Syrian army executes prisoners, desecrates their corpses

This graphic footage, purportedly filmed by Syrian security forces loyal to Bashar al-Asad in March 2012, depicts what appears to be a field execution of 15 men in the Idlib countryside. The living are bound and shot; the corpses are then dragged, shot again, and exploded for the entertainment of the troops filming this video. It was leaked and uploaded by Syrian democracy activists on 7 June 2012.

Raw footage – aftermath of shooting of Palestinian protestee Nabi Saleh – 9 Dec 2011

A Palestinian protester is seen seriously injured after being hit in the face with a tear gas canister fired directly at him by an Israeli soldier at the weekly protest in a-Nabi Saleh.

Scribd.com yields to Israeli pressure over war crimes suspects list

The document hosting and embedding website Scribd.com has yielded to pressure from the Israeli army's press unit and deleted the Scribd account of Redress Information & Analysis, following our posting of a list of Israeli military personnel suspected of war crimes in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead of 2008/09.

Please write to Scribd and tell them what a bunch of craven cowards they are. Their email address is press@scribd.com

They did not even have the courtesy of asking us to remove our other files first.

Eyewitnesses: Israel's violent seizure of Irene aid ship

From Stuart Littlewood

To Henry Bellingham, MP

Dear Henry,

This horrifying personal account of how the unarmed mercy vessel Irene was seized will, I hope, open the eyes of the collaborators in our Foreign Office to Israel's cruelty and viciousness. Perhaps you would care to share it with those of your Parliamentary colleagues who so admire and defend the vile regime.

Note the Israeli navy's instruction that “You are entering an area which is under military blockade and is closed under international law.” I think it has been established that the blockade has no basis in international law and I am still waiting to hear HM Government's expert view of how maritime law views Israel's action stopping and seizing ships under British and other flags and abducting passengers and crew going about their lawful business outside Israel's territorial waters.

It is also interesting that the Israelis were concerned that the Irene was entering an area close to an oil rig. Would this be the Israeli rig that's suspected of slant-drilling into Gaza's marine gas field?

Kind regards,

Stuart Littlewood

Violent seizing of the Irene Gaza aid ship

Children of Gaza

In January 2009 over 1300 Palestinians were killed in Gaza. Around 300 of them children.  When the ceasefire was declared, BAFTA winning film-maker Jezza Neumann arrived to follow the lives of 4 children over the course of a year.  Through their eyes, and in their words, Children of Gaza gives us a unique insight into the impact of war on vulnerable young minds.

Despite the horrors they witnessed, Amal 9, Mahmoud and Omsyatte 12, and Ibraheem 11 still have hope and humour whilst living in the ruins of the Gaza Strip.  Increasingly isolated by a blockade that prevents anyone from rebuilding their homes and their lives, Children of Gaza is a shocking, touching and uniquely intimate reflection on extraordinary courage in the face of great adversity. More >>

Names and photos of Israeli war criminals in Gaza

By Political Theatrics

I have decided to publish some names and photos of the Israeli military personnel who participated in the so-called “Operation Cast Lead”, the offensive launched by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on the Gaza Strip between 27 December and 18 January 2009. The names of these criminals called my attention since the first day of their criminal attack against the Palestinian civilians in Gaza. I consider each person who took part in this IOF and each one whose name appears in this report as a war criminal who should be requested by an international court of justice, just like all other war criminals who were persecuted before…

Palestinians call on Abbas clique to search their conscience over Goldstone decision

Enough is enough?

From Mazin Qumsiyeh, Human Rights Newsletter

It is hard to describe our emotions in the past three days in Palestine since we heard of the Palestinian "leadership" withdrawal of the discussions at the UN Human Rights Council about the Goldstone report.

Can those who made the decision look straight in the eyes of the families of the 400 children butchered in Gaza and tell them that this was politically necessary because Hillary Clinton asked them to do it (the same administration that failed to even get the rapist to have a short pause in his rape!)? Maybe just one family (see picture below)? And will the rest of us (and yes each of us is responsible) be able to look into these same eyes and tell them we were satisfied with expressing sympathy and uttering words?

Who decreed that popular civil action cannot be directed at those who harm the cause and happen to also be Palestinian? Will our shame, anger and revulsion be NOW moved to civil action? Will we really have a democratic civil society or one ruled by a clique of elites? Will decent people in Fatah stand-up to correct this trend? Will we say enough is enough and this was the straw that broke the camel's back?...

See Palestinians drop endorsement of Goldstone report on Gaza war

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Decision of Palestinian Leadership and International Pressure an Insult to the Victims

Adalah * Addameer * Aldameer * Al Haq * Al Mezan * Badil * Civic Coalition for Jerusalem * DCI-Palestine * ENSAN Centre * Independent Commission for Human Rights * Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre * Palestinian Centre for Human Rights * Ramallah Centre for Human Rights Studies * Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling *

As human rights organizations we strongly condemn the Palestinian leaderships’ decision to defer the proposal endorsing all the recommendations of the Fact Finding Mission, and the pressure exerted by certain members of the international community. Such pressure is in conflict with states’ international obligations, and is an insult to the Palestinian people.

Below is an urgent statement by the The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO)

PNGO condemns PA request of delaying endorsement of Goldstone recommendations

PNGO expresses its bewilderment and strongly condemns the Palestinian Authority’s withdrawal of its draft resolution supporting the recommendations contained in the Goldstone Report, resulting in a deferral of a vote to endorse the report in the Human Rights Council to March 2010. The report suggests that war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity were committed by the Israeli military during its 23-day offensive in Gaza from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009.

PNGO considers that this move by the Palestinian Authority (PA) is an insult to the victims of Operation Cast Lead, and actively facilitates the ongoing impunity of suspected Israeli war criminals; while the siege on Gaza enters its 28th month, Israeli military attacks on the Palestinian population are ongoing and settlement expansion in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, continues unabated. PNGO is shocked at the suggestion by the PA that accountability for the victims in Gaza could adversely affect the peace process.

PNGO asks Palestinian political parties to immediately adopt a clear position about the PA decision and to request from the PA a public explanation. This decision has triggered embarrassment and disappointment among Palestinians and activists in the international community, who have made efforts to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Gaza to justice. The Palestinian Authority has wasted an important opportunity towards ensuring accountability of the State of Israel for their war crimes and human rights violations.

In the words of Justice Goldstone at the presentation of his report at the HRC on 29 September: "This is the time for action. The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence."

The Palestinian NGOs Network(PNGO) 
Ramallah

Tel: +972-2-2975320/1

Fax: +972-2-2950704

Email: pngonet@pngo.net

Website: www.pngo.net

British MP confronts Israeli minister over war crimes charge

PRESS RELEASE FROM RICHARD BURDEN MP

Labour MP for Birmingham Northfield
Chair, Britain-Palestine All-Party Parliamentary Group

LABOUR CONFERENCE: MP CONFRONTS ISRAELI MINISTER OVER WAR CRIMES CHARGE

Richard Burden MP last night confronted Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Labour Party Conference. Mr Burden called on him to respond to the findings of the recent UN report that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza during ‘Operation Cast Lead’.

Mr Burden, Chair of the Britain-Palestine All Party Parliamentary Group, also presented the Israeli Minister with a copy of the group’s report of a fact-finding visit to Gaza earlier this year. The report highlights the impact of Israel’s actions in deepening the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Mr Barak’s appearance at Labour’s conference in Brighton had already attracted widespread protest. As Defence Minister in the current and previous Israeli Government, Ehud Barak was directly involved in planning and executing Israel’s attack on Gaza between December 2008 and January 2009. Mr Barak is named in the report by Judge Richard Goldstone which is being discussed this week at the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking from Brighton today, Mr Burden said:

“Israel chose not to cooperate with the UN investigation, even though it was conducted by someone as eminent as Judge Goldstone.

“Now Israel is trying to rubbish Goldstone’s conclusions before the ink in his report is barely dry. They even say the United Nations had no mandate to investigate allegations of war crimes in Gaza in the first place. That is just not good enough. If the United Nations has no mandate to uphold international law, then what does it have a mandate to do?

“Goldstone’s findings are serious and the international community cannot ignore them. If war crimes were committed in Gaza – by whatever side – they must be held accountable. It is not acceptable for Israel to demand the international community takes action against attacks on civilians by Palestinians but refuse to face up to its own responsibilities for the atrocities in Gaza last winter and for the continuing humanitarian crisis caused by the ongoing blockade.

“If Israel continues to refuse to face up to its own responsibility to investigate these things properly and to bring those responsible to justice, the UN Security Council must do so itself – by referring the issue to the International Criminal Court. The UK’s commitment to human rights means we should be at the forefront of making that happen.”

− ENDS −

CONTACT:
Duncan Sinclair: +44 (0)7837 257 001 / sinclaird@parliament.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS:

In February Mr Burden led the first UK Parliamentary delegation to Gaza to see first hand the results of the conflict there. A copy of the delegation’s report is available online here: http://www.richardburden.com/palestine-report-2009

Rain of fire: Israel's unlawful use of white phosphorus in Gaza

During Israel's 22-day military operations in Gaza, from 27 December 2008 to 18 January 2009, named Operation Cast Lead, the so-called "Israel Defence Forces" (IDF) repeatedly exploded white phosphorus munitions in the air over populated areas, killing and injuring civilians, and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital.

Marc Garlasco, Senior Military Analyst, Human Rights Watch, discusses the ground investigation and findings.

This video is also available here.

Israeli troops admit abuses in Gaza

Phyllis Bennis, Senior Analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, says that public discourse about Israeli war crimes is a breakthrough, as soldiers speak.

Eyewitnesses to Israeli war crimes in Gaza

International witnesses speak out from Gaza on Israeli atrocities

27 December 2008, Gaza, Palestine: Human rights defenders from Lebanon, the UK, Poland, Canada, Spain, Italy and Australia are present in Gaza and are witnessing and documenting the current Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Due to Israel's policy of denying access to international media, human rights defenders and aid agencies to the occupied Gaza Strip, many of these human rights defenders arrived in Gaza with the Free Gaza Movement's boats.

Free Gaza Movement boats have broken Israel's siege of Gaza five times in the past four months.

Eva Bartlett (Canada), International Solidarity Movement:

At the time of the attacks I was on Omar Mukhtar street and witnessed a rocket hit the street 150 metres away where crowds had already gathered to try to extract the dead bodies [from a previous rocket attack]. Ambulances, trucks, cars – anything that can move – are bringing the injured to the hospitals.

Hospitals have had to evacuate sick patients to make room for the injured. I have been told that there is not enough room in the morgues for the bodies and that there is a serious lack of blood in the blood banks. I have just learned that among the civilians killed today was the mother of my good friends in Jabalya camp.

Ewa Jasiewicz (Polish and British), Free Gaza Movment, writes:

Israeli missles tore through a children's playground and busy market in Diyar Balah. We saw the aftermath – many were injured and some reportedly killed. Every hospital in the Gaza Strip is already overwhelmed with injured people and does not have the medicine or the capacity to treat them. Israel is committing crimes against humanity, it is violating international and human rights law, ignoring the United Nations and planning even bigger attacks. The world must act now and intensify the calls for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel. Governments need to move beyond words of condemnation into an active and immediate restraint of Israel and a lifting of the siege of Gaza.

Dr Haidar Eid, (Palestinian, South African), Professor of Social and Cultural Studies, Al Aqsa University:

The morgue at the Shifa hospital has no more room for dead bodies, so bodies and body parts are strewn all over the hospital.

Sharon Lock (Australia), International Solidarity Movement:

The bombs began to fall just as the children were on the streets walking back from school. I went out onto the stairs and a terrified 5 year old girl ran sobbing into my arms.

Dr Eyad Sarraj, President of the Gaza Community Mental Health Centre:

This is incredibly sad. This massacre is not going to bring security for the State of Israel or allow it to be part of the Middle East. Now calls of revenge are everywhere.

Jenny Linnel (UK), International Solidarity Movement:

As I speak they [the Israelis] have just hit a building 200 metres away. There is smoke everywhere. This morning I went to the building close to where I live in Rafah that had been hit. Two bulldozers were immediately attempting to clear the rubble. They thought they had found all the bodies. As we arrived one more was found.

Natalie Abu Eid (Lebanon), International Solidarity Movement:

The home I am staying in is across from the Preventive Security compound. All the glass of the house shattered. The home has been severely damaged. Owing to the siege there, is no glass or building materials to repair this damage. One little boy in our house fainted. An eight-year-old boy was trembling on the ground for an hour. In front of our house we found the bodies of two little girls under a car, completely burnt. They were coming home from school. This is more than just collective punishment. We are being treated like laboratory animals. I have lived through the Israeli bombardment of Beirut and the Israel's message is the same in Gaza as it was in Beirut – the killing of civilians. There was just another explosion outside!

For more information on the Free Gaza Movment (FGM) or the International
Solidarity Movement (ISM), contact in the West Bank:

• Adam Taylor (ISM): tel. +972 59 8503948
• Lubna Masarwa (FGM): tel. +972 50 5633044

UK supermarkets sell illegal Israeli settler products under misleading labels

Press Release

Palestinian General Delegation to the UK

London, 30 June 2008: The Palestinian General Delegation to the UK has been pursuing the issue of illegal Israeli settlements’ products being exported to the UK (branded as the produce of the West Bank).

A number of British organizations and activities brought to our attention that Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose sell products described as the produce of the West Bank. Upon investigating the matter, we found no evidence that these are Palestinian products.

In December 2007, we wrote to the three stores to seek clarifications (please find a copy of the letter below*). As of today, we have not received a satisfactory answer. We therefore would like to bring this issue to the public and call upon our friend and supporters to take note of this issue and help us by writing to the three stores and by ensuring that Israel does not profit from its illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The Israeli military occupation spares no efforts or time to forcibly and illegally confiscate Palestinian privately and publicly owned land as evident by the numerous UN and international bodies’ reports. Whilst encouraging, protecting and providing economic incentives for illegal settlers in the occupied territory to steal and farm Palestinian land, the Israeli authorities have been applying unjust policies aiming at strangulating Palestinian economic activities, particularly the agricultural sector. Among other policies, the confiscation of land; the building of the Wall; creeping annexation and expansion of settlements; construction of hundreds of bypass roads for Israeli settlers only; denying access to natural resources, particularly water; movement restrictions; and siege – all these meant that the Palestinian economy is near collapse and the Palestinian people are being imprisoned in an ever shrinking bantustans.

We commend our many British friends who are standing firm in defending the laws of the UK that safeguard the right of British consumers to accurate information and in upholding international law. The growing number of forces that are siding with justice, freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people and fighting all attempts to profit from occupation give us greater hope for a better future for our people and for the human family.

--

*Subject: Herbs showing the origin “West Bank”

Date: 05.12.2007

Dear Sir/Madam,

It has come to my attention that herbs showing the origin “West Bank”are now being sold in your stores. This, I understand, will cover all produce coming from the cccupied Palestinian territory, regardless of whether this produce comes from Palestinian farms or Israeli illegal settlements.

This is an extremely disturbing practice, and it is very misleading for the following reasons:

The vast majority, and in fact very probably all produce that comes from the West Bank, comes from illegal Israeli settlements. Very little, if any, produce that comes from Palestinian farms makes it to supermarket shelves in the UK.

The West Bank has become synonymous with Palestine in the public mind. Consumers buying these products believe that they are supporting the Palestinian economy, while in fact they are supporting the economy of the occupier.

The settlements are illegal under international law. The Geneva Convention states that the transfer of a civilian population into occupied territory is a war crime, to be ancillary (complicit) in this crime is also a crime in English law under the terms of the International Criminal Court Act 2001. The settlements are built on stolen land and are irrigated by water stolen from the Palestinians. It is no secret that they are projects that exploit the Palestinians and employ child labour.

Tesco must not sell these products and thus be party to this unethical and illegal operation. If you feel you want to continue selling illegal settlement products despite all of the above, then they must be labelled in a way that clearly shows their origin and sets them apart from Palestinian produce, so that consumers can make ethical choices.

We are also aware that most settlement products, the dates from the Jordan Valley for example, show Israel as country of origin. This is also misleading as the Jordan Valley is occupied territory and not part of Israel. Profiting from military occupation, we believe, is the most
unethical act and must be stopped immediately.

We would highly appreciate your clarifications for this matter that we deem of utmost importance to the national interest of the Palestinian people and to the vast majority of the British people who wholeheartedly support our quest to end one of the longest foreign military occupation in the history of mankind.

Thank you in advance for your kind considerations

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Manuel Hassassian

Head of Mission, Palestinian General Delegation to the UK

Turkish university to honour Israeli war crimes suspect

Do not honour the dishonourable!

Open letter to Professor Ali Dogramaci, Rector of Bilkent University, Ankara

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) views with grave concern your university's intention to honour Shimon Peres with an Honorary Doctorate. We feel certain that you do so without the knowledge of his personal history and his history as president of a state that practices the most pernicious form of colonialism and apartheid. Bear with us as we recount the most salient points of his career and life which directly point to a record of war crimes which will immeasurably tarnish the image of Bilkent University, should you confer an Honorary Degree upon him. Those who have received this prestigious degree from your university will be tainted by being in the company of such a notorious personality. On18 April 1996, when Israel still occupied southern Lebanon, Shimon Peres was prime minister. He was in the midst of an election campaign, so he took a decision to do something to change his "dovish" image because doves are not respected in Israel. He launched "Operation Grapes of Wrath", causing 400,000 Lebanese to flee their homes, with almost 800 of them fleeing to a UN base in Qana, South Lebanon.

On 18 April the Israeli army shelled the UN shelter in Qana, killing 102 civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly. Many more were injured. Human Rights Watch, the UN and Amnesty International subsequently disproved the myth that the Israeli army did not deliberately intend to shell the UN base. Shimon Peres said at the time, "In my opinion, everything was done according to clear logic and in a responsible way. I am at peace."

The Qana massacre led to Shimon Peres being denied the job he coveted at the time: that of UN secretary-general. He should have been denied it anyway for being the architect of Israel's nuclear programme – one which remains outside the scrutiny of the world even as Israel bays for the cessation of Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

Peres is on record for being responsible for other war crimes, from building colonies on occupied Arab land to endorsing a policy of extra-judicial killings, which murders Palestinians and other Arabs without the benefit of a trial or, in fact, any proof other than that provided by Israeli intelligence, the Shin Bet. He also supports the siege on Gaza, the destruction of the airport and the elaborate system of checkpoints all across the West Bank. He defends the demolition of Palestinian homes, and he justified the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its recent war on Lebanon in 2006.

Peres is also on record for defending land gained during war, claiming that Israel has the right to the Golan Heights because it was gained during war. All this makes him wholly unsuitable for consideration for any Honorary Degree – let alone actually being awarded one!

We, like all other Palestinians and international supporters of human rights and international law, expect from Bilkent University to uphold the highest standard of respect for the human rights of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, which has been under a hermetic siege imposed by Israel for almost two years. Difficult and brave decisions need to be taken in support of Palestinians exactly like South Africa was supported long before it became fashionable to do so. Israeli war criminals should be boycotted, not rewarded.

Turkish people have always shown strong support for the struggle of the victims of both Apartheid and Zionism, and they will continue to do so. We hope that your university will remain within the Turkish consensus and refrain from honouring a dishonourable man.

PACBI
Ramallah, Palestine
Info@BoycottIsrael.ps