Human rights groups file appeal against Ehud Barak over the confiscation of Palestinian fishing boats

Ramallah, Occupied West Bank: On November 25, 2008, Al-Mazan, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) have filed a legal appeal against Ehud Barak and the commander of the Israeli Navy. The appeal was launched over Israel’s illegal confiscation of three large fishing boats from Palestinian territorial waters on the 18th November.

This appeal has been sent to the supreme court asking why the boats have not been released and why the fishermen have not been compensated for their loss of income and their loss of use of the boats for the past week.

The boats were abducted 7 1/2 miles from the port of Deir al-Balah, so they were well within Zone L, which, under the Oslo agreement, gives them the right to be fishing within their own 20 nautical mile limit. Israel’s actions raises serious doubts about their claim that Gaza is no longer occupied.

The action against Barak and the Israeli Navy is based, in part, on the The Hague convention, “Family honor and rights, the lives of persons, and private property, as well as religious convictions and practice, must be respected. Private property can not be confiscated.”

Ynet: Report – Most cases of IDF abuse of Palestinians don’t lead to charges

To view original article, published by Ynet on the 26th November, click here

Research conducted by human rights organization Yesh Din finds only 6 percent of investigations against soldiers accused of harming Palestinian civilians resulted in indictments in last seven years; military courts fail to hand severe sentences for offenses

Only six percent of investigations against IDF soldiers suspected of abusing Palestinians in the last seven years led to indictments, a report published by the Yesh Din human rights organization revealed on Wednesday.

According to the group, thousands of Palestinian civilians who were not involved in operations against the IDF were killed from the beginning of the second intifada and until 2007. However, only very few cases resulted in the filing of charges against the soldiers implicated with those deaths.

Until today military courts convicted only five soldiers for the deaths of four civilians: Three Palestinians and one British citizen.

The report is based on data provided by the army, according to which of the 1,264 investigations launched by the military police since 2000, only 78 led to indictments against one soldier or more.

‘IDF abandons Palestinian population’

Yesh Din further claimed that the IDF was far from judging severely those soldiers convicted of abusing Palestinian civilians. For instance, all soldiers found guilty of plundering, an offense which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, were handed prison sentences ranging between 40 days to six months.

Lior Yavne, research director at Yesh Din and the author of the report, said: “A soldier who chooses to beat up a handcuffed Palestinian, or who unnecessarily shoots an unarmed civilian, knows that the chances of him facing trial or even investigated are slim.

“The report illustrates how the IDF leaves the population of the occupied territories exposed to its soldiers’ arbitrariness.”

Haaretz: Palestinians – Libya sends ship to Gaza in bid to break blockade

To view original article, published by Haaretz on the 26th November, click here

Libya has recently sent a ship carrying 3,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Palestinian media outlets reported Wednesday, in an attempt to break the blockade Israel has imposed on the coastal territory.

The Palestine News Network reported on Tuesday that supplies that were official aid from Libya, a state with which Israel has no diplomatic relations.

The network quoted Libyan officials as saying that, “The Palestinians are starving from this attack.

“There is also political isolation and the media is ignoring the situation. This mission was not created to show our messages of solidarity, but to provide concrete assistance.”

The International Middle East Media Center, a Palestinian news organization, quoted a Gaza official as calling on other Arab states to flout the blockade.

According to the organization, Jamal al-Khudary, the head of the Palestinian Popular Anti-Siege Committee protest, also said: “This ship is a practical measure against the siege… it is not for media consumption.”

If the boat reaches Gaza, it will be the fourth to have done so since Israel imposed the blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory in response to cross-border rocket fire.

The boats that have sailed to Gaza until now have been manned by political activists. The reported Libyan voyage would constitute the first such one by a sovereign state.

Gazan fishermen protest for their rights

Monday 24th November, 2008 – Gaza City

The ISM Gaza Strip team joined over 50 Palestinian fishermen on a demonstration to call for an end to the siege of Gaza – both on the land and in the sea. As Israel’s stranglehold tightens day by day, Gazan fishermen and farmers struggle to provide a local food source for a population under siege. This is in the face of arbitrary restrictions imposed on them by Israeli occupation forces.

Israel has declared a six-mile limit on the Gazan fishing zone, contrary to prior agreements and international regulations. This limit is dictated solely by the gun and Gazan fishermen endure daily aggression from Israeli naval gunboats, resulting in injuries and damage to their boats. 15 fishermen have been killed by the Israeli navy since 2000.

The fishermen also protested against the abduction of 15 of their colleagues from Gazan territorial waters on 18th November, who have since been released. They demanded the return of three of their trawling vessels confiscated by the Israeli navy during the same operation, depriving hundreds of people of a livelihood. They also opposed the illegal detention of three International Solidarity Movement volunteers who were accompanying them at the time.

Fishermen carried banners with slogans including:
“No to the occupation piracy in Palestinian waters. Yes to fishing freedom.”

The fishermen marched from Gaza City port to the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, where they spoke to a UN representative. There were also speakers from the Fishing Syndicate, PNGO and the Palestinian Campaign against the Siege.

ISM Gaza Strip: Shots against farmers and internationals in Al Faraheen

In the morning of Sunday the 23rd of November, several international human rights observers accompanied Palestinian farmers to plough their field close to the green line, in the village of Al Faraheen, east of Khan Younis. At about 10 o’ clock Israeli soldiers behind the fence started to shoot. A tank could also be seen moving in the area behind the fence. The international HROs used their megaphones to communicate the international presence and to demand that the shooting cease immediately.

The Palestinian farmers decided to postpone the work. The international HROs remained in their positions till the moment that it seemed that the shooting has stopped. Then they accompanied the Palestinian farmers towards their houses. At some point there was some more shots, probably against one of the Palestinian residents who had left the group, following the path to his house, cross the field. The international HROs immediately positioned themselves between him and the green line, from were the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) soldiers were shooting, until he left the area. Despite the fact that the agricultural work was not concluded, the international presence may have prevented a more serious attack like the ones that often occur all along the Green Line, leaving Palestinian civilians injured or even dead. (An incident like that was reported on the 24th of November, at the northern border of Gaza strip, where a Palestinian civilian was shot in the leg by Israeli troops).

The internationals remained in Al Faraheen and accompanied another Palestinian family who lives near the Green Line and has repeatedly suffered attacks from the IOF before. For a while, they accompanied the family and their friends during their work in the vegetable garden right beside the house, where they have been attacked by the Israeli army many times in the past. Some of the internationals continued the accompaniment for the rest of the day and throughout the night, until the next morning. No other incidents were reported.