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Saturday, January 31, 2009

US: Israel must probe war crimes

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

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.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Israeli ex-soldier shares insight into occupation

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

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

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

[ 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.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

'Israel throwing commanders to take the resposibility'

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







Demands for Israeli war crimes probe grow

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." 
 

Monday, January 26, 2009

Polluted seashore - a War Crime


Polluted seashore, last Israeli legacy for Gaza fishermen

Iran moves to hold war crimes tribunal

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'

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.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Ahmed Yousef: Crimes against humanity committed in Palestine

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

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'

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

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

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

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.

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