of speaking must be stopped once and for all.

To regard Hitler as the ultimate evil is nothing but surrendering to the Zio-centric discourse. To regard Hitler as the wickedest man and the Third Reich as the embodiment of evilness is to let Israel off the hook. To compare Olmert to Hitler is to provide Israel and Olmert with a metaphorical moral shield. It maintains Hitler at the lead and allows Olmert to stay in the tail.

My mother, indeed a very clever woman, challenged me a long time ago asking: “Tell me Gilad, why is it that you and your friends always compare Israel to the Nazis? Isn’t Israel bad enough?”

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