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Repression

Police brutality, corruption, use of deadly force, legal, prison activism, information on political prisoners.

Riots in England/Uprising of the unheard

 


מחאה חברתית אמיתית

אל תדרשו, חוקים לחטיפת-ילדים למוסדות-שטיפת-המוח הבורגניים!! תיבעו מן הממשלה, הארכת חופשת-הלידה, הכפלת שכר-המינימום, הפחתת שבוע-העבודה ושוויון מוחלט בין המינים!! קנו פחות = חיו יותר!! זאת תהיה, מחאה חברתית אמיתית....לא מה, שאנחנו רואים כיום באוהלים!!

News that Vanished

We are a news agency in Bahrain. We were visited by government men three weeks ago. They spent about 20 minutes with our boss and then he left with them. A few days after this, several of our staff noticed files missing from our records. These were recently distributed stories, some had already went out to the press wire, some had been aired or printed locally. Some already released news was withdrawn and disappeared.


The real story here is about a certain PR agency that specializes in killing certain news items with a little help from the government censor. I expect their clients pay well.


We are lucky to have some pre-edit backup files and we will ensure that they get distributed. If someone wants this news killed, then it’s even more important that it be shared. Please reprint these articles or develop a story about the manipulation of the news in Bahrain.


Our reporters prefer that their names remain attached to their articles.


Regarding the following articles:


 We understand the censor of the article reporting the Movement of prisoners.  Further, quoting Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa’s inflammatory remark could lead to division. All the stories are related to the ports, but the meaning of this connection is unknown. The latest Norgas news seems terribly boring and the other one is a little out of date – so I can’t see why those two reports represent a threat to anyone.


It is known here that Skaugen Gulf Petroeum is a front company. At least two of the articles below are related to Skaugen Gulf Petro – because they detail events involving Norgas vessels (Norgas is a subsidiary of I.M. Skaugen). It’s possible that the unidentified tanker vessel used to transport prisoners belongs to Skaugen, that’s unknown.


If any feedback can be returned about who would seek to kill port related news in the gulf, we would love to receive it. We have a deep interest in learning why these stories have been censored.


 


Port Authorities struggle with U.S. commandos.


M.A. Kahlil


Bahrain, Monday, May 2, 2011. Immigration authorities and port police have joined forces to challenge the apparent movement of foreign prisoners transferred from a petro-chemical vessel anchored within sight of the Bapco terminal at Sitra.


Local security forces have reported that an elite U.S. military unit or military contactor company is using the nearby petroleum loading facilities in order to avoid oversight of the U.S. authorities at the American naval base in Manama.


An immigration officer indicated that a confrontation on the Majlis Al Ta’Awon bridge ended when local authorities relented after one of the heavily armed Americans threated the ranking officer, “Back down, or I’ll shoot you in the face”.


The American’s convoy of four vehicles included two trucks loaded with hooded prisoners. They proceeded to turn onto Al Esteglal and then stopped briefly in front of KFC before disappearing down the side-streets.


When questioned about this event, Information Affairs head Sheikh Fawaz bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa said the Government was aware of it and is taking steps to insure that, “Bahrain will not become the wild west and American cowboys are not in control”.


 


 


Mutiny on the Norgas Carine.


M.A. Kahlil


Bahrain, Monday, June 21, 2010. Norgas Carine, a petrochemical vessel of the I.M Skaugen fleet has been the center of activity during recent calls at the ports of Richard’s Bay and Fujairah. Port authorities ordered the vessel to anchor and boarded it repeatedly in the Persian Gulf.


On Tuesday, a service helicopter was seen lowering personnel unto the vessel.


Dock workers alerted police when they suspected the vessel might have been hijacked by pirates or that illegal drugs or other contraband might be on board.


After days at anchor and a prolonged lay-birth in Fujairah, Captain Mihail Barcevs of Norgas Carine reported that the majority of the Chinese crew members on board had refused to work and thereby created a dangerous situation for the vessel and port facilities.


The vessel Captain went on the explain that most I.M. Skaugen vessels are crewed by low ranking Chinese sailors supervised by Former Soviet Union officers, “The owner is Norwegian, the officers are FSU, the ratings are Chinese – so you got a lot of confusion and labor disputes”


Another FSU officer from Norgas Carine confided that the majority of I.M. Skaugen’s fleet are staffed by a mix of FSU officers in command of Chinese ratings. “We can’t communicate with them, their morale slips and that leads to higher maintenance costs and other problems, we’ve even had sabotage.”


When asked to give examples of sabotage, the FSU officer said, “Family is very important to Chinese sailors. If a man is forced to work longer than his contract period, small fires start breaking out, especially if Spring Festival is coming.” He noted that these small fires are quickly extinguished and not officially reported but that, “the crew has learned that fire is the best way to get management to obey a contact.”


The Captain of Norgas Carine indicated that his vessels problems would soon be over, “they’re flying in a bunch of Filipinos to replace our Chinese crew.” When asked if this would solve the company’s labor issues the Captain replied, “Filipinos are expensive and lazy, but they’re easy going and they can speak English”.


 


I.M. Skaugen Delays at the pump.


Nabeelrajab, R.


Fujairah, UAE, 28 May 2011. Port Authorities have complained of intentional delays in petroleum loading operations. The crew of an I.M. Skaugen LPG vessel was blamed. Regulations state that local dock facility staff have authority over all cargo transfers.


Dock workers reported that when loading operations were set to begin, the crew of Norgas Carine cited safety concerns and insisted on slowly inspecting dock facility equipment. This initial delay was followed by some apparent confusion on board the vessel and an explanation that the crew had misplaced some vital equipment.


When loading operations finally commenced, the rate of transfer was extremely slow. At first, the vessel crew seemed unaware or unconcerned, but they were finally prompted to check the equipment on their side of the transfer operation.  After some tinkering, the vessel crew reported that a valve was reluctant to fully open.


When local facility staff pointed out that many other vessels were waiting to load cargo, the crew promised that they would soon increase the rate of cargo transfer. When new crewmembers showed up and boarded the vessel, the rate of flow was immediately increased to normal speed.


One officer of Norgas Carine confided that such delays are helpful in avoiding port related fees and contract obligations to the cargo owner.  The young officer went on to explain that the operation was intentionally slowed to provide time for the relieving crew to show up.


In exchange for some adjustments to the logbook entries, Norgas Carine opened her slop-chest and paid out several cartons of cigarettes.


 


Israel kills protesters on Nakba Day/Israeli murder machine goes on and on

 

 

 
 

ISRAEL KILLS PROTESTERS ON NAKBA DAY/ ISRAELI MURDERING MACHINE GOES ON AND ON

 

''How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many deaths will it take till one knows
That too many people have died
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind''
 
Free after Bob Dylan's, Blowin in the wind

 

Dear Editor and Readers,

 

It's a fact, that the barbaric Israeli attacks against unarmed protesters at Nakba Day at 15 may [followed by Israeli killing at 5 june of anti-occupation protesters, with 24 deaths], costing the lives of at least 15 people [1], is no ''incident'', but part of a deliberate killing operation, since the Israeli occupation in 1967

This occupation has led to humiliation of the Palestinian civilian population, systematic killings of Palestinian political leaders, bloody military operations [2], torture of prisoners [3] and the starvation of the civilian population, especially Gaza [4]

 

 

NAKBA REMEMBRANCE DAY 2011

 

What makes this killing operation the more bitter is the direct cause:

The protesters commemorated Nakba Day, the foundation of the Israeli State and the humanitarian consequences for the Palestinians

Nakba means disaster

AND WHAT A DISASTER!

 

Although the foundation of Israel is a celebration day for the Israeli-Jewish inhabitants, it is founded on ethnical cleansings and massacres of the original Arab-Palestinian population, who now live as discriminated civilians in Israel, oppressed in the occupied Palestinian, in the Arabic countries, or in diaspora in the world

 

Displaced

Without a homeland

 

 

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

 

''If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We come from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that?''

 


David Ben Gurion, the first Israeli prime minister, quoted by Nahum Goldman, in


the Jewish Paradox

 

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Articles/General/Story8923.html

 

http://www.palestineremembered.com/Acre/Books/Story8920.html

 

Ironically this statement comes from the Israeli-zionist leader David Ben Gurion, who

exclaimed the State Israel at 15 may 1948 after the adoption of UN GA Resolution 181 [1947] about the ''partition'' of Palestine in a Jewish and Arab part.

Being the first Israeli prime minister, he was head responsible for the ethnical cleansing of Palestine

 

ZIONISM

 

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is central in the present Middle East conflict, but not the original cause, which is rooted in zionism, founded by Theodor Herzl [5]

 

Zionism is the foundation of a Jewish State in Palestine, which is a total lack of respect  for the rights of the oroginal Palestinian population [6]

The Turkish colonial authorities [untill the end of WO I, Palestine was a colony of the Ottoman Empire] were against that plan, but British support was gained in 1917, with the Balfour Declaration, guaranteeing a ''National Home of the Jewish people'' in Palestine [7]

Although the word ''State'' was not used it was obvious, that that was the aim of the zionist movement

 

About the Balfour Declaration the writer Arthur Koestler stated

''One nation solemny promised the country of a second to a third''

 

This is a striking description of the violation of the Palestinian right on self-determination

Because nobody asked the Palestinians how they felt about the British ''promise'' to the zionist movement. [8]

 

When Palestine became a British Mandate in 1920, the zionist dream could further develop

 

From the beginning, representatives of the Palestinian nationalist movements protested against the British ''promise'' to the zionists, with as a consequence amounted tensions between the Palestinians and as well the British colonial authorities as the zionist movement

This led to the Arab Revolt from 1936-1939, which was surpressed harshly by the British

[9]

 

AFTER WO II

UN PARTITION RESOLUTION 181/EXCLAMATION  OF THE STATE ISRAEL

 


Afer growing tensions, leading to an escalation, which the British could no longer control, UN Resolution 181 was adopted, which divided Palestine en a Jewish and Arab part.

The Palestinian population had been asked nothing, a serious violation of the right on self-determination, acknowledged in the post WO II period, which was characterized by the process of decolonisation

 

This shameless fact could take place since the then UN members were either Western colonial powers, or countries, which were dependent on the West in political or economical way

The two Superpowers to be, the US and the Soviet Union [ especially the US] were political sponsors of zionism [10]

 

Although there wasn't resolved yet, what exactly the structure of the new Palestinian governments should be, at 15 may 1948 David Ben Goerion exclaimed the State Israel

Naturally the Palestinians, who had nothing to say about this neo colonial experiment [which IS the foundation of a State in the homeland of other people] formed armed resistance

They were supported by poorly armed armies of the newly independent Arab countries, which were no party for the better armed Israeli-zionist troops.[11]

 

This armed struggle between the Palestinians, defending their right to self-determination and the newly founded zionist State led to ethnical cleansings, by which more than 750.000 Palestinians were expelled by Israeli-zionist troops and militia like the extreme right wing Irgun and Stern militia

Also massacres were committed, often by Irgun and Stern

When the war was over, more than 400 Arab villages were destroyed [12]

 

The foundation of the State Israel and the desastrous consequences of the following war is mentioned Nakba [disaster] [13]

 

 

SINCE 1967/ISRAELI OCCUPATION

 

The present causes of the Middle East conflicts are rooted in the 44th years of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories [Eastern Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza, which ts still occupied territory [14], as the Syrian Golan Heights.

This despite the unanimously accepted UN Security Resolution 242 in 1967, which summoned Israel to withdraw from the conquered territories [in the june war], among else the Palestinian and the Golan Heights

 

Any occupation in the world, including the Israeli, impliesoppression, humiliations, human rights violations and warcrimes

And oppression leads, naturally, to resistance, in this case legitimate attacks on Israeli military goals and non legitimate resistance as [suicide] attacks on Israeli civilians and rocket attacks on Israeli villages near the Gaza border [15]

 

 

ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS

 

But that's not all

Except for the occupation, which caused so much human suffering, since the end of the sixties, Israel has built illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, which have led to mass Palestinian land expropriations, without any compensation [16]

 

Nowadays a large part of the occupied West Bank consists of settlements, which are daily expanded

 

ILLEGAL ISRAELI WALL

 

But the story goes on:

 

The Israeli Wall is also  illegal according the ICJ Advisory Opinion ay 9 july 2004, on grounds that it is built in occupied Palestinian territory, thus cutting off Palestinian land in the favour of Israel, the occupying power [17]

 

ISRAEL AWARD WINNER OF VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

 

To Israel the dubious honour as one of the Award winners of violation and neglecting International Law

The record is ''impressive''

 

Neglection of UN GA Resolution 194 [1948], stating, that the ethnically cleansed Palestinian refugees [in the war of 1947-1948] had the right to return to their homes, or else should be financially compensated

 

In short: the right on return

 

Neglection of the Resolution about the roots of the present conflict, the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories [and Golan Heights], UN Security Resolution 242

 

Neglection of the two UN Security Resolutions in the seventies, regarding the stop and dismantling of the illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories

 

Neglection of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of the Israeli Wall, despite the humanitarian consequences for the occupied Palestinian population [18]

 

Most fatal of course, is the continuation of the illegal occupation

 

The oppression, humiliations, war-crimes [19] and torture goes on and on

Clear proof is the Israeli killings on Nakba Day and the recent killings of protesters, commenorating the beginning of the june war [with as result/44 years occupation] [20]

 

 

PARTNERS IN CRIME

THE US AND EU

 

But Israel is not the only guilty one, since it's been supported by the US and the EU

The US as main ''partner in crime'' by giving as well military as political support to the Israeli occupation machine

At political level nearly all Security Council Resolutions, condemning Israel, are met with a US veto [21]

The last was on 18 february, when the US vetoed an unanimously supported UN Resolution, confirming the illegality of the settlements and urging Israel to cease the expansions of the settlements [22]

 

EU support is less outspoken, but present

Although obvious Israeli human rights violations are condemned, this doesn't lead to any EU action, like a summon to end the occupation or sanctions against Israel

 

With this attitude, that gives Israel Green Light to continue the occupation and oppression, as well as the US as the EU has blood on their hands.

 

They are Israel's partners in crime

 

 

EPILOGUE

 

Nobody can give you freedom, Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it

 

Quote Malcolm X

 

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Malcolm_X/

 

The Palestinian perspective to get their rights is worse then ever

Even when oned were  prepared to accept a Two State Solution is not to be realized anymore.

Israel is continually creating facts on the ground by continuing to build settlements in the West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem.

With the building of the Wall, it has annexed a great part of occupied Palestinian area [23]

 

It continues with  the starvation of Gaza, which has neither economically, nor politically, the capacity to become a strong and independent State

By the building of the Israeli Wall and the continuous expansion of the settlements, the West Bank is consisting of Bantustans without any economical or political future.

 

The US and EU are still strong supporters of Israel, thus violating the very principles of International Law

 

The only real way to realize Palestinian rights is not to surrender to Israeli and Western pressure, but to stick to the legitimate demands, the end of the Israeli occupation, the demolishment of the illegal settlements, the tearing down of the Wall and the right on return.

 

AND TO BE PREPARED TO FIGHT FOR IT BY WAY OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE AGAINST THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION ARMY!

 

Years and years of ''peace negociations'', by which every time the Palestinians lost, have learnt, that the only way to realize Palestinian rights is the armed struggle against the Israeli occupation army, although this seems hopeless for now

 

But history shows, that in the past, that in apparently hopeless situations, liberation armies have beaten powerful [occupation] armies

 

The Palestinians have no choice

It is either swallow humiliation after humiliation

Or to stand up and fight for their inalienable rights

 

Then it will be real peace, when there comes an end to the injustice, which is done to the Palestinian people

 

The only way is to realize a great, secular Palestine, in which Pakestinians, Israeli Jewish inhabitants and others have equal rights

The socalled ''ONE STATE SOLUTION'' [24]

 

Otherwise Palestinian rights will be crushed and historical Palestne will be changed into the former South African apartheid Bantustans

 

 

INTIFADA INTIFADA

FREE PALESTINE!!

 

Kind greetings

Astrid Essed

 

Amsterdam

The Netherlands

 

 

 

 

[1]

 

ISRAELI KILLINGS OF PROTESTERS ON NAKBA DAY:


 

THE GUARDIAN

THIRTEEN KILLED AS ISRAELI TROOPS OPEN FIRE ON NAKBA DAY BORDER PROTESTS

15 MAY 2011

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/15/israeli-troops-kill-eight-nakba-protests

 

THE HAARETZ

CLASHES ERUPT AS NAKBA DAY PROTESTS SWEEP PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

15 MAY 2011

 

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/clashes-erupt-as-nakba-day-protests-sweep-palestinian-territories-1.361851?localLinksEnabled=false

 


AL JAZEERA NEWS

PALESTINIAN KILLED IN NAKBA CLASHES

15 MAY 2011

 

 

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/05/2011515649440342.html

 

 

ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

NAKBA MARCHERS MET WITH ISRAELI FIRE

16 MAY 2011

 

http://electronicintifada.net/content/nakba-marchers-met-israeli-fire/9964

 

IMEMC.ORG

PALESTINIAN YOUTH KILLED, 172 INJURED, AS ARMY ATTACKS ''RETURN PROTESTS'' IN GAZA

16 MAY 2011

 

http://www.imemc.org/article/61248

 

 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL [www.amnesty.org]

ISRAELI MILITARY'S KILLING OF NAKBA PROTESTERS MUST BE INVESTIGATED

16 MAY 2011

 

 

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/025/2011/en/79551d59-67ad-48d1-a8dc-2b2bd1237db7/mde150252011en.html

 


 

 

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH [www.hrw.org]

ISRAEL: INVESTIGATE KILLINGS DURING BORDER PROTESTS

20 MAY 2011

 

 

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/05/20/israel-investigate-killings-during-border-protests

 

 


PALESTINE NEWS NETWORK

UNWRA CONDEMNS ISRAEL ATTACKS ON NAKBA PROTESTS

16 MAY 2011

 

 

http://english.pnn.ps/?option=com_content&task=view&id=10045&Itemid=64

 

 

ISRAELI KILLINGS OF ATI-OCCUPATION PROTESTERS/5 JUNE

 

THE GUARDIAN

ISRAELI TROOPS CLASH ON SYRIAN BORDER WITH PROTESTERS MARKING SIX DAY WAR

5 JUNE 2011

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/05/israel-syria-violence-border-protest

 

 

[2]

 

 

ISRAELI ATTACKS ON GAZA/DIRTY WAR AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN POPULATION

19 JANUARY 2009

 

http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/85520/

 


 

 

[3]

 

 

BTSELEM.ORG

DETAINEES AND PRISONERS

TORTURE

 

http://www.btselem.org/English/Torture/Index.asp

 

 


 

 

[4]

 

BBC NEWS

UN OFFICIAL SLAMS ISRAEL ''CRIMES''

10 DECEMBER 2008

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7774988.stm

 

 

BLOCKADE OF GAZA/CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

13 FEBRUARY 2008

 

http://quebec.indymedia.org/en/node/29201

 

 

 

[5]

 

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

HOW PALESTINE BECAME ISRAEL

 


 

 

 

THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM AND THE IDEOLOGY OF TRANSFER

 

 

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.html3?lang=el&article_id=729041

 

 

[6]

 

 

''In short, Zionism was based on a faulty, colonialist world view that the rights of the indigenous inhabitants didn’t matter. The Arabs’ opposition to Zionism wasn’t based on anti-Semitism but rather on a totally reasonable fear of the dispossession of their people.''

 

SOURCE

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html


 

 

 

[7]

 

 

BA;FOUR DECLARATION

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917

 

 

[8]

 


 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

[9]

 

1936-1939

WIKIPEDIA

ARAB REVOLT IN PALESTINE

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936%E2%80%931939_Arab_revolt_in_Palestine

 

[10]

 

 


THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

[11]

 

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

[12]

 

 

THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM AND THE IDEOLOGY OF TRANSFER

 

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.html3?lang=el&article_id=729041

 

 

PALESTINE REMEMBERED, AL-NAKBA 1948

 

http://www.palestineremembered.com/

 

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

[13]

 

THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM AND THE IDEOLOGY OF TRANSFER

 

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.html3?lang=el&article_id=729041

 

 

THE ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINE-ISRAEL CONFLICT

 

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/history/origin.html

 

 

[14]

 

According to International Law [article 42, the Hague Convention] Gaza is still occupied territory since Israel actually controls the air and the frontiers of Gaza, land and sea

 

See the Hague Convention

 

http://net.lib.byu.edu/~rdh7/wwi/hague/hague5.html

 

 

See also Human Rights Watch [www.hrw.org]

 

''
Israel withdrew its military forces and settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005. Nonetheless, Israel remains responsible for ensuring the well-being of Gaza’s population for as long as, and to the extent that, it retains effective control over the area. Israel still exercises control over Gaza’s airspace, sea space and land borders, as well as its electricity, water, sewage and telecommunications networks and population registry. In addition, Israeli military forces can and have re-entered Gaza at will.

 

Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention places a duty on an occupying power to ensure the food and medical supplies of the population, as well as to permit and facilitate the consignments of humanitarian relief.

 

SOURCE

 

GAZA: ISRAEL'S ENERGY CUTS VIOLATE LAWS OF WAR

6 FEBRUARY 2008

 

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2008/02/06/gaza-israel-s-energy-cuts-violate-laws-war

 

 

 

[15]

 

According to International Humanitarian Law, with regard to military attacks, a strict distinction must be made between combatants [military and fighters] and non-combatants [civilians]

Military attacks on civilians are forbidden

 

This applies to all parties to a conflct

 

See

 


''Parties to a conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants in order to

spare civilian population and property. Neither the civilian population as such nor civilian persons shall be the


object of attack. Attacks shall be directed solely against military objectives.''


 


Article 7, BASIC RULES OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW IN ARMED CONFLICTS


 


http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/basic-rules-ihl-311288.htm


 


 


[16]


 


According to International Law [article 49, 4th Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention 1907], all Israeli settlements, which are built in occupied Palestinian territory, are illegal


 


See


 


BTSELEM.ORG


LAND EXPROPRIATION AND SETTLEMENTS


 


http://www.btselem.org/english/Settlements/International_Law.asp


 


 


[17]


 


BTSELEM.ORG


SEPARATION BARRIER


OPINION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE


 


http://www.btselem.org/English/Separation_Barrier/International_Court_Decision.asp


 


 


INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF A WALL IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

9 JULY 2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/?pr=71&code=mwp&p1=3&p2=4&p3=6&case=131&k=5a

 

 

[18]

 

 

BTSELEM.ORG

SEPARATION BARRIER

 

 

http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Index.asp

 

 

[19]

 

ISRAELI MILITARY ATATCKS ON GAZA/DIRTY WAR AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN CIVILIAN POPULATION

 

 

http://chicago.indymedia.org/newswire/display/85520/

 

 

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH [www.hrw.org]

ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES

EVENTS OF 2009

 

http://www.hrw.org/en/world-report-2010/israel-occupied-palestinian-territories-opt

 

 

[20]

 

ELECTRONIC INTIFADA

NAKBA MARCHERS MET WITH ISRAELI FIRE

16 MAY 2011

 

http://electronicintifada.net/content/nakba-marchers-met-israeli-fire/9964

 

 

THE GUARDIAN

ISRAELI TROOPS CLASH ON SYRIAN BORDER WITH PROTESTERS MARKING SIX DAY WAR

5 JUNE 2011

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/05/israel-syria-violence-border-protest

 

 

[21]

 

IF AMERICANS KNEW

U.S. VETOES OF U.N. RESOLUTIONS ON BEHALF OF ISRAEL

DONALD NEFF

 

http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/p-neff-veto.html

 

 

[22]

 

 

THE IRISH TIMES

US VETOES UN RESOLUTION ON ISRAEL

19 FEBRUARY 2011

 

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0219/breaking8.html

 

 

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL USA/WEBLOG

U.S. VETO OF UNSC RESOLUTION GIVES ISRAELA  ''GREEN LIGHT'' TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND ILLEGAL SETTLEMENTS IN OPT

22 FEBRUARY 2011

 

http://blog.amnestyusa.org/justice/u-s-veto-of-unsc-resolution-gives-israel-a-green-light-to-continue-to-expand-illegal-settlements-in-opt/

 

 

 

[23]

 

 

BTSELEM.ORG

SEPARATION BARRIER

 

 

http://www.btselem.org/english/Separation_Barrier/Index.asp

 

 

[24]

 

 


THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE PROBLEM AND THE IDEOLOGY OF TRANSFER

 

 

http://athens.indymedia.org/front.html3?lang=el&article_id=729041

 


Illustrated: How To Detect Infiltrators and Observe Covert Police Misconduct

 

פסטיבל פאנק נגד פאשיזם

הרוגטקה, סלון מזל והפאנק רוק גאות להציג:

מיניפסט פאנק נגד פאשיזם

 

http://rogatka.me/blog/wp-content/uploads/101102.jpg

10-11.2.10

יום חמישי 10.2

Middle East Intifadas

 Middle East Intifadas - by Stephen Lendman

 

Initially in Tunisia, popular revolt spread regionally across North Africa and the Middle East, erupting in Algeria, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen. On January 27, Al Jazeera reported revolutionary fervor in Egypt, saying:

 

"On Thursday, protesters hurled petrol bombs at a fire station in Suez, setting it ablaze. They tried but failed to (torch) a local" Mubarak-controlled National Party office. Near Giza, on Cairo's outskirts, police attacked hundreds of protesters with tear gas, rubber bullets and batons. In Ismailia, the scene repeated, police using similar tactics to disperse crowds. Ahead of expected massive Friday protests, Cairo was uncharacteristically quiet.

 

On January 28, Al Jazeerah headlined, "Fresh protests erupt in Egypt, saying:

 

Following Friday prayers, "angry demonstrators demand(ed) an end to Hosni Mubarak's 30-year presidency....(d)etermined protesters," vowing to "carry on until their demands are met."

 

In Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Mansoura and Sharqiya, "protesters streamed out of mosques shortly after prayers," chanting anti-Mubarak slogans. 

 

On Thursday night, former IAEA Director General and National Alliance for Change founder Mohamed ElBaradei returned home, saying he's ready to lead "transition" if asked. In a late 2010 Al Masry Al Youm interview, he expressed support for an opposition alliance saying:

 

"I hope in the next phase we will have a united opposition, the NAC, the Al-Wafd party, the (Muslim) Brotherhood, the Gabha (Democratic Front party) - we need everyone. And of course we need to link the young people with the labor unions and the elite with the young people."

 

On Friday, he reportedly was "prevented from moving freely by security forces." AP reported water cannons doused him, and supporters who tried shielding him were beaten. 

 

So far, seven are reported dead. Well over 1,200 were arrested, yet protesters aren't deterred.

 

An international press freedom group said journalists were being beaten and arrested. Al Jazeera reported four French reporters apprehended. An AP photographer was attacked. The London Guardian said ElBaradei was "detained." Earlier on Friday he said Mubarak's regime was on its "last legs." 

 

A CNN crew had its camera smashed. Vodafone said cell phone service was suspended "in selected areas." Internet service was also shut down. In Cairo and other cities, harsh crackdowns continued with tear gas, rubber bullets, some reported live fire, water cannons, sound bombs, beatings and arrests.

 

London Guardian correspondent Jack Shenker called Cairo a "war zone." WikiLeaks released a cable from US Egyptian ambassador Margaret Scobey saying:

 

"Torture and police brutality in Egypt are endemic and widespread. The police use brutal methods mostly against common criminals to extract confessions, but also against demonstrators, certain political prisoners and unfortunate bystanders."

 

Former US Middle East diplomat Aaron David Miller said:

 

"It's one thing when this happens in Tunisia, a marginal Arab state, but you're now talking about one of the two or three pillars of American security in the region being confronted with the ripple effects of a wave."

 

Graeme Bannerman, former US State Department Policy Planning Staff Middle East analyst said:

 

"Popular opinion in the Middle East runs so against American policies that any change in any (regional) government....that becomes more popular will have an anti-American and certainly less friendly direction towards the US which will be a serious political problem for us."

 

A circulated flyer said:

 

"Without beating around the bush or postponing or playing us for fools and without more false promises, we, the people of Egypt, demand all of our long forgotten rights to be granted and this time there is no turning back....we have learned our lesson....we have finally broken free of all fears."

 

On January 25, Egypt's "day of wrath," copies  circulated, containing specific political and economic demands, including:

 

-- salary and pension increases;

 

-- financial aid for unemployed workers;

 

-- canceling the law of emergency, empowering authorities to arrest people without warrants;

 

-- demanding Mubarak's ouster and his son, Gamal, prevented from succeeding him;

 

-- dissolving Egypt's fraudulently elected parliament;

 

-- holding free democratic elections; and

 

-- banning Egyptian exports to Israel, mainly its natural gas.

 

From Alexandria, Dr. Ashraf Ezzat called Egypt's events "historic," perhaps signaling the end of repressive Mubarak rule and the nation's "addiction to Authoritarianism."

 

Events are fast-moving and breathtaking. Earlier, the Muslim Brotherhood refused to take part in street protests. That changed, the group saying it participated on Friday to control them.

 

On January 28, New York Times writers David Kirkpatrick and Alan Cowell headlined, "Clashes in Cairo Extend Arab World's Days of Unrest," saying:

 

Pouring out of mosques after noon prayers, "thousands of demonstrators....across Cairo and other Egyptian cities....intensified their campaign to oust President Hosni Mubarak...." Police confronted them violently, Reuters reporting:

 

"Dozens of people were wounded as police and demonstrators fought running street battles in Cairo on Friday in unprecedented protests against" Mubarak's three-decade rule. "Witnesses saw dozens of Egyptians bruised, bloodied and fainting." Medical sources reported at least five deaths and hundreds wounded.

 

"Snatch squads of plain clothes security men dragged off suspected ringleaders." Friday was the largest, bloodiest day so far. Reuters said, for the first time, army forces were on streets, but it wasn't clear what role they'll play. In Cairo's Tahir square, people encircled a military vehicle, shaking hands with soldiers, and chanting, "The army and people are united. The revolution has come."

 

On January 29, Al Jazeera headlined, "Protesters back on Egypt streets," saying:

 

"Similar crowds were gathering in the cities of Alexandria and Suez....They are calling for regime change....The latest protests reflected popular discontent with Mubarak's midnight address, where he announced that he was dismissing his government but remaining in power."

 

On Saturday, Cairo streets again looked like a war zone. Army forces replaced police. People embraced them as allies. Events are fluid and bear watching.

 

So far, protests show no signs of abating. Across the region, events are truly breathtaking. Long-suffering people taste change and demand it. They've never had a better chance than now, but getting it won't be quick or easy.

 

Popular Revolt in Yemen 

 

On January 27, New York Times writers Anthony Shadid, Nada Bakri and Kareem Fahim headlined, "Waves of Unrest Spread to Yemen, Shaking a Region," saying:

 

On Thursday, thousands "took to the streets of Yemen (where) secular and Islamist Egyptian opposition leaders vowed to join large protests expected Friday as calls for change rang across the Arab world." 

 

At issue - ending Ali Abdullah Saleh's 32-year rule. From 1978 - 1990, he was president of the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Since then, he chaired the Presidential Council of the Republic of Yemen (North and South Yemen).

 

Throughout Sanaa, the capital, thousands demanded he go, protesters chanting, "Enough being in power for 30 years! Gone in just 20 years," referring to Tunisia's Ben Ali. Earlier demonstrations preceded Thursday's mass one against a hated ruler of one of the world's poorest nations where half the population lives on less than $2 a day. Wealth distribution is extreme. Governance is notoriously corrupt and brutal. Chronic hunger is a major problem. Illiteracy tops 50%, and perhaps unemployment matches it.

 

Journalist Patrick Cockburn once called Yemen:

 

"a dangerous place. Wonderfully beautiful, the mountainous north of the country is guerrilla paradise. The Yemenis are exceptionally hospitable....humorous, sociable and democratic, infinitely preferable as company to the arrogant ignorant playboys of the (rich regional) oil states."

 

The capital Sanaa dates back to the 6th century BC Sabaean dynasty. However, it's power is limited, given the strength of tribes, clans, and influential families in a society very much a gun culture and prone to direct action.

 

On average, Yemenis own three guns per person in a nation of 23 million people, including one or more automatic weapons, like an AK-47 as well as heavier arms. Yemeni Professor Ahmed al-Kibsi once told a British reporter: "Just as you have your tie, the Yemeni will carry his gun," and isn't at all shy about using it.

 

As a result, "Yemen has all the explosive ingredients of Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan," so US entanglement there may become another quagmire, besides others in the region already, compounded by explosive revolutionary fervor.

 

Aided by Washington and Saudi Arabia, Saleh is waging repressive war against northern Shia tribes, causing thousands of deaths and many more displaced. In addition, he's fighting armed secessionists in the South.

 

The New York Times calls Yemen "a haven for Islamic jihadists and the site of what amounts to a secret American war against leaders of a branch that Al Qaeda has established there."

 

What's at stake? At most, Yemen has four billion proved barrels of oil reserves and modest amounts of natural gas, hardly a reason for war. More important is its strategic location near the Horn of Africa on Saudi Arabia's southern border, the Red Sea, its Bab el- Mandeb strait (a key chokepoint separating Yemen from Eritrea through which three million barrels of oil pass daily), and the Gulf of Aden connection to the Indian Ocean.

 

In late 2009, Saudi forces bombed and used tanks against Yemen. In addition, a rebel group called the Young Believers said US jets launched multiple attacks in Yemen's northwest Sa'ada Province. Britain's Daily Telegraph reported US Special Forces train Yemen's army, and operate covertly on their own. The CIA also operates freely, using death squads and daily drone attacks.

 

Unlike Tunisia's spontaneous uprising, an opposition coalition organized Yemen's protests, hoping for US backing whether or not possible. However, once unleashed, popular anger has a life of its own, inspired for the same reasons as in Egypt, Algeria, Jordan, and Tunisia - deep poverty, mass unemployment, high food and energy prices, repression, and governments unresponsive to popular needs.

 

On January 27, Al Jazeera headlined, "Anti-government rallies hit Yemen," saying:

 

"Tens of thousands (demanded change), call(ing) for an end to" Saleh's government. In Aden, a 28-year old unemployed man, Souad Sabri, self-immolated, protesting economic hardships. Medical officials said he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

 

Saleh is also accused wanting to hand power to his son, Ahmed, head of the elite Presidential Guard. In a January 23 television address, he denied it, saying "We are a republic. We reject bequeathing" the presidency. However, after decades of strongman rule, street protesters believe otherwise, wanting a clean sweep for change.

 

One banner read "Game over." A student shouted "We want change like Tunisia." Despite Yemen's largest protests since Saleh got power, security forces have mostly kept a low profile. According to a government spokesman:

 

"No major clashes or arrests occurred, and police presence was minimal. The government strongly respects the democratic right for a peaceful assembly."

 

On January 20, independent reports disagreed, saying clashes and gun battles erupted in Aden, injuring at least seven people. Government forces used tear gas and live fire to disperse protesters. Dozens were detained, including Tawakul Karman, a prominent human rights activist, accused of organizing anti-government demonstrations. Later released, she told CNN International that a Tunisia-inspired revolution was ongoing.

 

On January 28, Hakim al-Masmari, editor-in-chief of the Yemen Post told the BBC that people no longer will put up with widespread poverty, and that protests will likely continue because people believe "all chances of a dialogue with the ruling party are vanishing."

 

Uprising in Jordan

 

On January 28, Al Jazeera headlined, "Thousands protest in Jordan," saying:

 

As in Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Yemen, mass protests "demand(ed) the country's prime minister step down, and (that) the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment."

 

Denouncing Prime Minister Samir Rifai, many shouted, "Rifai go away, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians." Protesters were joined by members of the Islamic Action Front and the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing. According to Professor Ibrahim Alloush: 

 

"We're demanding changes on how the country is now run," accusing officials of impoverishing working people, and imposing regressive taxes, forcing them to pay proportionally more than they can afford. He also accused parliament of complicity with the prime minister. As a result, "This is what had led people to protest in the streets because they don't have venues for venting how they feel through legal means." 

 

Jordanian demonstrations will likely continue as so far they're doing in Tunisia, Algeria, Yemen and Egypt. Other eruptions may follow, including perhaps in the West Bank against repressive PA enforcers, serving Israel, not Palestinians.

 

Note: During Israel's 2006 Lebanon war, then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice infamously told the Lebanese people they were experiencing "the birth pangs of a new Middle East." Relatives of the dead, the injured and displaced weren't amused. Today, in contrast, popular uprisings, for the first time, may produce real democracies that never before existed. Events are fast-moving and breathtaking. Only time will show how they play out.

 

A Final Comment

 

Unlike America's major media, Al Jazeera provides important coverage of world events, including, of course, in the Middle East. On January 27, however, New York Times writers Robert Worth and David Kirkpatrick headlined, "Seizing a Moment, Al Jazeera Galvanizes Arab Frustration," saying:

 

Middle East uprisings have a common thread "uniting them: Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite channel whose aggressive coverage has helped propel insurgent emotions from one capital to the next." Calling it "Al Jazeera's moment," it helped "shape a narrative of popular rage against oppressive American-backed Arab governments" and Israel since established 15 years ago.

 

"That narrative has long been implicit in the channel's heavy emphasis on Arab suffering and political crisis, its screaming-match talk shows, even its sensational news banner and swelling orchestral accompaniments."

 

George Washington University Professor Marc Lynch was quoted saying:

 

"The notion that there is a common struggle across the Arab world is something Al Jazeerah helped create. They did not cause these events, but it's almost impossible to imagine all this happening without Al Jazeera."

 

The Times writers accused it of "tailoring its coverage to support Hezbollah (and) Hamas," Tunisia's uprising, earlier sympathy for Saddam Hussein, and most recently against Israel and PA authorities in the "Palestine Papers."

 

"There is little doubt that Al Jazeera takes sides in the Palestinian dispute." In fact, it produces credible journalism unlike The New York Times and rest of America's MSM, supporting wealth and power, imperial lawlessness, tinpot dictators like Mubarak, Ben Ali and many others, and corrupt US politics under both parties. They deliver managed news, not truth on what people most need to know. Thankfully, they can access AlJazeera and other alternative media sources online to find out, what growing numbers now do regularly.

 

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

 

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

Netanyahu's Government: Israel's Worst Ever

 Netanyahu's Government: Israel's Worst Ever - by Stephen Lendman

 

Numerous previous articles explained Israel's extremism, notably under Netanyahu exceeding the worst of Ariel Sharon. Both men, of course, are war criminals by any standard. So are complicit Knesset members - roguish, racist and hard-line, comprising a voting majority that co-opt a weak-kneed opposition going along most often to get along.  

 

Access several relevant previous articles through these links:

 

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/04/alarming-racism-in-israel.html

 

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/israeli-knessets-anti-democratic-agenda.html

 

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/12/israels-sham-democracy.html

 

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Recep Erdogan agrees. On January 13, Haaretz Service headlined, "Turkey PM: Netanyahu has worst government in history of Israel," saying:

 

Erdogan told Al Jazeera that close Israeli/Turkish ties faltered following Cast Lead and "spiraled to an unprecedented low" after Israeli commandos attacked a Turkish-flagged Freedom Flotilla ship in international waters bound for Gaza last May. Nine Turkish citizens aboard were murdered. Erdogan demanded an apology. Israel refused, the Prime Minister telling Al Jazeera:

 

"As long as Netanyahu does not change his policies, he cannot expect us to change ours." He added that Turkey won't renew any previously signed accords, and won't consider renewed relations until Israel accedes to its demands. He also called Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman Israel's "greatest problem," a "despicable" man Israel should "get rid" of. "It is up to them, not us. If they don't, Israel's problems will only get worse."

 

Erdogan also supports Hamas, saying:

 

"Hamas is not a terrorist organization. They are people defending their land. It is a movement that entered the elections and won," adding that conflict resolution is impossible without them.

 

Crimes of War and Against Humanity under Netanyahu

 

A November Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PACTI) explains some, titled "When the Exception Becomes the Rule: Incommunicado Detention of Palestinian Security Detainees." Many, in fact, are uncharged or only accused of minor offenses because no seriously incriminating evidence exists, yet they're held and brutalized anyway.

 

Moreover, Israeli and international law recognize the right of detainees "to meet and consult with an attorney," a fundamental due process principle Israel flaunts. Yet its Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty affirms it. So does IDF Order Regarding Security provisions (No. 378) 5730, 1970.

 

In addition, in Israeli legal discourse, incommunicado detentions are considered draconian, causing great harm, including to rule of law principles. It's intended only under emergency conditions or in unique cases "in which (the) alleged harm and damage justifies the prevention of this consultation." As a result, civilized societies rarely use it. For Israel, it's standard practice against people too powerless to resist.

 

Decades of evidence "show that the right to meet an attorney is systematically denied to Palestinian detainees....undergoing interrogation by General Security Services (GSS)." Israeli military code justifies it as a way to "benefit" interrogations and/or the "security of the area."

 

Israel won't disclose how many are affected. PACTI, however, learned that minimally it's many hundreds or even thousands annually, especially since October 2000, the onset of the second Intifada. As a result, denial of attorney consultations are "routine practice," no matter how illegal and unjustifiable. Israel pays rule of law principles no heed, not now, not ever.

 

Another article explained PACTI's earlier study on detainee abuse during Cast Lead, accessed through the following link:

 

http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/08/palestinian-detainee-abuse-during.html

 

Its November one evaluated over 1,000 detainee cases, concluding that:

 

-- from 70% to 90% were held incommunicado during their entire interrogation or a portion thereof;

 

-- their duration ranged from 12.7 to 19.2 days, and in 10% of cases over 30 days;

 

-- affidavits from those held said they were subjected to "systematic violence, torture and/or psychological ill-treatment" to admit guilt;

 

-- pressure was intense, resulting in fear, confusion and uncertainty, hampering judgment and influencing behavior;

 

-- "significant gaps were found between the justifications given by the GSS for demanding" incommunicado detentions and "the content of the final indictments," mentioning minor violations only that most often are bogus or inconsequential;

 

-- despite intervening for justice, PACTI's "involvement (most often) was....completely ineffective;" unable to dissuade GSS from acting lawlessly; and

 

-- incommunicado detentions empower GSS at the expense of rule of law justice. Palestinians get none no matter how much pressure is applied on their behalf.

 

These abuses won't end unless sustained international and grassroots efforts force it. Israel is already shamed. Legal, political, economic and cultural measures must take it to the next level, the way South African apartheid was toppled, though what replaced it left poor Blacks worse off than before, victimized by predatory capitalism. 

 

They, Palestinians, and all exploited people deserve better, but wishing won't make it so. Bare-knuckled activism is needed, restoring democratic values Israel won't tolerate, at the same time exposing its lawlessness and status as a world class terror state, preying on vulnerable Arabs on false national security grounds.

 

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

 

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

Salam Fayyad: Israel's Man in Palestine

 Salam Fayyad: Israel's Man in Palestine - by Stephen Lendman

 

His resume includes a University of Texas economics Ph.D., a teaching position at Jordan's Yarmouk University, and economic research at the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank. From 1987 - 1995, he also served as a World Bank and IMF official, and until 2001, was IMF's man in Palestine, serving as Yasser Arafat's finance minister. 

 

In Palestine's 2006 legislative elections, his Third Way party got 2.4% of the votes, a clear renunciation. Yet after Fatah's coup d'etat co-opted the PLO, PA and West Bank, President Mahmoud Abbas illegitimately appointed him prime minister.

 

The New York Times calls him "a political independent who gained the confidence of the West and is largely respected in Israel." In fact, he's a political opportunist, Israel's man in Palestine. Also Washington's. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Nathan J. Brown calls him "indispensable to US diplomacy....confusing a useful individual with sound policy." He's mainly improved security, providing enforcer services for Israel against his own people.

 

Moreover, there's "no separation of powers; instead there is an increasing concentration of authority in the executive branch. There is no legislative branch. Court orders have been ignored; judges have bowed out of sensitive political issues; and the independence of the judiciary is hardly guaranteed. The fact remains, of course, that....security is synonymous with the attempt to suppress Hamas" and other opposition groups.

 

Senior officials, including Abbas and Fayyad, have neglected or unilaterally decreed other measures. As CEO, Fayyad  has maintained earlier institutions and made a few of them more efficient. "But he has done so in an authoritarian context that robs the results of domestic legitimacy." As appointed prime minister, of course, he has no legitimacy beyond Israeli and Washington power backing him.

 

Writer Nathan Thrall says he's "criticized at home for many of the same reasons he is lauded abroad." He condemns violence against Israel, ignores Palestinian persecution, is instrumental in furthering it, and says diaspora Palestinians can resettle in a future Palestinian state, not Israel or their settlements, exceeding 40% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

 

Backing him is a 25,000-strong security force, trained, equipped, vetted and perhaps run by America's Lt. General Keith Dayton, US security coordinator (USSC) for Israel and the PA. Under his command, thousands of Palestinians complete 19 weeks of training at Jordan's International Police Training Center, built with US funds in 2003 to instruct Iraqi police.

 

Throughout the West Bank, Dayton's in charge of building and renovating garrisons, training colleges, Interior Ministry facilities, and security headquarters. In recent years, Washington has spent around $400 million to institutionalize hard-line control, supplementing Israel's own efforts. 

 

Fayyad is titular CEO under Abbas. According to Michael Oren, Israel's US ambassador, "....expanding what Dayton is doing in the security realm to other sectors of Palestinian governance and society is really the only viable model for progress." "Progress," of course, is repressive military occupation, no opposition allowed.

 

Evaluating PA Authority under Abbas and Fayyad

 

In a December 20 article, titled "The Palestinian Authority and the Problem of Reform under the Occupation," Dr. Moshen Mohammed Saleh asked if it's possible. "Or is (it) simply a matter of 'dancing to the Occupation's tune?" 

 

Indeed the latter after Arafat's Oslo Accords abdication. He ignored core issues, including Palestinian sovereignty, fixed borders, settlement expansions, the right of return, ending Israel's occupation, and establishing a unified government for all Palestinians.

 

"In short," said Saleh, "the way (the PA) was established looked more like a 'trap' than a solution or a way out; and the route it took was more akin to wandering aimlessly in a 'labyrinth' than walking naturally and logically towards independence....The current situation (resembles a prison under an) assigned warden" empowered to enforce repression for disobedience.

 

The PA/PLO-led Fatah "found itself alone facing widespread opposition from nearly 10 Palestinian factions," notably Hamas. "As a result, the institutions of the Authority were mainly staffed by" Fatah members or supporters, including "shameless opportunists and exploiters" like Abbas and Fayyad. As CEO, Fayyad represents Israel and the West, "demand(ing) full concessions from Palestinians" with nothing committed in return.

 

"Moreover (his) government paid heavy political prices (for) committ(ing) itself (to) cracking down upon Hamas and other Palestinian resistive factions as well as neutralizing" the legislative assembly's role. His survival, fact, depends on sustaining divisions and no unified Palestinian platform.

 

On December 28, Saleh again evaluated Fayyad and his government in an analysis titled "Evaluating Salam Fayyad's government in Ramallah," saying:

 

It's sustained by maintaining Palestinian divisions and keeping Israeli, Washington, and Arab leadership support. Fatah's leadership also backs him, yet he's "exploited his position so as to channel funds to his government and thereby consolidate his political base."

 

At the same time, he and Abbas renounced armed resistance, instead adopting "reconciliation with Israel as (their) project." On June 17, 2007, his new government included himself as prime minister, 11 ministers, two independent politicians and another technocrat besides himself, a trained economist. All opposition ministers were excluded.

 

Then on July 13, 2007, Abbas raised the ministerial total to 16, including Fayyad. On January 22, 2009, Fayyad created a new government under Abbas. By May, it had 24 ministers, mostly technocrats. Opposition factions, excluding Hamas, were represented by one minister each. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) refused to participate. The entire process lacked legitimacy. Abbas bypassed legalities "by legislating by decree," letting "Fayyad's government....operate (by) presidential mandate."

 

In fact, "this government, which is supposed to represent the will of the people, vigorously opposed the political party (Hamas) which democratically represents the will of the majority, (and has) legally been entrusted with the mandate to represent them."

 

For his part, Fayyad's management style has been devisive. He's excluded many Fatah members from civil service and security force positions, coerced some into retirement, and appointed others "ideologically close to him" to key posts. Moreover, he's monopolized financial resources for his own purposes, and remains subservient to Israel and Washington against the interests of his own people.

 

Opposition Fatah members face exclusion. As a result, some, like Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Hatem Abdel Qader, resigned "with criticism of the government for its failings." In virtually all respects, Israel has control, including over economic issues, unjustly restricting Palestinian imports and exports, as well as imposing "restrictions and impediments on the free movement of people and goods."

 

Absent Abbas/Fayyad opposition, Israel also expropriates Palestinian land, expands settlements, extends its Judaization agenda, consumes most West Bank resources, especially water, and maintains hard-line control together with Dayton-trained forces.

 

As a result, from June through August 2007 alone, West Bank Hamas members were subjected to 1,007 attacks, both by security forces and Fatah members. They "included 639 arrests and kidnappings, thirty-six (shooting) incidents....and 175 assaults on institutions and organizations, including centers of Qur'anic learning, charitable organizations, media institutes, press offices," nursery and other schools. In addition, 156 raids targeted private properties belonging to Hamas and supporters. 

 

Thereafter, thousands more Hamas members and facilities were targeted. Hundreds of arrests were made, and numerous demonstrations and protests against occupation, Gaza's siege, and Israel's Separation Wall were attacked. Fayyad dutifully enforces Israel's no opposition policy. Israeli forces, of course, do much of it themselves.

 

A Final Comment

 

As prime minister, Fayyad's future depends on satisfying two masters, Israel and Washington, their divide and conquer agenda, solidifying occupation, continuing settlement expansions, entirely Judaizing Jerusalem,  dominating the West Bank's economy, and containing all opposition factions. 

 

A Palestinian future, however, depends on ending Israel's occupation, achieving unity, fulfilling real sovereignty under a government serving them, and an integrated Palestine or one nation serving all its citizens equitably, fairly and democratically. That vision, however, remains nowhere in sight, Fayyad and Abbas in charge to keep it that way.

 

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

 

http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.

שרפו את המדינה | ניסן ג'רבי

היו כמה שלבים בסיפור האסון בכרמל. בהתחלה האשכנזים סיפרו לנו שפרצה שריפה. אח"כ הודו שזה התחיל בפאתי הכפר הערבי דרוזי עוספיה. לאחר מכן טענו שמדובר במחסן פסולת לא חוקי והוא עומד מאחורי פריצת השריפה. גם, גם לא תפס. באו שוב האשכנזים ואמרו רשלנות. עוד פעם אמרו: רשלנות. רשלנות ורשלנות בשוגג. חזרו על זה בערך 90 פעם. הכינו את הקרקע לקראת הדבר הגדול.

הערמומים לא ביזבזו יותר מדי זמן והבינו שחייבים להוריד את החשד מהמתנחלים. אמרו לנו, תפסנו 2 ערבים מעוספיה בני 16. אביהם כמעט מת מהתקף לב בבית המשפט והילדים רועדים בכל גופם. שיחררו אותם אחרי כ48 שעות. שבמהלכן עשו את המוות לערבי אחר, ממוצא יהודי, אלי ישי. אתה אשם. לך הביתה. ההמון האשכנזי היושב בבתים כבר מצביע על העצומה נגדו. זועק אלי ישי שהעביר עשרות מיליונים לכבאות, מה שלא עשה איש במשרד הפנים לפניו. לא פינס ולא פורז ולא אף שר פנים אשכנזי. אבל ממשיכים. אתה אשם יא תימני.

בזמן כתיבת שורות אלו שוחררו שני הילדים בני ה-16, ותפסו ילד בן 14. הצליחו להוציא ממנו הודאה בזריקת גחל בועל. יביאו אותו בפני שופט. אה, כמעט שכחתי להגיד לכם מיהו. הוא גם ערבי, מעוספיה.

ולתפארת מדינת ישראל.

* הכותב הינו ממייסדי איגוד מזרחים נגד ישראל


 


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