Human Rights Council rebukes Israel

[ise]

http://www.upi.com/InternationalInte...rebukes Israel

The elephant in the room...

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 7 (UPI) The U.N. Human Rights Council rebuked Israel for escalating military actions in Gaza, and voted to dispatch a special rapporteur on a fact-finding mission. The resolution, adopted Thursday in Geneva by a vote of 29 to 11, with five abstentions, concluded the newly formed body's first-ever special session. The resolution called on Israel to "end its military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" and to "refrain from imposing collective punishment on Palestinian civilians." The resolution also urged Israel to release the 64 Hamas leaders taken prisoner, but made no mention of the Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is believed to be in the hands of Hamas militants. John Dugard, a special rapporteur for the council, will be dispatched to Gaza on a fact-finding mission. ...

...the elephant that one may not speak of, especially here.

The fact that this special meeting was in GENEVA (in Switzerland) may be important and a sign of things to come!

[Source - United Press International]

[Milton Bradley]

You see this part right here ...

Quote by: article newly formed body's first-ever special session.

...that makes me very suspicious.


If I remember correctly, and I think that I do, Isreal was formed by the first ever act of a newly created United Nations, and that has nothing but put a huge, ever festering wound on the butt of all international relations in the Middle East.


Nothing but more bureaucracy. We needed more finger pointing jobs created anyway. So many have become so proficient at finger pointing that it would be a pity if they didn't have a place to employ those skills.

[jose]

The EU has accused Israel of using "disproportionate" force and making a humanitarian crisis worse during operations in the Gaza Strip.
On Friday Israel consolidated its hold on northern Gaza, as air strikes killed at least three Palestinian militants.

It followed the worst day of violence since Israeli forces entered Gaza over a captured Israeli soldier - 22 Palestinians and an Israeli died.

Israel's operations are the biggest since it withdrew from Gaza last year.

"The EU condemns the loss of lives caused by disproportionate use of force by the Israeli Defence Forces and the humanitarian crisis it has aggravated,"
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5159050.stm
always the children, why?

A man carries the lifeless body of a Palestinian boy after an Israeli strike during clashes with militants in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya Thursday July 6, 2006.
killed by American weapons given to israel
they dont hate your for your freedoms, they hate you because you provide the weapons that kill their children
http://cryptome.org/cdp070606/bng-40048.jpg

[ise]

The "summer rains" we are showering on Gaza are not only pointless, but are first and foremost blatantly illegitimate.

* It is not legitimate to cut off 750,000 people from electricity.
* It is not legitimate to call on 20,000 people to run from their homes and turn their towns into ghost towns.
* It is not legitimate to penetrate Syria's airspace.
* It is not legitimate to kidnap half a government and a quarter of a parliament.

A state that takes such steps is no longer distinguishable from a terror organization.

The harsher the steps, the more monstrous and stupid they become, the more the moral underpinnings for them are removed and the stronger the impression that the Israeli government has lost its nerve.

What we are doing now in Gaza has nothing to do with freeing Gilad Shalit. It is a widescale act of vengeance, the kind that the IDF and Shin Bet have wanted to conduct for some time, mostly motivated by the deep frustration that the army commanders feel about their impotence against the Qassams and the daring Palestinian guerilla raid.

The only wise and restrained voice heard so far was that of the soldier's father, Noam Shalit.

We kidnapped civilians and they captured a soldier, we are a state and they are a terror organization.

Collective punishment is illegitimate and it does not have a smidgeon of intelligence.

We are bombing and shelling, darkening and destroying, imposing a siege and kidnapping like the worst of terrorists and nobody breaks the silence to ask, what the hell for, and according to what right?



A Black Flag
by Gideon Levy
July 03, 2006

A Black Flag

[Apeman81]

Amazingly enough the link for the supposed article does not function

[Scribbler1]

Interesting. Both links are different and they read properly at the bottom of the browser but when I clicked on them I was directed BOTH times to a page about HTTP on the W3 Consortium website. Two different links with the same result. Strange.

[Apeman81]

Amazing how the articles choose not to provide a link to the U.N website.

Take a look at the vote on this.

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 29 votes to 11 with 5 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba,
Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali,
Mauritius, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi
Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia.

Abstaining: Cameroon, Mexico, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Switzerland.

Against: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands,
Poland, Romania, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.]

The In Favor crowd hardly have room to lecture others on human rights. Be that as it may.

Any rebuke of the parties involved in this conflict that does not include attention to Hamas and tactics, as well as its continued policy of not recognizing the right of Israel to exists is of suspect nature and value.

[ise]

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects...BackHome.jhtml
Haaretz israel news English

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/S...?itemNo=733427
A black flag - Haaretz - Israel News


Last update - 02:45 03/07/2006
A black flag
By Gideon Levy

A black flag hangs over the "rolling" operation in Gaza. The more the operation "rolls," the darker the flag becomes. The "summer rains" we are showering on Gaza are not only pointless, but are first and foremost blatantly illegitimate. It is not legitimate to cut off 750,000 people from electricity. It is not legitimate to call on 20,000 people to run from their homes and turn their towns into ghost towns. It is not legitimate to penetrate Syria's airspace. It is not legitimate to kidnap half a government and a quarter of a parliament.

A state that takes such steps is no longer distinguishable from a terror organization. The harsher the steps, the more monstrous and stupid they become, the more the moral underpinnings for them are removed and the stronger the impression that the Israeli government has lost its nerve. Now one must hope that the weekend lull, whether initiated by Egypt or the prime minister, and in any case to the dismay of Channel 2's Roni Daniel and the IDF, will lead to a radical change.

Everything must be done to win Gilad Shalit's release. What we are doing now in Gaza has nothing to do with freeing him. It is a widescale act of vengeance, the kind that the IDF and Shin Bet have wanted to conduct for some time, mostly motivated by the deep frustration that the army commanders feel about their impotence against the Qassams and the daring Palestinian guerilla raid. There's a huge gap between the army unleashing its frustration and a clever and legitimate operation to free the kidnapped soldier.

To prevent the army from running as amok as it would like, a strong and judicious political echelon is required. But facing off against the frustrated army is Ehud Olmert and Amir Peretz's tyro regime, weak and happless. Until the weekend lull, it appeared that each step proposed by the army and Shin Bet had been immediately approved for backing. That does not bode well, not only for the chances of freeing Shalit, but also for the future management of the government, which is being revealed to be as weak as the Hamas government.

The only wise and restrained voice heard so far was that of the soldier's father, Noam Shalit, of all people. That noble man called at what is clearly his most difficult hour, not for stridency and not for further damage done to the lives of soldiers and innocent Palestinians. Against the background of the IDF's unrestrained actions and the arrogant bragging of the latest macho spokesmen, Maj. Gen. Yoav Gallant of the Southern Command and Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad, Shalit's father's voice stood out like a voice crying in the wilderness.

Sending tens of thousands of miserable inhabitants running from their homes, dozens of kilometers from where his son is supposedly hidden, and cutting off the electricity to hundreds of thousands of others, is certainly not what he meant in his understated emotional pleas. It's a shame nobody is listening to him, of all people.

The legitimate basis for the IDF's operation was stripped away the moment it began. It's no accident that nobody mentions the day before the attack on the Kerem Shalom fort, when the IDF kidnapped two civilians, a doctor and his brother, from their home in Gaza. The difference between us and them? We kidnapped civilians and they captured a soldier, we are a state and they are a terror organization. How ridiculously pathetic Amos Gilad sounds when he says that the capture of Shalit was "illegitimate and illegal," unlike when the IDF grabs civilians from their homes. How can a senior official in the defense ministry claim that "the head of the snake" is in Damascus, when the IDF uses the exact same methods?

True, when the IDF and Shin Bet grab civilians from their homes - and they do so often - it is not to murder them later. But sometimes they are killed on the doorsteps of their homes, although it is not necessary, and sometimes they are grabbed to serve as "bargaining chips," like in Lebanon and now, with the Palestinian legislators. What an uproar there would be if the Palestinians had grabbed half the members of the Israeli government. How would we label them?

Collective punishment is illegitimate and it does not have a smidgeon of intelligence. Where will the inhabitants of Beit Hanun run? With typical hardheartedness the military reporters say they were not "expelled" but that it was "recommended" they leave, for the benefit, of course, of those running for their lives. And what will this inhumane step lead to? Support for the Israeli government? Their enlistment as informants and collaborators for the Shin Bet? Can the miserable farmers of Beit Hanun and Beit Lahia do anything about the Qassam rocket-launching cells? Will bombing an already destroyed airport do anything to free the soldier or was it just to decorate the headlines?

Did anyone think about what would have happened if Syrian planes had managed to down one of the Israeli planes that brazenly buzzed their president's palace? Would we have declared war on Syria? Another "legitimate war"? Will the blackout of Gaza bring down the Hamas government or cause the population to rally around it? And even if the Hamas government falls, as Washington wants, what will happen on the day after? These are questions for which nobody has any real answers. As usual here: Quiet, we're shooting. But this time we are not only shooting. We are bombing and shelling, darkening and destroying, imposing a siege and kidnapping like the worst of terrorists and nobody breaks the silence to ask, what the hell for, and according to what right?


http://www.zmag.org/content/showarti...2&ItemID=10511
ZNet |Israel/Palestine | A Black Flag

http://www.zmag.org/images/ZLogoArticles2.jpg
A Black Flag
by Gideon Levy
July 03, 2006

[ise]

http://www.upi.com/
United Press International

http://www.upi.com/InternationalInte...6-061952-4503r
United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - Human Rights Council rebukes Israel

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 7 (UPI) -- The U.N. Human Rights Council rebuked Israel for escalating military actions in Gaza, and voted to dispatch a special rapporteur on a fact-finding mission.

The resolution, adopted Thursday in Geneva by a vote of 29 to 11, with five abstentions, concluded the newly formed body's first-ever special session.

The resolution called on Israel to "end its military operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" and to "refrain from imposing collective punishment on Palestinian civilians."

The resolution also urged Israel to release the 64 Hamas leaders taken prisoner, but made no mention of the Israeli soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who is believed to be in the hands of Hamas militants.

John Dugard, a special rapporteur for the council, will be dispatched to Gaza on a fact-finding mission.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, and voting against the resolution, Vesa Himanen of Finland expressed regret that the resolution took an unbalanced view of the situation, by not calling for Shalit's immediate and unconditional release and by omitting any condemnation of the firing of Qassam rockets by Palestinians into Israeli territory.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan released a statement through his spokesman, urging Israel to halt "actions that amount to collective punishment of Palestinian civilians."

"The situation is dangerous and could be explosive. The Secretary-General urges all concerned to step back from the brink," the statement said.

[ise]

and

Switzerland says Israel violating international law in Gaza Strip
Last update - 20:19 04/07/2006
By The Associated Press

Switzerland said Monday that Israel has been violating international law in its Gaza offensive by heavy destruction and endangering civilians in acts of collective punishment banned under the Geneva conventions on the conduct of warfare.

"A number of actions by the Israel Defense Forces in their offensive against the Gaza Strip have violated the principle of proportionality and are to be seen as forms of collective punishment, which is forbidden," the Swiss Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "There is no doubt that Israel has not taken the precautions required of it in international law to protect the civilian population and infrastructure," it said. The statement did not name the Geneva Conventions, but it referred to provisions of the 1949 treaty, which is regarded as the cornerstone of international law on the obligations of warring and occupying powers. Switzerland, as the depository of the conventions, has a responsibility to call meetings if it finds general problems with the implementation of the treaty, but it does not have any special powers to interpret the document. Both the principle of proportionality and the ban on collective punishment are found in the Fourth Geneva Convention, which spells out the obligations of occupying powers toward the civilian population under their control.

"The arbitrary arrests of a large number of democratically elected representatives of the people and ministers ... cannot be justified," the statement said. Switzerland said it had earmarked an additional 1 million francs ($820,000) to provide medical supplies to civilians in Gaza.

[ise]

.
Thank goodness for the Swiss.

Alone in Europe, their government has dared to condemn what the Israelis are doing to Gaza. It is collective punishment, they say. It violates the principle of proportionality. Israel has not taken the precautions required by international law to protect civilians.

Its statement stands in contrast to the European Union's shamefully muted voice. The Palestinians kill two soldiers and take one prisoner and, in response, power stations are blown up, sewage and water systems grind to a halt, bridges are destroyed, sonic booms terrify children day and night, and all this is inflicted on a hungry people who are under siege in what is effectively a huge open prison. The EU's response? Vague expressions of "concern" and calls for "restraint".

In a two hour appearance before MPs on Tuesday, all that Tony Blair could produce was a classic fence-sitter: "I have learned enough about this situation over the years to realise that going in and condemning either side is not deeply helpful."

European impotence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is of course an ancient problem. The disease's latest aggravation began in January after Hamas's election victory. Here was an event which was bound to have huge repercussions in Israel, on every state's relations with the Palestinian authority, on the future of political Islam throughout the Arab world, as well as on the west's image among Muslims. In short, it was a moment where the time-honoured diplomatic technique - a pause for reflection - was vital. The device is often used to cover unnecessary delay. This time there was a genuine need to analyse and consult before rushing to conclusions. There was no urgency since Israel was already refusing to negotiate with President Mahmoud Abbas.

Yet the EU promptly lined up with the US and Israel in demanding Hamas change its policies or be punished.

Some European diplomats now regret their haste. The decision to cut aid as well as contacts with the Palestinians is seen as a mistake.

The fact that Hamas is defined as a terrorist organisation need not have been a bar, since governments have spoken to similar movements with nationalist agendas, be it the IRA, the Tamil Tigers, or Eta. But again, thank goodness for the Swiss.

Olmert government is trying to destroy not only Hamas but Mahmoud Abbas. Like Sharon's, it wants to undermine every moderate Palestinian by showing them up as powerless. It seeks only domination, not negotiation.

Israel must renounce violence, in particular the assassinations of Palestinian leaders.

Europe's response to the siege of Gaza is shameful


Even at the worst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, there was agreement between the opposing parties that the leaders were NOT legitimate targets.

late update...

a poll showed that four out of five Israelis want their government to assassinate Hamas leaders to end the Gaza crisis. The poll for the Israeli newspaper Maariv found that 82% of the population favoured killing leading members of the group, whose military wing was involved in abducting the Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit on June 25.

EU condemns Israeli Gaza incursions

Who are the terrorists???

[ise]

Quote by: Scribbler1 Interesting. Both links are different and they read properly at the bottom of the browser but when I clicked on them I was directed BOTH times to a page about HTTP on the W3 Consortium website. Two different links with the same result. Strange.

Strange. Very strange. Very very strange. USA censorship??? What!!! But there is no USA censorship. Yes, sure.

If it's Ok with the censors then I'll post in full or in large part. It's all very tame stuff really. Well, by Old European standards, but ...the elephant that one may not speak of, especially here...may not think so.

EU condemns Israeli Gaza incursions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Sto...815129,00.html
Guardian Unlimited
David Fickling and agencies
Friday July 7, 2006

The European Union today condemned Israel's incursions into the Gaza Strip and warned that the military actions were provoking a humanitarian crisis. The criticisms were the sharpest to be directed at Israel since the current crisis erupted two weeks ago, when Palestinian militants abducted an Israeli soldier after tunnelling inside Israeli territory.

The criticisms of Israel came as a poll showed that four out of five Israelis want their government to assassinate Hamas leaders to end the Gaza crisis. The poll for the Israeli newspaper Maariv found that 82% of the population favoured killing leading members of the group, whose military wing was involved in abducting the Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit on June 25.

Who are the terrorists???

Israeli forces have assassinated dozens of Palestinians over the years. In 2004, several Hamas leaders were killed within the space of a few months, including the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and its co-founder, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. The Damascus-based member Izz el-Deen al-Sheikh Khalil was killed by a car bomb, thought to have been planted by Israeli agents, in the Syrian capital. Earlier this week, Hamas said it had been informed by western diplomats that Israel had drawn up a 13-man hit list, headed by its Damascus-based leader, Khaled Meshaal, and Mr Haniyeh. Nasser Shaer, Haniyeh's deputy, went into hiding last week.

The Arabs want the to Israel release 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held without charge in Israeli prisons in return for Cpl Shalit's release. Sounds like Gitmo. Who's copying who?

[Scribbler1]

It doesn't look like censorship, at least not by the government. Those links weren't blocked as much as they seemed to have been redirected to the W3C page. It's not worth the government's time to do this, especially when there is such a huge mass of OTHER negative info out there that remains untouched.
It's possible it was a glitch in the system, a bad URL or something else. But I really don't think it was a government (US or Israel) action to redirect those links. Or possibly the server Volconvo uses has blocked something, although that's unlikely as they are just links.

[jose]

A SIX-YEAR-OLD Palestinian girl, her mother and elder brother were killed in a house on the edge of Gaza City last night, shortly after a stray Israeli missile targeting militants struck a residential area.


The girl, identified as Rawan Hajaj, was taken to hospital wrapped in blankets, the back of her head shorn open. Six others were injured when what Palestinians described as an artillery shell hit the house.

The Israeli military, initially denying that any shells had been fired, later admitted a missile had missed its target

http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspo...l-6yr-old.html

[shrike]

Quote by: ise * It is not legitimate to cut off 750,000 people from electricity.

Never happended .People still get their electricity ftom Israel.

Quote by: ise * It is not legitimate to call on 20,000 people to run from their homes and turn their towns into ghost towns.

You can blame only Palestinians terrorist that use civilian building as operation base and launch pads Israel has no other option but to protect itself against bloody attacks on its cities. The civilians was warned before any action

Quote by: ise * It is not legitimate to penetrate Syria's airspace.

Of course it has Syria is using proxy organization like hamas and Hezbollah to harm israeli civilians. It was just a sign to stop do it.

Quote by: ise * It is not legitimate to kidnap half a government and a quarter of a parliament.

Its totally legitimate to arrest members of terrorist organization like Hamas. Also in War other party have full to target government officials of other side.
Israeli forces have assassinated dozens of Palestinians over the years.

Quote by: ise In 2004, several Hamas leaders were killed within the space of a few months, including the group's spiritual leader, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and its co-founder, Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. The Damascus-based member Izz el-Deen al-Sheikh Khalil was killed by a car bomb, thought to have been planted by Israeli agents, in the Syrian capital. Earlier this week, Hamas said it had been informed by western diplomats that Israel had drawn up a 13-man hit list, headed by its Damascus-based leader, Khaled Meshaal, and Mr Haniyeh. Nasser Shaer, Haniyeh's deputy, went into hiding last week

Ise sorry for killed terrorist he would probably cry out loud if Bin laden would be assassinated.

Quote by: Apeman In favour: Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Uruguay, Zambia.

Well no wonder that ise associate himself with this kind of countries the best democracies in the world.

Quote by: jose The girl, identified as Rawan Hajaj, was taken to hospital wrapped in blankets, the back of her head shorn open. Six others were injured when what Palestinians described as an artillery shell hit the house. The Israeli military, initially denying that any shells had been fired, later admitted a missile had missed its target

You only forget to mention that missile was fired 10 km from this incident but for Israel always a guilty right jose??

[jose]

Quote by: shrike You only forget to mention that missile was fired 10 km from this incident but for Israel always a guilty right jose??

Oh come on shrek are you saying Israel is not guilty of killing this child...again

[shrike]

Oh come on shrek are you saying Israel is not guilty of killing this child...again

Are you saying that is than prove it.And my name is shrike please pay atantion thanks.

A six-year old girl, her elder brother and her mother were killed in a mysterious explosion near their home. The IDF denied involvement. The IDF confirmed, however, that the Air Force had targeted a group of armed Palestinians in the Beit Hanoun area some 10 kilometers to the north, apparently wounding some of them

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_...July_8.2C_2006

[jose]

An Israeli military spokesman said no artillery was being fired near the area when the blast occurred but that an airstrike had targeted suspected Palestinian gunmen in the neighborhood at about the same time.
an Israeli spokesman said the military was investigating whether the house had been hit in an airstrike.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...0800567_2.html

[shrike]

So like i said no proof only speculation

[Nono]

Quote by: shrike ... no proof ...

Give us a break with this crap, shrike. Israel simply ignores its obligations whenever it feels like it. I can only conclude that it desires non-stop warfare as a means of consolidating its colonization of the West Bank. It will live to regret this indulgence.