Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Israel has agreed to participate in the official UN investigation into the May 31 events regarding the flotilla. This will be in addition to the Independent Public Commission set up in Israel with foreign participation.

Explaining its position regarding Israel’s collaboration with this UN committee, Prime Minister Netanyahu said “Israel has nothing to hide.  The opposite is true.  It is in the national interest of the State of Israel to ensure that the factual truth of the overall flotilla events comes to light throughout the world and this is exactly the principle that we are advancing.”

Despite launching its own internal investigation led by nongovernmental officials and foreign observers, calls were made amongst the international community for a United Nations-led inquiry.

The four-member panel will include a Turkish representative along with an Israeli representative. The panel will be chaired by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer as well as Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as vice chairman. They are slated to finish their first progress report by mid-September.

Ban Ki-moon thanked the government of Israel “for their spirit of compromise and forward-looking cooperation” which resulted in what he called “an unprecedented development.”

“I hope that today’s agreement will impact positively on the relationship between Turkey and Israel as well as the overall situation in the Middle East,” he added.

3 people like this post.

Unlike

Israel’s security cabinet has voted to “liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza… expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision” and “continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material.”

Even before these measures are to be put in place, on Tuesday, Israel allowed in 5,355 tons of goods into Gaza. No border crossings were closed. In addition to the list below of goods which entered Gaza on June 15th, dozens of international organization staff members crossed into and out of Israel through the Erez crossing. continue reading…

2 people like this post.

Unlike

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

A year after Iran’s controversial election and subsequent crackdown of dissent, the UN issued a statement this week condemning Iran’s campaign of brutality and violence against human rights activists and peaceful protesters.

Said the United States’ representative to the HRC, Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahue, “Today’s joint statement on the human rights situation in Iran is a significant accomplishment for the Human Rights Council. Fifty-six states from every region of the world came together in this joint statement of solidarity with the Iranian people, bringing much-needed focus and world attention to the human rights conditions in Iran.”

The United States joined 55 other countries in supporting the statement, which can be read in its entirety here. Among the signatories were all 27 members of the European Union. continue reading…

Like

Unlike

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Israel is not above the law and not all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism. Israel’s blockade of Gaza, together with Egypt, it should be recalled (though Egypt is never condemned in this regard), is probably not the wisest policy ever implemented by Israel. After the international outcry over the flotilla to Gaza that was poorly handled by the Israelis, and with tragic consequences, it is high time this policy was reviewed.

The issue, however, is not this or some other specific Israeli policy, but Israel-bashing, or the prejudicial way in which Israel is usually treated by the international community and the world media. Prejudice is recognised by its three constituent practices: it singles out the subject; it then applies a double standard; and, of course, the subject is always guilty. Israel is indeed singled out for special treatment and the double standard is also reflected in a specific vocabulary that is applied only to Israel. continue reading…

7 people like this post.

Unlike

Statement from COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories), Policy of aid into Gaza:

The policy of transferring merchandise into the Gaza Strip is implemented in accordance with existing Israeli policy, as determined by the Cabinet’s decision of September 19, 2007, following Hamas’s hostile seizure of the Gaza Strip.

The ongoing transfer of goods into Gaza is aimed at providing for the basic needs of the residents of the territories while preventing strengthening Hamas, either militarily or governmentally. Hamas engages in hostile activity against the State of Israel and its citizens and holds an IDF soldier captive without reason or justification. continue reading…

2 people like this post.

Unlike

“Dear Judge Goldstone,

My name is Dr. David Zangen.  I am a consultant in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes at Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem.  Over 50% of my patient population is Palestinian from Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza.  I speak Arabic and initiated the first training program for Palestinian physicians in the field of Pediatric Endocrinology.  The trained physicians were fully respected and were included as first authors on our studies that we published in the world’s leading professional journals.

But, at the same time, I happened to be the Chief Medical Officer of my brigade during Operation Defensive Shield, in Jenin, 2002.  I was responsible for the medical treatment of our soldiers, but also for enabling the hospital in Jenin to provide full medical services to the civilian population, and I was personally involved in numerous medical treatments that Palestinians (including fighters) received from Israeli physicians. continue reading…

10 people like this post.

Unlike

On October 16, 2009 Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan, spoke before the UN Human Rights Council regarding Israel’s actions during Operation Cast Lead.

A full transcript of his speech:

Thank you, Mr. President.

I am the former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan. I served with NATO and the United Nations; commanded troops in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Macedonia; and participated in the Gulf War. I spent considerable time in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, and worked on international terrorism for the UK Governments Joint Intelligence Committee.

Mr. President, based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Israel did so while facing an enemy that deliberately positioned its military capability behind the human shield of the civilian population.

Hamas, like Hizballah, are expert at driving the media agenda. Both will always have people ready to give interviews condemning Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting incidents.

The IDF faces a challenge that we British do not have to face to the same extent. It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.

The truth is that the IDF took extraordinary measures to give Gaza civilians notice of targeted areas, dropping over 2 million leaflets, and making over 100,000 phone calls. Many missions that could have taken out Hamas military capability were aborted to prevent civilian casualties. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza. To deliver aid virtually into your enemy’s hands is, to the military tactician, normally quite unthinkable. But the IDF took on those risks.

Despite all of this, of course innocent civilians were killed. War is chaos and full of mistakes. There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes.

More than anything, the civilian casualties were a consequence of Hamas way of fighting. Hamas deliberately tried to sacrifice their own civilians.

Mr. President, Israel had no choice apart from defending its people, to stop Hamas from attacking them with rockets.

And I say this again: the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Thank you, Mr. President.

4 people like this post.

Unlike

Israel’s Reaction to the Decision of the UN Human Rights Council

Despite the significant improvement in today’s vote (25 in favor, 6 against and 11 abstentions) when compared with the original vote (12 Jan 09) establishing the Goldstone Mission (33 in favor, 1 against and 13 abstentions), Israel rejects the one-sided resolution adopted today in Geneva by the UN Human Rights Council, and calls upon all responsible states to reject it as well.

Israel expresses its gratitude to those states which supported its position, and to those which, through their vote, expressed their opposition to this un-just Resolution which ignores the murderous attacks perpetrated by the Hamas and other terrorist organizations against Israeli civilians. The Resolution also ignores the unprecedented precautions taken by Israeli forces in order to avoid harming civilians, as well as the cynical  exploitation of civilians as human shields by the terrorist groups.

The adoption of this resolution by the UNHRC impairs both the effort to protect human rights in accordance with international law, and the effort to promote peace in the Middle East. This resolution provides encouragement for terrorist organizations worldwide and undermines global peace.

Israel will continue to exercise its right to self-defense, and take action to protect the lives of its citizens.

1 person likes this post.

Unlike