Archive ISCOFIS2

moving announcement

2009-12-10T00:14:00.000Z

UK inquiry into Iraq War : the drum beats before 9/11

2009-11-24T15:55:00.001Z

Iraq inquiry: British officials heard 'drum beats' of war from US before 9/11 :

The first session of Sir John's public inquiry into the events before, during and after the war is hearing evidence from senior civil servants about British policy and plans for Iraq in 2001.

The British policy on Iraq was put under formal review at the start of 2001, when George W Bush arrived in the White House as US president.

Sir William Patey, then head of Middle East policy at Foreign Office said that in February 2001, the UK knew that some in the new US administration wanted to topple Saddam.

He said: "We were aware of the drum beats from Washington.However, he said that Britain was not then willing to engage in regime change in Baghdad. Our policy was to stay away from that."

Sir Peter Ricketts, then the political director at the FCO, recalled that in the summer of 2000, Condoleeza Rice, Mr Bushs national security adviser, had written an academic article suggesting Saddam should be removed.

But the inquiry heard that in 2001, the settled view of the UK government was that attacking Iraq would have been illegal under international law.Sir Peter said: "We quite clearly distanced our self from regime change. It was clear that was something there would not be any legal base for."

In 2001, Britain and the US were committed to a policy of containing Saddam, through economic sanctions, restricting his oil sales through the oil-for-food programme, and the imposition of no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq. The two diplomats told the inquiry that the containment policy was failing in 2001, but that it could have been been viable if the United Nations had agreed a new "smart sanctions" regime in July 2001.

The new sanctions regime would also have thwarted those in the US who were arguing for a more confrontational policy towards Iraq.The new sanctions regime would have certainly satisfied us, Sir William said. It would have been arguable even against the hawks in Washington.

But Russia refused to back the new sanctions, because of its commercial interests in Iraq. The Russians were being given lots of contracts. It was virtually impossible to change the Russian view, Sir William said.

Sir Peter also revealed that there was a disagreement between Britain and the US about whether it was worth trying to get UN weapons inspectors back into Iraq.There was a dominant feeling in the US that a weapons inspection regime was risky, he said. Some Americans felt Saddam would pull the wool over the inspectors eyes about his military programes.Sir Peter said: We had more confidence in the weapons inspectors. It was an area where we probably disagreed with many on the American side.

Who's who in the Iraq inquiry

2009-11-24T15:28:00.000Z

As Sir John Chilcot's Iraq inquiry opens, who's on the committee and who will they be talking to?

US drone strategy raises concern in Pakistan

2009-11-18T01:06:00.000Z

Unmanned drones are often the US weapon of choice in rugged areas such as Pakistan's South Waziristan province, which is located along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

But their use is generating growing anger. Piloted half a world away, drones let the US wage long-distance, remote-controlled warfare over Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As the attacks kill more and more civilians questions surrounding their use increase.

ONLF reported recent gains.

2009-11-16T20:07:00.000Z

The officials of the Ogaden Liberation Front ( ONLF) have Thursday said they took over the control of more Ethiopian military bases with fighting that continued in the Somali region under Ethiopian control recently.

Abdukadir Hassan Hirmoge, the deputy chairman of ONLF guerrillas, claimed victory in clashes between both sides which continued in the region in over the past days, saying that they attacked more Ethiopian-controlled areas like Dudume Adde and Dufan - about 20 kilomitres from Dhagah-bur - and many other military positions, pointing out that they took over all the bases of the Ethiopians that they attacked in the recent fighting.

Mr. Hirmoge said that they also inflicted more casualties on Ethiopian troops and captured more weapons from them, adding that they will continue their fighting against the Ethiopians, whom he accused of committing actions against the Somalis in the region, such as raping, robbing, killing and so on.

Judge Richard Goldstone Report.

2009-11-14T06:16:00.005Z

South African jurist Richard Goldstone, the inquiry also accused Hamas of war crimes and said both sides should investigate the allegations or face international prosecution. Over 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack, a majority of them civilians. Nine Israelis were killed by Palestinians and another four by so-called friendly fire. The bipartisan, non-binding House measure calls the Goldstone inquiry “irredeemably biased and unworthy of further consideration or legitimacy.”

Watch Goldstone in Bill Moyers journal

Riz Khan - The Goldstone report dispute

2009-11-09T00:30:00.001Z

The UN General Assembly will debate the Goldstone report, which concluded that both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, during the war on Gaza last winter. We ask: what is the fate of the Goldstone report?

UN General Assembly debates Israel war crimes

2009-10-27T10:03:00.001Z

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 reported by PressTV

The UN General Assembly sets a date for debating Israeli war crimes in Gaza, paving the way for a possible Security Council inquiry into the issue.

An Arab League diplomat said on Monday that Richard Goldstone's UN report on the conflict in Gaza would be discussed at the Assembly on November 4th with the aim of passing a resolution approving the report and then requesting a formal debate at the Security Council, which has the power to open a war crimes prosecution against senior Israeli officials at the International Criminal Court.

The US --Israel's staunchest ally-- however, is expected to veto any call for ICC action against Israeli officials. Washington has vetoed several anti-Israeli revolutions.

The UN General Assembly's decision to debate Israeli war crimes during Gaza war came after the UN Human Rights Council endorsed the report, which accuses the Israeli army of deliberately killing Palestinian civilians and using disproportionate force during the three-week Gaza war, despite efforts by Israeli officials to block the motion.

The report calls for the prosecution of senior Israeli officials in the International Criminal Court at The Hague if Tel Aviv fails to launch its own investigations into the Gaza war under international scrutiny within six months. Tel Aviv has condemned the report, claiming it was one-sided and biased against Israel.

According to UN figures, more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed and many others wounded during Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" in which internationally banned white phosphorous bombs were used by Israeli forces.

UNHR Chief Endorses Goldstone Gaza Report, Despite Israeli Efforts

2009-10-16T08:17:00.003+01:00

16/10/2009 | Almanar

The UN human rights chief has endorsed the Goldstone report on Israel's war on Gaza, and called for "impartial, independent, prompt and effective investigations" into the “war crimes.”

Navi Pillay said Israeli and Palestinian leaders should investigate the reported allegations to help “rebuild trust and support peace in the region.” She said all sides of the Middle East conflict were continuing to violate international human rights and humanitarian law, and raised concern that transgressors remain unpunished. "A culture of impunity continues to prevail in the occupied territories and in Israel," Pillay said during the UN Human Rights Council's special debate session on the Goldstone report on Thursday.

The Geneva debate comes a day after the UN Security Council discussed the report, during which the Palestinian Authority demanded that Israel be punished for war crimes. In the report released last month, investigators led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone accused both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas of war crimes in Gaza, but were overall more critical of Israel than Hamas.

The Palestinian Authority had initially agreed to defer a vote on the UN-sanctioned report but later backtracked under heavy criticism. The Palestinians in a draft resolution circulated for the human rights council debate, called on Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, to monitor whether Israel and Hamas conduct credible investigations. It "strongly condemns all policies and measures taken by Israel, the occupying power, including those limiting access of Palestinians to their properties and holy sites" and calls on Israel to stop digging and excavation work around the Al-Aqsa mosque as well as other Islamic and Christian religious sites.

In her speech, Pillay cited concern about the restrictions on Palestinians wishing to enter Al-Aqsa and expressed "dismay" about the Israeli blockade of Gaza that she said "severely undermines the rights and welfare of the population there". Israel rejected the charges saying the resolution – drafted by the Palestinians with Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia, on behalf of non-aligned, African, Islamic and Arab nations – threatened “peace efforts”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who spent much of the past few days on the matter, failed to convince “his colleagues”, mostly in Europe, to oppose the adoption of the report. Netanyahu held a series of meetings to assess the Goldstone Report and also had intensive telephone conversations with senior figures in Europe in an effort to block the report. He said on Thursday that his country would not be able to take "risks for peace" if it could not defend itself from attacks on its “citizens”. "It's important for the principle countries, outside of this automatic majority of the United Nations, to say we are not taking part in this."We know we should act otherwise," he said.

Aharon Leshno Yaar, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, said the adoption by the council of the proposed resolution would be a "reward for terror and will send a clear message to terrorists everywhere". "They will clearly hear that this new form of warfare, as used by Hamas in Gaza, will offer immunity as countries will be prevented from waging effective responses."This strategy will be repeated in other places, against other countries fighting terror." The Goldstone report recommended that its conclusions be sent on to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in The Hague if Israel and Hamas do not hold their own credible investigations into allegations of war crimes within six months.

NAM wants Israel to be responsible for Gaza crimes

2009-10-15T06:02:00.001+01:00

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:17:43 GMT

115 countries of the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) have called on the UN Security Council to hold Israel responsible for atrocities committed in Gaza during its offensive.

NAM Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz asked the Security Council on Wednesday to "seriously consider and act upon the recommendations" of the UN Fact Finding Mission headed by Richard Goldstone.

The move comes while the US Administration was planning to stall efforts by the countries to condemn Israel. Washington says the war crime charges in the Goldstone report, should be dealt with in the Human Rights Council, not the Security Council. The Security Council decided to review the issue in its Wednesday meeting despite the US pressure.

However, the attempts by Washington to stall the process has sparkled outrage by right groups. "That President Obama is receiving the Noble Peace prize after his failure to speak out during the Gaza war, and after his administration's protection of a state that has committed war crimes, is an abomination," Michael Ratner, president of the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, told Inter Press Service.

"Sadly, its conduct at the Human Rights Council [in Geneva] where it called the Goldstone report deeply flawed shows that it will again do all in its power to try and bury any investigation of Israel for war crimes," he added. Ratner warned that such moves would embolden Israel to continue its atrocities. The failure to refer the Gaza matter to the ICC (International Criminal Court) undercuts any claim that the law is applied equally to Israel and the Palestinians.

Spanish judge to probe 2002 Gaza bombing

2009-05-09T18:21:00.000+01:00

Sonia Labboun, Press TV, Madrid

Sat, 09 May 2009 17:20:04 GMT

Israeli Peres expresses outrage at UN report

2009-05-09T17:19:00.001+01:00

Mike Mazzocco, Press TV, United Nations

Thu, 07 May 2009 01:18:18 GMT

Malaysia wants Israel dragged to court

2009-04-01T08:04:00.000+01:00

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:04:10 GMT | PressTV

Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said a tribunal -- similar to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia -- must be formed to drag Israeli officials to court.

Malaysia explains why the international community needs to take Israeli leaders to court as a first step toward peace and prosperity.

At a Tuesday forum in London with the theme The Gaza Genocide: The World Community Must Act, Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim suggested Israeli military aggression against Palestinians to be worthy of prosecution.

We drag a person to court to be prosecuted for his act of having killed someone. We use the maxim mens rea in determining his murderous intent," noted the Malaysian diplomat.

But we simply allow a neighboring state to marauder thousands with guns, air strikes, chemicals and tanks," continued Rais, questioning the impunity Israel has enjoyed for sixty years.

Israel in December began pounding the Gaza Strip in air operations that later escalated into a full-fledged ground attack on the densely-populated territory.

Tel Aviv went against its obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention and attacked schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings during the conflict.

The three weeks of military aggression inflicted more than $1.6 billion in damages on the Gazan economy. The carnage also killed around 1,350 Palestinians and injured nearly 5,450 people -- mostly civilians.

Israel also committed war crimes, including the use of the deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas, as revealed by various investigations.

Rais responded that the Palestinians had suffered more than their fair share of human calamity ever since Britain and world powers allowed the establishment of Israel in 1948 and the dispossession of the Palestinian homeland.

Israel has been emboldened by sixty years of world inaction and supposes that there is very little the international community can do in terms of punitive measures, he explained.

"It knows for sure that the American government shall always shield them, at least from the operatives of the Security Council (SC). Israel also knows that for so long as the SC is controlled under the veto system, nothing much could be done by way of sanction and execution," he said.

The US has so far vetoed at least 45 anti-Israel resolutions at the UN and has blocked official condemnation of crimes committed against the native Palestinian population.

"Israel continues to receive armaments from the United States which, in turn, were used as weapons of mass destruction against the Palestinians," Rais said.

The aggression against Gaza was the latest in a series that began when world powers created Israel in 1948 under the Zionist slogan of a 'land without a people and a people without a land'.

The establishment of Israel in the Middle East was carried out in compensation for the hardships and suffering imposed on the Jews of Europe due to anti-Semitism in the continent.

ionists benefited by gaining power over the native land of the Palestinians, but the establishment and the subsequent terror attacks against the Palestinian population gave rise to the philosophy of resistance and in recent years armed retaliation.

The United States and European powers have since failed to condemn Israeli crimes against Palestinians for their fear of the powerful Zionist lobby and being labeled 'anti-Semitic'.

Celebrated Malaysian politician and former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad touched on the issue on the sidelines of the forum in an interview with Press TV.

"I feel that his (US President Barack Obama's) hands are tied. Most American presidents and I will say including Obama may not take any stand against Israel for fear of losing comfortable support in the US itself," he said.

"The Israeli lobby in the US is truly powerful and they can determine who wins and who loses in the elections."

Mahathir explained that while Israel should "exist in some form or another", the current trend that it "occupies Palestinian land" and terrorizes Palestinians must not continue.

Malaysian officials believe the only way the world can see peace is for war to be criminalized.

Rais said the Israeli conduct in Gaza amounted to "genocide" and suggested that "If there be nothing else, Malaysia and like-minded states move that an Israeli War Crimes Tribunal be formed under the UN Charter, that an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel (ICTI) be organized along the lines of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) established by the Security Council."

"The establishment of ICTI should provide some small degree of justice to the victims of Israeli war crimes against humanity and genocide against the people of Palestine, just as the ICTY had done in the Balkans," he added.

Gaza War Crimes - Israel/Palestine

2009-03-29T11:32:00.000+01:00

This powerful report looks at the alleged Israeli war crimes committed during the Gaza War. We show blindfolded children being used as human shields alongside innocent civilians and medics being targeted.

[ Videos inside ]

Crime and Punishment

2009-03-27T20:59:00.000Z

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:42:54 GMT | PressTV | By Kian Mokhtari

The UN special rapporteur on human rights, Richard Falk.

Thanks to new, alternative and unbiased satellite news channels, the plight of Gaza's Palestinian population under the recent Israeli military attack was for once brought to the attention of the world at large. The appalling brutality and savagery of the Israeli military high command's onslaught against Palestinian civilians brought tears to countless eyes around the world and instilled in the international community a new sense of purpose to punish war criminals and thus finally introduce a new chapter worthy of 21st century humanity into the world justice system.

And as if to bring the point home with absolute clarity, the torch bearer in the struggle to bring Israeli war criminals to book is none other than a person of the same faith. The UN special rapporteur on human rights, Richard Falk, has declared that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza and called for an independent inquiry into the matter. Falk has also reiterated that Israeli conduct in the Gaza Strip necessitates the world to introduce a new law.

He has elaborated that Tel Aviv enforced a crippling siege on Gaza while attempting to devastate the territory in its 22-day war against the tiny strip. Falk has argued that this action prevented civilians from fleeing "from the orbit of harm". He is insisting that such conduct constitutes a new form of crime against humanity.

According to figures presented by the UN investigator, Israeli army killed 1,434 Palestinians including 960 civilians in its three-week carnage against the Gazan population. Thousands of others have been maimed for life and will need long-term special treatment and attention to remedy the multitude of injuries they sustained via Israel's use of unconventional weapons.

Falk describes the operations against Gaza as a "military assault with modern weaponry against an essentially defenseless society".

For all of Mr. Falk's efforts however a minor snag might in the end serve to allow Israeli war criminals to go free and remain untouched by the will of the international community to bring them to justice.

Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute. In fact both Israel and the United States unsigned the Rome Statute in 2002. This complicates matters for the International Criminal Court (ICC) because it can only bring criminals from signatory countries to stand trial.

The alternative route is for the UN Security Council to order the war criminals from none signatory countries brought to justice. But with the current run of things at the UNSC the chance of Britain and the US not using their right of veto to protect Israel is pretty nonexistent.

This maybe why the lunatic extremist fringe in Israel has been emboldened to even throw the two-state solution into the face of the world's most powerful man, the President of the United States. The Unity Coalition for Israel (UCI) has sent emails to President Obama questioning "the wisdom" of the US administration.

An announcement by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, during her visit to the region set the establishment of "a Palestinian state" as a priority for the Obama administration; and that seems to have set the cat among the pigeons. UCI's Knesset member Aryeh Eldad told Clinton that "most Israeli citizens" do not want the establishment of a Palestinian state and accused Washington of "planning to appease the Iranians, Syrians and Palestinians by paying with 'Israeli currency'."

Though it would be cruel to dash UCI's day dreams, the international community has come to realize that the Israeli-Palestinian issue must be resolved via a two-state solution. So the prevailing political winds do not give a "shekel" for Aryeh Eldad and his loony gang's protestations.

HRW: Israel use of phosphorus proof of war crimes

2009-03-27T20:57:00.000Z

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:44:34 GMT | PressTV

Israel's use of white phosphorus over densely populated areas in Gaza "was indiscriminate and evidence of war crimes," a rights group says.

In a 71-page report, titled "Rain of Fire" published on Wednesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus artillery shells in populated areas of Gaza was not incidental or accidental, but revealed "a pattern or policy of conduct".

"In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in open areas as a screen for its troops," said Fred Abrahams, a HRW senior emergencies researcher.

"It fired white phosphorus repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly suffered and died."

"First, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Second, the IDF [Israeli Army] was well aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it poses to civilians. Third, the IDF failed to use safer available alternatives for smokescreens," the report added.

According to the rights group, although "white phosphorus munitions weren't illegal when deployed properly in open areas", the IDF repeatedly used them "unlawfully over populated neighborhoods, killing and wounding civilians and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a humanitarian aid warehouse and a hospital."

Human Rights Watch called on the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, to set up an international commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of violations of international law in the Gaza war by the Israeli military.

Iran urges Israel trial over Gaza attack

2009-03-26T09:35:00.001Z

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 08:34:47 GMT | PressTV

Iran's ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaei

Iran's ambassador to the UN has called on the international community to bring Israeli officials behind the recent attack on Gaza to justice.

Mohammad Khazaei told the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that the international body, including the UN and the Security Council, had to take 'immediate' action against what Tehran defines as Israel's crimes against Palestinians.

"Israel continues the expansionist and belligerent policies it started 60 years ago against Palestinians," Khazaei said at the session, adding that Israeli officials must stand trial for their three-week onslaught on Gaza.

Israel has been under fire for committing 'war crimes' and 'crimes against humanity' as well as using unconventional weapons in its massive three-week-long military strike on the Gaza Step, which killed over 1,300 Palestinians, injured thousands and destroyed houses, schools and hospitals.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a 71-page report titled "Rain of Fire" published on Wednesday that Israel's repeated use of white phosphorus in densely-populated areas was not accidental but revealed "a pattern or policy of conduct."

The report also said that the Israeli army "was aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it poses to civilians."

During the UN meeting, Iran's envoy also said that Israel was continuing to breach the basic principles of human rights by threatening Palestinian lives, destroying their homes and expanding Israeli settlements.

Khazaei also condemned Israel for using an 11-year-old Palestinian boy as a human shield during the Gaza war, calling it 'just one example of the thousands of Israeli crimes against Palestinians'.

A group of UN human rights experts said on Monday that Israeli soldiers had used the boy as a human shield to protect themselves from being targeted by fighters in the Gazan neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa.

According to Radhika Coomaraswamy, the UN Secretary-General's envoy for protecting children in armed conflict, Israeli soldiers ordered the boy to walk in front of them and enter buildings to assure the safety of the troops.

Human Rights Watch has called on the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to set up an international commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of violations of international law in the Gaza war by the Israeli military.

UK to Israel: War crimes law unchangeable now

2009-03-22T08:48:00.000Z

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 07:48:06 GMT | PressTV

In 2005, Doron Almog managed to avoid arrest in Britain by remaining on board a plane at Heathrow airport

The British government says it cannot change for now a law that allows for the arrest of Israel's visiting authorities over war crimes.

In an unofficial message to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Britain said that due to Israel's public image in the country following its massive strike against the Gaza Strip, London believes it will be unable to pass an amendment to the legislation before next year's elections, Haaretz reported.

The Israeli offensive, namely Operation Cast Lead, triggered a wave of outrage worldwide as it left more than 1,434 Palestinians, including 960 civilians, killed and thousands more injured.

Suspected use of forbidden ammunitions, such as white phosphorus and depleted uranium, testimonies by Israeli officers on racist and religious motifs among their comrades, and UN reports of wanton killings of civilians raised protests to Israeli war crimes and 'even crimes against humanity' during the 23-day-long onslaught.

Under British law, UK citizens can press war crime charges against foreigners, who could be arrested upon entry into Britain once an indictment has been issued.

In 2005, Maj. Gen. Doron Almog flew to London but decided not to leave the plane when he was informed British police were waiting to arrest him.

An arrest warrant had been issued against him for his role in the controversial demolition of Palestinian homes in Rafah.

Almog remained on the aircraft and returned to Israel but his case has caused senior Israeli army officers in both active and reserve service, including former chiefs of staff and cabinet ministers (Ehud Barak and Shaul Mofaz), to avoid traveling to Britain ever since.

Britain's government, first under former premier Tony Blair and recently under his successor Gordon Brown, had promised to pass changes in the legislation so that private citizens would first have to obtain the approval of the chief prosecutor to be able to press war crimes charges.

While Israeli diplomats are seeking support for such an amendment from Conservative lawmakers, Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor on Saturday urged London to find a way to fulfill its promise.

But the British Foreign Office described the measure as "a complex legal issue".

Israeli soldiers fought 'religious war' in Gaza

2009-03-20T20:30:00.000Z

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 19:29:47 GMT | PressTV

Israeli soldiers say they thought they were fighting a holy war in Gaza.

Israeli soldiers believed they were fighting a "religious war" against gentiles in January's Gaza offensive, a commander has revealed.

The Israeli army commander said military and non-military rabbis had circulated pamphlets among the battlefield troops, describing the operation as a "religious war" and that they were carrying out a "religious mission".

"Their message was very clear," he said. "We are the Jewish people, we came to this land by a miracle, God brought us back to this land and now we need to fight to expel the gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land."

The account by Ram, a pseudonym to shield the soldier's identity, was published in the second day of shocking revelations that have rocked the Israeli military, Reuters reported.

"Many soldiers' feelings were that this was a war of religion," he added.

On Thursday, Israeli soldiers confessed to the wanton killing of civilians as well as intentionally destroying civilian property during the Gaza war.

The testimonies include the killing of a Palestinian mother and her two children by an Israeli sniper and the case of an elderly Palestinian woman who was killed as she was walking 100 meters (yards) from her home.

The shocking accounts are seen as evidence to war crimes and the massive violations of human rights by the Israeli army during the three-week war on the Gaza Strip.

International organizations and UN human rights investigations claim that the Israeli army deliberately used forbidden arms, such as depleted uranium and deadly white phosphorus shells, in densely populated civilian areas.

Other charges against Tel Aviv include the "reckless and indiscriminate" shelling of residential areas, the use of Palestinian families as human shields by Israeli soldiers and the unrelenting attacks on several medical facilities and UN compounds in the area.

UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, has said that most Israeli actions against the population of Gaza "appear to have all the elements of war crimes".

Despite countless allegations, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has yet to take action against Israel over its military conduct in Gaza.

UN sees grave war crime in Gaza war

2009-03-20T09:45:00.000Z

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 08:18:42 GMT | PressTV

Richard Falk is an American
law professor at Princeton University

A United Nations human rights investigator says the Israeli military action on densely populated Gaza Strip constitutes grave war crime.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said under the Geneva Conventions if warring forces cannot distinguish between military targets and surrounding civilians, "launching the attacks is inherently unlawful and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law."

"On the basis of the preliminary evidence available, there is reason to reach this conclusion," said Falk's annual 26-page report to the UN Human Rights Council.

He accused Israel of a "massive assault on a densely populated urbanized setting" and subjecting the entire civilian population to "an inhumane form of warfare that kills, maims and inflicts mental harm". He also gave the same death toll from Israel's offensive -- 1,434 Palestinians, including 960 civilians -- as the Palestinian human rights center.

Falk further noted the blockade of the coastal sliver (imposed by Israel and reinforced by Egypt ) added to the severity of the onslaught as the sealed borders did not allow for the civilians to "escape from the orbit of harm." This denial of people's right to flee the war zone as refugees may also constitute a crime against humanity, he said.

UN investigator called for an independent experts group to probe possible war crimes committed by Israeli forces and look into Israeli allegations against the Islamic Hamas movement, which runs the Gaza Strip.

During the 23-day war, Israel targeted schools, mosques and ambulances while many experts and medics voiced fears that Israel used internationally banned weapons including white phosphorus and depleted uranium, in response to Hamas's firing of rockets at southern Israel.

Falk said that Israel's blockade of the coastal strip-- which started after Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and has been affecting some 1.5 million people-- violated the Geneva Conventions and this suggested further war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity.

An independent investigator for the UN Human Rights Council and a law professor at Princeton University, Falk said the aggression was not legally justified and may represent a "crime against peace" -- a principle established at the Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals.

He said the Security Council might set up an ad hoc criminal tribunal to establish accountability for war crimes in Gaza because Israel has not signed the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Jewish Falk was denied entry to Israel two weeks before the attack started on December 27 and had to abort a planned mission to Gaza, what he called an "unfortunate precedent" for treatment of a special rapporteur.

On Monday, he will formally present his report to the Human Rights Council, a 47-member forum comprising of Islamic and African countries backed by China, Cuba and Russia. Neither Israel nor its closest ally the United States are members

Israel forced to open face-saving probe

2009-03-19T19:18:00.001Z

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:18:04 GMT | PressTV

Israel has been accused of turning Gaza into a testing lab for "extremely nasty" weapons and a devastated slum similar to the Warsaw Ghetto.

The political debacle prompted by the confession of Israeli military personnel about their conduct in Gaza has forced the launch of a probe.

With Israeli armed forces having themselves confessed to the wanton killing of civilians as well as immoral behavior in the Gaza Strip and the issue spilling into politics, the Israeli military has been forced to take action.

Military Advocate General Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit on Thursday ordered the Military Police Investigation unit to launch a probe into the testimony of Israeli veterans of the three-week war.

Israeli soldiers have confessed that they knowingly relaxed the rules of engagement and hastily killed Palestinian civilians and destroyed civilian property as they were confident that they had the full protection of echelons in Tel Aviv.

The head of a special military course, Danny Zamir, told the Ha'aretz daily that he was "shocked" by the confessions and relayed the reports to higher authorities because he feared serious ethical lapses among troops.

"Those were very harsh testimonies about unjustified shooting of civilians and destruction of property that conveyed an atmosphere in which one feels entitled to use unrestricted force against Palestinians," Zamir told public radio.

The issue has become intensely political as Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has expressed confidence that the Israeli army is the most "moral" one in the world.

"We have the most moral army in the world," Barak told Israel Radio. "The most moral army in the world stands ready to take orders from the government of Israel. I have no doubt that every incident will be individually examined."

Israeli human rights groups have also touched on the issues surrounding Israeli war crimes and criminal conduct.

"Until today, about six weeks since the end of military operations in Gaza, not a single criminal investigation has begun despite hundreds of testimonies which raise suspicion about violations of international law and of war crimes," Yesh Din said in a statement.

Israeli war crimes include but are not limited to the use of deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas in Gaza -- as revealed in an investigation by The Times in January.

While Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, later mounting evidence forced Israeli officials to admit to having employed the shells.

"If these orders were given as described in the testimonies, then both the issuing of the orders and their implementation are criminal offences. If Israel does not investigate its own offences, other countries will have to," the human rights group added.

Tel Aviv unleashed Operation Cast Lead on the Gaza Strip on December 27. Three weeks of ensuing airstrikes and a ground incursion killed over 1,350 Palestinians and injured nearly 5,450 people. Most of the victims were civilians.

The carnage also inflicted more than $1.6 billion in damages on the Gazan economy.

Justice experts urge prompt Gaza War probe

2009-03-16T03:55:00.000Z

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:55:11 GMT | PressTV

The world's leading judges and justice experts have sent a letter to the UN chief, urging a prompt and impartial probe into the Gaza war.

In an open letter supported by Amnesty International, the 16 signatories stressed the need for an investigation into 'all serious violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties of the conflict'.

The letter argues that the UN investigation 'should not be limited only to attacks on UN facilities'.

The distinguished signatories -- who have led investigations of crimes committed in former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Darfur, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, East Timor, Lebanon and Peru -- say they were 'shocked to the core' by the events in Gaza.

"Allegations of serious violations of the laws of war have emerged throughout the latest Gaza conflict, relating to conduct and actions by both the Israeli military and by the Palestinian armed groups," said the letter distributed by Amnesty International.

"A prompt, independent and impartial investigation would provide a public record of gross violations of international humanitarian law committed and provide recommendations on how those responsible for crimes should be held to account."

They also reached out for world leaders, calling for 'an unfaltering signal that the targeting of civilians during conflict is unacceptable by any party on any count'.

The signatories include Richard Goldstone, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and Antonio Cassese, the first president of the International Criminal Tribunal and head of the UN Inquiry on Darfur.

On December 27, Israel launched a full-scale 22-day offensive on the Gaza Strip, in a bid to oust its archenemy, the Islamic Hamas movement, which controls the coastal sliver. The onslaught left more than 1,340 Palestinians killed and some 5,450 others wounded, devastating hundreds of homes and buildings.

Family of 29 massacred Gazans sues Israel

2009-03-11T11:52:00.000Z

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:52:05 GMT | PressTV

29 members of the Samouni family were killed and 45 were injured in the war on Gaza.

A Palestinian family has filed a lawsuit against officials responsible for the three-week Israeli war on the population of the Gaza Strip.

The Samouni family of the southern Gazan suburb of Zeitoun has filed a suit against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Army Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, Ha'aretz reported on Wednesday.

The Samounis are demanding some 200 million dollars in compensation for the loss of 29 family members during Israel's December onslaught, which killed nearly 1,350 Palestinians and injured 5,450 others.

Some forty five members of the family have also been injured in the attacks, the report adds.

The suit filed at a court in the northern Arab-Israeli town of Nazareth, accuses the Israeli military of "criminal negligence" by killing innocent civilians who were seeking refuge in their home and a shelter.

In the early hours of January 4, the family's three-story building was targeted by an Israeli tank shell, instantly killing seven civilians.

Their apartment was burnt down completely, forcing the remaining survivors to take refuge at a nearby shelter, only to be targeted for a second time resulting in the death of 22 more civilians.

Investigations have revealed that Israel committed various war crimes in Gaza, including the use of deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas.

The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO or Interpol) on Tuesday said that it is reviewing a request to issue international Red Notices for 25 Israelis suspected of committing war crimes during Tel Aviv's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

"We were reviewing a request to make sure it did not breach rules that prevent the body from making any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character," Interpol said in a statement.

A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but a request to national police forces to identify or locate suspects with a view to arrest and extradite criminals.

Interpol: Israel war crimes case pending

2009-03-11T07:37:00.000Z

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 06:37:32 GMT | PressTV

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are reportedly on the list of Israelis charged with committing war crimes that Iran gave Interpol.

Interpol has confirmed that Iran has asked for help in tracking down 25 senior Israeli officials involved in the recent war on Gaza.

Tehran Chief Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi announced earlier that Iran had asked Interpol to issue international arrest warrants for 25 Israelis charged with committing war crimes during Tel Aviv's Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO or Interpol) said in a statement on Tuesday that it "was reviewing the request to make sure it did not breach rules that prevent the body from making any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character."

In December, Tehran announced that it had set up a court to put the Israelis on trial for attacking Gaza and is seeking the arrest of over 100 individuals.

Interpol said Iran wanted to issue 25 so-called Red Notices for senior Israelis but did not provide any names.

Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are reportedly on the list.

A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but a request to national police forces to identify or locate suspects with a view to arrest and extradition.

The legal move was made in response to the three-week Israeli onslaught on the densely populated coastal strip that left nearly 1,350 Gazans dead.

Mortazavi expressed hope that the 187 member states of Interpol would take "effective measures" to mete out justice to the Israeli war criminals.

ICC zeroing in on Israeli war crimes?

2009-03-11T03:14:00.000Z

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:11:07 GMT | PressTV

A mosque in El Atatra, Gaza, that was destroyed by the Israeli military.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor is exploring ways to launch an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the Hague-based ICC, said he is mulling over the prosecution case of Israeli officials responsible for the suspected crimes committed during the recent offensive in Gaza.

"We are in the analysis phase. I have not yet decided whether we will launch an investigation, but it is a possibility," Moreno-Ocampo told the Argentinean newspaper Perfil.

Israel is suspected of committing war crimes including the use of the deadly white phosphorus shells in densely populated civilian areas, as revealed in an investigation by The Times in January.

While Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, later mounting evidence forced Israeli officials to admit to having employed the shells.

The International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court, was created in 2002 to allow legal action against war criminals that committed offences after its inception.

The Hague, however, has no jurisdiction over non-signatories to the treaty which created the court. Under such line of argument, Moreno-Ocampo had initially refused to consider the appeal, saying he lacked the legal basis to examine the case.

However, since the Palestinian Authority signed a commitment on January 22 and recognized the court's authority, the prosecutor has appeared more open to study the case.

The announcement by the ICC prosecutor came shortly after the court issued an international arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Iranian Deputy Judiciary Chief Seyyed Ebrahim Raeesi touched on the matter and criticized The Hague on Monday, saying the warrant was issued while the court has shown utter contempt for Israeli war crimes.

Raeesi described the ruling by The Hague on the Sudanese president as politically-motivated, adding that "the ICC has issued its ruling under the influence of global hegemony".

The Iranian official went on to say that the ruling on al-Bashir had been given priority over the case of Israeli crimes against the Gazan civilians despite loud international protests on the matter.

On the same day that the ICC issued the arrest warrant for the president of Sudan, an international conference opened in Tehran to press Interpol to help Iranian prosecutors arrest 15 Israeli leaders on war crimes charges related to the recent war in Gaza.

The ICC has received more than 200 requests from individuals and organizations, including Amnesty International and the Arab League to look into allegations of war crimes during the Israeli war on the Palestinian territory.

Israeli 'wanton destruction' turns heads

2009-03-06T21:15:00.000Z

Fri, 06 Mar 2009 19:15:26 GMT | PressTV

Donatella Rovera (L), the Amnesty International researcher on Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories

Amnesty International has accused the Israeli army of engaging in "wanton destruction" of Palestinian homes during its Gaza offensive.

The head of the Amnesty's fact-finding mission to the West Bank and Gaza says the use of mines to destroy homes contradicts Tel Aviv claims that the Israeli army acted in accordance with international law during the three-week war on Gaza.

The Israeli army emphasizes that Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and its infrastructure were the target of Operation Cast Lead, and not the civilian population in Gaza, said Donatella Rovera, who argued the claim saying the methods used by Israeli forces raise concerns about war crimes.

Israeli troops had to leave their vehicles to plant the mines, indicating that they faced no danger and that there was no military or operational justification, she told the BBC news website.

The BBC report also cites Breaking the Silence -- an Israeli NGO that gathers and circulates the testimonies of Israeli soldiers on incidents of unnecessary violence and oppression -- saying that its findings from the Gaza war suggested many demolitions had been carried out when there was no immediate threat.

"From the testimonies that we've gathered, lots of demolitions -- buildings demolished either by bulldozers or explosives -- were done after the area was under Israeli control," said Yehuda Shaul, one of the group's members.

A Palestinian girl carries her sister in front of a destroyed house in northern Gaza Strip

On December 27, Israel started a huge military operation on the densely-populated coastal sliver, which saw the death of over 1,330 Palestinians and left thousands of buildings, civilian houses and mosques reduced to debris.

Rovera expressed Amnesty's deep concern over the "large scale destruction of homes and other civilian properties" during the conflict. "The destruction was, in our view, and according to our findings, wanton destruction - it could not be justified on military grounds," she said.

The Amnesty official said her team found fragments of anti-tank mines in and around destroyed properties. This together with remains of houses, collapsed in on themselves -- as if blown up from below, rather than from above as in an air strike -- suggested that Israeli troops had left their armored vehicles to plant them and set up the detonators, she said.

"Unless those operating on the ground felt not just 100 percent but 200 percent secure -- that the places were not booby trapped, that they wouldn't come under fire -- they could not have got out of the vehicles," she said, concluding that the use of the method cut short claims about the kind of danger that might have made it lawful to destroy some of those properties.

"Wanton destruction on a large scale would qualify as a war crime," she said.

Arab League probes Israel for 'war crimes' committed in Gaza

2009-03-06T06:08:00.003Z

By Amira Hass Amira Hass, Haaretz Correspondent

A committee of jurists hired by the Arab League completed a six-day tour of the Gaza Strip on Friday. The fact-finding mission was meant to investigate alleged war crimes as well as crimes against humanity perpetrated by Israel during its offensive against Hamas earlier this year.

Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa appointed the committee which is expected to submit a detailed report on its findings and conclusions. This report will then serve as the basis for any future legal proceedings the league plans to initiate.

The panel consists of six experts specializing in international law and international humanitarian law. At the outset of the mission, the delegation said its task was "to gather information on the responsibility of the state and the responsibility of individuals, according to international law, for every violation of international human rights laws and international humanitarian laws, including crimes against humanity and war crimes."

The delegation visited areas which were targeted by the Israel Defense Forces. The lawyers also met with residents who managed to avoid harm but whose family members were killed during the operation. Among those who gave statements to the committee were wounded Palestinians and eyewitnesses to various attacks, doctors, a German expert on armaments, and representatives of Palestinian and international non-governmental organizations.

The panel also met with Hamas officials and other Palestinian representatives. The head of the delegation, Professor John Dugard, who once served as a special United Nations envoy investigating human rights in the territories, said that his team sent two letters to Israeli authorities and that he was hopeful for a reply to questions it posed.

Members of the delegation also investigated the circumstances in which armed Palestinians launched rockets into Israel. Dugard told Haaretz that one of the questions raised during the trip was the proportionality of the IDF response to the rocket fire. Dugard said it was impossible to accurate gauge the matter without investigating the Palestinian side.

Dugard is being assisted by criminal attorney Gonzalo Boye, a native of Chile who currently resides in Spain. Boye was involved in filing a complaint against six senior Israeli officials, among them former defense minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, over their role in the deaths of 14 Palestinian civilians killed in the attack on senior Hamas operative Salah Shahadeh in July 2002.

Iran Urges Interpol to Arrest 15 Israeli “War Criminals”

2009-03-02T23:51:00.001Z

02/03/2009 | Batoul Wehbe | almanarTV

International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO or Interpol) begins studying Iran's request to arrest 15 senior Israeli officials who were involved in the “war crimes” committed during the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, drawing on the organization's charter and Israel's violation of the Geneva Conventions.

In a Monday statement, Iran's judiciary said that it has asked Interpol to issue an international Red Notice security alert for the 15 Israeli officials who were involved in the 22-day Israeli offensive on Gaza. The statement added that the judiciary was also looking into complaints made against 100 other Israelis, with top military and government posts.

"In the current week, we have completed our investigations about 15 individuals who were among those criminals," Tehran's Public Prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi said at a news briefing. "Based on our investigation and according to article 2 of the Interpol charter, we asked the international body to arrest these suspects." "Governments of 180 countries have received the information necessary for identifying the suspects," he said.

Furthermore, Iran's Chief Prosecutor Qorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi called for the arrest of 34 Israeli political leaders and military commanders as well as 115 others involved in the war on Gaza.

Dorri-Najafabadi charged the group with committing war crimes, aggression, occupation, threatening regional and international peace and security, crimes against humanity, genocide and blatant, repeated and organized violation of the human rights as well as open breaching of war laws and the Geneva Conventions.

INTERPOL COMPLAINT ONLY THE BEGINNING: IRANIAN OFFICIAL

The Iranian move comes in the framework of international efforts to bring Israelis who committed massacres to justice.

Many international NGOs and human rights organizations, Palestinians wounded in the Gaza onslaught, more than 5,700 Iranian lawyers and attorneys in the Iranian Bar Association along with a large number of medics were also among those who filed complaints against Tel Aviv, Mortazavi said.

The whole campaign is important in that it may form public opinion and support especially among European elites, Ibrahim Hershi, an official at the Iranian embassy in Beirut, told Al-Manar website.

"The law suit will be followed by several actions like holding a conference in Tehran on Wednesday," Hershi said. 'Resistance, Law and Judiciary Committee' is the name of the panel formed by the Iranian government that includes Iranian judges, political figures, party leaders and lawyers headed by Dorri-Najafabadi. The committee's complaints, according to Hershi, are based on documents, observations and tangible evidences of the Israeli crimes in Gaza.
Israeli atrocities, particularly in the past five years, have triggered the anger of the international public opinion both in Muslim and non-Muslim countries with scores of international lawyers calling for The Hague based International Court of Justice to bring to dock Tel Aviv rulers for the ‘war crimes’ and ‘crimes against humanity’ they perpetrated in Gaza.

HOKOK, the International Coalition against Impunity, represented by its president May El-Khansa and other Spanish lawyers will submit on March 11 a complaint before the ICC over Israeli crimes against Gaza and Lebanon, supported by names of Israeli officers holding European nationalities.

Israel’s attack against Gaza began December 27, 2008, and left more than 1,300 martyrs more than half of which are children and women. Around 5,000 others were injured and mutilated by internationally banned weapons like phosphorus and DIME. The attacks also left tens of thousands of already besieged Gazans homeless.

THE IRANIAN LIST OF ISRAELI “WAR CRIMINALS” INCLUDES:

1- Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
2- Defense Minister Ehud Barak
3- Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
4- Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi
5- Commander in Chief of the Israeli Air Force Ido Nehoshtan
6- Commander of the Gaza war -- Operation Cast Lead -- Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant
7- Head of Military Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin
8- Commander of Battalion 13 in the Golani Brigade Lt. Col. Oren Cohen
9- Deputy to the Givati Brigade Col. Ron Ashrov
10- Commander of the Israel Paratroopers' Brigade in Gaza Col. Hertzi Halevy
11- Commander of 401st Armored Corps Brigade convoy Col. Yigal Slovik
12- Commander of the 101st Battalion in the Paratrooper Brigade Lt. Col. Avi Blot
13- Lt. Col. Yoav Mordechai, who served as a commander of the Golani infantry brigade's 13th Battalion in Gaza
14- Givati squad commander Col. Tomer Tsiter
15- Brigade commander in Battalion 51 Col. Avi Peled

Iran prepares to try Israeli war criminals

2009-03-02T10:31:00.000Z

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:31:32 GMT | PressTV

Gazan children playing in the ruins of buildings, reduced to rubble by Israel's 23-day war.

Iran adds the final touches to a criminal case against top Israeli officials, bringing Tel Aviv's war crimes in Gaza further to the fore.

While evidence is stacking up that the Israeli military committed war crimes during the three week-long war on the Gaza Strip, Iran's Chief Prosecutor Qorban-Ali Dori-Najafabadi, sought criminal charges against twenty-nine Israeli political and military leaders on Sunday.

“The charges brought against Israeli officials include undue aggression, disproportionate use of military force, threatening world peace and security, crimes against humanity, genocide, and blatant violations of human rights and international law,” said Dori-Najafabadi. Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Mossad Chief Meir Dagan, Chief of the General Staff of the IDF Gabi Ashkenazi, and Attorney General Menachem Mazuz are reportedly among those facing the court case.

The case will go to trial in Tehran in near future. Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 with the declared goal of “self-defense” and toppling the Hamas government. More than 1,300 Palestinians, including a large number of women and children, were killed in the conflagration.

With nearly two months after Tel Aviv declared an alleged ceasefire, further revelations of the Israeli army's massive violations of human rights has set the wheels turning on an international war crime case. During the offensive, Israel reportedly shelled three clearly GPS-designated UN schools and opened fire on hospitals, ambulances, medical personnel, and civilian homes.

UN human rights investigations have exposed that the Israeli army deliberately used white phosphorus ---which is prohibited "in all circumstances" under Protocol III of the Convention on Conventional Weapons ---on Palestinian civilians.

The most shocking eye-opener, however, came on January 4 when Israeli troops evacuated some 110 Gazans --- half of which were children --- into a single-residence house in the Zeitoun neighborhood and warned them to stay indoors. Twenty-four hours later, the soldiers shelled the home incessantly, killing more than 30 of the people inside the house. UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, recently declared that most

Israeli actions against the shell-shocked population of Gaza "appear to have all the elements of war crimes".

Tel Aviv has not ratified the 1998 Rome Statute, therefore Israeli leaders cannot be brought before the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Signatories to the Geneva Convention, however, can prosecute those involved in the 23-day assault on Gaza as culpable for war crimes.

Seminar in Algeria seeks to bring Israeli leaders to justice

2009-02-28T22:10:00.000Z

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:56:21
Salim Mirouh, Press TV, Algiers

Spain probes Israel's 2002 Gaza bombing

2009-02-27T21:12:00.000Z

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:10:45 GMT | PressTV

Judge Fernando Andreu

Spain's Judge Fernando Andreu is set to go ahead with an investigation into crimes against humanity by top Israeli military officials.

The decision came after Andreu studied translated documents he received from the Israeli embassy, revealing Tel Aviv has not launched any legal procedure concerning a 2002 bombing of Gaza.

Andreu agreed last month to pursue a complaint of crimes against humanity against seven senior Israeli military figures over the bombing.

The prospect of the investigation, which is in line with Spain's assumption of the principle of universal jurisdiction in alleged cases of crimes against humanity, genocide, and terrorism, has enraged the Tel Aviv government.

The probe by the Spanish judge could be suspended only if the alleged crimes are subject to a legal procedure in the country involved.

Andreu now plans to officially notify former Israeli defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six senior military officials of the inquiry, and also seek witness testimony from Palestinians, AFP quoted sources as saying.

The investigation will look into a complaint by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights concerning the Israeli assassination top Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh in an air strike on July 22, 2002 on Gaza City.

At least 14 civilians - mainly infants and children - fell victim to the attack which also left 150 Palestinians wounded.

In January, Andreu said the attack in a densely-populated area "showed signs of constituting a crime against humanity."

Israel's current Defense Minister Ehud Barak has rejected the complaint as "delirious" and vowed to do "everything possible to get the investigation dismissed."

In a bid to alleviate Tel Aviv's rage, Spanish Foreign minister Miguel Moratinos immediately informed his Israeli counterpart, Tzipi Livni, on Jan. 30 of plans to limit the country's powers.

Spanish judges can independently launch war crimes investigations against foreign officials. In 1998 a Spanish judge practiced his power, issuing an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet who was accordingly etained in Britain.

British government sued over arms sales to Israel

2009-02-25T00:39:00.000Z

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:19:27
Fareena Alam, Press TV, London

Iran to host International conference on Palestine

2009-02-23T16:24:00.001Z

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:29:09 GMT

Iran aims to follow up on the prosecution of Israeli war criminals during an international conference on Palestine in Tehran.

Iran will host an international conference in support of Palestine, seeking trials of Israeli war criminals involved in the Gaza assault.

The conference, which is the fourth Iranian conference on Palestine, will meet under the banner 'Palestine: Manifestation of Resistance, Gaza: Victim of Crimes.'

The conference will be chaired by Iran's Parliament (Majlis) Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran on March 4-5, Secretary General of the International Conference of Quds and Support for Rights of the Palestinian Nation, Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipour announced.

The event aims at condemning the war crimes of Israeli leaders and their crimes against humanity during the 23-day assault on the impoverished and besieged region of Gaza in December 2008 through January 2009, Mohtashamipour added.

"According to a bill approved by Majlis, the parliament is obliged to take action in support of the Palestinian people's rights by holding international conferences," he noted.

The Israeli army launched an all-out military heavy offensive against the Gaza Strip, killing over 1, 300 people - including women and children - and wounding 5, 450 others.

Israel's offensive against Gaza met with severe international criticism around the globe. The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, all of which Israel has the responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Prominent figures of the international community, including the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference as well as renowned international lawyers have been invited to the Conference.

"According to legal and international regulations and due processes, Israeli war criminals could face arrest warrants in every corner of the world," the Iranian official stressed.

According to Mohtashamipour, Iran is taking steps to set up a court for the prosecution of the Israeli warlords. Iran's Prosecutor General, Ayatollah Dorri Najafabadi, is tasked with overseeing the process.

Israeli President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are among the officials accused of war crimes.

Iran hosted its first conference on Palestine to commemorate the first anniversary of the Palestinian uprising (Intifadha) in 1988. The second and third conferences were held in 1998.

Turkish rights group to press charges against Israel over Gaza

2009-02-22T18:50:00.000Z

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 18:54:59
Mehdi Gholizadeh, Press TV, Ankara

Israel WMD use in Gaza alarms NAM

2009-02-19T12:21:00.000Z

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:41:01 GMT | PressTV

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has condemned the use of "chemical weapons" by Israel in its recent operations against the Gaza Strip.

The NAM condemnation came after Tel Aviv was charged with the use of the controversial white phosphorous -- also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete -- shells during its recent three-week war on the Gaza Strip.

White phosphorus, classified as a chemical weapon by US intelligence, is used in munitions to mark enemy targets and to produce smoke for concealing troop movement. It can also be used as an incendiary device to firebomb enemy positions.

If particles of ignited white phosphorus land on a person's skin, they burn right through flesh to the bone. Toxic phosphoric acid can also be released into wounds, risking phosphorus poisoning.

Exposure to white phosphorus smoke in the air can also cause liver, kidney, heart, lung and bone damage and can even lead to death.

In a statement issued on Thursday at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, the 114-member group called on the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) "to do its duty in this regard" and to help the Gazan victims of the Israeli aggression.

Addressing the conference, Geneva-based Iranian diplomat Ali-Reza Moayyeri urged the global community and the OPCW to launch an investigation into the use of illegal weapons by Israel in Gaza.

He further called on international organizations to step up pressure on Israel to halt its "weapons of mass destruction program".

International organizations and human rights groups continue to voice concern over Tel Aviv's use of forbidden arms, such as depleted uranium and white phosphorus, in the war on Gaza which has resulted in the deaths of at least 1,330 Palestinians and the injury of thousands of others.

Lab tests verify white phosphorus in Gaza soil .

2009-02-18T21:39:00.003Z

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:23:39 GMT | PressTV

Israeli soldiers prepare artillery shells on
January 9. The pale
blue 155mm rounds,
marked with the
designation M825A1,
are US-made white
phosphorus munitions.

Laboratory tests conducted by a Turkish university on Gaza soil have confirmed the use of phosphorus bombs by Israel in the coastal sliver.

Istanbul's Yildiz Technical University conducted the tests on soil transferred by the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER).

The tests yielded results confirming the existence of white phosphorus particles in the samples, the daily Vakit reports.

White phosphorus, classified as a 'chemical weapon' by US intelligence, is an incendiary material that causes horrific burns, severe injuries or death when it comes in contact with humans.

During Israel's 23-day offensive in the Gaza Strip, a fierce controversy broke out over the alleged use of white phosphorus -- also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete -- by the Israeli army.

The legality of the toxic chemical agent is a matter of debate, with many groups recognizing it as an illegal weapon, while international law allows its usage solely for smoke-screening.

Israel maintains that its actions were being conducted under international laws, despite contradictory reports of the Israeli claim.

Following the laboratory results in Turkey, MAZLUM-DER filed a criminal complaint against Israel at Istanbul's Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday.

The Turkish human rights group MAZLUM-DER has also accused Israel of directly attacking civilians "with the aim of annihilating them" and employing internationally-banned weapons in the process.

"The suspects, who wanted to wipe out the Palestinian people through systematic attacks, have committed genocide and crimes against humanity," said a petition by the human rights group.

On Sunday, an international conference in Morocco called for Israeli civil and military officials to be sued for "war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Some 5,700 Iranian lawyers have also filed a compliant against 24 Israeli leaders and commanders over the alleged Israeli war crimes.

International organizations and human rights groups remain concerned over Tel Aviv's use of forbidden arms, such as depleted uranium and white phosphorus, in the Gaza war.

The 23-day Israeli onslaught on Gaza left at least 1,330 Palestinians -- including at least 460 children -- dead and thousands others injured.

European delegation in Gaza to assess damage of Israeli offensive

2009-02-13T06:46:00.000Z

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:42:06
Yousef Al-Helou, Press TV, Gaza

UN moves to charge Israel with war crimes

2009-02-10T19:15:00.011Z

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:50:52 GMT | PressTV

Ethical and moral questions linger even among Israeli peace activists over the destruction and civilian deaths wrought by the immense Tel Aviv firepower employed in Gaza.

The United Nations moves to set up a commission to look into Israeli war crimes and respond to its human rights violations in Gaza.

After the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA) compound became the target of GPS-guided Israeli mortars on January 15, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned "in the strongest terms this outrageous attack" and called for an inquiry into suspected Israeli war crimes.

"I strongly demand a thorough investigation and punishment for those responsible," he told reporters in Beirut after the attack.

Japanese Ambassador Yukio Takasu, who currently holds the presidency of the Security Council, said late on Monday that Ban had told a closed-door briefing in the council that the UN had set up a commission as a preliminary step to look into Israeli damage to UN premises.

Several diplomats have reported that the commission would be led by the former British secretary-general of human rights group Amnesty International, Ian Martin.

Takasu said the commission would later report back to the Security Council, which would then decide how to respond.

Diplomats have expressed skepticism as to whether a Security Council inquiry would take place, saying they thought it unlikely that Israel's ally the United States, which has a veto in the council, would allow the 15-nation body to adopt the report as its own.

The January 15 incident, which has prompted the UN inquiry, was the third shelling of UN shelters by Israeli fire in its war on the Palestinian territory.

UN spokesman Adnan Abu Hasna said the shelling of the school happened while Israel had been given the coordinates of the building and the compound was also clearly marked with UN flags and logos.

"The UN compound in Gaza had only that morning become a makeshift shelter for hundreds of Gaza City residents seeking sanctuary from relentless Israeli shelling," said an unnamed UN official in Gaza.

The UN move to launch a probe into suspected Israeli war crimes comes after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in The Hague announced earlier last week that a "preliminary analysis" was launched to review the military conduct of Israeli forces participating in the offensive against the Gaza Strip.

The ICC prosecutor's office said it had received 210 communications from individuals and non-governmental organizations regarding the recent events in Gaza.

The criminal case is expected to focus on the Israeli atrocities, including charges of using disproportionate force, white phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium in the densely-populated area.

Israel's three-week offensive against Gaza -- aimed at toppling the democratically-elected government of Hamas in the Palestinian territory -- left nearly 1,300 Palestinians dead, more than half of them civilians, according to medical sources.

The Israeli assault led to the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Earlier during the war, members of a Norwegian triage medical team in Gaza which worked at the Shifa Hospital in the war-torn Palestinian territory said Israel had turned Gaza into a research laboratory to test out its new "extremely nasty" weapons on Palestinians.

"There's a very strong suspicion I think that Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons," Dr. Mads Gilbert told reporters at Oslo's Gardermoen airport upon his return home after the war.

"We are not soft-skinned when it comes to war injuries, but these amputations are really extremely nasty and for many of the patients not survivable," Gilbert's colleague Erik Fosse added.

While Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as Israel's most prominent human rights organization, B'Tselem have raised questions about the ethical and moral guidelines of Israel's warfare, the Israeli lobby is working hard to counter efforts to protect the civil rights of Gazans.

A Monday report by Press TV revealed that Egypt had refused to allow members of an investigation committee set up by the ICC into the Gaza Strip, arguing that at present only displaced Palestinians could enter the territory through the Rafah crossing.

The committee -- comprised of four French and Norwegian lawyers -- intended to collect evidence and testimonials on Operation Cast Lead to present to the International Court.

Amid reports of profound human sufferings, Israel continues to reject the fact that it has imposed a humanitarian crisis among the battle-hardened 1.5 million population of Gaza and denies committing war crimes in the embattled Strip.

Egypt hinders investigations into Gaza war .

2009-02-10T00:55:00.001Z

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:48:46 GMT PressTV

Egypt has refused entry into the Gaza Strip to members of an international committee in charge of investigating Israeli war crimes.

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) set up the committee.

Four French and Norwegian lawyers comprise the committee. The ICC had earlier started preliminary analysis into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza war.

French and Norwegian lawyers from Amnesty International on Thursday had attempted to enter the impoverished Palestinian sliver through Egypt's Rafah crossing with Gaza.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, as well as B'Tselem, and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, have filed a lawsuit with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against alleged Israeli war crimes in Gaza.

The criminal case is expected to focus on the Israeli atrocities, including charges of using disproportionate force, white phosphorous bombs and depleted uranium in the densely populated area.

The group intended to collect evidence and testimonials on "Operation Cast Lead" which killed over 13,00 Palestinian and wounded nearly 5,500 others, a large number of them women and children.

The evidence was to be submitted to the International Court before Sunday, February 8th.

Egyptian authorities, however, prevented the four member group from crossing the border, arguing that for now only displaced Palestinians can enter the territory thought the crossing.

Egypt has been cooperating closely with Israel in closing the Rafah border crossing in the past 19 months and particularly during the three week long Gaza offensive.

Hamas has also sharply criticized Cairo for refusing to keep the crossing open to wounded Palestinian people despite the dire humanitarian situation in the heavily bombarded coastal strip.

The country has won Israel's praise for not allowing people's basic needs and arms from reaching the Palestinian government in Gaza.

"There is an accumulation of weapons and equipment meant for Hamas in Sinai, but Egypt is preventing it from getting into the Strip," Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak said.

Israeli forces capture Lebanese aid ship

2009-02-06T13:22:00.000Z

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:59:55 GMT

The case for Israeli war
crimes in Gaza has
gathered momentum
as international attorneys
have filed charges a
gainst senior echelons
in Tel Aviv.

Representatives from various countries will convene in Tehran to help lodge a case for war crimes committed by Israel in its war on Gaza.

Iranian Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi said Thursday that legal authorities from nearly 55 countries are expected to come to a summit in Tehran in early March to defend their case against Israel.

"The summit will explore legal and judicial ways for an international investigation into the acts of genocide and crimes against humanity that Israel committed in the Gaza Strip," said Mortazavi.

The official said a high commission has been launched within the Iranian Judiciary to take legal action against the architects of Israel's three-week long offensive on the Palestinian territory.

"As a signatory to the Geneva Convention, the Islamic Republic reserves the right to prosecute Israel as culpable for war crimes," he added.

The summit announcement comes only two days after the Palestinian Authority recognized the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over Israel's alleged violations of humanitarian law.

Calls for an international probe into Tel Aviv war crimes intensified after Israeli soldiers asserted that they pounded the Palestinian coast with at least twenty phosphorus bombs during their operations.

Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, which burns the flesh to the bone, but was forced later, in the face of mounting evidence, to admit to having used it.

Other charges brought against Israel include the "reckless and indiscriminate" shelling of residential areas, the use of Palestinian families as human shields by Israeli soldiers and the unrelenting attacks on several medical facilities and UN compounds in the area.

More than 1330 Palestinians -- the natives of the land -- were killed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead, while thousands of others, many of them women and children, remain hospitalized.

Tel Aviv has strived to justify its devastating assault on Gaza by claiming that it sought 'self-defense' as recognized by Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.

The UN Charter and international law, however, do not give Israel the legal foundation for claiming self-defense in the case of its Gaza operations.

Israeli election frontrunner Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, claimed that Israel failed to achieve its main objectives mainly because the offensive on Gaza "did not go far enough".

The military operations on Gaza came at a time when Palestinians were already suffering from a 19-month blockade, which stripped the area of vital goods, including food, fuel, medical supplies and construction materials.

Running water and electricity are reportedly available less than 12 hours a day. "Entire neighborhoods have disappeared," the BBC reported.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics has reported that an estimated 60,800 people are left homeless and more than 100,000 people remain displaced in the coastal sliver

Palestine refers Israeli war-crimes to ICC

2009-02-04T05:00:00.000Z

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:52:02
Hayet Zeghiche, The Hague, The Netherlands

MP: Arrest British Jews fighting for IDF

2009-02-04T03:50:00.002Z

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:39:56 GMT
By Fareena Alam, Press TV, London

Lord Nazir Ahmed

Lord Nazir Ahmed is one of Britain's most prominent Muslim leaders. This week, he questioned the British government about concerns that British Jews may have served in the Israeli Defense Force during Operation Cast Lead - the three-week bombardment of Gaza.

Lord Ahmed's questions have brought attention to an issue that has significant legal and political implications but which few want to discuss in public.

The following is an exclusive Press TV interview with Lord Ahmed:

Press TV: Lord Nazir Ahmed, you raised question in Parliament about the legal implications of British Jews serving in the IDF. What was the response?

Lord Ahmed: I asked Her Majesty's government if they were aware of British citizens who may have been involved with the war crimes committed by the Israeli Defense Force and Israeli Defense Reserves. Her Majesty's government did not have any figures because dual nationals do not have to inform the government. However, there are reports in the Daily Mirror and The Sun with the names of British citizens who have been fighting in Gaza.

The point I was making is that war crimes have been committed, white phosphorous has been used and if there are people who have broken the 4th Geneva Convention, then whoever they are, when they return to this country, they should be arrested and charged - unlike the Major General who escaped in 2005.

Press TV: Are you certain these are up to date reports about British citizens serving in Israel?

Lord Ahmed: These are very new reports, dated January 2009, of British citizens who have gone out to fight against the Palestinian people as part of the IDF. Their names and ages are mentioned in these reports.

We know that there are student unions that have been actively recruiting young people in Britain to join the Israeli Defense Force and we also know that there are young Jewish students who go and serve on the kibbutz and also in schools, who are also then doing national service in Israel.

How many of those have been involved in war crimes? How many of those have broken the Geneva Convention? When they come back to this country, we want our government to take some legal action against them.

Press TV: Will our government take such action?

Lord Ahmed: Yes - if there is evidence and if the United Nations is strong enough. At the moment they have not even decided how they are going to conduct this independent investigation into the use of white phosphorous and other weapons prohibited by the United Nations.

There is very clear evidence that the 4th Geneva Convention has been breached - we know there was collective punishment, excessive and disproportionate use of force against civilians and deliberate attacks on schools, hospitals and ambulances. There have even been attacks on UNRWA personnel and warehouses.

If the United Nations makes a statement or if someone goes to the courts and gets an order against these people then I am sure the government has to take some legal action.

Press TV: Were you surprised by the response from the government?

Lord Ahmed: I am not surprised at all. Lord Malloch-Brown did actually say that if there is any evidence of the 4th Geneva Convention being breached, and it doesn't matter whether they are British citizens or whether they are other nationalities, these people will be arrested and they will be tried in this country.

Press TV: How do you think the British Jewish community will react to such a move?

Lord Ahmed: Well the reaction was very obvious. One of their lordships got up and started to praise the British citizens who were fighting in Gaza. He said: shouldn't we be proud of the fact they are fighting against terrorists who are hell bent on trying to destroy Israel.

But they are not fighting against a terrorist organization as such. The IDF and those who serve in it have been involved in the massacre of civilians, including hundreds of Palestinian children and attacks on the United Nations and even the American school. There is just no excuse for anyone to get away from these war crimes this time.

Press TV: Is this situation comparable to British Muslims allegedly going to fight in foreign conflicts?

Lord Ahmed: There have been many government statements with regards to British Muslims going abroad to foreign madrasahs and then seeking training. There was a huge outcry across the board - from government officials, politicians and civil society.

Of course, we do not support anyone who has been involved with terrorism or killing of innocent civilians anywhere, or those who fight British troops abroad.

However, to me there is no difference whether the young person is from a Jewish background or Muslim background. The only difference is that one has a uniform and the other does not. Both kill innocent civilians. Both need to be brought justice.

This is why Baroness Tongue asked the question about the number of British youth who go to religious Jewish schools and also the kibbutz. In this case, it is a double standard to allow young British citizens of whatever religion, who go to religious schools and then get involved in armed conflicts and join a terrorist state.

The very fact that in both cases, they kill innocent civilians, including children warrants a fresh look at this issue, as was recommended by Lord Wallace of Saltaire.

Press TV: Are you expecting any progress now that you have raised the issue?

Lord Ahmed: My intention was to bring this matter to the attention of parliament. The second was to discuss this openly in the media. It has always been a taboo to ask any questions about Jewish youth who go to Israel for training and service in the IDF.

We have received a government statement. Now, it is for the legal experts to take it up in the courts and to make sure the government takes legal action against people who may have been in breach of international law.

As a general point, I was surprised by how the entire British society was moved by this crisis. In almost every town and city, people went out to demonstrate against the bombing and killing of innocent civilians. They put pressure on the government and at least the government has done a few things such as taking the resolution to the UN.

But more importantly, I have definitely seen the mood amongst British politicians change to become more openly critical of the Israeli government. Unfortunately, that is not the same in Europe.

We went to see the President of the European Parliament and met with a number of Members of the European Parliament who feel that Germany, Austria and France and other parts of Europe still have guilt in relation to the Holocaust. That is why Israel can get away with anything it wants.

We know that very fine members of parliament like Gerald Kaufman MP, who is himself Jewish, very openly said that just because these people were victims of the Holocaust does not mean they should perpetrate another holocaust on the Palestinian people.

We need to speak out and support Jews, like Gerald Kaufman and Jews for Justice for Palestine, who have been supporting the Palestinians.

International lawyers in Gaza to document possible war crimes

2009-02-04T03:30:00.002Z

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:32:50
Yousef Al-Helou, Press TV, Gaza

In silence of guns, Gaza plights get fair chance of hearing

2009-02-04T03:18:00.001Z

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:29:41
Ashraf Shannon, Press TV, Gaza

ICC Looking at Ways to Prosecute Israel over Gaza Crimes

2009-02-03T09:31:00.000Z

02/02/2009 | Al Manar

The International Criminal Court is exploring ways to prosecute Israeli occupation commanders over war crimes in Gaza, the London-based The Times newspaper reported Monday.

According to the paper, the alleged crimes include the use of deadly white phosphorus in densely populated civilian areas. Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, which causes horrific burns, but was forced later, in the face of mounting evidence, to admit to having deployed it and order the Israeli occupation army to launch an investigation into the matter, The Times said.

When Palestinian groups petitioned the ICC this month, its prosecutor said that it was unable to take the case because it had no jurisdiction over Israel, a non-signatory to the court. Now, however, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, has told The Times that he is examining the case for Palestinian jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in Gaza.

Palestinian groups have submitted arguments asserting that the Palestinian Authority is the de facto state in the territory where the crimes were committed, the report said. “It is the territorial state that has to make a reference to the court. They are making an argument that the Palestinian Authority is, in reality, that state,” Moreno-Ocampo told The Times at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Part of the Palestinian argument rests on the Israeli insistence that it has no responsibility for Gaza under international law since it withdrew from the territory in 2006.

“They are quoting jurisprudence,” Moreno-Ocampo said. “It’s very complicated. It’s a different kind of analysis I am doing. It may take a long time but I will make a decision according to law.”

He added that his examination of the case did not necessarily reflect a belief that war crimes had been committed in Gaza. Determining jurisdiction was a first step, he said, and only after it had been decided could he launch an investigation.

Palestinian lawyers argue that the Palestinian Authority should be allowed to refer the cases in Gaza on this same ad hoc basis – despite its lack of internationally recognized statehood.

According to The Times, the case has wide-reaching ramifications for the Palestinian case for statehood. If the court rejects the case, it will highlight the legal black hole that Palestinians find themselves in while they remain stateless.

Israel trying to avoid prosecution in Spain

2009-02-03T06:00:00.000Z

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:34:53 GMT | PressTV

Israel's Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer
among seven officials prosecuted in Spain.

Tel Aviv is seeking to avoid a Spanish lawsuit filed against seven Israeli officials accused of "crimes against humanity" in the Gaza Strip.

Representatives of the charged Israeli officials were summoned to a meeting with the Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan Monday afternoon, in a bid to devise a united plea, Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot reported.

Spanish judge, Fernando Andreu began an investigation Thursday into seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 bombing in Gaza. The bombing killed a top Hamas commander, Salah Shehadeh, and 14 other people including nine children.

Israel's Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer along with former Israel Air Force and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon, former GOC Southern Command Doron Almog, former National Security Council head Giora Eiland and Brigadier-General (Res.) Mike Herzog have been charged by the Spanish judge.

Andreu acted under a doctrine that allows prosecution of foreign nationals in Spain, and other European countries, to reach far beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes.

The Monday meeting is also expected to study ways to cajole the Spanish judge into reconsidering the prosecution.

The move is in line with an earlier Israeli cabinet decision to endorse a resolution, proposed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, which would support the army officers against possible war crimes prosecution in foreign courts.

Under the resolution Israel is committed to providing full moral and legal support to any soldier or army officers faced with legal action in foreign courts.

Israel launched a 23-day war against the Gaza Strip late December killing at least 1,330 people including women and children.

The huge number of civilian casualties in the Gaza War has fueled speculations over a wave of legal prosecutions against Israel, which is accuse of war crimes in the costal strip.

Iran: Israel must be brought to justice

2009-02-03T05:50:00.002Z

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:28:28 GMT | PressTV

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (R) calls for continuation of political pressure on Israel.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Israeli officials must be brought to justice over their crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

"The trial of Israeli officials should be followed up on and the world's political pressure on the Zionist regime [of Israel] should continue," said Ahmadinejad in a meeting with Hamas political leader Khaled Mashaal on Monday in Tehran.

Israel waged an offensive against Gaza on December 27, killing 1,330 people, including women and children, and wounding 5,450 others.

The heavy offensive was launched against Gaza under the pretext of putting an end to the rocket-firings from the area. Later, however, Tel Aviv, acknowledged that the attacks were aimed at toppling the democratically-elected Hamas government, which took over the Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Israel announced a unilateral ceasefire on January 18 after failing to achieve its goals in the coastal region and withdrew its military forces from the Gaza Strip within days.

Following the victory Hamas announced a separate ceasefire, but the Israeli side failed to uphold the truce and continued its aerial attacks on the sliver.

Many share the view that the Israeli offensive against Gaza was planned by the outgoing Israeli government to make up for its defeat in the 33-day war on Lebanon. The outgoing Israeli Prime Minister had been under severe criticism for neglecting to consult with military and non-military officials before launching the attack.

Hailing Hamas' victory, Ahmadinejad described the resistance as an indispensable element warning Palestinians against falling for Israeli plots.

The president also said that Israel was likely to launch another aggression against Palestinians.

In a press briefing with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Sunday, Khaled Mashaal declared that the Hamas movement would remain armed as long as the occupation continues.

Mashaal arrived in Tehran to meet with Iranian officials and review Israel's 23-day war on the people of Gaza.

Israel: Spain will limit borderless courts

2009-02-02T07:46:00.000Z

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:12:19 GMT | PressTV

Tzipi Livni is one of the major contenders for becoming the next Prime Minister in the Feb. 10 elections.

Israel says Spain will limit the reach of its courts amid a much-anticipated probe into alleged Israeli war crimes by a Spanish court.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Friday that her Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos had informed her that Spain would scale back the authority of its courts, AP reported.

"I think this is very important news and I hope that other states in Europe will do the same," Livni said.

A Spanish judge began an investigation Thursday into seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 bombing in Gaza.

The bombing killed a top Hamas commander, Salah Shehadeh, and 14 other people including nine children.

Spanish judge Fernando Andreu agreed to look into the case against Israel's Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, a former defense minister, and the then head of the air force Dan Halutz along with five other former Israeli officials.

One of the Israelis the court aimed to investigate, former military chief of staff Moshe Yaalon, dismissed the charges as "propaganda."

Yaalon, now a candidate for parliament for the Likud Party, told Israel's Army Radio that he was "not worried" about standing trial.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the frontrunner to become the next premier, said the Spanish decision "makes a mockery out of international law."

In the wake of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv has vowed to protect the army's rank-and-file members as well as Israeli commanders.

The war in Gaza left at least 1,330 Palestinians dead and thousands of others wounded. Israel lost 10 soldiers in the fighting and three Israeli civilians were killed by Hamas rockets.

The incumbent Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has rejected the Spanish probe. "Whoever calls the killing of a terrorist a 'crime against humanity' is living in an upside down world," he said in a statement.

Hamas, the democratically-elected governor of the Gaza Strip, seeks the termination of the 18-month Israeli blockade of Gaza. The group is labeled as a terrorist organization by Tel Aviv and Washington.

Gazans put up tents near rubble of demolished houses

2009-02-01T09:15:00.001Z

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 00:45:31
Ashraf Shannon, Press TV, Gaza

Spanish FM: We'll act to prevent war crimes probes against Israel

2009-02-01T08:48:00.000Z

Haaretz Correspondent | By Barak Ravik

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos informed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on Friday of Spain's plan to amend legislation that granted a Spanish judge the authority to launch a much-publicized war crimes investigation against senior Israeli officials.

Judge Fernando Andreu launched an investigation Thursday into seven current or former Israeli officials over a 2002 bombing in Gaza that killed a top Hamas militant, Salah Shehadeh, and 14 other people, including nine children.

The judge acted under a doctrine that allows prosecution in Spain, and other European countries, to reach far beyond national borders in cases of torture or war crimes. The universal jurisdiction ruling sparked outrage in Israel and elsewhere.

Spanish state television TVE quoted government sources as saying the possibility of a legal "adjustment or modification" would not be retroactive and would not affect the case before the courts.

"I just heard from the Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos, that Spain has decided to change its legislation in connection with universal jurisdiction and this can prevent the abuse of the Spanish legal system," Livni told the Associated Press. "I think this is very important news and I hope that other states in Europe will do the same."

"Legal systems around the world have been exploited by cynics whose sole purpose is to hurt Israel," Livni went on to say. "It's good that Spain decided to put an end to this phenomenon."

One of the Israelis the court aimed to investigate on Friday called the charges propaganda. Former military chief of staff Moshe Yaalon told Army Radio that he was not worried about standing trial. Yaalon, now a candidate for parliament for the Likud Party, said the goal of the Spanish court decision was "to delegitimize Israel and present us as war criminals."

National Infrastructure Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer, another Israeli official targeted in the investigation, called the Spanish court decision "ludicrous."

"Terror organizations use the courts of the free world and the mechanisms of democratic nations to file lawsuits against a country that operates against terror," Ben-Eliezer, the defense minister at the time of the 2002 bombing, said in a statement. "I do not regret my decision. Salah Shehadeh was a Hamas activist, an arch-murderer whose hands were stained with the blood of about 100 Israelis and who carried out the most heinous attacks against our citizens."

Current Defense Minister Ehud Barak also issued a statement in which he said: "Whoever calls the killing of a terrorist a 'crime against humanity' is living in an upside down world."

Barak added that "all senior officials in the defense establishment, current and erstwhile, have acted appropriately on behalf of Israel and from a commitment to defend its citizens."

Israel's Justice Ministry announced Friday that it had transferred material regarding the case to Spanish authorities. It criticized the launching of the case and expressed hope it would be closed soon.

"There is no doubt that this is a cynical political attempt by anti-Israel elements to abuse the Spanish court system and attack Israel," the ministry said in a statement. "The State of Israel is determined to act against these types of lawsuits in Spain and in other countries with legal and diplomatic means."

The Justice Ministry on Thursday sent the Israeli Embassy in Madrid a large amount of documents which included legal rulings and Supreme Court decisions dealing with the targeted killing of Shehadeh.

Israeli Ambassador to Spain Rafi Shotz will on Friday give the material to the Spanish judge in order to help bring a cancellation of the ruling.

Andreu announced the probe in a writ issued Thursday.

The people named in the suit include Dan Halutz, former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff and Israel Air Force commander at the time, as well as Ben-Eliezer and Yaalon.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu also condemned the decision to launch the probe.

"It's absurd; Israel is fighting against war criminals and they are charging us with crimes?" said Netanyahu, speaking on Army Radio.

He added: "There is nothing more ridiculous and absurd than them accusing us, a democracy legitimately protecting itself against terrorists and war criminals, of these crimes; it is absurd and makes a mockery out of international law."

Meanwhile, Israel is preparing for a wave of lawsuits by pro-Palestinian organizations overseas against Israelis involved in the latest Gaza fighting, claiming they were responsible for war crimes due to the harsh results stemming from the IDF's actions against Palestinian civilians and their property.

Senior Israeli ministers have expressed serious fears following the war about the possibility that Israel will be pressed to agree to an international investigation of the losses among non-combatants during Operation Cast Lead; or alternately, that Israelis will be faced with personal suits, such as happened to Israeli officers who were accused of war crimes in Britain for their actions during the second intifada.

US: Israel must probe war crimes

2009-01-31T12:04:00.004Z

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:27:04 GMT | PressTV

The US envoy to the
United Nations says
Israel must investigate allegations that its army violated international law during the war in Gaza.

The new US envoy to the UN says Israel must investigate the allegations that its army has committed war crimes during the war on Gaza.

"We expect Israel will meet its international obligations to investigate", Ambassador Susan Rice said in her debut speech before the UN Security Council.

The use of controversial chemical white phosphorous shells and depleted uranium munitions, indiscriminate firing during the offensive in the densely-populated coastal sliver, the shelling of a UN school turned refugee camp, as well as the question as to whether other Israeli military tactics were in breach of humanitarian laws are among the issues Tel Aviv has been charged with.

Israel however rejects the war crimes allegations, saying that it is fighting a 'noble war' against Hamas -- the democratically-elected ruler of the Gaza Strip.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that the UN would be conducting a separate investigation into the Israeli attacks on its sites in Gaza, Reuters reported.

This is while Rice has asked the international community "to refrain from politicizing these important issues."

"There have also been numerous allegations made against Israel some of which are deliberately designed to inflame," she told the council during a meeting on international humanitarian law.

She also accused Hamas of violating international law "through its rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in southern Israel and the use of civilian facilities to provide protection for its terrorist attacks."

Gaza fighters say the rocket launches are retaliatory measures in response to Israel's deadly blockade on the costal strip and the frequent overnight incursions by Israeli troops, who kill or kidnap Palestinians in the area.

Tel Aviv used the shelling as a pretext to launch an all-out military campaign against the beleaguered Gaza Strip. The onslaught resulted in the deaths of over 1,330 Palestinians - mostly women and children - and left over 4,450 others wounded.

Israel denies Gaza access to clean water

2009-01-31T12:01:00.000Z

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:51:58 GMT | PressTV

Israel has refused to allow a French-made water purification system into Gaza amid a drinking water crisis in the Palestinian strip.

The French Foreign Ministry said Friday that Tel Aviv had blocked the entry of a much-needed water purification station into Gaza and had forced its repatriation.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Eric Chevallier said the move has sparked an outcry in the Elysée, prompting it to summon the Israeli ambassador to Paris to explain why the system was denied access.

"There were a very great number of steps taken at all levels to try to get the water purification station into Gaza," he said, adding that Israel's explanation was not satisfactory.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recently warned that Israel's 23-day onslaught on Gaza has pushed its sewage system on the brink of collapse and thus increased risks of groundwater contamination in the Palestinian territory.

"The most dangerous thing is the contamination of drinking water with sewage. We need an international organization like the World Health Organization to investigate the matter," said Monther Shoblak, head of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU).

According to the UN, Israel's three week-long saturation bombing of the Palestinian territory has seriously damaged pipes and has left drinking water in very short supply.

Warning of the serious public health risks, the World Bank has urged the Israeli government to allow enough fuel into Gaza to operate some 170 water and sewage pumps there.

The bank called on Israel to allow maintenance crews to shore up a sewage lake in northern Gaza before it overflows at the expense of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in the area.

Israeli checkpoints halting WFP's aid to Gaza

2009-01-30T04:30:00.001Z

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:19:46
Michael Mazzocco, Press TV, UN

Israeli ex-soldier shares insight into occupation

2009-01-29T21:17:00.002Z

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:47:45 GMT
By Fareena Alam, Press TV, London

A Palestinian carries the
flag of a local activist group
and covers his face as
tear gas is fired by Israeli soldiers in a protest against
a separation barrier -- key to the 60-year Israeli occupation policy of confiscating Palestinian land.

With more and more evidence that Israel may have committed war crimes and contravened the Geneva Convention during its recent 3-week assault on Gaza, concern is also brewing over whether any British subjects were involved.

Press TV's Fareena Alam spoke to Seth Freedman, a British Jew who once served as an Israeli army volunteer. He has since become disillusioned with the occupation.

Freedman: I spent the first 7 months of my army service (for Israel) engaged in basic and advanced training - you don't actually go into the West Bank, you just learn the basics. During this period, you're psychologically prepared by the army on the way they want you to view the situation.

At that point, alarm bells start ringing because you realize you're being conditioned to see the Palestinian people as the enemy. By the time we were taken to Bethlehem - the first point of our tour of duty, it occurred to me that the situation wasn't as black and white as I'd been conditioned to see it.

The experience of actually policing the occupation on a day-to-day basis - not under fire, not in particularly violent circumstances - but with us just relentlessly harassing people at checkpoints, dragging people out of cars, taking over houses to sleep in - that's when I realized that I don't want to play a part in this and that this was detrimental to the security of the Jewish people, rather than the party line which is, 'You have to do this in order to preserve the security situation'.

Press TV: Would you say then that you weren't fully aware of the reality of this occupation?

Freedman: I think most people are in a sense, unaware. You can read all the second-hand opinions you like or you can see the television reports but until you're taken out of your comfort zone in England, as a televisions viewer or holiday-maker and forced to confront it on a daily basis whereby you're the one with the gun, looking into the eyes of Palestinians or whoever it is - you remain unaware.

They did a study for Haifa University with ex-combat soldiers and found that many turn left-wing because of what they've gone through.

So the only good thing I take from my service in the West Bank is that it opened my eyes, in a way that any number of television reports could never have done.

Press TV: So would it be correct to call you a refusenik?

Freedman: I was a foreign volunteer - you don't have to be a citizen of Israel to serve in the army for 15 months, in combat. All foreign volunteers are exempted from reserve duty. Now that I live in Israel, technically, I should do it but people like me kind of fall through the cracks. They're not going to call me to serve in the West Bank but if they do, I would refuse and then I would fall into the bracket of 'refusenik'. That situation hasn't arisen because of the special status that foreign volunteers like me have.

I continue to live in Israel because I passionately believe I can play a part in changing the status quo. I write for The Guardian twice a week on the subject and I give interviews such as this with the hope of making a difference.

Press TV: What change do you hope to bring about?

Freedman: I want to see a move toward co-existence. I grew up in London where I had no issue with having Muslim and Christian neighbors. I didn't suffer from anti-Semitism. I wasn't assailed with the fear that is common to many Israelis and Jews out there in the Diaspora.

I want to bring my London experiences into practice here. I live on the edge of Tel Aviv, in a very mixed community of Jews and Arabs and I engage in dialogue with my Arab neighbors and participate in joint Jewish-Arab projects - things that bring the two communities together. Also, by writing for the Guardian, I can give a voice to Palestinians whose voices don't get heard by the media in Israel, who don't have an outlet to say what they are going through.

Press TV: Are there British citizens who are serving in the IDF?

Freedman: There are plenty of expat English men who still hold and English passport but living in Israel. They are both English and Israeli and they are serving in the West Bank on reserve duty. They have also served in Gaza during Operation Cast Lead. I don't think anyone would hide that. I couldn't give you exact figures but it's quite clear that a big percentage of the Israeli population is made up of immigrants who aren't obliged to give up their home-country citizenship.

Press TV: What do you think of the brewing concern over British Jews participating in a foreign conflict like the one in Gaza, particularly because war crimes may have been committed? They could face legal implications when they return to Britain.

Freedman: If it was clearly established that going to fight in the occupied West Bank was tantamount to committing a war crime, then I'm sure England could put preventative measures in place in the same way that they put British Muslims who allegedly go for what they call 'terrorist training' in Pakistan under surveillance.

I think it's a fair discussion to have. Israel is a unique country. It grants citizenship without making you give up your British, French, South African citizenship - wherever you come from.

This does leave Israel open to the accusation that it is in fact employing mercenaries - particularly with regards to the volunteer corp who never actually take up Israeli citizenship. They come here, fight and then go back to their home countries as though nothing has happened. So this is an issue that needs discussing.

But I understand the motivation of those who come to serve here - it's not as black and white as going around the world to look for wars to fight in. I understand their motivation is linked to the reason why Israel was set up in the first place, even if I don't agree with it.

Press TV: Do you see a double-standard in the way British Muslims who allegedly travel to fight in foreign conflicts, are treated, compared to British Jews serving in Israel?

Freedman: If you're asking if it's a double-standard just to focus on British Muslims and not British Jews, then definitely there is a double-standard.

You have got an issue of divided loyalties, whether it's to do with British Muslims or British Jews or whoever. If they're going off to fight in a war, ultimately if you extrapolate it far enough, they might end up fighting British forces, whether it's in Afghanistan or if there was a situation where British Forces were stationed in Gaza for example, as peacekeepers and there was some kind of conflict with Israeli forces.

If people are going off to fight for a country that isn't their country of birth, namely Britain in this case, then you have to have this discussion across the board. You can't focus exclusively on one set of people.

Press TV: What's the mood in Israel like with regards to the recent conflict in Gaza?

Freedman: There is a massive variety of opinions in Israel with regards to Operation Cast Lead. Some had an issue with the fact that an attack was launched at all and others have an issue with the scale of the attack that was leveled against the Gazans.

There is a huge group of hard-left activists in Israel - made up of both Jews and Israeli Arabs, all of whom are Israeli citizens. They regularly demonstrate against the IDF's actions and the government's actions. It's misleading to paint all Israelis as supportive of the war. There is widespread support for what the IDF did in Gaza but that can't discount the fact that there is quite a large core of opponents to it, in most of the major cities.

Israel promises immunity to war criminals

2009-01-29T20:50:00.000Z

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 19:15:28 GMT | PressTV

Barak (R) whispers to an Israeli soldier during a training session at Tzeelim army base in southern Israel.

The Israeli defense minister has vowed to halt a Spanish probe into the alleged war crimes of former Israeli military officials.

In a statement issued by the Israeli Defense Ministry on Thursday, Ehud Barak said he would do everything in his power to block an inquiry against former Israeli defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and six other Israeli officials.

On July 22, 2002, Israel dropped a one-ton bomb over the al-Daraj neighborhood in the Gaza Strip and assassinated Salah Shehadeh, a leader of the Palestinian Hamas.

The incident killed 15 Palestinians, including Shehadeh, eight children and three women, and wounded more than 150 others.

"The minister intends to fight vigorously against the accusations in Spain and do everything possible to get the investigation dismissed," reads the statement.

The Spanish National Court on Thursday began assessing charges that were brought against the former Israeli authorities by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR).

A court order on Thursday confirmed that initial evidence suggests that the bombing "should be considered a crime against humanity".

The court says it has asked Israel for information, but "as of today, Israeli authorities have not complied with the request for international judicial cooperation".

If the court rules in favor of the complainants, the suspects can be arrested upon entry into Spanish territory.

Past war crimes return to haunt Israel

2009-01-29T20:40:00.000Z

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:57:27 GMT | PressTV

Former Israeli
defence minister
Benjamin Ben-Eliezer

A court investigation into the 2002 conduct of a former Israeli defense minister and six other high-ranking officials has begun in Spain.

The Spanish National Court on Thursday assessed charges brought against former Israeli authorities by a Palestinian human rights group last year. Judge Fernando Andreu evaluated the case.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) had filed a lawsuit against former Israeli defense minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer and other officials for giving the green light to military operations in 2002.

On July 22, 2002, Israel dropped a one-ton bomb over the al-Daraj neighborhood in the Gaza Strip and assassinated Salah Shehadeh, a leader of the Palestinian Hamas.

The incident killed 15 Palestinians including Shehadeh, eight children and three women and wounded more than 150 others.

The list submitted by the PCHR also included Ben-Eliezer's former military advisor Michael Herzog, former chief of staff Moshe Ya'alon and former air force commander Dan Halutz.

If the court rules in favor of the complainants, the suspects can be arrested upon entering Spanish territory.

The courts of Britain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and New Zealand have also accepted cases against the Israeli military.

UN: Israel failed in duties as occupier

2009-01-29T20:30:00.000Z

[ click on the icon to watch video]

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:17:02 GMT | PressTV

A relative of Palestinian farmer Anwar al-Beram cries during his funeral in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli soldiers killed the farmer after a bomb blast on the Israeli side of the Gaza border.

UN humanitarian chief John Holmes confirms that Israel has closed the Gaza Strip border crossings in violation of international laws.

Israel briefly opened its border with Gaza on Tuesday. The crossing, however, was sealed the same day after an Israeli soldier was killed by a bomb blast at a Gaza crossing. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Israel responded almost immediately by killing a farmer at the crossing and launching a new round of attacks on the coastal area.

Palestinian witnesses said Israeli helicopters also hovered in the air firing machine gun bursts and an Israeli jet sounded a loud sonic boom over Gaza City.

"Israel has a particular responsibility as the occupying power in this context, because of its control of Gaza's borders with Israel, to respect the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law," the UN emergency relief coordinator told the Security Council on Wednesday.

Briefing the 15-member council on his recent trip to Gaza, Holmes urged immediate action from the Israeli side.

"It is therefore critical that new steps are taken immediately by the Israeli authorities to move to the sustained re-opening of crossing points," he said.

Over 1300 Palestinians -- the native population of the land -- were killed and 5450 others were injured during Israel's 23-day-long Operation Cast Lead on Gaza.

At least 460 of those killed were children.

A total of 13 people, consisting of 3 civilians and 10 soldiers, where killed in the conflict, according to Tel Aviv.

'Israel throwing commanders to take the resposibility'

2009-01-27T22:06:00.000Z

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:27:58 GMT | PressTV

Israel has banned the publication of the full name
and photographs of the
field commanders of
the Gaza operation.

Israel is pinning the blame of war crimes on its Gaza operation commanders by concealing their identities, a top Iranian general says.

Amid calls for taking legal action against Israeli individuals involved in carrying out and ordering the war on Gaza, Brigadier General Mir-Faisal Baqerzadeh, Iran's Head of the Foundation for the Remembrance of the Holy Defense, exposed the Israeli motive for protecting the identity of its top commanders.

"High-ranking Israeli government officials are seeking to portray their military commanders as the sole guilty party in its crimes," Brig. Gen. Baqerzadeh said Tuesday.

Israeli authorities have issued an order banning the publication of the full name and photographs of the field commanders of the Gaza operation, the Haaretz reported Saturday.

The decision was made following the publication of reports that a lawsuit had been filed with a Dutch court against one of the Israeli brigade commanders after his identity was revealed by the media.

The ban applies to the full name and photographs of officers from the rank of battalion commander down. The order also prohibits tying particular battlefield commanders to the destruction of particular areas in the coastal sliver.

The Iranian commander warned about the futility of such policies, adding that under international law those who commit war crimes and those who issue the order for such crimes would be prosecuted with respect to the extent of their involvement.

Brig. Gen. Baqerzadeh went on to describe Israeli President Shimon Perez, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as the main culprits of the recent war crimes in the Palestinian territory.

Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 to put an end to rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns. At least 1,330 Palestinians died during the offensive, while some 5,450 others are reported wounded.

With the heavy death toll from the 23-day Israeli assault, international pressure has been mounting on Tel Aviv for a full-scale inquiry into war tactics employed in the Israeli operation.

The International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court located in The Hague, has come into being in 2002 to take legal action against war crimes committed on or after that date.

However, countries like the United States and Israel have so far refused to sign the treaty which created the court and therefore do not permit The Hague to have jurisdiction over their citizens.

While Israel cannot be tried in the International Court of Justice, any country that is a signatory to the Geneva Convention can try to prosecute individuals who took part in the Gaza operation as culpable of war crimes.

On Sunday, the cabinet of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad introduced a bill, comprising of methods to track down and prosecute individuals accused of committing or issuing the order for war crimes.

Under the newly-introduced bill individuals charged with committing or ordering such crimes would be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison by an Iranian court or would face execution.

Meanwhile, critics remain skeptical as to whether any official inquiry into Israeli crimes will take place, as Tel Aviv has previously blocked similar attempts with Washington's support.

Number of disabled Gaza civilians on the rise

2009-01-27T19:45:00.002Z

Demands for Israeli war crimes probe grow

2009-01-27T19:41:00.002Z

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:55:11 GMT | PressTV

Human rights groups say

white phosphorus shells

were fired into

civilian areas of Gaza.

The Arab League has put forward a request to the United Nations, calling for an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip.

Permanent representatives of the Cairo-based Arab League (AL) made an appeal to the UN General Assembly on Monday to "form an international committee to investigate Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip and to set up a criminal court to try Israeli war criminals."

With the death toll from the 23-day Israeli assault on Gaza standing above 1,300, pressure has been mounting on Israel for an independent inquiry into specific battleground incidents.

The use of controversial chemical white phosphorous shells, indiscriminate firing during the offensive in the densely-populated coastal sliver, the shelling of a UN school turned refugee camp, as well as the question as to whether other Israeli military tactics were in breach of humanitarian laws are among the issues Tel Aviv has been charged with.

The delegates from 22 Arab nations also announced that the league is set to send a fact-finding mission to Gaza to probe into allegations against Israel, including the use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium munitions, the Egyptian MENA news agency said.

After reports of Israeli military tactics emerged as a cause for international concern, the United Nations secretary general called for a full investigation into Israeli actions during its war on Gaza.

While touring the seaside Palestinian enclave on Jan 21, a visibly somber Ban Ki-moon said, "I have seen only a fraction of the damage. This is shocking and alarming."

The pan-Arab bloc's Secretary General Amr Moussa revealed that Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the chief prosecutor to the International Criminal Court (ICC), has been informed of the matter and that the suspected war crimes would soon be discussed at an international level.

The International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court located in The Hague, was created in 2002 to allow legal action against war criminals that committed offences after its inception.

However, The Hague has no jurisdiction over Israeli citizens, as Tel Aviv is not a signatory to the treaty which created the court.

During the Israeli offensive into Gaza, a senior UN official said the body's humanitarian agencies were compiling evidence of war crimes and passing it on to the "highest levels" to be used as seen fit.

The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said hitting residential streets with shells that send shrapnel over a wide area is in itself "prima facie evidence of war crimes".

Israel's most prominent human rights organization, B'Tselem, for its part, has called on the attorney general in Jerusalem (al-Quds) to investigate suspected military crimes.

"Many of the targets seem not to have been legitimate military targets as specified by international humanitarian law," said Sarit Michaeli of B'Tselem.

While there are growing calls for an international investigation, critics remain skeptical as to whether any such inquiry will take place, as Israel has previously blocked similar attempts with the support of the United States.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed to protect any Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip from prosecution overseas.

Speaking at a Sunday cabinet meeting, Olmert said, "The commanders and soldiers that were sent on the task in Gaza should know that they are safe from any tribunal and that the State of Israel will assist them in this issue and protect them as they protected us with their bodies during the military operation in Gaza."

Polluted seashore - a War Crime

2009-01-26T23:37:00.002Z

Polluted seashore, last Israeli legacy for Gaza fishermen

Iran moves to hold war crimes tribunal

2009-01-26T22:04:00.000Z

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:49:12 GMT | PressTV

An estimated 4,000 homes has been totally destroyed and 17,000 damaged in the three-week war on Gaza.

The Iranian cabinet introduces a bill to take action on individuals accused of war crimes amid a seeming ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The cabinet of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad laid out details of the bill on Sunday, discussing methods to track down and prosecute individuals accused of committing or issuing the order for war crimes.

Under the newly-introduced bill, launching a military offensive, killing civilians, employment of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), laying a siege to civilians and military personnel and imposing food shortages on them are regarded as war crimes.

Individuals charged with committing or ordering such crimes, depending on the extent of their involvement, would be sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison by an Iranian court or would face execution.

Should the bill receive Iran's Majlis (parliament) vote of approval, the country's legislative assembly would then task penal institutions with prosecution of the accused.

Under international law, war crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war" including murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps, the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, the killing of hostages, the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military necessity.

The International Criminal Court, a treaty-based court located in The Hague, came into being in 2002 to take legal action against war crimes committed on or after that date.

However, countries like the United States and Israel have so far refused to sign the treaty which created the court and therefore do not permit The Hague to have jurisdiction over their citizens.

While Israel cannot be tried in the International Court of Justice, any country that is a signatory to the Geneva Convention can try to prosecute individuals who took part in the Gaza operation as culpable of war crimes.

The move by Iran's cabinet comes as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed Sunday to protect any Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in the Gaza Strip from prosecution overseas.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Olmert said, "The commanders and soldiers that were sent on the task in Gaza should know that they are safe from any tribunal and that the State of Israel will assist them in this issue and protect them as they protected us with their bodies during the military operation in Gaza."

The use of controversial chemical white phosphorous shells as well as indiscriminate firing during the offensive in the densely-populated coastal sliver are among accusations the Israeli military is facing.

According to Health officials in the embattled Gaza Strip, 23 days of intense Israeli military operation left more than 1,330 Palestinians dead and some 5,450 others wounded.

Following the shelling of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency headquarters with phosphorus munitions in Gaza, UN officials called for independent probes into whether war crimes were committed during the Israeli offensive.

'Israelis can't escape crime charges'

2009-01-26T21:34:00.000Z

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:48:14 GMT | PressTV

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki

The Palestinian FM deflates Israeli cabinet's pledge to provide legal protection to military and civilian personnel involved in Gaza raid.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki made the comments a day after Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Olmert defended the 23-day aggression in the Gaza Strip and pledged to protect the military against international calls for an investigation of potential war crimes.

"The soldiers and commanders who were sent on missions in Gaza must know that they are safe from various tribunals and that the state of Israel will assist them on this issue and defend them," Olmert said before his weekly Cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday.

At talks in Brussels with European Union ministers, al-Malki stated that Olmert's pledge of protection concerning foreign prosecution over alleged war crimes can in no way prevent such legal action.

"I think the decision taken by Israeli government is not going to prevent all these governments and human right organizations in world to really see through and make a legal case against all Israeli leaders for the death in Gaza," al-Malki said.

"It does not mean there is immunity against legal actions," al-Malki said as he met with counterparts from the European Union, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan. He added, "I think more of such efforts will be seen also in the near future.''

Israel is concerned that its officers could be subject to international prosecution because of the alleged use of illegal weapons including white phosphorus and depleted uranium and the killings of a large number of civilian in the Palestinian coastal silver.

Israel's use of the illegal weapons on the civilian population of Gaza first came to light when foreign doctors working in Gaza hospitals told Press TV that they have found strange burns and traces of depleted uranium in some Gaza residents wounded in Israel's ground offensive on the strip.

The assault killed over 1,330 Palestinians with 460 of them children. In addition to the civilian death toll, Israel faces war crimes charges because of the use of white phosphorous in Gaza and the shelling of UN schools and installations that were serving as shelters.

Ahmed Yousef: Crimes against humanity committed in Palestine

2009-01-25T20:56:00.000Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:58:25 GMT | PressTV

Ahmed Yousef, Political Advisor to Ismail Haniyah.

The following is a Press TV interview with the Political Advisor to Ismail Haniyah, Ahmed Yousef.

Press TV: Israel has finally admitted using white phosphorous in Gaza. Will you take this to international courts?

Ahmed Yousef: Of course, there are a lot people NGOs and also some states who will absolutely sue Israeli generals and the Israeli leadership, Olmert, Tzipi [Livni] and Barak; they will take them to courts, the international court of justice of course; this is crimes against humanity committed in Palestine, thousands, hundreds of women and children were killed and thousands were injured. The Israelis used phosphoric weapons ... The Israelis are committing all kind of crimes and everybody is talking about taking them to international court of justice.

Press TV: Israel refused to lift the siege of Gaza; what will Hamas do if Israel continues to do so?

Ahmed Yousef: Israel will continue the siege and it has not actually opened the gates. Yes we will have to defend ourselves because sanctions and siege is declaration of war and we have the right to defend ourselves. Resistance will continue and people will do everything, they will make everything necessary to lift the sanctions and end the siege. I hope the world community, after what happened in Gaza, understand that the Palestinians are not going to surrender; they are either victorious or they will die for a good cause.

Press TV: So will Hamas hold talks with the Israeli side over the issue?

Ahmed Yousef: The issue is not going to be between Hamas and Israel. It is going to be a third party mediating any kind of negotiations with the Israelis. they are now in Cairo discussing a ceasefire ... the Israelis will accept to end all their aggression and end the siege of Gaza. This is actually the condition for the continuation of any ceasefire.

Press TV: So how much longer do you expect the ceasefire to last?

Ahmed Yousef: Actually today, there is a meeting between the Hamas delegation and Omar Suleiman from the Egyptian government and we will hear from them what the position of Israel exactly is. They are not going to abide by all agreements and we need not expand it (ceasefire), to have more commitments regarding how to rebuild Gaza. I don't know for how long the ceasefire could be held. But today I am sure and tomorrow we will hear from the delegation exactly what decision is going to be taken regarding the ceasefire and regarding what kind of the agreement we will have with the Israelis through the Egyptians.

Press TV: What does Hamas expect from the new US administration?

Ahmed Yousef: We expect from the American administration to be more fair and objective and to have an evenhanded policy and put pressure on Israel and help Palestinians to have their own independent and free state. This is what we hope Mr. Obama would adopt as part of its policy and to change the foreign policy I mean to prove that the Israelis see some change and the US change its policy from being biased and taking sides with Israel to being impartial and objective.

Press TV: Why did Egypt keep the Rafah crossing closed during the Israeli war?

Ahmed Yousef: That is what we wonder about and everybody in all Arab Muslim countries wonder why the Egyptian insisted to keep Gaza's Rafah crossing closed while it was something Egypt supposed to control that crossing. Israel should have no authority in anyway to be in the Rafah crossing. That is something between Egypt and Gaza and the sole authority should be for the Palestinians and Egyptians. I wonder why the Egyptians insisted on keeping the border, that why and making obstacles for the people who rushed to help Palestinians, doctors, parliamentarian and journalists I wonder why this thing happened.

Israeli troops to receive legal assistance

2009-01-25T20:46:00.001Z

Israel provides full backing for troops involved in Gaza war
Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:12:56
Shireen Yassin, Press TV, Al-Quds

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 13:57:30 GMT | PressTV

Israel's cabinet has endorsed a resolution to support its army officers against possible war crimes prosecution in foreign courts.

The move comes amid speculations that Tel Aviv will face a wave of legal cases over alleged war crimes committed during 22-day Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday.

Under the resolution which was proposed by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israel is committed to providing full moral and legal support to any soldier or army officer faced with legal action in foreign courts.

Earlier in the year an assessment made by Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz announced that Israel will probably be faced with a series of lawsuits abroad.

UN expert Richard Falk has also been suggesting that Israel may have breached basic humanitarian rules and international laws in its three-week-long military operation "against an essentially defenseless population" in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli onslaught in the costal sliver has claimed more than 1,300 Palestinian lives, including at least 460 children, while leaving as many as 5,000 others wounded.

"The endorsement will ensure that since we sent out soldiers to carry out Operation Cast Lead … [we] will give soldiers and commanders backing in the face of any external accusations or internal self-flagellation," Barak said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert however claimed "Following the operation (Cast Lead), terror groups are trying to hurt us in other ways and the legal arena is one of them."

Olmert had earlier tasked a special team, headed by Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, to deal with possible lawsuits against the military commanders.

Arrest warrants had previously been issued against senior Israeli officials over their reported war crimes and the Israeli Foreign Ministry has recommended several officials not to travel to some Western countries in a bid to avoid arrest.

'Israel's war leaves children suffer most'

2009-01-25T20:26:00.001Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 14:28:03 GMT

Israeli incursion claimed lives of 460 children and left 1855 other wounded.

Children of Gaza reach out to international rights group conveying a message with their heartbreaking silence under the Israeli imposed siege.

Gaza Children are denied of their basic rights, and have to bear the burden of Israel's military adventurism. An increasingly large number of children are bounded to hospitals as a result of Tel Aviv's 'unjustifiable' war crimes against Palestinians.

A ten-day old infant was born at home because war and incursion did not allow the mother to go to hospital at the right time, Dr. Anwar Al- Sheikh Khalil, director of Al-Naser Pediatric Hospital told Press TV's correspondent in Gaza, Akram al-Sattari.

Dr. Anwar highlighted the difficulties the children are suffering from saying that "Hyperthermia is the main malady we face by the time Israel cuts the electricity in winter. Low blood pressure, anoxia, which means a total decrease in the level of oxygen are the first sequence the infant experiences."

Lack of facilities and drugs, congenital medical conditions and referral system to transfer patients to more facilitated hospitals are the main challenges the system is faced with.

Knowing that the onslaught in Gaza took the lives of the innocent and above that destroyed a nation's dream, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amused the international community by describing the Israeli forces as 'the most moral army in the world' in bizarre statement on Sunday.

Iran starts legal action against Israel

2009-01-25T20:26:00.000Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:42:36 GMT | PressTV

Iran's Attorney General Ghorbanali Dorri Najaf Abadi

Iran will host an international meeting to review the legal aspects of the Gaza war in preparation for the prosecution of war criminals.

Iran's Attorney General Ghorbanali Dorri Najaf Abadi told Press TV on Sunday that the meeting would be held in March.

According to the Iranian official the international event will study ways for brining those who committed war crimes during the 23-day war in Gaza to justice.

Israel launched its massive offensive against the Gaza Strip on December 27. Human rights groups, witnesses and reporters say Israel used controversial weapons including white phosphorus ammunitions against the civilian population of Gaza during the military operation.

Indiscriminate killing of civilians were another controversy arose in the course of war. Israel targeted UN buildings including a school in which civilians took refuge on several occasions.

Iran's Judiciary has set up a special team to file lawsuits against Israel with international courts over its war crimes in Gaza.

John Snow interview Mark Regev

2009-01-25T20:00:00.001Z

Jon Snow, top news guy at channel 4 interviews Mr Mark Regev, the Israeli government spokesperson. This about weapons used in civilian areas that contravene Customary International Humanitarian Law.

Hamas takes action on Israeli phosphorus bombs

2009-01-25T19:50:00.000Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 12:16:48 GMT | PressTV

Hamas says it will take Israel to the international court over the alleged use of phosphorus bombs by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip.

In an exclusive interview with Press TV, a political advisor to the senior Hamas leader, Ahmed Yousef, said the movement was set to file a lawsuit at the international Criminal Court against Israel.

The steps are being taken amid reports by UN expert Richard Falk as well as other independent experts suggesting that Israel may have breached basic humanitarian rules and international laws in its military operation in the Gaza Strip.

Tel Aviv launched Operation Cast Lead on December 27 to put an end to rocket attacks against southern Israeli towns. At least 1,330 Palestinians died during the offensive, while some 5,450 others were reported wounded.

The huge number of civilian casualties in the densely-populated coastal sliver has provoked widespread outcries around the globe among many nations as well as their leaders.

A fierce controversy has also broken out over the alleged use of white phosphorus, also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete, by the Israeli army in the densely-populated Gaza Strip.

White phosphorus, classified as a 'chemical weapon' by US intelligence, is an incendiary material that causes horrific burns, severe injuries or death when it comes in contact with human skin.

Tel Aviv says it is investigating the alleged use of the deadly weapon in its 23-day war in Gaza.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said, in an interview with Britain's channel 4, that Gaza phosphorus casualties may have been caused by Hamas.

"When you walk into a totalitarian government where people have injuries, how do you know that some of these injuries weren't caused - for example - by Hamas munitions?" Regev said.

Meanwhile, an Israeli military repot revealed that the forces pounded the residential areas in the Gaza Strip with at least twenty phosphorus bombs during the offensive.

The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that it would open an investigation into the charges against Israel, which also include the use of depleted uranium.

UN called to action against Israel

2009-01-25T19:40:00.000Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 10:00:55 GMT | PressTV

Israeli military officials have admitted to having used white phosphorus in the 23-day assault on Gaza.

Iran calls on the UN to take legal action against Israel after its soldiers admitted to the illegal use of white phosphorous in Gaza.

The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Mohammad Khazaee, called on the United Nations on Sunday to address international concern over possible war crimes committed by Tel Aviv in its recent military operations in Gaza.

"Israel's extreme measures against Gazans constitute a breach of humanitarian law," Khazaee affirmed in a meeting with Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ambassadors in New York.

After weeks of denying that it used white phosphorus in the densely-populated Gaza Strip, the Israeli military finally admitted Friday that it had pounded the Palestinian coast with at least twenty white phosphorus bombs.

The 1980 third Convention on Conventional Weapons has banned the use of white phosphorus as a weapon, even against military targets situated within population centers.

International attorneys have filed war crime charges against 15 Israeli political and military officials, including Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni and Ehud Barak.

Israeli officials cannot be tried by the International Court of Justice at The Hague because Tel Aviv is not a signatory to the Rome Statute.

Signatories to the Geneva Convention, however, can prosecute those involved in the 23-day assault on Gaza as culpable of war crimes.

Israeli organizations have thus been warning upper echelons in Tel Aviv against going abroad over fears of arrests.

Israel has expressed surprised over the public outcry caused by the use of white phosphorus -- a deadly substance which makes a distinctive shell burst of dozens of smoke trails.

"Everyone knew we were using it, and everyone else uses it. We didn't think it would get this much attention," an Israeli military official told the Times on condition of anonymity.

The Israeli military has recently confessed to also having used the highly-incendiary munitions during its 33-day war on Lebanon in 2006.

Villains in Gaza crisis must stand trial

2009-01-25T19:34:00.000Z

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 03:08:35 GMT | PressTV

Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, Mohammad Khazaei

Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations says those who committed the recent despicable crimes in Gaza must be brought to justice.

In a speech in New York on Saturday, Mohammad Khazaei underlined that Israeli attacks against defenseless Gazans can be accurately described as 'war crimes' while UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, is required to respond properly to legitimate international demands calling for an extensive investigation into aspects of Israeli crimes and putting the perpetrators on trial.

Now that a mutual ceasefire is in effect, it is the time the United Nations as well as the international community to compel the Israeli regime to fully pull its troops out of war-battered Gaza, open up the besieged territory's border crossings and facilitate aid deliveries to the impoverished enclave, Khazaei said.

“Another necessary step to be taken by the UN Secretary General is a thorough investigation into Israel's use of phosphorus shells and other incendiary weapons,” Khazaei commented.

Given the Israeli raids on UN buildings and schools in the Gaza Strip, Khazaei stated that the action demonstrated Tel Aviv's insolence towards international law. The United Nations is duty bound to launch an inquiry into the case and take prompt measures.

The Iranian ambassador also called on the international community as well as the UN to help Gazans rebuild their lives.

Twenty-three days of intense Israeli military operation in Gaza left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead and some 5,450 others wounded, according to health officials in the embattled Gaza Strip.