Former Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade Commander, Colonel Pinhas (Pinky) Zuaretz – the final witness in the case – is scheduled to testify Sunday, July 10, in the Corrie civil trial against the State of Israel.
Colonel Zuaretz was the commanding officer of the Israeli military’s Gaza Division’s Southern Brigade in 2003, when American peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed. Troops under his command were responsible for the actions resulting in her killing. Zuaretz is the highest ranking officer called as a government witness in the civil trial who had command responsibility in Gaza. He is possibly the highest such officer ever to face cross examination in a civil suit regarding the actions of the Israeli military against civilians in Gaza during the second intifada. His testimony is expected to shed light on the Israeli military’s failures as an occupying power to protect civilian life and property in the region.
The lawsuit, filed in 2005 by Attorney Hussein abu Hussein, charges the State of Israel with responsibility for killing Rachel in Rafah, Gaza in 2003. Since the trial opened in March 2010, 14 hearings have been held, with over 2000 pages of court transcripts recorded from 22 testimonies – including that of 14 Israeli Military personnel, and four peace activist eye-witnesses with the International Solidarity Movement. Most government witnesses for the State of Israel were identified only by their initials, and many testified while hidden behind a screen. Each hearing was attended by officials from the American Embassy, numerous observers from legal and human rights organizations, and members of the Corrie family.
Craig and Cindy Corrie, Rachel’s parents, will hold a press conference on Monday, July 11, at 11:00 AM at the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem to discuss the conclusion of this phase of the case, as well as next steps in their efforts to seek accountability for their daughter’s killing. They will be joined by their other daughter, Sarah Corrie Simpson and Attorney Hussein Abu Hussein. The press conference will be held in English, with attorneys available at the conclusion for brief interviews in both Arabic and Hebrew.
Court proceedings on Sunday, July 10, will begin at 12:00 noon in the courtroom of Judge Oded Gershon, 6th floor, Haifa District Court, 12 Palyam St., Haifa, Israel.
For press related inquiries, contact:
Email: stacy@rachelcorriefoundation.org and press@rachelcorriefoundation.org
Phone: Stacy Sullivan (in Israel) at +972-54-280-7572 or +972-52-952-2143
Hundreds of internationals on their way to visit Palestinians in Gaza have been prevented from departing from the ports in Greece. However, we hope that on July 8th, 2011, hundreds of others of us from many countries will succeed in reaching Palestine by flying to Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. We have been invited by some forty Palestinian organizations to “Welcome to Palestine,” a week of activities in Palestine. It should be a wonderful visit, but most of us are frankly a bit scared. This is because of one decision we’ve all made: to tell the truth that our plan is to visit Palestine. It should be so simple, shouldn’t it? But it is not, because Israel controls all access to Palestine — by air, and by land, as well as by sea.
Even the website of the U.S. State Department warns of “prolonged questioning and thorough searches by Israeli authorities upon entry or departure,” of particularly “probing questioning” visited upon “U.S. citizens whom Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin,” who are frequently denied entry. This is also true of visitors who are suspected to sympathize with Palestinians. The U.S. and the European countries refuse to protect their own citizens against these abuses by Israeli authorities.
The draconian and discriminating procedures at the borders of Israel have but one aim: to further isolate Palestinians and reinforce their inferior status; to trap them, away from any outside witnesses, in an increasingly constrictive maze of bantustans, separated by checkpoints and walls. By failing to insist that Israel allow travel to Palestine, our western governments support Israel’s apartheid policies. In fact, occupied territory is not sovereign territory and Israel’s authority over the occupied Palestinian territories is subject to international humanitarian law. This authority does not include the right to arbitrarily deny entry of foreign passport holders wishing to visit, reside, or work in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT — See http://www.righttoenter.ps/etemplate.php?id=146.)
We are flying to Ben Gurion on July 8th to visit friends in Palestine, and we insist that our own governments support us in doing so. Supporting our visit to Palestine will be one small step towards bringing about the freedom of movement for all the peoples of Israel/Palestine that is essential for peace and justice in the Middle East.
Sheikh Raed Salah, one of the most prominent campaigners within Israel for Palestinian rights, has been arrested in London. The Sheikh was invited by PSC to speak at the launch of ‘Building Peace and Justice in Jerusalem’ Campaign in Parliament tonight, alongside MPs and other prominent speakers. He is the leader of a legitimate political party in Israel, representing Palestinians, and an outspoken champion of Jerusalem. The meeting will still go ahead.
The Sheikh entered the UK openly on 25 June and his schedule was known well in advance by UK authorities. This included a meeting in Parliament on 26 June and a public meeting the same night at Conway Hall, London, organised by PSC and MEMO on the subject of the Arab Spring and its impact on Palestine.
Despite this, the Sheikh was arrested in his hotel room last night under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1971. The Home Secretary, Teresa May, subsequently announced in the House of Commons that he was excluded from entering the UK. The government has not made clear when the ban was issued, and the Sheikh’s legal team had not been contacted.
The Sheikh has appealed against the deportation in court. His team had already begun legal proceedings against Daily Telegraph and Jewish Chronicle journalists for printing false allegations about him last week. Deporting, and subsequently banning, Sheikh Raed from the UK will be a violation of his right to free speech, his right to speak out on behalf of Palestine, and a victory for those who have spread the baseless rumours defaming his reputation.
Call or email the Home Secretary asking her to reconsider the decision. An Israeli court cleared Sheikh Raed of charges of making anti-Semitic comments. The Sheikh has reiterated that charges were dropped because there was no evidence against him. On what basis is he being excluded from the UK?
Following the intense pressure from the United States and Israeli governments, Greece has announced that they will prevent the sailing of Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human boats to Gaza.
Israel has exported the blockade of Gaza to Greece and the Greek government must be reminded that the people of the world want an end to the siege of Gaza. Join us in calling on the Greek government to allow the passage of the Flotilla to the shores of Gaza by calling your local Greek embassies and consulates. Find a local Greek representative.
In addition to calling to remind the Greek government that helping Israel maintain a naval blockade and illegal siege on the Gaza Strip is against international law and humanity, we urge you to show them by holding vigils and demonstrations. Find a demonstration in your area or organize one and register it.
NLG IC calls on US government end its pressure on the Greek government and demand that Israel refrain from attacking the flotilla
National Lawyers Guild: The Flotilla Must Sail Freely!
Today, the U.S. Boat to Gaza, the Audacity to Hope, was stopped by the Greek Coast Guard as it attempted to begin its journey to Gaza, apparently as a result of U.S/Israeli pressure. The National Lawyers Guild International Committee called on the US government to end its pressure on the Greek government to act against the Flotilla and demand that Israel refrain from violence against peaceful protesters soon to be embarking on Freedom Flotilla Two – Stay Human, an international civilian seaborne freedom ride to Gaza that seeks to break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza. The IC also urged that Greece provide free passage to the flotilla boats to Gaza.
The “Audacity of Hope,” is an American flagged vessel and is expected to carry 36 passengers, including the well-known author and poet Alice Walker. One quarter of its passengers are Jewish Americans. The Audacity of Hope is currently held by the Greek Coast Guard just off the Greek coast. The Greek government is widely reported to be under massive U.S. and Israeli pressure to stop the flotilla from sailing and is reported, in response to this pressure, to have issued a statement that no ship may leave its harbor for Gaza.
The Israeli government has recently made outrageous allegations against the flotilla, accusing the boats of carrying sulfur and other weapons to attack Israeli military forces. The “Audacity of Hope” opened itself yesterday to public media inspection in order to disprove such claims.
Rather than defend U.S. citizens’ right to travel freely and to participate in humanitarian activities, the U.S. State Department has participated instead in justifying Israeli attacks and threatening flotilla members. At a news conference in the White House last Wednesday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that “we think that it’s not helpful for there to be flotillas that try to provoke actions by entering into Israeli waters and creating a situation in which the Israelis have the right to defend themselves.”
“Rather than using US influence to protect peaceful demonstrators, including American citizens, Clinton signals advance approval for Israel to violently attack them,” said Audrey Bomse, co-chair of the Free Palestine Subcommittee (FPSC) of the National Lawyers Guild. “What is illegal and provocative is the Israeli siege. The only action the freedom riders in the flotilla are trying to provoke is change in Israeli policy–ending its illegal siege on Gaza. The Israeli government has not and cannot defend its illegal collective punishment of more than one million civilians living in Gaza. And piling on the crime of attacking civilian protesters as they sail through international and Gazan waters–not Israeli waters–can never be justified. We call on the State Department to clearly demand that Israel refrain from any and all threat or use of violence and allow the boats to proceed to Gaza.”
The State Department also attempted to use material support laws to threaten flotilla participants, stating, “delivering or attempting or conspiring to deliver material support or other resources to, or for the benefit of, a designated foreign terrorist organisation, such as Hamas, could violate US civil and criminal statutes and could lead to fines and incarceration,” in a statement on the flotilla. Since the only cargo the US Boat to Gaza is carrying is letters of solidarity, to carry out its threat of prosecution the US government will have to define even letters supporting Palestinian civilians in Gaza as support for Hamas. said FPSC co-chair Jimmy Leas.
Two of the boats in the flotilla, a Norwegian boat in a Greek harbor and an Irish boat in a Turkish harbor, have been damaged in the past days, apparently due to sabotage. The U.S. boat is currently in a Greek harbor, being held up by a spurious complaint about its seaworthiness by an Israeli organization, as the Greek government is reported to be under high pressure from the Israeli and U.S. governments to prevent the flotilla’s sailing.
The International Committee of the Red Cross declared the siege of Gaza illegal, stating that “the whole of Gaza’s civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.” Amnesty International reported last week that “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza hasn’t changed significantly at all” despite changes during the past year, including Egypt’s opening of the Rafah crossing.
A National Lawyers Guild delegation to Gaza after the December 27, 2008 Israeli attack there found overwhelming evidence of violations of international law by the Israeli military, and the Guild reiterated its call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, as well as calling for an immediate investigation of the actions of the Israeli military and prosecution of the perpetrators of these latest crimes against humanity, after the May 2010 assault on the first Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.
ACTIONS:
Please contact the Greek Embassy immediately and ask that the US Boat delivering letters to Gaza be granted passage out of Greek waters at (202) 939-1300.
Call the State Department at 202-647-4000 and demand that the U.S. State Department stop its threats and pressure against the flotilla.
