Author: ISM Media Group

Soldiers kick and strike Tel Rumeida children with their guns

The night of October 22nd, 2007
Tel Rumeida, Hebron

Human Rights Workers (HRWs) last night witnessed eight Israeli soldiers attacking three Palestinian youths at the Tel Rumeida checkpoint, kicking them and striking them with their guns. One of the youths had allegedly insulted a soldier some nights ago, and since then at least three young Palestinians are reported to have borne the brunt of daily beatings from the soldiers.

Elders from the community confronted the soldiers about the attacks, leading to the defamation of the HRWs, when soldiers claimed that the HRWs had paid the children to provoke them, and were then selling the footage to international media.

HRWs are stationed in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood of Hebron to try and prevent this kind of harassment by their very presence. It is thought that the fear of “getting caught” on film would help curb the violence against local Palestinians from soldiers and settlers. The very idea that HRWs would try and create the kind of situation is absurd, and in fact HRWs working with ISM consider it a good day when nothing can be reported.

Instead what is clear is that soldiers, caught attacking defenseless children, wish to push the blame on to someone else.

Daily News Egypt: US court dismisses Caterpillar case filed by Rachel Corrie and Palestinian families

By: Jonas Moffat

In September, a US Court of Appeals dismissed a case against Caterpillar, Inc., which alleged seven claims, including aiding and abetting war crimes, extrajudicial killing, wrongful death, and other serious human rights violations.

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) took the case on behalf of the family of Rachel Corrie and four Palestinian families.

Corrie, an American peace activist, was killed on March 16, 2003 by a D9 Caterpillar bulldozer when it ran over her twice while she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. She was 23. The four Palestinian families are representing 17 family members who were either killed or injured by Caterpillar bulldozers.

In their decision, federal appeals judges claimed that they lacked jurisdiction to hear this case. Judges evoked the “political questions doctrine,” which they said would “require the federal judiciary to ask and answer questions that are committed by the Constitution to the political branches of the US government.”

Furthermore, the political questions doctrine, judges claim, would cause them to examine the role of the US government in financing the sale and purchases of Caterpillar bulldozers to the Israeli Defense Forces.

“We knew that ‘political questions’ might be a factor in the court’s decision,” Cindy Corrie told Daily News Egypt, “but we did not think that it would be applied in this way.”

Gwynne Skinner, one of the lawyers representing Corrie’s family, told Daily News Egypt that the judges calling on the “doctrine of political questions means that they cannot even look at any of the questions or evidence we are presenting, because of the ‘separation of powers’ in the government. They are saying that they ‘constitutionally’ can’t review the case.”

Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s mother, said, “In our view and in our lawyers’ view, there was not enough information at this early stage for the court to truly determine the level of involvement of the US government in the sales. Also, we and our lawyers believe that it has historically been the role of the courts to hear claims for injuries caused by human rights violations, especially where an American company has aided and abetted those violations.”

Skinner added, “This court is a good court because it is based on law and not politics. If the judges decided to hear this case it would not affect the political body’s support of Israel. However, those who blindly support Israel tend to be very vocal, and any decision by the court will most certainly create a firestorm around it.”

She added that the court is the only forum to hold Caterpillar accountable. “If the judges decide not to hear this case, there will be no relief or justice for the lives of Rachel Corrie or the thousands of Palestinian families affected, and this is a tragedy.”

CCR, the Corries, and the Palestinians families are not giving up with this court’s decision, however. A motion for rehearing was filed on Oct. 9. Whether the court will accept the motion, Skinner said, “is a waiting game.” If the court refuses, they could then appeal to the Supreme Court — a move Skinner doubts they will take.

Corrie added, “We believe the court did not have enough information to decide whether this case should be dismissed based on a political question. We have in the petition asked the court to order more discoveries in the case, wherein more information about how the bulldozers are sold and the level of involvement of the US government in actually approving the sales can be better ascertained.”

According to Attorney Skinner, the court relied on an affidavit filed in separate hearings that the Caterpillar bulldozers were paid for by the US government “without giving any chance to see if this was true. There is no bit of scrutiny being used here.”

Corrie added, “There is no evidence that the US government had a policy that these bulldozers were to be sold and used to demolish civilian homes — in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.” Asked if the Corries believed the court acted in good faith, she responded, “We think the court acted in good faith, but we believe they ruled incorrectly and we hope that they will reconsider this decision and its potential impact.”

In Sept. 2007, an Israeli bulldozer killed 19-year-old Mahmoud Kayid Al Kfafi in the Gaza Strip. According to eyewitnesses, the Caterpillar bulldozer hit Al Kfafi in the head with its razor, killing him immediately. To escape the gunfire being shot from IDF tanks at stone throwers, Al Kfafi sought refuge behind an olive tree.

Doctors said the bulldozer broke his skull wide open and his brain was out of it.

Corrie said that they are currently active with this case as well, stating that “we are involved today with a day of action against Caterpillar, Inc. calling for them to end their role in this occupation and to cease their sales to the Israeli military of equipment repeatedly used to break international humanitarian law.”

Read the original article here:
http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=9873

An example of what happens every day in Tel Rumeida

Demonstrating the unjust and inhumane nature of Israeli Occupation Force checkpoints, today a family was delayed for over one hour as they tried to bring cooking gas to their home.

The checkpoint is located on the boundary between areas known as H1 and H2. H1 is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, H2 is under official Israeli control and is considered to be annexed to Israel. Palestinians living in H2 are forbidden to drive and must walk in this zone. It is not unusual for Palestinians to encounter difficulties when entering into H2.

International human rights observers were on hand to speak with the Israeli soldiers and the Red Cross was contacted. TIPH was also present and phoned the army. After more than an hour of negotiating the soldiers allowed the family to cross through the checkpoint to get to their home.

What is not being said about the Ketziot prison raid

For Immediate Release

On October 22nd, at two in the morning, Israeli prison guards from Ketziot prison in the Negev desert began searching the tents and belongings of Palestinian inmates. Searching prisoners’ tents in the middle of the night is a classic form of harassment; keeping people from sleeping. Some prisoners resisted the search due to the early hour and the army responded by throwing sounds grenades and shooting tear gas canisters into the tents of prisoners and at prisoners themselves.

It has been reported in the news that between 30 and 250 inmates have been injured, and that the Israeli forces used ‘non-lethal’ methods to subdue the prisoners. It has also been reported in Israeli and international news that in the ‘riot’ that the prisoners created, the Palestinian prisoners burned their own tents. When tear gas is shot the canisters are extremely hot, they frequently start fires when landing near grass or trees. More likely than Palestinians burning the tents in which they sleep, with their possessions, is that the tear gas canisters or the explosions from sound grenades started the fire.

The information that the Israeli military unit Nahashon have used only ‘non-lethal’ methods has also proved to be misleading, or to use another word, false. What has gone unreported in Israeli and international news is that one inmate, Mohammed Al-Ashkar, was shot in the head and died at Soroka Medical Center, in Israel. Al-Ashkar was twenty-five and had only one month left on his term. Sources are mixed, some people say it was a rubber-coated steel bullet, some people say it was live ammunition. Regardless of the type of bullet, a man died, so it was clearly a lethal weapon which killed him.

If live ammunition was used, one must wonder why prison guards would find the need to open fire on their unarmed inmates. If it was rubber-coated steel bullets that killed Mohammed Al-Ashkar, then the farce of calling such bullets ‘non-lethal’ must end.

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Another Voice: OneVoice’s False Assertions

When Another Voice first took issue with OneVoice’s program and planned concerts, our concerns were based on OneVoice’s 10 pillars, which are problematic for a number of reasons; we were troubled by the methods in which OneVoice was seeking to collect signatures in support of their platform, e.g. offering a free concert ticket to those who gave their signature; and we were disturbed by the idea of another high profile peace event that distorted the reality of what is happening on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. We did not care to demonize the individuals behind OneVoice, nor did we assume bad intentions on their part. However, we were, and continue to be concerned with simplistic, high profile initiatives that equate the occupier with the occupied, and that do not recognize Israel’s ongoing violations of international law, including gross violations of Palestinian human rights, which are the reasons behind the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian “conflict.”

Since we publicized our concerns and joined the calls initiated by PACBI and other Palestinian grassroots organizations to boycott the event, OneVoice and its founder Daniel Lubetzsky, have engaged in a series of spiteful attacks against us, attempting to discredit our voices with exaggerations, unfounded accusations, and lies.

Below are our responses to some of OneVoice’s accusations:

• Mr. Lubetzsky has labeled critics of his group “extremists”, but the criticism of OneVoice comes from people who have been dedicated and hardworking supporters of Palestinian rights for years. We are Palestinians, Israelis, and internationals, all of whom have spent the post-Oslo period working for real change for the benefit of everyone in the region. Martin Luther King and Gandhi were labeled as extremists and provocateurs by the “moderates” that supported the discriminatory regimes that their movements threatened.

• Lubetzsky has claimed that Palestinians were duped into opposing OneVoice’s event by foreign activists. In fact, the initial call to boycott came from Palestinians. We, Palestinians are not stupid and are perfectly capable of assessing for ourselves which options are desirable and which are not. We decided to oppose this event because we didn’t feel the event’s message best expressed what was in our interests.

• Lubetzky cited “security concerns” and “extremist ideologies” in his decision to cancel the Jericho concert. However, 5 of the 8 main performers withdrew from the event before its cancellation. Similarly, President Mahmoud Abbas and Bishop Attallah Hanna asked for their names to be removed from anything to do with the event before its cancellation. The Palestinian security services affirmed that they were fully prepared to provide security for the event and that no one has ever cancelled an event because of concerns over security. The truth is that the event fell apart after grassroots nonviolent Palestinian mobilization opposing an event that falsely claimed to represent our interests.

• OneVoice does not talk about future agreements being rooted in international law or international human rights standards and mentions neither in its literature. It also does not distinguish between occupier and occupied, it does not mention the right of Palestinian refugees to return, and it doesn’t object to Israel’s annexation and segregation wall. It staunchly pushes the concept of two-states, not acknowledging that many present configurations of the two-state model are deeply problematic for Palestinian rights.

• OneVoice says that it is committed to combating extremism, but it appears that it limits itself to Palestinian “extremism.” OneVoice ceased its petition drive in Gaza after Hamas took over leadership there, but continues to boast that members of Israel’s Likud, Shas and the National Religious Party (the settler party) sit on its board.

• OneVoice claims nonpartisanship and no hidden agenda, yet Lubetzky’s statements indicate otherwise. For example, statements such as, “What is happening in Gaza and Iran should scare all of us. Either we will defeat them or they will defeat us” are unacceptable. A genuine attempt to work towards peace would promote the unity of the Palestinian people, not attempt to divide and/or isolate any segment of our population.

• OneVoice has claimed that its critics are opponents of peace. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are interested in a real and lasting peace based on equality, human rights and justice, all of which are obfuscated by OneVoice’s slogany approach to conflict resolution.

The actions of Mr. Lubetzky have led us to seriously question his and OneVoice’s desire to advance the cause of true peace. As Palestinians, we are weary of flowery talk about peace that only serves to distort the truth of what is happening on the ground. We cannot sing about peace as Israel continues to steal our land and water resources, build settlements, construct the wall, demolish our homes, push us into smaller and smaller cantons, carry out raids in our cities, towns and villages, arrest our brothers and sisters, and deny our children education. We don’t oppose true peace initiatives; quite the opposite; we have long been calling on Israel to cease such provocative and damaging actions so that we can really talk about living in peace together. But we are not willing to take part in another façade like Oslo, which gave the world the impression that there was a peace process in progress all the while that Israel was cementing its occupation. Mr. Lubetzky, OneVoice, and anyone who is genuinely interested in a just and lasting peace for Israelis, Palestinians, and all children of the region are called upon to join efforts to pressure Israel to comply with international law.

As for the Jericho and Tel Aviv concerts and to those who lament their cancellation, we ask: When South African whites wanted to maintain control of the majority and the strategic areas in South Africa and give the blacks self rule in others, would a “peace” concert have been organized to support this initiative?

We strongly advise OneVoice to integrate into its platform that any negotiations must be premised on equality, respect for human rights, and the implementation of international law. By advocating for negotiations without a strong emphasis on guarantees of human rights and international law, OneVoice is simply supporting the efforts of the stronger powers, Israel and the US, to impose their will on the weaker Palestinian side, forcing Palestinians to accept an unjust and therefore unsustainable settlement.