UN envoy: Gaza op seems to be war crime of greatest magnitude
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- Written by Haaretz and News Agencies Haaretz and News Agencies
- Published: 20 March 2009 20 March 2009
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Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the Geneva Conventions required warring forces to distinguish between military targets and surrounding civilians.
"If it is not possible to do so, then launching the attacks is inherently unlawful and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law," Falk said.
"On the basis of the preliminary evidence available, there is reason to reach this conclusion," he wrote in an annual report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Falk called for an independent experts group to be set up to probe possible war crimes committed by both Israeli forces and Hamas.
Violations included Israel's alleged "targeting of schools, mosques and ambulances" during the December 27-January 18 offensive and its use of weapons including white phosphorus, as well as Hamas firing of rockets at civilian targets in southern Israel.
Falk said that Israel's blockade of the coastal strip of 1.5 million people violated the Geneva Conventions, which he said suggested further war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.
The aggression was not legally justified and may represent a "crime against peace" - a principle established at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi criminals, according to the American law professor who serves as the Human Rights Council's independent investigator.
He further suggested that the Security Council might set up an ad hoc criminal tribunal to establish accountability for war crimes in Gaza, noting Israel has not signed the Rome statutes establishing the International Criminal Court.
Rights group names 1,417 Gaza war dead; Israel disputes toll
A Palestinian human rights group has released the names of 1,417 Gazans it says were killed in Israel's recent war on the Palestinian territory's Hamas rulers.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said Thursday that of those killed, 926 were civilians, 236 were combatants and 255 were members of the Palestinian security forces.
Most of the policemen were killed in a series of Israeli bombing attacks on Hamas security compounds on December 27, the first day of the war.
The group says it has investigated every civilian death. The list is posted on the center's Web site.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev disputes the findings. He says Israel is working on its own list and contends that most of those killed were combatants or legitimate targets.
Thirteen Israelis were killed during the 22-day Gaza operation.
Friday rally and peace march marks six years of Iraq war, calls for prosecution of Bush Admin
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- Written by Portland Peaceful Response Coalition Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
- Published: 20 March 2009 20 March 2009
- Hits: 2981 2981
For Immediate Release
Portland Peaceful Response Coalition
Event: Friday rally and peace march marks six years of Iraq war, calls for
prosecution of Bush Administration officials for war crimes.
Date: Friday, March 20, 2009
Time: 5:00 PM at Pioneer Courthouse Square
Place: Pioneer Courthouse Square, SW Yamhill & Broadway, downtown Portland
Contacts: PPRC
(503) 344-5078
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.pprc-news.org
Friday rally and peace march marks six years of Iraq war, calls for
prosecution of Bush Administration officials for war crimes.
This week's 5:00 PM Friday rally and peace march at Pioneer Courthouse
Square marks six years of Iraq war, and calls for prosecution of Bush
Administration officials and other key supporters of the Iraq war for mass
murder of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. "The most conservative
estimate of civilian casualties in Iraq is approaching 100,000, and we can
be certain that the actual number is more probably approaching 600,000,"
said William Seaman, a volunteer with Portland Peaceful Response Coalition.
"If we are to take even the most modest steps to ensure that this staggering
crime of aggression is not repeated in the future by our country, we must
bring those responsible to justice."
Iraq Body Count, which relies on information "drawn from cross-checked media
reports, hospital, morgue, NGO and official figures", now puts the total
number of Iraqi civilians killed by the war and occupation at between 91,129
and 99,508. A Brookings Institution report put the total at 116,561
(towards the end of 2008), a World Health Organization study but the number
at 151,000, and the John Hopkins School of Public Health survey put the
total at 650,000 (towards the middle of 2006). This latter study indicates
that the casualties could run as high as one million Iraqi civilian deaths.
The number of serious injuries is many times that number, and over two
million Iraqis have been made refugees.
"The people of the United States are faced with an urgent moral imperative
to investigate the conduct of Condoleza Rice, David Addington, Donald
Rumsfeld, Douglas Feith, Dick Cheney, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, John Yoo,
Alberto Gonzalez, George Tenet, Jay Bybee, Paul Wolfowitz, Karl Rove, George
Bush and many other operatives of the Bush administration who played key
roles in engineering the United States aggression, the war and occupation in
Iraq, or implemented the torture or other criminal policies," said Seaman.
"It is an important first step to initiate a Congressional investigation,
but unless that includes or leads to a criminal investigation, we will have
failed in our obligation to the people of Iraq, to ourselves as Americans,
to our damaged democracy, to the United States Constitution, to the moral
and legal foundation of our society."
A poll earlier this year indicated that 62 percent of Americans favor a
criminal investigation or an independent panel to explore charges of torture
by the Bush Administration. Senator Patrick Leahy has been trying to
initiate an investigation into torture and warrantless wiretaps under Bush,
and Representative John Conyers has introduced legislation to set up an
investigative panel in Congress. "We support the efforts by Senator Leahy
and Representative Conyers, but they do not go nearly far enough," said
Seaman. "We have to build support for those and more aggressive efforts in
Congress by calling our representatives, but we also have to support efforts
abroad to encourage other countries to enforce international law and bring
these suspected war criminals to account."
Both Spain and Italy have outstanding warrants for American citizens who
were carrying out aspects of the Bush Administration's "war on terror", and
lawyers for the Center for Constitutional Rights have cooperated with
colleagues in Germany to persuade that government to bring Donald Rumsfeld
to book for his role. Even Canadians have made an effort on this front,
petitioning their government to block the entry of George Bush into their
country, arguing that the former US President should be either barred or
detained for condoning the use of torture.
According to Gail Davidson of Lawyers Against the War, they have "demanded,
first of all, that the Canadian government bar Bush from Canada as a person
suspected of torture and other war crimes and crimes against humanity, ...
[a]nd secondly, ... advised the Canadian government that if they do let Mr.
Bush into Canada, once he crosses the border, that triggers Canadian legal
responsibility to investigate Mr. Bush for torture and, if there are
grounds, then to either prosecute him in Canada or to extradite him to
another country that is willing and able to do so."
"We salute our neighbors to the north for showing the moral fortitude to
make this effort on behalf of international law and human rights," said
Seaman. "And in case there's any doubt that our intentions are bipartisan,
we want to be very clear that every Democrat in Congress who played a roll
in facilitating or driving our country into this criminal war ought to be
subject to precisely the same investigation and, if appropriate, criminal
prosecution."
March 19th was the sixth anniversary of the US attack on Iraq. The peace
marchers today are calling for a rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and
Afghanistan and a radical shift in priorities for government spending.
“As millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes due to the
devastation wrought by the financial sector and their lackeys in Congress,
we continue to pump billions of taxpayer dollars into these wars and
occupations,” said Seaman. “Let’s slash the military budget and put that
money into rebuilding our country’s infrastructure, teaching our young men
and women trades instead of training them to kill, and let’s pay the
reparations we owe to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan so they too can
rebuild the lives that have been shattered by the US policies of the past
thirty years.”
- END -
Israel troops admit Gaza abuses
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- Written by BBC News BBC News
- Published: 19 March 2009 19 March 2009
- Hits: 2959 2959
An Israeli military college has printed damning soldiers' accounts of the killing of civilians and vandalism during recent operations in Gaza.
One account tells of a sniper killing a mother and children at close range whom troops had told to leave their home.
Another speaker at the seminar described what he saw as the "cold blooded murder" of a Palestinian woman.
The army has defended its conduct during the Gaza offensive but said it would investigate the testimonies.
The Israeli army has said it will investigate the soldiers' accounts.
The testimonies were published by the military academy at Oranim College. Graduates of the academy, who had served in Gaza, were speaking to new recruits at a seminar.
“ The climate in general [was that] lives of Palestinians are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers ”
Soldier testimony
"[The testimonies] conveyed an atmosphere in which one feels entitled to use unrestricted force against Palestinians," academy director Dany Zamir told public radio.
Heavy civilian casualties during the three-week operation which ended in the blockaded coastal strip on 18 January provoked an international outcry.
Correspondents say the testimonies, if proved credible, undermine Israel's claims that troops took care to protect non-combatants and accusations that Hamas militants were responsible for putting civilians into harm's way.
'Less important'
The Palestinian woman and two of her children were allegedly shot after they misunderstood instructions about which way to walk having been ordered out of their home by troops.
"The climate in general... I don't know how to describe it.... the lives of Palestinians, let's say, are much, much less important than the lives of our soldiers," an infantry squad leader is quoted saying.
In another cited case, a commander ordered troops to kill an elderly woman walking on a road, even though she was easily identifiable and clearly not a threat.
Testimonies, which were given by combat pilots and infantry soldiers, also included allegations of unnecessary destruction of Palestinian property.
"We would throw everything out of the windows to make room and order. Everything... Refrigerators, plates, furniture. The order was to throw all of the house's contents outside," a soldier said.
One non-commissioned officer related at the seminar that an old woman crossing a main road was shot by soldiers.
"I don't know whether she was suspicious, not suspicious, I don't know her story… I do know that my officer sent people to the roof in order to take her out… It was cold-blooded murder," he said.
The transcript of the session for the college's Yitzhak Rabin pre-military course, which was held last month, appeared in a newsletter published by the academy.
Israeli human rights groups have criticised the military for failing to properly investigate violations of the laws of war in Gaza despite plenty of evidence of possible war crimes.
'Moral army'
The soldiers' testimonies also reportedly told of an unusually high intervention by military and non-military rabbis, who circulated pamphlets describing the war in religious terminology.
"All the articles had one clear message," one soldier said. "We are the people of Israel, we arrived in the country almost by miracle, now we need to fight to uproot the gentiles who interfere with re-conquering the Holy Land."
"Many soldiers' feelings were that this was a war of religion," he added.
Defence Minister Ehud Barak told Israel Radio that the findings would be examined seriously.
"I still say we have the most moral army in the world. Of course there may be exceptions but I have absolutely no doubt this will be inspected on a case-by-case basis," he said.
Medical authorities say more than 1,300 Palestinians were killed during Israel's 22-day operation, including some 440 children, 110 women, and dozens of elderly people.
The stated aim was to curb rocket and mortar fire by militants from Gaza. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians were killed.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/7952603.stm
Published: 2009/03/19 13:34:26 GMT
© BBC MMIX
IDF in Gaza: Killing civilians, vandalism, and lax rules of engagement
- Details
- Written by Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
- Published: 19 March 2009 19 March 2009
- Hits: 3160 3160
The soldiers are graduates of the Yitzhak Rabin pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. Some of their statements made on Feb. 13 will appear Thursday and Friday in Haaretz. Dozens of graduates of the course who took part in the discussion fought in the Gaza operation.
The speakers included combat pilots and infantry soldiers. Their testimony runs counter to the Israel Defense Forces' claims that Israeli troops observed a high level of moral behavior during the operation. The session's transcript was published this week in the newsletter for the course's graduates.
The testimonies include a description by an infantry squad leader of an incident where an IDF sharpshooter mistakenly shot a Palestinian mother and her two children. "There was a house with a family inside .... We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof," the soldier said.
"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was okay, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders."
According to the squad leader: "The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them.
"I don't think he felt too bad about it, because after all, as far as he was concerned, he did his job according to the orders he was given. And the atmosphere in general, from what I understood from most of my men who I talked to ... I don't know how to describe it .... The lives of Palestinians, let's say, is something very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers. So as far as they are concerned they can justify it that way," he said.
Another squad leader from the same brigade told of an incident where the company commander ordered that an elderly Palestinian woman be shot and killed; she was walking on a road about 100 meters from a house the company had commandeered.
The squad leader said he argued with his commander over the permissive rules of engagement that allowed the clearing out of houses by shooting without warning the residents beforehand. After the orders were changed, the squad leader's soldiers complained that "we should kill everyone there [in the center of Gaza]. Everyone there is a terrorist."
The squad leader said: "You do not get the impression from the officers that there is any logic to it, but they won't say anything. To write 'death to the Arabs' on the walls, to take family pictures and spit on them, just because you can. I think this is the main thing: To understand how much the IDF has fallen in the realm of ethics, really. It's what I'll remember the most."
More soldiers' testimonies will be published in Haaretz over the coming days.
Israeli troops shot 'unarmed Palestinian civilians under orders' during Gaza war
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- Written by Rory McCarthy, Jerusalem Rory McCarthy, Jerusalem
- Published: 19 March 2009 19 March 2009
- Hits: 3315 3315
Published soldiers' testimonies contradict official version of events and reinforce Palestinian accounts of disproportionate force
Striking testimony has emerged from Israeli soldiers involved in the Gaza war in which they describe shooting unarmed civilians, sometimes under orders from their officers.
One soldier described how an Israeli sniper shot dead a Palestinian mother and her two children, adding that fellow troops believed the lives of Palestinians were "very, very less important than the lives of our soldiers".
The testimony, published in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz today, gives a rare insight into how Israeli soldiers fought the war on the ground; reinforces Palestinian accounts of disproportionate Israeli force; and sharply contradicts the Israeli military's official version of events.
The accounts come from unnamed soldiers who were graduates of a pre-military course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon and who spoke in a session in mid-February. The transcript of the session was published this week and obtained by Ha'aretz.
In that transcript, one infantry squad leader said: "There was a house with a family inside … We put them in a room. Later we left the house and another platoon entered it, and a few days after that there was an order to release the family. They had set up positions upstairs. There was a sniper position on the roof.
"The platoon commander let the family go and told them to go to the right. One mother and her two children didn't understand and went to the left, but they forgot to tell the sharpshooter on the roof they had let them go and it was OK, and he should hold his fire and he ... he did what he was supposed to, like he was following his orders. The sharpshooter saw a woman and children approaching him, closer than the lines he was told no one should pass. He shot them straight away. In any case, what happened is that in the end he killed them."
Read more: Israeli troops shot 'unarmed Palestinian civilians under orders' during Gaza war