Middle East peace process: The Elders call for an end to all settlement activity

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Written by The Elders The Elders

Published: 22 November 2010 22 November 2010

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“Doing a short-term deal on settlements to restart direct talks is desperate and wrong” – Mary Robinson

16 November 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Members of the eminent global group, The Elders, have today called on the United States and the rest of the international community to insist on an end to all Israeli settlement activity. They have issued their call in response to reports that the United States’ government has asked Israel to extend a 90-day partial moratorium on settlement activity in return for a package of diplomatic and security incentives.

The Elders’ chair Desmond Tutu said:

“This news breaks my heart. What is Washington thinking? Settlements are illegal; they contravene UN Security Council Resolution 242 and violate the Fourth Geneva Convention. The resumption of direct talks cannot be based on one side negotiating its way out of an important question of international law.”

Former Irish President Mary Robinson, who led a delegation of four Elders on a trip to Middle East last month, said:

“We heard repeatedly across the Arab world that the United States is no longer seen as an honest broker: Washington is perceived to be too close to Israel. This effort to do a short-term deal on settlements to restart direct talks is desperate and wrong. It betrays international law and the entire family of nations – not to mention the Palestinians.”

Dr Gro Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, joined her fellow Elders in appealing for an end to all settlement activity:

“During the Oslo process in 1993 Israel promised to stop settlement expansion pending the outcome of final status negotiations. This deal sends us backwards instead of towards a sustainable long-term solution.”

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Israeli authorities raze Araqib village for the seventh time

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Written by Palestine Information Center Palestine Information Center

Published: 22 November 2010 22 November 2010

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Israeli authorities raze Araqib village for the seventh time

NEGEV, (PIC)-- Israeli municipality bulldozers razed the Arab Bedouin village of Araqib in the Negev desert for the seventh time on Monday, local sources reported.

They said that dozens of police and border police forces provided protection for the municipal teams, adding that the security men forced the citizens to evacuate their homes and belongings in a short time.

The security forces encircled the village and gathered the inhabitants in the village's cemetery at the pretext of preventing any attempt to protest the demolitions.

The village's land defense committee condemned the act in a statement, describing what happened as a "crime".

The IDF kills 1 Palestinian civilian every 2 days, on average, with impunity

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Written by Philip Weiss Philip Weiss

Published: 21 November 2010 21 November 2010

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Every other day, the IDF kills a Palestinian civilian with impunity in the occupied territories. And the Israelis have treated these killings as "combat action," reports B'Tselem in a report on Israeli military killings in the occupied territories, 2006-2009, not including the Gaza war.

From 2006 to 2009, the IDF killed 1,510 Palestinians, not including Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead. Of these 1,510 deaths, 617 were of persons who were not taking part in hostilities.

Regarding these 617 fatalities, BʹTselem demanded an MPIU [Military Police Investigation Unit] investigation into the deaths of 288 of them, who were killed in 148 incidents. Ninety‐five of these incidents occurred in the Gaza Strip, accounting for 230 of the deaths. The other 53 incidents took place in the West Bank and resulted in the killing of 58 Palestinians. One hundred and four of the fatalities were minors under age 18, 23 were persons 50 and above, and 52 were women. One hundred of the Palestinians whose deaths B’Tselem demanded to investigate were killed in 2006, 86 in 2007, 93 in 2008, and 9 in 2009.

Stephen Lendman's comment:

Most are witnessed by bystanders whose testimonies are crucial to achieve justice. Yet Israel won't use them, clearly hiding the truth and obstructing justice.

Further, since September 2000, B'Tselem received no response from the Judge Advocate General's Office for " the vast majority" of cases warranting investigation, civilians killed in cold blood, responsible soldiers unpunished.

More from the B'Tselem release:

From the beginning of the first intifada, in December 1987, to the outbreak of the second intifada, in September 2000, the Military Police Investigation Unit (MPIU) investigated almost every case in which Palestinians not taking part in hostilities were killed. At the beginning of the second intifada, the Judge Advocate General’s Office announced that it was defining the situation in the Occupied Territories an “armed conflict,” and that investigations would be opened only in exceptional cases, in which there was a suspicion that a criminal offense had been committed..

B'Tselem protests the sweeping classification of the situation in the Occupied Territories as an “armed conflict,” which effectively grants immunity to soldiers and officers, with the result that soldiers who kill Palestinians not taking part in hostilities are almost never held accountable for their misdeeds. By acting in this way, the army fails to meet its obligation to take all feasible measures to reduce injury to civilians, allows soldiers and officers to violate the law, encourages a trigger-happy attitude, and shows gross disregard for human life.

In the dock on Israel: The Russell Tribunal

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Written by Multiple Signatures Multiple Signatures

Published: 19 November 2010 19 November 2010

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So Israel vows to keep building homes in illegally occupied East Jerusalem (Report, 19 November). Today the British security corporation G4S and the French company Veolia, which collects waste for UK local authorities and universities, will stand accused of complicity in Israeli human rights violations. Israeli academic Dalit Baum will give evidence in London to a tribunal on Palestine that G4S is aiding her country's war crimes by providing equipment for checkpoints, prisons and illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. Moreover, Adri Neiuwhof, a Swiss-based expert on public contract regulations, will cite Veolia's profits from the occupation as a partner in the Jerusalem light rail project that links west Jerusalem to settlements.

The tribunal, named after the philosopher Bertrand Russell, will hear from witnesses from Israel, Palestine, Britain, the US and mainland Europe, who will testify before a jury including UK barristers Anthony Gifford QC, and Michael Mansfield QC. Whatever the jury's verdict on Monday, world leaders must act to ensure a just peace in the region.

• Stephane Hessel
• Archbishop Desmond Tutu
• Ken Loach
• Mark Thomas
• Jeremy Irons
• Alice Walker
• John Berger
• Juliet Stevenson
• John Pilger
• Miriam Margolyes
• Ilan Pappe
• Saffron Burrows
• Paul Laverty
• Colin Salmon
• Ghada Karmi
• Karma Nabulsi