Human Rights Update- Mid November; B'Tselem- Human Shield; Amnesty Report; more by Shabtai Gold 1:36am Thu Nov 14 '02 inhalin@yahoo.com Report for MId November containing 4 topics. print article 1) Gideon Levi reported in last week’s Haaretz newspaper a terrifying story of two men from the West Bank. These are not regular men- one is blind, and one is an amputee missing both his legs. Both require dialysis treatment. Both were kept in an army detention center for ten hours, bleeding from the tubes that they have in their bodies. Basam Jarar, the cripple, told Levi that he shouted from his cell at the soldiers: "Bring me a doctor! Bring something to stop the blood!", but the soldier continued to read his newspaper even as the man bled before his eyes. Both men were on their way home from treatment at the hospital when the ambulanced they traveled in was stopped by Israeli Forces at a checkpoint. They were removed from the ambulance under the premise of being "wanted suspects". When the men, both tired from the treatment, after which most people need to sleep for several ours, asked that their wives be allowed to stay with them, they were denied. They were both thrown into army vehicles and brought to a detention center, where, as mentioned, they were denied proper medical treatment. It should be noted that an Israeli Forces doctor did see the men, however did not treat them, or help them in anyway. One of the soldiers told Jarar, when after ten hours he finally returned to the checkpoint on his way home for the second time: "I just wanted to show you that our doctors are better than yours." Interestingly enough, the soldiers wanted to simply leave the men, each one alone, at checkpoints, assuming that a blind man and a cripple could find their way home. Only after begging and pleading did they agree to leave them together and "allow" for them to call an ambulance to pick them up. IDF response: "There was a communication problem". This cannot explain why two men were denied proper medical treatment- for ten hours. The only excuse is simple lack of care and cruelty on the parts of the soldiers and the Israeli doctor involved in the case. We call for their immediate removal from service and to revoke the doctor's license to practice medicine, since he violated his oaths, international charters, and basic morality. Physicians for Human Rights made the story public and protested the way the two sick men were treated. Law Society for Human rights on the issue of medical treatment in camps: "Law emphasizes principle 1 of the UN Principles of Medical Ethics, which provides that medical personnel have a duty to protect the 'physical and mental health' of prisoners and detainees and provide them with 'the same quality and standard of treatment as is afforded to those who are not ... detained' and principle 2 which states that 'it is a gross contravention of medical ethics ... for health personnel, particularly physicians, to engage actively or passively in acts which constitute ... complicity in ... cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.' LAW is gravely concerned about the fate of thousands of Palestinian prisoners who are still in custody, without charge or trial, often under administrative detention orders that may be renewed indefinitely. LAW further calls on the Israeli government to ensure that the rights of detainees are protected in accordance with international human rights and humanitarian law." http://www.lawsociety.org/Press/Preleases/2002/nov/nov7.html 2) Amnesty international, who recently released a report on suicide bombing in the Israel and occupied territories, has released another report on the area. This report states that: "In the four months between 27 February and the end of June 2002 – the period of the two major IDF offensives and the reoccupation of the West Bank - the IDF killed nearly 500 Palestinians. Although many Palestinians died during armed confrontations many of these IDF killings appeared to be unlawful and at least 16% of the victims, more than 70, were children. More than 8,000 Palestinians detained in mass round-ups over the same period were routinely subjected to ill-treatment, and more than 3,000 Palestinian homes were demolished." Amnesty also states that: "The number of Israelis killed by Palestinian armed groups and individuals also increased: the number doubled during the month of March during the first Israeli incursions; in the four months up to the end of June 2002... 164 civilians [have been killed]; 32 of those killed were children." Amnesty protests the various policies used in the occupied territories, which amount to collective punishment. Amnesty called on Israel: "· to ensure safe access for humanitarian and medical supplies; · to immediately stop the use of lethal force to enforce curfews; · to ensure that IDF operations are conducted in full respect of international human rights and humanitarian law; · to initiate a full, thorough, transparent and impartial investigation into all allegations of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including those documented in this report, and to make the results public; · to cooperate with United Nations investigations...". (A partial list.) The group called on the Palestinian Authority: "· to take all action possible to prevent anyone under its jurisdiction from attacking or otherwise endangering the safety of civilians." Full report: http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/recent/MDE151432002?OpenDocument 3) "The soldiers began to bang on the door of my home. I was very frightened because they were throwing stones at the door. I decided to open it, carefully. When I opened the door, the soldiers demanded that I take off my clothes, even though I am an old man. I took my clothes off, and the soldiers ordered me to turn around.... "The commander ordered me to go to Muhamed Abu 'Arara's, and tell him to come of his house immediately. " The above are excerpts from the testimony of Mahmoud Narmi Hamed Abu 'Arara, born in 1933, given to B'Tselem last week. B'Tselem has learned that the Israeli Forces have began using the "neighbor policy" again, although it is against both Israeli and international law. The basis of the use negates all human rights charters of the last 50 years by saying that Palestinian life is worth less than Israeli life, and therefore it is acceptable to have Palestinians do soldiers' work, when the soldiers feel that the job is a dangerous one. In the past Palestinians have died do to this policy, and other have been injured or terrorized since they were used as human shields. "We also used Palestinians to check suspicious objects on the roads or in houses...", said a soldier to B’Tselem. Another related that: "Before searching a house, we go to a neighbor, take him out of his house and tell him to call the person we want. If it works, great. If not, we blow down the door or hammer it open. The neighbor goes in first. If somebody is planning something, he is the one who gets it. Our instructions are to send him in and get everybody out - put the women and children in one room, handcuff the men and take them into another room. We take their ID cards and then go through the whole house with the neighbor to find the person we are looking for and take him. " Part of B'Tselem's official statement on the issue: "B'Tselem urges the IDF to order its soldiers not to use civilians for any purpose whatsoever. The order given to soldiers must be unambiguous. It must state that under no circumstances is it permissible to demand civilians to cooperate with security forces and perform military acts. B'Tselem urges the IDF to immediately investigate all the cases appearing in this report and other cases that are brought to its attention and initiate proceedings against all personnel involved in this illegal practice." Report on Human Shield: http://btselem.org/English/Publications/Full_Text/Human_Shield/index.asp Testimonies: http://btselem.org/English/Testimonies/Index.asp 4) The attacks onm civilians are not coming to a stop. This week a mother and her two children, both minors, were killed in an attack by Palestinian militants, and two other civilians were killed as well. In addition the Israeli Forces have killed several civilians this week in the Gaza strip, including a two year old baby, in air raids. Many other have been injured. All attacks against civilians, no matter the motives, are illegal, and must be stopped. (Source: Haaretz) This e-mail is not copyrighted and is free to be distributed although it is requested that the content not be changed, although selected sections from it may be quoted. Compiled by: thespiritraven@hotmail.com To join the mailing list send an email to the above address and you will be added. add your comments Source file