15 oct 2009
France, UK, US, urge Israel to investigate war crimes findings
Britain, France and the United States each separately advised Israel to conduct independent and credible investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza last winter, media sources reported.
The nations voiced their concerns on the issue of the Goldstone report during a UN Security Council session Thursday, in which Israeli representative to the body Gabriela Shalev called the document a “report which has fallen straight into the strategic trap guided by terror organizations across the world.”
Despite US reservations on the “unbalanced” nature of the report, Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff said, "We take the allegations in the report seriously," and urged Israel to “carry out serious investigations of these allegations.”
Wolff said the US would not pressure Hamas into similar action because it does not have the institutions or capability to conduct such an investigation into its own conduct.
In a speech to bereaved families in Gaza, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told the group, “If there is a concern about how the report will affect the peoples’ right to resistance vis-à-vis the Goldstone report, that in no way means we have withdrawn our support for the document in general.”
Haniyeh cited the unwavering support de facto government officials gave the Goldstone commission while they were in Gaza, and compared their willingness to work with the UN-mission to Israel’s blatant obstruction. The Israeli government refused to provide the mission with information, and even access to the country to interview what it calls victims of Hamas terrorism in families that live in the Gaza border towns like Sderot.
British Ambassador John Sawers echoed Wolff’s call and urged Israel to conduct “full, credible and impartial investigations into the allegations," noting the Israeli military investigation was insufficient. That report found no evidence of war crimes or misconduct.
French Ambassador Gerard Araud urged both sides to initiate "independent inquiries in line with international standards." Araud’s call was seconded by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=232353
France, UK, US, urge Israel to investigate war crimes findings
Britain, France and the United States each separately advised Israel to conduct independent and credible investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza last winter, media sources reported.
The nations voiced their concerns on the issue of the Goldstone report during a UN Security Council session Thursday, in which Israeli representative to the body Gabriela Shalev called the document a “report which has fallen straight into the strategic trap guided by terror organizations across the world.”
Despite US reservations on the “unbalanced” nature of the report, Deputy US Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff said, "We take the allegations in the report seriously," and urged Israel to “carry out serious investigations of these allegations.”
Wolff said the US would not pressure Hamas into similar action because it does not have the institutions or capability to conduct such an investigation into its own conduct.
In a speech to bereaved families in Gaza, de facto Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told the group, “If there is a concern about how the report will affect the peoples’ right to resistance vis-à-vis the Goldstone report, that in no way means we have withdrawn our support for the document in general.”
Haniyeh cited the unwavering support de facto government officials gave the Goldstone commission while they were in Gaza, and compared their willingness to work with the UN-mission to Israel’s blatant obstruction. The Israeli government refused to provide the mission with information, and even access to the country to interview what it calls victims of Hamas terrorism in families that live in the Gaza border towns like Sderot.
British Ambassador John Sawers echoed Wolff’s call and urged Israel to conduct “full, credible and impartial investigations into the allegations," noting the Israeli military investigation was insufficient. That report found no evidence of war crimes or misconduct.
French Ambassador Gerard Araud urged both sides to initiate "independent inquiries in line with international standards." Araud’s call was seconded by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=232353
14 oct 2009
UN: Ban Ki Moon calls for independent investigations into war crimes
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called for "credible internal investigations" to be conducted by both Israel and Palestine into allegations outlined in the Goldstone report on possible war crimes committed during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in December and January.
The call came during a meeting of the UN Security Council session on Wednesday, two days ahead of an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council where a vote will be held on a resolution to adopt the recommendations of the report including a possible investigation into the war crimes allegations in the Goldstone report. The meeting was moved forward six days from the regularly scheduled sit-down, based on a request from Libya to urgently discuss the Goldstone report.
In his briefing, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe noted that "Worrying developments on the ground have increased tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the past month and it is vital that both sides refrain from provocative actions.
“While the immediate crisis may have passed, we remain concerned about the broader situation in East Jerusalem and the potential for renewed tensions,” Pascoe told member states.
“Even with the full determination and support of the international community to achieve a two-state solution, the essential ingredient is political will from the parties to meet their obligations and negotiate an end to the conflict," he said referring to recent escalations of violence in the Jerusalem area, with heavy Israeli police presence throughout the Old City during the Jewish holidays.
According to the briefing the UN official said the issue of the Old City of Jerusalem will only be fully resolved in final-status negotiations as part of the Roadmap peace plan championed by the Quartet.
“Until then, the repeated call of the Quartet on Israel to refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem and on the Palestinian Authority to refrain from incitement remains more relevant than ever,” he stressed, also citing continuing Israeli “illegal” settlement activity in Palestinian areas.
Israeli representative says “urgent” meeting should be on “Iranian threat”
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz outlined the dismissive and at times irate remarks of its Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev, who told Security Council members an “ordinary man would think that an urgent Security Council meeting is being convened due to the ongoing bombardments of Israel by terrorists from Gaza and Lebanon, or due to the Iranian threat derived from the nuclear program it is developing. But no.
"The urgency here is only an excuse 'to snatch' the Council's agenda in order to promote an issue which should be discussed somewhere else. The country responsible for violating the procedure, as we all know, is none other than Libya. This country is a real champion in human rights issues, which only recently celebrated the return of an arch terrorist, a terrorist responsible for the cold blooded murder of hundreds of innocent people over Lockerbie. This is the same country whose leaders called this council only several weeks ago 'the terror council.'"
Moving on to comment on the UN-mandated Goldstone report, Shalev said "Israel views the report as a one-sided, biased and erroneous paper, just like the forum and the mandate which appointed it.
"This is a report which legitimizes and encourages terror, denying Israel's right to defend its citizens. A Report which has fallen straight into the strategic trap guided by terror organizations across the world. A report preventing democratic countries from defending themselves and allowing terror to claim victims, target innocent people and use those it defends as a human shield."
She called the report and the Goldstone commission itself, which Israeli officials refused cooperate with as it prepared the report, an attempt"to divert the Security Council's attention from the real issues on the agenda in our region, and instead of encouraging the sides to the road of peace and renewing the negotiations, the discussion is diverted to a narrative which is destructive to the peace process. If Israel is required to take additional chances for peace, the international community must recognize our right to self-defense."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=232311
UN: Ban Ki Moon calls for independent investigations into war crimes
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called for "credible internal investigations" to be conducted by both Israel and Palestine into allegations outlined in the Goldstone report on possible war crimes committed during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in December and January.
The call came during a meeting of the UN Security Council session on Wednesday, two days ahead of an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council where a vote will be held on a resolution to adopt the recommendations of the report including a possible investigation into the war crimes allegations in the Goldstone report. The meeting was moved forward six days from the regularly scheduled sit-down, based on a request from Libya to urgently discuss the Goldstone report.
In his briefing, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe noted that "Worrying developments on the ground have increased tensions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict over the past month and it is vital that both sides refrain from provocative actions.
“While the immediate crisis may have passed, we remain concerned about the broader situation in East Jerusalem and the potential for renewed tensions,” Pascoe told member states.
“Even with the full determination and support of the international community to achieve a two-state solution, the essential ingredient is political will from the parties to meet their obligations and negotiate an end to the conflict," he said referring to recent escalations of violence in the Jerusalem area, with heavy Israeli police presence throughout the Old City during the Jewish holidays.
According to the briefing the UN official said the issue of the Old City of Jerusalem will only be fully resolved in final-status negotiations as part of the Roadmap peace plan championed by the Quartet.
“Until then, the repeated call of the Quartet on Israel to refrain from provocative actions in East Jerusalem and on the Palestinian Authority to refrain from incitement remains more relevant than ever,” he stressed, also citing continuing Israeli “illegal” settlement activity in Palestinian areas.
Israeli representative says “urgent” meeting should be on “Iranian threat”
The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz outlined the dismissive and at times irate remarks of its Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev, who told Security Council members an “ordinary man would think that an urgent Security Council meeting is being convened due to the ongoing bombardments of Israel by terrorists from Gaza and Lebanon, or due to the Iranian threat derived from the nuclear program it is developing. But no.
"The urgency here is only an excuse 'to snatch' the Council's agenda in order to promote an issue which should be discussed somewhere else. The country responsible for violating the procedure, as we all know, is none other than Libya. This country is a real champion in human rights issues, which only recently celebrated the return of an arch terrorist, a terrorist responsible for the cold blooded murder of hundreds of innocent people over Lockerbie. This is the same country whose leaders called this council only several weeks ago 'the terror council.'"
Moving on to comment on the UN-mandated Goldstone report, Shalev said "Israel views the report as a one-sided, biased and erroneous paper, just like the forum and the mandate which appointed it.
"This is a report which legitimizes and encourages terror, denying Israel's right to defend its citizens. A Report which has fallen straight into the strategic trap guided by terror organizations across the world. A report preventing democratic countries from defending themselves and allowing terror to claim victims, target innocent people and use those it defends as a human shield."
She called the report and the Goldstone commission itself, which Israeli officials refused cooperate with as it prepared the report, an attempt"to divert the Security Council's attention from the real issues on the agenda in our region, and instead of encouraging the sides to the road of peace and renewing the negotiations, the discussion is diverted to a narrative which is destructive to the peace process. If Israel is required to take additional chances for peace, the international community must recognize our right to self-defense."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=232311
13 oct 2009
Demand justice for Gaza victims - Human Rights Watch
The following is a statement from Human Rights Watch which reflects the organization’s opinions alone.
(New York) - The United Nations Security Council should demand justice for the civilian victims on both sides of the Gaza war, Human Rights Watch said today. Breaking the climate of impunity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a precondition for stability and lasting peace. The Security Council will meet on October 14, 2009, to discuss the Middle East.
The Security Council should implement a key recommendation of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, and create an independent committee of experts to monitor how Israel and Hamas conduct domestic investigations of alleged laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Security Council has a historic opportunity to uphold the principle of civilian protection and promote regional peace," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "As it has in other conflicts, the council should demand that the parties to the conflict punish those responsible for serious abuses."
The Goldstone report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 29. It documents war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by both Israel and Hamas, and notes their poor records of accountability for such crimes.
Under intense pressure from Israel and the United States, the Palestinian Authority withdrew its resolution on the report until the next Human Rights Council session in March 2010, although it may request a special session in Geneva this month to address the report. The deferral sparked protests against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza and the West Bank, and widespread condemnation in the Arab media of the Palestinian Authority and United States.
"The US missed an opportunity in Geneva to support justice for the civilian victims in Gaza and Israel," Crawshaw said. "Now Washington has a second chance to show that it will demand accountability for serious crimes in Gaza the same way it has elsewhere."
Israel and the US have said that implementing the recommendations of the Goldstone report would undermine efforts at peace. But punishing forces that attack civilians will build trust and improve confidence in the peace process, Human Rights Watch said.
"President Obama should use the weight and authority of his Nobel Peace Prize to put the peace process on the right track - and that is by demanding justice for serious crimes by all sides in the Gaza war," Crawshaw said.
Mandated to look at violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel and Palestinian armed groups, the 575-page Goldstone report documents Israel's willful killings of civilians, deliberate attacks on civilian objects, wanton destruction of civilian property, indiscriminate attacks, the use of human shields, and collective punishment against Gaza's civilian population in the form of a continuing blockade. Mortar and rocket fire from Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, the report says, was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of civilian life and to terrorize Israeli civilians.
Thus far, Israel has convicted only one soldier for abuses during the Gaza war, and that was for the theft of a credit card. Between 2000 and 2008, Israeli forces killed more than 2,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, but convicted only five soldiers for wrongful deaths. Hamas is not known to have investigated any of the thousands of rocket attacks launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians before, during and after the Gaza war.
The Goldstone report recommends that Israel and the Hamas authorities conduct credible investigations into violations by their respective forces within six months, and that the UN Security Council create a group of independent experts to monitor and report on the steps they take. If credible domestic investigations are not undertaken after six months, the report says the Security Council should refer the conflict to the International Criminal Court.
"Israel and Hamas can avoid international prosecutions by conducting credible domestic investigations," Crawshaw said. "This will not harm the peace process but build trust and improve prospects for peace. The Security Council should send that message as clearly as it can."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231758
Gaza report gathers support ahead of UN vote
The PLO envoy in Geneva has secured the support of 16 countries for a motion in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in support of the Goldstone report on Israel’s winter war on Gaza, an attorney familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.
The HRC confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday that it will hold a Special Session on the "human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem" on Thursday. The meeting is expected to continue until Friday.
In a statement the HRC said the meeting “comes at the request of Palestine. The request is co-sponsored by the following 18 Member States of the Human Rights Council, namely Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Senegal.”
It is expected that the Special Session will continue on Friday, 16 October. This will be the twelfth Special Session of the Council.
Shawky Issa, the director of the Ensan Center for human rights in Bethlehem, said representatives of the 16 countries in question held a meeting in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss how to ensure it passes the HRC.
The pro-Goldstone camp still needs another eight votes to form a majority in the 47-nation Council. The fear now, Issa said, is that the US, Israel and pro-Israeli groups will pressure key states to vote against the report.
International sources in Geneva also told Ma’an that Qatar was opposed to holding a new HRC meeting on the report. Other Arab states declared their support for the report during the last debate on the issue, and are thought to be continuing this support.
The countries expected to vote against the report, in the event of a meeting are China, Russia, the US, Chile, Brazil, Britain (which changed its position to support the report last week), the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.
France and Switzerland are hesitating to form a position and are likely to vote against the report on Friday.
Norway and South Africa, the sources said, could vote in favor of the report, but are not strongly in favor of it.
The non-Arab countries who are will vote for the Goldstone report are Pakistan, which represents the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Nigeria.
The report was the result of a UN fact-finding mission by South African former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone; it accuses both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s offensive against Gaza last winter.
In early October the Palestinian Authority leadership reportedly buckled to US pressure and withdrew a resolution from the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to refer the report for further action.
Palestinian public outage at the deferral caused President Mahmoud Abbas to reverse course, demanding a new meeting of both the HRC and the Security Council.
On Monday UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced through a spokesperson that he supports the call for a new meeting of the HRC and discussed the issue with Abbas in a phone conversation on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231899
UN chief backs call to reopen HRC debate on Gaza report
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon supports a new Palestinian proposal to reopen debate on the Golstone report on the Gaza war in the Human Rights Council.
Ban’s spokesperson, Michele Montas, said the UN chief discussed the issue during a telephone conversation with President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, according to the news agency AFP.
The Goldstone report was the result of a UN fact-finding mission by South African former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone; it accuses both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s offensive against Gaza last winter.
In early October the Palestinian Authority leadership reportedly buckled to US pressure and withdrew a resolution from the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to refer the report for further action.
Palestinian public outage at the deferral caused Abbas to reverse course, demanding a new meeting of both the HRC and the Security Council.
According to AFP, Montas said that during Sunday's telephone call with Abbas, the UN secretary general "expressed his support for President Abbas' engagement with member states on a proper process for the consideration of the Goldstone report."
She explained that this meant Ban favors a re-examination of the HRC's decision to postpone the vote on the report until next March, AFP reported.
In Geneva, Palestinian representative Ibrahim Khraisheh confirmed to AFP that he requested an emergency HRC meeting, which he said could take place Thursday or Friday. The official justified the reversal by citing "Israeli aggression in Jerusalem."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231852
Demand justice for Gaza victims - Human Rights Watch
The following is a statement from Human Rights Watch which reflects the organization’s opinions alone.
(New York) - The United Nations Security Council should demand justice for the civilian victims on both sides of the Gaza war, Human Rights Watch said today. Breaking the climate of impunity in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a precondition for stability and lasting peace. The Security Council will meet on October 14, 2009, to discuss the Middle East.
The Security Council should implement a key recommendation of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Gaza, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, and create an independent committee of experts to monitor how Israel and Hamas conduct domestic investigations of alleged laws-of-war violations, Human Rights Watch said.
"The Security Council has a historic opportunity to uphold the principle of civilian protection and promote regional peace," said Steve Crawshaw, UN advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "As it has in other conflicts, the council should demand that the parties to the conflict punish those responsible for serious abuses."
The Goldstone report was presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on September 29. It documents war crimes and possible crimes against humanity by both Israel and Hamas, and notes their poor records of accountability for such crimes.
Under intense pressure from Israel and the United States, the Palestinian Authority withdrew its resolution on the report until the next Human Rights Council session in March 2010, although it may request a special session in Geneva this month to address the report. The deferral sparked protests against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza and the West Bank, and widespread condemnation in the Arab media of the Palestinian Authority and United States.
"The US missed an opportunity in Geneva to support justice for the civilian victims in Gaza and Israel," Crawshaw said. "Now Washington has a second chance to show that it will demand accountability for serious crimes in Gaza the same way it has elsewhere."
Israel and the US have said that implementing the recommendations of the Goldstone report would undermine efforts at peace. But punishing forces that attack civilians will build trust and improve confidence in the peace process, Human Rights Watch said.
"President Obama should use the weight and authority of his Nobel Peace Prize to put the peace process on the right track - and that is by demanding justice for serious crimes by all sides in the Gaza war," Crawshaw said.
Mandated to look at violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel and Palestinian armed groups, the 575-page Goldstone report documents Israel's willful killings of civilians, deliberate attacks on civilian objects, wanton destruction of civilian property, indiscriminate attacks, the use of human shields, and collective punishment against Gaza's civilian population in the form of a continuing blockade. Mortar and rocket fire from Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, the report says, was deliberate and calculated to cause loss of civilian life and to terrorize Israeli civilians.
Thus far, Israel has convicted only one soldier for abuses during the Gaza war, and that was for the theft of a credit card. Between 2000 and 2008, Israeli forces killed more than 2,000 Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, but convicted only five soldiers for wrongful deaths. Hamas is not known to have investigated any of the thousands of rocket attacks launched from Gaza against Israeli civilians before, during and after the Gaza war.
The Goldstone report recommends that Israel and the Hamas authorities conduct credible investigations into violations by their respective forces within six months, and that the UN Security Council create a group of independent experts to monitor and report on the steps they take. If credible domestic investigations are not undertaken after six months, the report says the Security Council should refer the conflict to the International Criminal Court.
"Israel and Hamas can avoid international prosecutions by conducting credible domestic investigations," Crawshaw said. "This will not harm the peace process but build trust and improve prospects for peace. The Security Council should send that message as clearly as it can."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231758
Gaza report gathers support ahead of UN vote
The PLO envoy in Geneva has secured the support of 16 countries for a motion in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in support of the Goldstone report on Israel’s winter war on Gaza, an attorney familiar with the negotiations said on Tuesday.
The HRC confirmed in a statement released on Tuesday that it will hold a Special Session on the "human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and East Jerusalem" on Thursday. The meeting is expected to continue until Friday.
In a statement the HRC said the meeting “comes at the request of Palestine. The request is co-sponsored by the following 18 Member States of the Human Rights Council, namely Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Indonesia, Jordan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Senegal.”
It is expected that the Special Session will continue on Friday, 16 October. This will be the twelfth Special Session of the Council.
Shawky Issa, the director of the Ensan Center for human rights in Bethlehem, said representatives of the 16 countries in question held a meeting in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss how to ensure it passes the HRC.
The pro-Goldstone camp still needs another eight votes to form a majority in the 47-nation Council. The fear now, Issa said, is that the US, Israel and pro-Israeli groups will pressure key states to vote against the report.
International sources in Geneva also told Ma’an that Qatar was opposed to holding a new HRC meeting on the report. Other Arab states declared their support for the report during the last debate on the issue, and are thought to be continuing this support.
The countries expected to vote against the report, in the event of a meeting are China, Russia, the US, Chile, Brazil, Britain (which changed its position to support the report last week), the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada.
France and Switzerland are hesitating to form a position and are likely to vote against the report on Friday.
Norway and South Africa, the sources said, could vote in favor of the report, but are not strongly in favor of it.
The non-Arab countries who are will vote for the Goldstone report are Pakistan, which represents the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and Nigeria.
The report was the result of a UN fact-finding mission by South African former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone; it accuses both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s offensive against Gaza last winter.
In early October the Palestinian Authority leadership reportedly buckled to US pressure and withdrew a resolution from the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to refer the report for further action.
Palestinian public outage at the deferral caused President Mahmoud Abbas to reverse course, demanding a new meeting of both the HRC and the Security Council.
On Monday UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon announced through a spokesperson that he supports the call for a new meeting of the HRC and discussed the issue with Abbas in a phone conversation on Sunday.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231899
UN chief backs call to reopen HRC debate on Gaza report
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon supports a new Palestinian proposal to reopen debate on the Golstone report on the Gaza war in the Human Rights Council.
Ban’s spokesperson, Michele Montas, said the UN chief discussed the issue during a telephone conversation with President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday, according to the news agency AFP.
The Goldstone report was the result of a UN fact-finding mission by South African former international war crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone; it accuses both Israel and Palestinian armed groups of committing war crimes during Israel’s offensive against Gaza last winter.
In early October the Palestinian Authority leadership reportedly buckled to US pressure and withdrew a resolution from the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva to refer the report for further action.
Palestinian public outage at the deferral caused Abbas to reverse course, demanding a new meeting of both the HRC and the Security Council.
According to AFP, Montas said that during Sunday's telephone call with Abbas, the UN secretary general "expressed his support for President Abbas' engagement with member states on a proper process for the consideration of the Goldstone report."
She explained that this meant Ban favors a re-examination of the HRC's decision to postpone the vote on the report until next March, AFP reported.
In Geneva, Palestinian representative Ibrahim Khraisheh confirmed to AFP that he requested an emergency HRC meeting, which he said could take place Thursday or Friday. The official justified the reversal by citing "Israeli aggression in Jerusalem."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231852
12 oct 2009
Netanyahu: Israelis will not be tried for war crimes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday never to allow Israeli officials or soldiers to be tried for war crimes.
"We will not let Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak, who sent our sons to war, reach the Hague International Criminal Court,” said Netanyahu, referring to the trio of leaders who launched Operation Cast Lead against Gaza last December.
Addressing the opening meeting of the winter session of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu went on to harshly criticize Judge Richard Goldstone’s report on alleged war crimes committed during the three-week-long attack.
"This distorted report, written by this distorted committee, undermines Israel's basic right for self-defense,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by the news site Ynet. “This report encourages terror and endangers peace. I want to clarify here: Israel will not take any chances for peace if it cannot defend itself."
During the speech, Ynet reported, Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka, of the Palestinian-Arab party Balad, called out to Netanyahu, "You killed 400 children!" He was then silenced by the parliament speaker.
Netanyahu also reiterated previously-stated conditions for renewed peace talks with the Palestinians. “Without recognizing the State of Israel as the Jews' state we won't be able to reach peace,” he said.
"I have already said that I am not setting any preconditions for peace talks with the Palestinians. We are working so that our joint efforts with US President Obama's administration will lead to their swift resumption,” he added.
Responding to the speech, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, “Netanyahu is searching for the no partner peried, and he has nothing new in his political position and he talks about peace in a PR language and he calls to go back to negotiations without any conditions.”
Dr Saeb Erekat replied to the speech by saying “There is no [peace] partner. Period,” referring to Israel under Netanyahu.
Erekat said Netanyahu “has nothing new in his political position. He talks about peace in the language of public relations.”
“I want to say and assure that we will not be involved [in negotiating toward] a state with temporary borders. We reject any peace process without Jerusalem and the return of the refugees. We will not be the ones to recognize the Jewishness of the state,” he added.
“The Obama administration must intervene because Netenyahu has rejected all the terms of reference of the peace process, including the Road Map.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231706
Netanyahu: Israelis will not be tried for war crimes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Monday never to allow Israeli officials or soldiers to be tried for war crimes.
"We will not let Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak, who sent our sons to war, reach the Hague International Criminal Court,” said Netanyahu, referring to the trio of leaders who launched Operation Cast Lead against Gaza last December.
Addressing the opening meeting of the winter session of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, Netanyahu went on to harshly criticize Judge Richard Goldstone’s report on alleged war crimes committed during the three-week-long attack.
"This distorted report, written by this distorted committee, undermines Israel's basic right for self-defense,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by the news site Ynet. “This report encourages terror and endangers peace. I want to clarify here: Israel will not take any chances for peace if it cannot defend itself."
During the speech, Ynet reported, Knesset Member Jamal Zahalka, of the Palestinian-Arab party Balad, called out to Netanyahu, "You killed 400 children!" He was then silenced by the parliament speaker.
Netanyahu also reiterated previously-stated conditions for renewed peace talks with the Palestinians. “Without recognizing the State of Israel as the Jews' state we won't be able to reach peace,” he said.
"I have already said that I am not setting any preconditions for peace talks with the Palestinians. We are working so that our joint efforts with US President Obama's administration will lead to their swift resumption,” he added.
Responding to the speech, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said, “Netanyahu is searching for the no partner peried, and he has nothing new in his political position and he talks about peace in a PR language and he calls to go back to negotiations without any conditions.”
Dr Saeb Erekat replied to the speech by saying “There is no [peace] partner. Period,” referring to Israel under Netanyahu.
Erekat said Netanyahu “has nothing new in his political position. He talks about peace in the language of public relations.”
“I want to say and assure that we will not be involved [in negotiating toward] a state with temporary borders. We reject any peace process without Jerusalem and the return of the refugees. We will not be the ones to recognize the Jewishness of the state,” he added.
“The Obama administration must intervene because Netenyahu has rejected all the terms of reference of the peace process, including the Road Map.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=231706
9 oct 2009
Israel angry over Swedish support for Goldstone report
Israel is considering cutting diplomatic ties with Sweden after the country’s ambassador to the UN said Israel had made "a mistake" by not cooperating with the UN fact-finding mission, and expressed his general support of the Goldstone report that came out of it.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has expressed support for the Goldstone report, and its recommendations that the war crimes alleged in the document be investigated, as it suggests, by the International Criminal Court. He made comments at the Human Rights Council and on the radio in his home country.
According to Israeli media reports, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon was outraged over comments Bildt made in Stockholm Thursday, calling South African Judge Richard Goldstone a person with "high credibility" and "high integrity" and that his report carries weight.
The South African judge was a chief prosecutor for war crimes trials in both Yugoslavia and Rwanda; he also served as chairperson of the International Independent Inquiry on Kosovo, and of the Standing Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation that addressed public violence in post-apartheid South Africa.
As a result of the comments Ayalon said Jerusalem must reexamine relations with Stockholm.
"It is a shame that a person who refused to respond to the blood libel against Israel has come out in praise of this unprofessional report," The Israeli English news site Yet quoted the Israeli official as saying Thursday.
Ayalon’s reports of Swedish “blood libel” stem from a Swedish newspaper’s exclusive report on several cases one reporter uncovered of Palestinian prisoners being sent home without their organs, and suggested Israeli troops were organ harvesting and using Palestinian prisoners as human body parts suppliers.
The newspaper, Aftonbladet, supported the report and suggested officials look into the accusations.
"We must examine why Israel is being attacked by the Swedes," Ynet quoted Ayalon.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230885
Israel angry over Swedish support for Goldstone report
Israel is considering cutting diplomatic ties with Sweden after the country’s ambassador to the UN said Israel had made "a mistake" by not cooperating with the UN fact-finding mission, and expressed his general support of the Goldstone report that came out of it.
Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt has expressed support for the Goldstone report, and its recommendations that the war crimes alleged in the document be investigated, as it suggests, by the International Criminal Court. He made comments at the Human Rights Council and on the radio in his home country.
According to Israeli media reports, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon was outraged over comments Bildt made in Stockholm Thursday, calling South African Judge Richard Goldstone a person with "high credibility" and "high integrity" and that his report carries weight.
The South African judge was a chief prosecutor for war crimes trials in both Yugoslavia and Rwanda; he also served as chairperson of the International Independent Inquiry on Kosovo, and of the Standing Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation that addressed public violence in post-apartheid South Africa.
As a result of the comments Ayalon said Jerusalem must reexamine relations with Stockholm.
"It is a shame that a person who refused to respond to the blood libel against Israel has come out in praise of this unprofessional report," The Israeli English news site Yet quoted the Israeli official as saying Thursday.
Ayalon’s reports of Swedish “blood libel” stem from a Swedish newspaper’s exclusive report on several cases one reporter uncovered of Palestinian prisoners being sent home without their organs, and suggested Israeli troops were organ harvesting and using Palestinian prisoners as human body parts suppliers.
The newspaper, Aftonbladet, supported the report and suggested officials look into the accusations.
"We must examine why Israel is being attacked by the Swedes," Ynet quoted Ayalon.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230885
8 oct 2009
Israel's US envoy compares Goldstone to Nazis
Israel’s ambassador to the United States argues that a United Nations war crimes investigation poses a genocidal threat to Jews comparable to the Nazi Holocaust.
"Recognizing the murder of six million Jews more than six decades ago is, in fact, vital for understanding the supreme dangers posed to six million Jews in Israel today by a nuclear Iran and by the Goldstone Report," Ambassador Michael Oren wrote in the US political magazine The New Republic on Tuesday.
“The Goldstone Report goes further than [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Holocaust deniers by stripping the Jews not only of the ability and the need but of the right to defend themselves,” he also wrote.
Oren, a US-born former Yale University visiting professor, also refers to “the supreme dangers posed to six million Jews in Israel today by a nuclear Iran and by the Goldstone Report.”
The article was referring to the report of Judge Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African who was a prosecutor in war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Goldstone and a team of investigators produced a 575-page report on Israel’s war on Gaza last winter.
The report accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the three-week Israeli onslaught, including hundreds of women and children. Palestinians killed nine Israelis, including six soldiers and three civilians. Four Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire.
“More insidiously,” Oren wrote, “the report does not only hamstring Israel; it portrays the Jews as the deliberate murderers of innocents--as Nazis. And a Nazi state not only lacks the need and right to defend itself; it must rather be destroyed.”
Oren’s article does not refute or otherwise address the specific findings of the Goldstone report, for example that Israeli forces failed to exercise sufficient discrimination between civilian and military targets in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230654
Official: US won't support action at UNSC
Washington will not support any potential action by the UN Security Council on the Goldstone report on war crimes in Gaza, Former US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff has declared.
Wolff said the US believes that the appropriate platform to discuss the report is the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The announcement came after a closed-door meeting Wednesday, where the UN Security Council decided to push up their next meeting from 20 to 14 October so a discussion on the Goldstone report can be held, UN officials said.
The Wednesday session was called to order by Libya, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN General Assembly this year. The country called the meeting in response to growing concern over a US-backed move by the Palestinian Authority to postpone a resolution that could have seen the UN Human Rights Council adopt the Goldstone report, which calls for the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead last winter.
The 14 October meeting will focus on the report. President Mahmoud Abbas dispatched his Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki to New York for the talks. He is set to arrive Thursday.
Those who wish to see its findings adopted are calling for the Security Council do resolve to take on the report and ensure that the recommendations of official, likely International Criminal Court, investigations over the allegations be seen through.
While Hamas initially condemned the report, outrage in Gaza over the Palestinian Authority's decision to put it aside for a rumored Israeli agreement on settlements, seems to have changed the tune of the party.
Abbas, though accused to quashing earlier attempts to see the report passed at the Human Rights Council said he "appreciate[s] the initiative of the Libyan Arab Republic and consider[s] it a step to support the Palestinian people and their rights of justice.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230611
US: Prospect of peace talks trumps Goldstone report
US State Department spokesperson on the Middle East Ian Kelly refused to comment Wednesday on whether or not the US would use their veto in the Security Council over the issue of the Goldstone report.
“We recognize that the allegations in the [Goldstone] report need to be investigated thoroughly, and we, of course, were very concerned about the number of civilians who were killed in this operation. But again, we need to stay focused on this long-term goal of addressing the underlying causes for the whole conflict,” Kelly told reporters at the State Department following the UN Security Council decision to bump up a meeting on the Middle East to 14 October.
An emergency session of the UNSC was held Wednesday to discuss the issue of addressing the Goldstone report, but delegates decided a second emergency session dedicated to the report was unnecessary, but compromised and moved the special session on the Middle East, originally scheduled for 20 October, up by six days.
While Libya is adamant that the report be the central point of discussion, Kelly said he did not think UNSC members will be “discussing the overall issue, though, which is the Goldstone report.”
Explaining US motives for postponing discussion, Kelly said “we are at a sensitive time in trying to re-launch these negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Senator Mitchell arrived this morning to resume these talks with the Israelis and Palestinians, and we think that we should all stay focused on that objective of addressing the underlying causes of the tragic events that are covered in the Goldstone report, which is the lack of a comprehensive peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and a solution to this longstanding conflict, which we believe, and which both sides also believe – they share the same goal of having two states living side by side in peace and security.
“What we wanted to do was defer discussion of it so it wouldn't become an impediment to the talks going on which are designed to develop the resumption of talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians…we are focused on is a long-term objective of getting to a point where we can talk about a real solution to the problems that caused these terrible events in Gaza,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230626
Israel's US envoy compares Goldstone to Nazis
Israel’s ambassador to the United States argues that a United Nations war crimes investigation poses a genocidal threat to Jews comparable to the Nazi Holocaust.
"Recognizing the murder of six million Jews more than six decades ago is, in fact, vital for understanding the supreme dangers posed to six million Jews in Israel today by a nuclear Iran and by the Goldstone Report," Ambassador Michael Oren wrote in the US political magazine The New Republic on Tuesday.
“The Goldstone Report goes further than [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Holocaust deniers by stripping the Jews not only of the ability and the need but of the right to defend themselves,” he also wrote.
Oren, a US-born former Yale University visiting professor, also refers to “the supreme dangers posed to six million Jews in Israel today by a nuclear Iran and by the Goldstone Report.”
The article was referring to the report of Judge Richard Goldstone, a Jewish South African who was a prosecutor in war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Goldstone and a team of investigators produced a 575-page report on Israel’s war on Gaza last winter.
The report accuses both Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes. More than 1,400 Palestinians were killed in the three-week Israeli onslaught, including hundreds of women and children. Palestinians killed nine Israelis, including six soldiers and three civilians. Four Israeli soldiers were killed by friendly fire.
“More insidiously,” Oren wrote, “the report does not only hamstring Israel; it portrays the Jews as the deliberate murderers of innocents--as Nazis. And a Nazi state not only lacks the need and right to defend itself; it must rather be destroyed.”
Oren’s article does not refute or otherwise address the specific findings of the Goldstone report, for example that Israeli forces failed to exercise sufficient discrimination between civilian and military targets in Gaza.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230654
Official: US won't support action at UNSC
Washington will not support any potential action by the UN Security Council on the Goldstone report on war crimes in Gaza, Former US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff has declared.
Wolff said the US believes that the appropriate platform to discuss the report is the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The announcement came after a closed-door meeting Wednesday, where the UN Security Council decided to push up their next meeting from 20 to 14 October so a discussion on the Goldstone report can be held, UN officials said.
The Wednesday session was called to order by Libya, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN General Assembly this year. The country called the meeting in response to growing concern over a US-backed move by the Palestinian Authority to postpone a resolution that could have seen the UN Human Rights Council adopt the Goldstone report, which calls for the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead last winter.
The 14 October meeting will focus on the report. President Mahmoud Abbas dispatched his Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki to New York for the talks. He is set to arrive Thursday.
Those who wish to see its findings adopted are calling for the Security Council do resolve to take on the report and ensure that the recommendations of official, likely International Criminal Court, investigations over the allegations be seen through.
While Hamas initially condemned the report, outrage in Gaza over the Palestinian Authority's decision to put it aside for a rumored Israeli agreement on settlements, seems to have changed the tune of the party.
Abbas, though accused to quashing earlier attempts to see the report passed at the Human Rights Council said he "appreciate[s] the initiative of the Libyan Arab Republic and consider[s] it a step to support the Palestinian people and their rights of justice.”
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230611
US: Prospect of peace talks trumps Goldstone report
US State Department spokesperson on the Middle East Ian Kelly refused to comment Wednesday on whether or not the US would use their veto in the Security Council over the issue of the Goldstone report.
“We recognize that the allegations in the [Goldstone] report need to be investigated thoroughly, and we, of course, were very concerned about the number of civilians who were killed in this operation. But again, we need to stay focused on this long-term goal of addressing the underlying causes for the whole conflict,” Kelly told reporters at the State Department following the UN Security Council decision to bump up a meeting on the Middle East to 14 October.
An emergency session of the UNSC was held Wednesday to discuss the issue of addressing the Goldstone report, but delegates decided a second emergency session dedicated to the report was unnecessary, but compromised and moved the special session on the Middle East, originally scheduled for 20 October, up by six days.
While Libya is adamant that the report be the central point of discussion, Kelly said he did not think UNSC members will be “discussing the overall issue, though, which is the Goldstone report.”
Explaining US motives for postponing discussion, Kelly said “we are at a sensitive time in trying to re-launch these negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Senator Mitchell arrived this morning to resume these talks with the Israelis and Palestinians, and we think that we should all stay focused on that objective of addressing the underlying causes of the tragic events that are covered in the Goldstone report, which is the lack of a comprehensive peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians and a solution to this longstanding conflict, which we believe, and which both sides also believe – they share the same goal of having two states living side by side in peace and security.
“What we wanted to do was defer discussion of it so it wouldn't become an impediment to the talks going on which are designed to develop the resumption of talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians…we are focused on is a long-term objective of getting to a point where we can talk about a real solution to the problems that caused these terrible events in Gaza,” he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=230626
