Linkovi, vijesti – Palestina/Izrael

IDF officers to hide their identity for fear of arrests abroad
Časnici izraelske vojske skrivat će svoj identitet iz straha od uhićenja u inozemstvu (5. srpanj 2011.)
Identitet časnika izraelske vojske od sad će biti sakriven kako bi ih se zaštitilo od kaznenog progona u inozemstvu. Izraelska vojska sve je zabrinutija zbog mogućnosti da njeni pripadnici budu u inozemstvu kazneno procesuirani zbog odgovornosti za ratne zločine. Izraelskim će medijima uskoro biti zabranjeno da časnike imenuju, već će se morati zadovoljiti samo inicijalima. Lica časnika bit će zamućena ili pikselizirana na slikama i snimkama kako bi se onemogućila njihova identifikacija. Proteklih nekoliko godina bilo je nekoliko pokušaja uhićenja viših časnika izraelske vojske: Shaul Mofaz, bivši načelnik glavnog stožera, morao je na brzinu napustiti London; Aviv Kokhavi morao je odustati od studija u Londonu iz straha od uhićenja; Dorona Almoga uhidbeni je nalog dočekao kad je sletio u London, a on se na savjet veleposlanstva odbio iskrcati iz aviona kako bi izbjegao uhićenje. Postoje navodi da je bivši načelnik glavnog stožera Moshe Ya'alon bio prisiljen na brzinu napustiti Novi Zeland kako bi izbjegao uhićenje, no on poriče te navode. Strah od zakonskog progona nije ograničen samo na više časnike. Vojnici izraelske vojske u selo Bil'in su u rujnu 2009. upali maskirani, a interventni policajci uklonili su svoje identifikacijske oznake i obukli skijaške maske prilikom napada na aktiviste u četvrti Sheikh Jarrah prije nekoliko mjeseci. Za sada ostaje nejasno kako će izraelska vojska ovo pitanje urediti s nezavisnim fotografima koji će fotografirati više časnike. Nejasno je i da li će se provoditi vojna cenzura, obzirom da je Vrhovni sud presudio da je cenzura objavljivanja podataka dopuštena samo u slučajevima gdje se radi o jasnoj opasnosti po državnu sigurnost.
Read more…

French flotilla boat sets sail for Gaza
Francuski brod iz flotile isplovio za Gazu (5. srpanj 2011.)
Francuski brod Dostojanstvo uspio je 5. srpnja pobjeći grčkim vlastima i isploviti prema Gazi. Na tom se brodu nalaze zastupnik Olivier Besancenot, predsjednik francuske Stranke nove ljevice, francuska zastupnica u Europskom parlamentu Nicole Kiil-Nilsen i druge poznate francuske osobe. Sve optužbe protiv kapetana američkog broda za Gazu su odbačene i on je pušten iz grčkog pritvora. Španjolski aktivisti ne odustaju od namjere da plove za Gazu i strpljivo čekaju da španjolska vlada s grčkom vladom razriješi problem isplovljavanja njihovog broda Guernica. U tu su svrhu okupirali španjolsko veleposlanstvo u Ateni. Kanadski brod Tahrir je 4. srpnja uspio isploviti iz luke na Kreti na 15 minuta, no ubrzo ga je presrela obalna straža. Brod obalne straže dao se u potjeru za kanadskim brodom, a njeni su pripadnici protiv aktivista upotrijebili vodene topove i nakon nekog se vremena uspjeli ukrcati na brod. Uhićeno je 3 kanadskih aktivista. Skupina aktivista na otoku Krfu namjerava prosvjedovati protiv grčke zabrane isplovljavanja, a čini se da se većina tih aktivista protivi nasilnom proboju iz grčke luke, dok se kapetan boji da bi mogao ugroziti svoju dozvolu.
Read more…

A Pipeline of Injustice: Greek consular official admits that natural gas pipeline drives complicity in Gaza siege
Plinovod nepravde: grčki konzularni predstavnik priznao da plinovod prirodnog plina stoji iza suučesništva Grčke u opsadi Gaze (5. srpanj 2011.)
Grčki konzularni predstavnik Georgios Ayfantis je 4. srpnja u Vancouveru u Kanadi potvrdio da je Grčka flotilu zaustavila zbog ekonomskih interesa. Ayfantis je u razgovoru s izaslanstvom aktivista koji podržavaju Tahrir, kanadski brod za Gazu, izjavio da je u pitanju podmorski plinovod i postrojenje za pretvaranje prirodnog plina u tekuće stanje na Kreti. Ayfantis je također izjavio da se Grčka boji Izraela i da američka i kanadska vlada u potpunosti podupiru Izrael. U međuvremenu, grčki sindikalisti i brodograditelji izvode popravke na brodu Tahrir koji je oštećen dok ga je preuzimala grčka obalna straža prilikom nedopuštenog pokušaja isplovljavanja. Prije toga su jedini iz općeg štrajka bili izuzeti lučki radnici koji su ukrcavali teret na brodove flotile. Grčki aktivisti sjede u lukama i čuvaju brodove flotile od sabotaže. Radove na brodovima flotile i ostale akcije podrške flotili doživljavaju kao otpor Papandreouovoj vladi.
Međunarodne flotile slobode imaju jednog međunarodnoj javnosti slabo poznatog prethodnika: 1988, tijekom prve Intifade, egipatski, sirijski i drugi arapski glumci i umjetnici namjeravali su zajedno s 131 Palestincem istjeranim iz Palestine na „brodu povratka“ pod imenom Al-Awda uploviti u luku u Haifi. Njihov je brod potonuo u ciparskoj luci, a 3 palestinskih organizatora ovog projekta ubijeni su istog dana, 16. veljače 1988.
Read more…

Siege of Gaza has become a moral blockade of Israel
The national minority in Israel has the right to vote but it does not have television of its own ; it has health insurance but also heavy unemployment and infant mortality rates that are much higher than among the Jews (8.3 compared with 3.7 for every 1000 births ). Tel Aviv, which sells itself to the world as a liberal city, is the only metropolis in the West that does not have a Muslim population. Its "coolness" is racist - the 20 percent minority does not appear at all in the life of the city. And it is advisable for propagandists not to point to Jaffa as proof of diversity - Jaffa with its yuppie immigration is a perfect example of apartheid carried out by "secular" and "liberal" Tel Aviv. Official propaganda, too, will not help. The more pressure Israel brings to bear on centers in the West - countries and media giants - the more the wave against it grows, because the hatred of the occupation and of Israeli racism springs from the knowledge that what Israel does is funded by the West, gets assistance from the West, and from connections with the focuses of power - as a living memorial to colonialism. There is nothing better than the way in which the Greeks thwarted the Gaza aid flotilla's departure to reinforce this. It was not just Greece that thwarted it.
Read more…

The Oslo Accords are all but dead
During the years he headed the American peace team, Israeli settlement construction ramped up. Now Ross, the former chairman of the Jewish People Policy Institute, is trying to convince the Palestinians to give up on bringing Palestinian independence for a vote in the United Nations in September and recognize the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people - in other words, as his country, though he was born in San Francisco, more than that of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was born in Safed. If they give up on the UN vote, Ross argues, then Netanyahu will be so kind as to negotiate a final-status agreement with them. Has anyone heard anything recently about a construction freeze in the settlements? Ross is trying to peddle the illusion that the most right-wing government Israel has ever seen will abandon the strategy of eradicating the Oslo approach in favor of fulfilling the hated agreement. In an effort to save his latest boss from choosing between recognizing a Palestinian state at the risk of clashing with the Jewish community and voting against recognition at the risk of damaging U.S. standing in the Arab world, Ross is trying to drag the Palestinians back into the "peace process" trap.
Read more…

Impose an immediate, comprehensive military embargo on Israel!
Poziv na međunarodnu akciju: Nametnimo Izraelu trenutačni, sveobuhvatni vojni embargo! (8. srpanj 2011.)
Poziv Palestinskog nacionalnog odbora za bojkot, dezinvestiranje i sankcije protiv Izraela poziva na međunarodnu akciju s ciljem nametanja sveobuhvatnog vojnog embarga Izraelu, po uzoru na sličan embargo koji je u prošlosti bio nametnut Južnoj Africi. Palestinski nacionalni odbor za Bojkot, dezinvestiranje i sankcije protiv Izraela (BNC) je najveća koalicija palestinskih organizacija civilnog društva, a poziv, koji možete pročitati na linku, je upućen svim savjesnim građanima, pokretima i organizacijama diljem svijeta koji se pozivaju da podrže ovaj poziv i vrše pritisak na vlade, multilateralna tijela i UN, te privatne i javne tvrtke i institucije s ciljem nametanja vojnog embarga Izraelu.
Read more…

Military Embargo Launch - UN Ramallah - July 8 2011 (photo)
Aktivisti Nezavisnog pokreta mladih pozvali UN na nametanje vojnog embarga Izraelu (photo) (8. srpanj 2011, pred zgradom UN-a u Ramalli, Zapadna obala)

Palestinian Civil Society Call for a Comprehensive Military Embargo of Israel
A working paper of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC)
This background document accompanies the BNC's call for an immediate, comprehensive military Embargo on Israel, issued on 9 July 2011. It examines the legal framework in which the call is made, Israel's record of unlawful use of armed force, and the role of military cooperation with Israel , Israel's military industry and the academy in maintaining Israel's violations of international law and its system of apartheid, colonisation and occupation against the Palestinian people. The document concludes with an overview of international legal obligations to end Israel's unlawful use of armed force whose respect by governments, the UN and business corporations has yet to be ensured.
Read more…

Amnesty International traži zamrzavanje prodaje oružja Izraelu

ostaci projektila kojim su 04. siječnja 2009. ubijena 3 bolničara hitne pomoći dok su pokušavali doći do ranjenih i 1 dječak u blizini svog doma u gradu Gazi (slika: Amnesty International)

Podaci izvađeni iz članka Amire Hass: Amnesty International urges freeze on arms sales to Israel koji u cijelosti možete na engleskom pročitati na linku.

Više od 20 država prodalo je Izraelu oružje čija bi uporaba tijekom izraelskog napada na Gazu mogla predstavljati ratne zločine i ozbiljne povrede međunarodnog prava, stoji u izvještaju „Fueling Conflict: Foreign Arms supplies to Israel/Gaza“ koji je Amnesty International objavio u ponedjeljak (23. veljače).

SAD se nalaze na vrhu popisa zemalja koje izvoze oružje u Izrael, no izvještaj također navodi i Francusku, Rumunjsku, Bosnu i Srbiju...

Amnesty International poziva na zamrzavanje izvoza oružja u Izrael sve dok više ne bude postojala opasnost da će se to oružje i vojna oprema koristiti za teške povrede međunarodnog humanitarnog prava i kršenja ljudskih prava.

U izvještaju stoji i da Hamas i ostale palestinske skupine svoje oružje koriste ne razlikujući civilne od vojnih ciljeva, iako ostaje nepoznato tko te skupine snabdijeva oružjem koje nije domaće izrade (a koje je proizvedeno u Iranu i Rusiji). Amnesty International također poziva na moratorij na prodaju i isporuku oružja Palestincima. U izvještaju stoji i da je količina oružja kojim raspolaže Hamas mnogo manja od one koju posjeduje Izrael.

SAD je zemlja koja je Izraelu dostavila najviše oružja od 2001. godine. Između 2004. i 2007. ukupna vrijednost oružja koje je SAD dostavio Izraelu iznosila je oko 8,3 milijarde američkih dolara. Od 2002. do danas Izrael je primio vojnu i sigurnosnu pomoć u vrijednosti od 21 milijarde američkih dolara, uključujući direktnu vojnu pomoć u vrijednosti od 19 milijardi američkih dolara. U 10-godišnjem ugovoru, koji je na snazi do 2017, stoji da će SAD Izraelu dostaviti vojnu pomoć u vrijednosti od ukupno 30 milijardi američkih dolara. Amnesty International poziva Obaminu administraciju da odmah obustavi vojnu pomoć Izraelu.

Između 2004. i 2007. Francuska je u Izrael izvezla vojnu opremu u vrijednosti od 59 milijuna eura. Rumunjska je u Izrael izvezla opremu vrijednu oko 20 milijuna eura, a Velika Britanija oko 10 milijuna britanskih funti. Srbija je Izraelu prodala oružje i streljivo u vrijednosti od 15 milijuna američkih dolara, a Njemačka je Izraelu dala vojnu pomoć vrijednu oko 1,5 milijuna američkih dolara.

Više na linku...

Izvještaj AI-a o ratnim zločinima počinjenim u nedavnoj izraelskoj agresiji na Gazu i naoružavanju Izraela i palestinskih naoružanih skupina
AI: Fuelling conflict: Foreign arms supplies to Israel/Gaza
Od 2001. Izraelu su vojnu opremu, osim SAD-a, Velike Britanije i Francuske, isporučile i slijedeće zemlje: Austrija, Australija, Belgija, Češka, Finska, Njemačka, Mađarska, Italija, Poljska, Rumunjska, Srbija, Slovačka, Slovenija, Južna Korea i Španjolska. Nizozemska i Grčka poslužile su kao tranzitne zemlje za vojnu opremu izvezenu u Izrael. Albanija, Bosna i Hercegovina, Brazil, Kolumbija i Indija su među 20 najvećih komercijalnih izvoznika oružja i streljiva u Izrael. 18 zemalja članica EU-a 2007. godine odobrilo je 1018 dozvola za prodaju oružja Izraelu. Njihova vrijednost iznosila je oko 200 milijuna eura. Među tim zemljama prednjačile su Francuska, Njemačka i Rumunjska. Zbog političkog pritiska svoje javnosti 9 zemalja EU-a (uključujući Švedsku) sada tvrdi da uopće ne izvoze oružje u Izrael. Osim ovih, u izvještaju se kao zemlje koje Izrael snabdijevaju oružjem ili dijelovima koji se koriste za proizvodnju oružja navode još i Estonija, Kazahstan, Meksiko i Kanada.
Amnesty International found remnants of air-delivered munitions – ranging from fragments of 20mm cannon and Hellfire and other missiles fired from helicopters and unmanned drones, to large fragments of large laser-guided and other bombs dropped from F-16 warplanes, as well as pieces of rocket motors, circuit boards and other electrical components of the missiles. Fragments from these bombardments are all over Gaza - on the streets, in school playgrounds, in hospitals and in people's homes. ...
According to the 1996 United Nations Guidelines for International Arms Transfers, the term “illicit arms trafficking is understood to cover that international trade in conventional arms, which is contrary to the laws of States and/or international law.” The responsibility of all states to prohibit international arms transfers that will facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian law and human rights derives from their obligation not to participate in the internationally wrongful acts of another state. The principle is stated in Article 16 of the International Law Commission's Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts in terms which reflect customary international law, binding on all States. Article 16 states: “A State which aids or assists another State in the commission of an internationally wrongful act by the latter is internationally responsible for doing so if: (a) that State does so with knowledge of the circumstances of the internationally wrongful act; and (b) the act would be internationally wrongful if committed by that State.” General international law prohibits conduct that involves patterns of blatant abuse and complicity in such a pattern of blatant abuse.
Tvrtke iz Bosne i Srbije Izraelcima prodaju streljivo:
According to research by Amnesty International and International Peace Information Service (a NGO based in Antwerp), Serbian and Bosnian companies have in recent years exported large quantities of small arms ammunition and components, as well as artillery shell and mortar components to Israeli companies that supply such weapons to the IDF. Such exports have been sanctioned by the governments of Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzogovina. The primary Israeli importer of small arms ammunition components and finished products from the Balkans is the company Israeli Military Industries (IMI). During 2005 and 2006, IMI imported millions of rounds of 5.56 calibre ammunition from the Prvi Partizan factory in Serbia. IMI also ordered 45 million rounds of 5.56 calibre ammunition compatible with IDF assault rifles from a Bosnian factory in September 2005. IMI continued to import massive quantities of IDF compatible ammunition from Serbia. IMI is the leading small arms supplier to the IDF. ... Israeli companies such as Soltam Systems have also purchased large quantities of key mortar and artillery shell components from Bosnia & Herzegovina. Soltam Systems is a leading supplier of artillery and mortar shells to the IDF.


Ostali linkovi za Palestinu/Izrael:
The Fifth Annual Israeli Apartheid Week March 1 - 8, 2009
Mark your calendars - the 5th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week will take place across the globe from March 1-8, 2009! First launched in Toronto in 2005, IAW has grown to become one of the most important global events in the Palestine solidarity calendar. Last year, more than 25 cities around the world participated in the week's activities, which also commemorated 60 years since the expulsion of the Palestinian people from their homes and land in 1947-1948. IAW 2008 was launched with a live broadcast from the South African township of Soweto by Palestinian leader and former member of the Israeli Knesset, Azmi Bishara. This year, IAW occurs in the wake of Israel's barbaric assault against the people of Gaza. Lectures, films, and actions will make the point that these latest massacres further confirm the true nature of Israeli Apartheid. IAW 2009 will continue to build and strengthen the growing Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement at a global level.

Q&A: Israel Bars Credible Observers from Gaza
Thalif Deen Interviews U.N. Human Rights Expert RICHARD FALK
Falk, whose official title is U.N. Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, is a Professor of International Law who has taught at several U.S. academic institutions, including Princeton, Ohio State and the University of California. The detention and expulsion were "unprecedented and regrettable," Pillay said, complaining that Falk was not only separated from two U.N. staffers accompanying him but was also held incommunicado for more than 20 hours at the Ben Gurion airport last week and denied the use of his U.N.-issued cell phone. ... Of course, the geopolitical realities of great powers unconditional support for Israel places a great obstacle in the path of the Palestinian struggle for self-determination, and continues to expose the Palestinian people living under occupation to severe hardship that has been harmful to health and wellbeing. But it is important also not to lose hope. The struggle against apartheid in South Africa also seemed to be decisively blocked by political obstacles and the relation of forces, but unforeseen results produced a positive outcome due, in large part, to the anti-apartheid campaign waged globally.


Ostali linkovi:
Center for Constitutional Rights: CURRENT CONDITIONS OF CONFINEMENT AT GUANTÁNAMO STILL IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW February 23, 2009
U američkom koncentracijskom logoru Guantánamo u kojem su godinama zatvoreni, zlostavljani i mučeni ljudi koji nikada ni za što nisu optuženi i/ili nikada nisu imali priliku iznijeti svoju obranu na poštenom suđenju:
After over seven years of unlawful executive detention, the approximately 240 men who remain imprisoned at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba continue to be held in inhumane conditions that violate U.S. obligations under the Geneva Conventions, the U.S. Constitution, and international human rights law. Most of these men have never been charged or had an opportunity to challenge the legality of their detention in a habeas hearing. ... The descriptions of ongoing, severe solitary confinement, other forms of psychological abuse, incidents of violence and the threat of violence from guards, religious abuse, and widespread forced tube-feeding of hunger strikers indicate that the inhumane practices of the Bush Administration persist today at Guantánamo, despite President Obama's Executive Order, and should be remedied immediately. ...
On the afternoon of January 7, 2009, Yasin Ismael was in one of the outdoor cages of Camp 6 for “recreation” time. The cage was entirely in the shade. Mr. Ismael asked to be moved to the adjoining empty cage because it had sunlight entering from the top. The guards, who were outside the cages, refused. One guard told Mr. Ismael that he was “not allowed to see the sun.” Angered, Mr. Ismael threw a shoe against the inner mesh side of the cage; which bounced harmlessly back onto the cage floor. The guards, however, accused Mr. Ismael of attacking them and left him in the cage as punishment. He eventually fell asleep on the floor of the cage, but hours later he was awakened by the sound of an IRF team entering the cage in the dark. The team shackled him and he put up no resistance. They then beat him. They blocked his nose and mouth until he felt that he would suffocate, and hit him repeatedly in the ribs and head. They then took him back to his cell. As he was being taken back, a guard urinated on his head. Mr. Ismael was badly injured and his ear started to bleed, leaving a large stain on his pillow. ...
Mentally ill prisoners have been grossly mistreated and mismanaged in ways that have exacerbated their mental illnesses and suffering. Psychiatric visits are often cursory, and detainees who have reported problems to psychiatrists have been placed in more restricted isolation and denied basic items, termed “privileges” or “comfort items.” Suicide attempts have been downplayed and classified as “manipulative self-injurious behavior.” Members of the medical staff have assisted with or acquiesced to beatings by military guards. Some have gone so far as to verbally abuse detainees and laugh at their pain. Prisoners have been denied information about their test results, existing diseases, and the nature and risk of drugs and procedures to which they were subjected. They have been forced to accept unwanted medical care. Medical staff have permitted guards without medical training to assist in administering treatment. They have failed to address conditions of detention that undermined the health and well-being of the prisoners, such as inadequate and insufficient food, water, sanitation, shelter from inclement weather, as well as isolation, fear, mistreatment, and the mental anguish caused by indefinite detention. Improper or insufficient food, water, and sanitation has led detainees to suffer from, among other symptoms, renal pain, chronic constipation, weight loss, rotted teeth and receded gums. The U.S. government has denied detainees access to independent medical experts, leaving them in the exclusive care of medical staff, including psychiatrists and psychologists, that have collaborated with interrogators and systematically violated their legal and ethical duties to oppose, stop, record, and report abuse. Further, detainees have been subjected to medical examinations for non-therapeutic purposes, including vetting for interrogations designed, pursuant to medical findings, to be harmful to the prisoners' physical and mental health. Medical treatment, including mental health treatment, has been deliberately withheld or dispensed conditioned on prisoners' cooperation with interrogation, and interrogation-related medical exams have been kept apart from the prisoners' medical files, facilitating the concealment of injuries suggesting abuse. ...
A tube described by the men as the thickness of a finger is forcibly inserted up their noses and down into their stomachs and as much as 1.5 liters of formula is pumped through the tube. In the case of hunger strikers, this amount can be more than their stomachs can comfortably hold and the effect can be an uncomfortable, sometimes painful bout of nausea, vomiting, bloating, diarrhea, and shortness of breath. Men are kept strapped to the chairs for an hour after “feeding” to prevent them from purging the formula. No sedatives or anesthesia are given during the procedure. The tubes are generally inserted and withdrawn twice a day, and the same tubes, covered in blood and stomach bile, are reportedly used from one patient to another without adequate sanitization. The policy of force-feeding with restraint chairs continues to this day under the Obama Administration.