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Thread: :icon_sadangel2: Palestine Peace a dream?

  1. #1921
    Berlusconi defends Israel's Gaza war as self defense
    Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:18:34 GMT

    Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledges support for the Tel Aviv regime despite the damning UN report on the Gaza war that charges Israel with war crimes.

    In a speech before the Israeli parliament (Knesset), visiting Berlusconi hailed Israel as "not only the biggest example of democracy and liberty in the Middle East, but the only example," calling the security of Israel "an ethical and moral imperative" for Italians.

    The Italian premier recalled his country's vote against the United Nations report on the Gaza war, presented to UN Human Rights Council by an independent fact finding committee headed by the South African Prosecutor Richard Goldstone.

    The so-called Goldstone report "sought to criminalize Israel for responding to the rockets Hamas fired from Gaza," Berlusconi claimed in a reference to the deadly military offensive Israel launched against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in December 2008, killing more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians.

    Released in September, the 575-page Gaza war report included various examples of war crimes and violation of international laws by the Israeli army. It charged the Israeli forces with deliberate bombardment of places known to hold Palestinian civilians, accusing them of targeting fleeing individuals that at times were even waving white flags.

    The Goldstone report also accused the Palestinian resistance fighters of indiscriminate rocket attacks into southern Israeli towns, most of which landed in deserted areas without causing any casualties or serious damage to properties.

    The United Nations General Assembly later in 2009 adopted a resolution giving Israel and the Palestinians three months to undertake "independent, credible investigations" into serious violations of international law and human rights committed during the conflict in Gaza.

    Earlier in January, Israel submitted an official report to the United Nations and admitted that its military had "endangered human life" through the use of forbidden phosphorus munitions against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    According to the document, Israeli forces fired white phosphorus bombs at a heavily populated area on January 15, 2009 in Gaza, damaging a UN Relief and Works Agency compound.

    The report charged the head of Israel's Gaza division and an infantry brigade commander with "exceeding their authority in approving the use of phosphorus shells." The senior officers, nonetheless, are currently in charge of military operations in the occupied West Bank.

    MRS/MB

  2. #1922
    Israel charged with targeting Palestinian medical teams
    Thu, 04 Feb 2010 10:30:35 GMT

    Palestinian ambulances are seen destroyed during Israel's offensive, south of Gaza City January 16, 2009.
    The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has charged Israel with launching hundreds of attacks against Palestinian medical teams in 2009.

    The aid group, also known as PRCS, said that the Israeli troops fired 15 times at ambulances in the West Bank and Gaza last year, killing one medical worker and wounding 10 more.

    The PRCS also said that the Israeli troops obstructed its teams on 440 occasions in what the society denounced as "a blatant violation of international law."

    The group also charged the Israeli army with the use of internationally banned phosphorus bombs in an attack on one of its headquarters during the war on Gaza.

    More than 1,400 Palestinians, including hundreds of women and children, were killed in a three-week onslaught Israel launched against the Gaza Strip in December 27, 2008.

    The 22-day offensive reduced hundreds of houses into debris, leveled tens of schools and mosques and devastated a huge part of the impoverished territory's infrastructure.

    MRS/MB

  3. #1923
    Israel threatens Syria's Assad with collapse
    Thu, 04 Feb 2010 11:31:48 GMT

    Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatens to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad if Damascus enters into a war with the Israeli regime.

    "When there is another war, you will not just lose it, but you and your family will lose power," Lieberman told a business conference at Bar-Ilan University on Thursday.

    "There must be a correlation, because unfortunately, until now a military defeat did not mean a loss of power," he added.

    Lieberman's remarks come a day after Assad's meeting with the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Damascus where the Syrian leader warned that Israel was pushing the Middle East toward a new war.

    Assad also said Israel is not being serious in seeking peace and that all signs implied that Tel Aviv is "working towards a war."

    Lieberman reacted angrily to the comments, claiming that Assad "crossed a line" by directly threatening Israel and suggesting that any future offensive against the Lebanese resistance movement would draw a response from Syria.

    The hawkish foreign minister's war rhetoric comes after his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem urged Israel to "return to reason, follow the path of peace ... and implement the requirements of peace fairly and comprehensively," warming that any future war would move into Israeli cities.

    Lieberman also urged pressure on Damascus to give up its demand for a withdrawal of the Israeli military from the Golan Heights, which Syria insists must be returned before the two could hold any peace negotiations.

    Israel seized the strategic Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war and annexed it in 1981, in a move never recognized by the international community.

    MRS/MB

  4. #1924
    Erekat calls for alternative to two-state solution
    Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:56:52 GMT

    Chief Palestinian Authority negotiator Saeb Erekat says Palestinians should consider other alternatives to the two-state solution if the peace process with Israel does not move forward.

    Palestinians should develop credible alternatives to the two-state solution, such as a one-state solution or a bi-national state and dissolve the Palestinian Authority, according to Erekat.

    Erekat also called for a "campaign of non-violent resistance, such as prohibition of Palestinians working in settlements and boycott of Israeli products."

    Another option that the Palestinians should consider, according to Erekat, is the re-evaluation of the Oslo Accord and "declaring them null and void, partially or completely, or applying them selectively in a manner consistent with Palestinian interests."

    The prominent Palestinian figure also called for a united Palestinian message and position regarding peace talks with Israel.

    Erekat went on to urge Palestinians to try to secure a UN Security Council resolution that would recognize the state of Palestine on its 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) as its capital. He further called for a just solution to the Palestinian refugee issue based on UN Resolution 194.

    The chief negotiator also called on Israel to implement a comprehensive settlement freeze which would include East Jerusalem (Al-Quds) and reopen Palestinian institutions in the city.

    "Israel also must remove settlement outposts established since March 2001, lift the siege and closure on the West Bank and Gaza Strip and halt raids, arrests and assassinations and all activities that may jeopardize building mutual trust and confidence," Saeb Erekat pointed out.

    MP/SAR/MMN

  5. #1925
    Haniyeh to Israel: Recognize us first
    Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:13:08 GMT

    Democratically-elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh says Israel must recognize the rights of the Palestinian people before asking for recognition.

    "They have to recognize us first, the right of the Palestinian people, we are the victims. Hamas supports the establishment of a Palestinian state with the 1967 borders," Haniyeh said on Wednesday.

    Palestinians want their future state based on borders before the Israeli occupation of June 1967, as recognized by the international community, with its capital in East Jerusalem (Al-Quds), said the senior Hamas member.

    Haniyeh also pointed out that the Islamic Resistance Movement is ready for dialogue with the international community, including the United States and the European Union.

    "Hamas is ready for dialogue with the world, international community, the US, the Middle East Quartet and the Europeans," he said.

    Haniyeh said he was determined to "establish Palestinian reconciliation and to have fair elections... in all Palestinian homes, including Jerusalem (Al-Quds)."

    Hamas has been in power in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip since June 2007 after it drove Fatah forces out of the coastal sliver, to prevent a US-backed coup.

    Under pressure from Israeli lobbies, the US and the EU refuse to hold formal talks with the democratically-elected movement, which came to power following general elections in 2006.

    MP/SAR/MMN

  6. #1926
    UN chief sees no evidence of Gaza war crimes probes
    Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:11:05 GMT

    UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he sees no concrete evidence Israel and the Palestinians have carried out credible, independent probes of alleged war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

    "No determination can be made on the implementation of the UN resolution by the parties concerned," Ban said on Thursday in a report that contains the responses provided by Israel and the Palestinians.

    The UN's fact-finding mission, headed by South African judge and former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, had accused Israel of committing war crimes during the 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on December 27, 2008.

    In an interview published in the December 8, 2009 edition of the newspaper al-Mashahid al-Siyasi, Musa Abu Marzouq, Hamas' second in command, said, “All paragraphs in the Goldstone report convict Israel and totally exonerate Hamas from any misconduct."

    Over 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the Gaza war.

    There was widespread international criticism of the Israeli military for its use of disproportionate force in the Gaza war, which was exemplified by the fact that most of the dead and injured were civilians.

    FTP/HGL

  7. #1927
    Gaza's only power plant may be forced to shut down
    Fri, 05 Feb 2010 03:23:05 GMT

    Gaza officials have warned that if no fuel is received, the Gaza Strip's only power plant will have to be shut down on Friday night.

    The plant had already stopped services to all but 30-40 percent of the coastal strip by nightfall on Thursday, the Gaza Energy Authority said, adding that the sudden cold front in the region used up the remaining fuel faster than expected.

    According to Palestinian liaison officer Raed Fattouh, on Thursday, the Israeli authorities stopped fuel trucks from entering the fuel crossing at Kerem Shalom in southern Gaza.

    The fuel for the plant is purchased from and delivered by Israel via its own trucks.

    The plant has four generators, but only one is being used due to lack of fuel. This generator supplies electricity to the population of Gaza for 16 hours a day.

    A European Union contract paying for fuel shipments expired on November 30, 2009, according to Kan'an Obeid, the deputy manager of the Energy Authority in the Gaza Strip.

    While the EU had been providing the service after the contract expired, EU officials recently notified the Gaza Energy Authority that they would no longer pay for the fuel shipments unless the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah drafted a new agreement and payment scheme.

    FTP/HGL

  8. #1928
    Israel seeking to ease tensions with Syria
    Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:52:12 GMT

    Israeli officials are making efforts to ease the tension with Syria that has come about following remarks made by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

    A statement issued by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lieberman on Thursday said Tel Aviv wants to engage in dialogue with Syria without pre-conditions.

    Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has also made attempts to defuse the tension. Barak pointed out that he was not happy about Lieberman's remarks and that an arrangement with Syria is Tel Aviv's strategic objective.

    On Thursday, Lieberman threatened to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad. "When there is another war, you will not just lose it, but you and your family will lose power," Lieberman told a business conference at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

    "There must be a correlation, because unfortunately, until now a military defeat did not mean a loss of power," Lieberman went on to say.

    The Israeli foreign minister made the remarks on Thursday one day after Assad's meeting with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos in Damascus where the Syrian leader warned that Israel was pushing the Middle East toward a new war.

    Assad made the remarks days after the Israeli defense minister said Syria should clinch a peace deal with Israel or it would find itself in a “full-fledged war” with Tel Aviv.

    The Syrian president also asserted that Israel is not being serious in seeking peace and that all signs implied that Tel Aviv is "working towards a war."

    The hawkish Israeli foreign minister reacted angrily to the comments, claiming that Assad "crossed a line" by directly threatening Israel and suggesting that any future offensive against the Lebanese resistance movement would draw a response from Syria.

    Lieberman's war rhetoric comes after his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem urged Israel to "return to reason, follow the path of peace ... and implement the requirements of peace fairly and comprehensively," warning that any future war would move into Israeli cities.

    HRF/JG/DT

  9. #1929
    Amnesty : Israeli Response to Gaza Investigations totally Inadequate
    Date : 3/2/2010 Time : 18:56

    LONDON, February 3, 2010 (WAFA)- Israel's latest response to the UN on its investigations into alleged violations of international law by its forces in Gaza a year ago is totally inadequate, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

    Crucial questions about the conduct of attacks in which hundreds of civilians were killed and thousands were made homeless are not credibly addressed in Israel's update to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

    'The investigations undertaken by Israel fail to meet international standards of independence, impartiality, transparency, promptness and effectiveness,' said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.

    'The Israeli military is investigating itself and in no way can this be adequate in obtaining the truth and ensuring justice for the victims.'

    The 46-page update published on January 29 says that Israel has opened investigations into 150 incidents involving alleged violations of the laws of war by its forces during Operation 'Cast Lead', its 22-day military offensive in Gaza which ended on January 18, 2009.

    Around 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed in the conflict that took place in Gaza and southern Israel.

    The limited details released indicate that the Israeli authorities are failing to credibly address grave concerns about the army's use of white phosphorus in densely-populated areas.

    Attacks on UN facilities and other civilian buildings and infrastructure, as well as direct attacks on Palestinian civilians, including ambulance crews have also not been adequately investigated by Israel.

    Such incidents were reported by the UN, Amnesty International and other human rights and media organizations at the time of the conflict.

    'There were numerous credible allegations during Operation 'Cast Lead' that violations of international humanitarian law by Israeli forces caused the deaths of hundreds of civilians, led others to be used as 'human shields' and destroyed or damaged thousands of homes and other civilian infrastructure,' said Malcolm Smart.

    'Yet more than one year on, according to the update, only one soldier has been convicted of an offence as a result of the Israeli investigations, and that was the theft of a credit card.'

    All the Israeli investigations have been carried out by army commanders or by the military police criminal investigators and overseen by the Military Advocate General, severely compromising their independence and impartiality.

    The Military Advocate General's office gave the Israeli forces legal advice on their choice of targets and tactics during Operation 'Cast Lead'.

    The military investigations also preclude the possibility of examining decisions taken by civilian officials, who are also alleged to be responsible for serious violations.

    The update states that there is no basis for criminal investigations into serious incidents which Amnesty International maintains warrant effective and independent investigations.

    These include Israeli strikes on UN facilities, civilian property and infrastructure, attacks on medical facilities and personnel, and incidents in which large numbers of civilians were killed.

    Despite enduring concerns by Amnesty International over Israel's extensive use of white phosphorus in Gaza, the update contends that there are 'no grounds to take disciplinary or other measures for the Israeli army’s use of weapons containing phosphorous'.

    During Operation 'Cast Lead' Israeli forces often launched artillery shells containing white phosphorus into residential areas, causing death and injuries to civilians.

    Other Israeli attacks which resulted in civilian injuries and deaths are dismissed as 'operational errors' although the update admits 'some instances' in which Israeli soldiers and officers 'violated the rules of engagement'.

    The Israeli government has not indicated that it will ensure reparations, including compensation, to Palestinian civilians harmed as a result of the 'operational errors' or admitted violations of their forces.

    Research by Amnesty International into Operation 'Cast Lead' showed elements of reckless conduct, disregard for civilian lives and property and a consistent failure on the part of Israeli forces to distinguish between military targets and civilians and civilian objects.

    Israeli forces continued to employ tactics and weapons that resulted in growing numbers of civilian casualties for the entire duration of the military offensive. This was despite Israeli officials knowing from the first days of the military offensive that civilians were being killed and wounded in significant numbers.

    Amnesty International drew a number of incidents to the attention of the Israeli authorities who have not responded to the organization's repeated requests for clarification on specific incidents.

    'In his forthcoming report on domestic investigations by Israel and the Palestinian side, Ban Ki-moon must include a substantive assessment of whether these investigations meet the established UN criteria and are 'independent, credible and in conformity with international standards,' said Malcolm Smart.

    'So far, it appears that neither of the parties are able or willing to conduct investigations meeting those standards. If this remains so, then the responsibility will fall on the UN to ensure accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the victims – and this must include the Security Council eventually considering a referral of the Gaza situation to the International Criminal Court and steps by the General Assembly to establish a fund for victims who were killed or injured or suffered loss or damage resulting from unlawful acts committed during the war.'

    The Israeli update was submitted days before the deadline set by the UN General Assembly in November 2009 when it endorsed the recommendations of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report) and called on both Israel and the Palestinian side, within three months, to undertake investigations into alleged war crimes and other violations by their forces.

    These investigations, the General Assembly, said, should be 'independent, credible and in conformity with international standards into the serious violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law reported by the [UN] Fact Finding Mission, towards ensuring accountability and justice'. Hamas has yet to submit any public report to the UN.

  10. #1930
    Palestinian unity within reach, Fatah says
    Fri, 05 Feb 2010 18:45:45 GMT

    Senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath, left, meets with democratically elected Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City, February 4, 2010.
    A Palestinian Fatah party delegation, returning home from the Hamas-run Gaza strip, said Friday the rival factions have taken major steps toward a reconciliation deal.

    "We have paved the way to new ties based on cooperation and trust," senior Fatah official Nabil Shaath said upon returning from the three-day Gaza tour.

    Accompanied by a delegation of Ramallah politicians, Shaath arrived in Gaza on Wednesday to become the first Fatah official to visit Gaza since the democratically-elected Hamas government had to limit its rule to the coastal strip in 2007.

    During his stay, Shaath met with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and a number of Hamas government ministers.

    Fatah's chief negotiator said his talks with the Gaza officials revolved around the "need to end Palestinian divisions," and that the Islamic movement had said it was ready to sign an Egyptian-brokered deal already signed by Fatah.

    "The brothers in Hamas said they will sign the agreement, and when this happens — the two movements will renew the Palestinian unity," he said.

    Shaath's comments came a few days after Head of Hamas Political Bureau Khalid Mashaal said in Damascus that a Palestinian reconciliation agreement was in reach.

    Hamas has repeatedly called for direct talks with Fatah leaders, saying the rival factions need to join hands and form a united front to stand against Israel.

    MRS/SAR/MD

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