The authorities in the illegal Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit, which is built on stolen Palestinian land, regularly open their sewage tanks on to the farmlands of the Palestinian village of Wadi Fuqeen, ruining crops, contaminating the water table and posing a serious health threat to villagers.
Read the full article here
ISRAELI LAW PREVENTS ME FROM CALLING THE EXTERMINATION OF AN ENTIRE PALESTINIAN FAMILY A ‘NAZI ACT’ OF AGGRESSION « Desertpeace
It is forbidden by law in Israel to call somebody a nazi or call any government action a nazi action. Is there any other way to describe the brutal elimination of an entire family in occupied Palestine by the Israeli Air Force…. as they slept in their beds at home? Rather than stopping such crimes against humanity, they make it a crime to compare it to a war crime of the nazis…Forbidden as I am, as an Israeli citizen, to use such words, I will allow my friend Khalid Amayreh, who is a Palestinian, describe the situation and use the ‘n’ word that I’m not allowed to use…..
More…
Just the other day I was pointed in the direction of an absolutely superb video… how its managed to elude my notice so far I really don’t know.
Essentially its a “fast-paced 64-minute documentary that covers the world politics of power, war, corporations, deception and exploitation… It visualizes the words of Arundhati Roy, specifically her famous “Come September” speech, where she spoke on such things as the war on terror, corporate globalisation, justice and the growing civil unrest.“
Although I’d heard of her previously (particularly during all the antiwar stuff I was doing prior to Bush’s invasion of Iraq) I can’t recollect ever having seen her on the screen or wherever.
Now I have… I’m totally enamoured! Ms Roy’s presentation is superb and her “presence” (even through the medium of a miserable .wmv file) comes across really strongly. I cannot now imagine anyone presenting this vitally important subject-matter more compellingly.
The video’s a definite “must see” (if you haven’t done so already) and I’m sure that both the hardened activist and those new to the experience of “politicisation” (as the Met Police recently complained about!) will find it equally informative.
Below is a short preview (courtesy of YouTube) but the whole thing can be watched as streaming video on Google, or downloaded as a .wmv file from weroy.org.
I’ve set up a dedicated page for it on the main TaW site, which has all the access info.
embedded by Embedded Video
YouTube Direct “We”
Amanecer :: US double standards and hypocrisy in the United Nations
Israel´s war crimes are the result of the hypocrisy of the international community and the total alignment of the US government with the Zionist state. This US policy grants the Israelis permission to kill Palestinian people and destroy its legitimate rights by means of an oppressive economic and military siege. Whenever Israel commits a massacre, the US typical and cynical response is that Israel has the right “to defend itself”. Thus, Washington throws the blame on victims, that is, the Palestinians. Actually, it is the Palestinians who have the right to defend themselves as their struggle is a legitimate reaction to the illegal Israeli occupation.
The Shameful Hypocrisy of HRW: An open letter from Palestinian human rights organizations
Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, and Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human Rights Association “When Human Rights Watch equates aggressor with the aggrieved”
3 December 2006 Three Palestinian human rights organizations PCHR, Al-Mezan, and Addameer sent the attached letter to Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch in response to HRW position against Palestinian civilians exercising their right of peaceful, unarmed resistance against the illegal demolition of their homes by Israeli occupation forces. The letter expressed rejection of HRW’s position in this issue, and exposed the inconsistencies, contradictions, and misinterpretation of international law.
The letter text is:
Ms. Sarah Leah Whitson,
HRW Middle East Director
Subject: Equating Aggressor and Aggrieved
Dear Ms. Whitson,
We are writing to you to express our reservations on the HRW news item of 22 November 2006 entitled: “OPT: Civilians Must Not Be Used to Shield Homes Against Military Attacks,” discussing HRWs position on Palestinian civilians acting against the destruction of civilian homes by Israeli forces in Gaza.
The HRW news item is self-contradictory and full of inconsistencies. While pointing that Israeli army destruction of civilian homes is illegal in the absence of concrete evidence indicating that these homes are legitimate military targets, HRW claims that unarmed civilian protest and action against these illegal Israeli activities is a “war crime” The published news item failed to label illegal action by an occupying power as war crimes, while doing so with regards to the reaction of the civilian victims of these crimes.
HRW equated the coercion and detention at gunpoint by the Israeli army of Palestinian human shields in their homes during military incursions with the voluntary, unarmed protests and resistance by Palestinian civilians against the illegal destruction of civilian property.
HRW failed to mention that the Israeli army uses US-made air-to-surface missiles fired by fighter jets at densely-populated areas. All strikes in these population centers have caused damage to nearby houses. Thus, civilians gathered to protest against targeted houses are in effect defending their own homes, which will be damaged when the targeted homes are destroyed.
The news item praises the Israeli army for calling off two strikes, while not condemning the Israeli army for the killing of two women when, in the same circumstances, the Israeli army fired at an unarmed civilian protest.
The HRW statement failed to prove or disprove the guilt of innocent civilians living in the targeted houses. Are all the inhabitants guilty to a degree that they must suffer homelessness, refuge, and the destruction of their houses and property?
In a 2-page statement, HRW failed to point even once to the fact that Israeli forces are an occupying power in international law; thus failing to point to the real context of the events in question.
We regret that the HRW news item in question smells of politicized, selective human rights advocacy. Over the past three weeks, HRW has failed to condemn any Israeli human rights violations, many of which are more grievous that the alleged “war crime” perpetrated by Palestinians. By protesting the destruction of their homes, Palestinians have not killed any Israeli civilian; whereas the praised restraint of the Israeli army killed 15 civilians over the same period.
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