2009 Report on Human Rights in the Arab World: Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform | 08/12/2009

2009 Report on Human Rights in the Arab World: Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform | 08/12/2009

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2009 Report on Human Rights in the Arab World: Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform | 08/12/2009

"Embrace diversity, end discrimination"
Human Rights Day 2009

"A man spends his first years learning how to speak and the Arab regimes teach him silence for the rest of his life"
Algerian writer Ahlem Mosteghanemi, Memory in the Flesh

Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform
2009 Report on Human Rights in the Arab Region

Press Release

Today the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies released its second annual report on the state of human rights in the Arab world for the year 2009. The report, entitled Bastion of Impunity, Mirage of Reform, concludes that the human rights situation in the Arab region has deteriorated throughout the region over the last year.

The report reviews the most significant developments in human rights during 2009 in 12 Arab countries: Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Yemen. It also devotes separate chapters to the Arab League and an analysis of the performance of Arab governments in UN human rights institutions. Another chapter addresses the stance of Arab governments concerning women’s rights, the limited progress made to advance gender equality, and how Arab governments use the issue of women’s rights to burnish their image before the international community while simultaneously evading democratic and human rights reform measures required to ensure dignity and equality for all of their citizens. .

The report observes the grave and ongoing Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, particularly the collective punishment of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through the ongoing blockade and the brutal invasion of Gaza at the beginning of 2009 which resulted in the killing of more than 1,400 Palestinians, 83 percent of them civilians not taking part in hostilities. The report notes that the plight of the Palestinian people has been exacerbated by the Fatah-Hamas conflict, which has turned universal rights and liberties into favors granted on the basis of political affiliation. Both parties have committed grave abuses against their opponents, including arbitrary detention, lethal torture, and extrajudicial killings.

The deterioration in Yemeni affairs may presage the collapse of what remains of the central state structure due to policies that give priority to the monopolization of power and wealth, corruption that runs rampant, and a regime that continues to deal with opponents using solely military and security means. As such, Yemen is now the site of a war in the northern region of Saada, a bloody crackdown in the south, and social and political unrest throughout the country. Moreover, independent press and human rights defenders who expose abuses in both the north and south are targets of increasingly harsh repression.

In its blatant contempt for justice, the Sudanese regime is the exemplar for impunity and the lack of accountability. President Bashir has refused to appear before the International Criminal Court in connection with war crimes in Darfur. Instead, his regime is hunting down anyone in the country who openly rejects impunity for war crimes, imprisoning and torturing them and shutting down rights organizations. Meanwhile the government’s policy of collective punishment against the population of Darfur continues, as well as its evasion of responsibilities under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the north and south, making secession a more likely scenario, which may once again drag the country into a bloody civil war.

In Lebanon, the threat of civil war that loomed last year has receded, but the country still suffers from an entrenched two-tier power structure in which Hizbullah’s superior military capabilities give the opposition an effective veto. As a result, the state’s constitutional institutions have been paralyzed.

In this context it took several months for the clear winner in the parliamentary elections to form a government. Now, even after the formation of a government, the unequal military balance of power between the government and the opposition will prevent serious measures to guarantee all parties accountable before the law, and greatly undermine the possibility of delivering justice for the many crimes and abuses experienced by the Lebanese people over the last several years.

Although Iraq is still the largest arena of violence and civilian deaths, it witnessed a relative improvement in some areas, though these gains remain fragile. The death toll has dropped and threats against journalists are less frequent. In addition, some of the major warring factions have indicated they are prepared to renounce violence and engage in the political process.

In Egypt, as the state of emergency approaches the end of its third decade, the broad immunity given to the security apparatus has resulted in the killing of dozens of undocumented migrants, the use of lethal force in the pursuit of criminal suspects, and routine torture. Other signs of deterioration were visible in 2009: the emergency law was applied broadly to repress freedom of expression, including detaining or abducting bloggers. Moreover, the Egyptian police state is increasingly acquiring certain theocratic features, which have reduced some religious freedoms, and have lead to an unprecedented expansion of sectarian violence within the country.

In Tunisia, the authoritarian police state continued its unrestrained attacks on political activists, journalists, human rights defenders, trade unionists, and others involved in social protest. At the same time, the political stage was prepared for the reelection of President Ben Ali through the introduction of constitutional amendments that disqualified any serious contenders.

In Algeria, the emergency law, the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, and the application of counterterrorism measures entrenched policies of impunity, grave police abuses, and the undermining of accountability and freedom of expression. Constitutional amendments paved the way for the installment of President Bouteflika as president for life amid elections that were contested on many levels, despite the lack of real political competition.

Morocco, unfortunately, has seen a tangible erosion of the human rights gains achieved by Moroccans over the last decade. A fact most clearly seen in the failure if the government to adopt a set of institutional reforms within the security and judicial sectors intended to prevent impunity for crimes. Morocco’s relatively improved status was also undermined by the intolerance shown for freedom of expression, particularly for expression touching on the king or the royal family, or instances of institutional corruption. Protests against the status of the Moroccan-administered Western Sahara region were also repressed and several Sahrawi activists were referred to a military tribunal for the first time in 14 years.

As Syria entered its 47th year of emergency law, it continued to be distinguished by its readiness to destroy all manner of political opposition, even the most limited manifestations of independent expression. The Kurdish minority was kept in check by institutionalized discrimination, and human rights defenders were targets for successive attacks. Muhannad al-Hassani, the president of the Sawasiyah human rights organization, was arrested and tried, and his attorney, Haitham al-Maleh, the former chair of the Syrian Human Rights Association, was referred to a military tribunal. The offices of the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression were shut down, and Syrian prisons still hold dozens of prisoners of conscience and democracy advocates.

In Bahrain, the systematic discrimination against the Shiite majority was accompanied by more repression of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Human rights defenders increasingly became targets for arrest, trial, and smear campaigns. Some human rights defenders were even subjected by government agents to threats and intimidation while in Europe.

In Saudi Arabia, the report notes that the Monarch’s speeches urging religious tolerance and interfaith dialogue abroad have not been applied inside the Kingdom, where the religious police continue to clamp down on personal freedom. Indeed, repression of religious freedoms is endemic, and the Shiite minority continues to face systematic discrimination. Counterterrorism policies were used to justify long-term arbitrary detention, and political activists advocating reform were tortured. These policies also undermined judicial standards, as witnessed by the prosecution of hundreds of people in semi-secret trials over the last year.

In tandem with these grave abuses and the widespread lack of accountability for such crimes within Arab countries, the report notes that various Arab governments and members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference have been working in concert within UN institutions to undermine international mechanisms and standards for the protection of human rights. On this level, Arab governments have sought to undercut provisions that bring governments to account or seriously assess and monitor human rights. This is most clearly illustrated by the broad attack on independent UN human rights experts and NGOs working within the UN, as well as attempts to legalize international restrictions on freedom of expression through the pretext of prohibiting “defamation of religions.”

In the same vein, the Arab League and its summit forums offered ongoing support for the Bashir regime in Sudan despite charges of war crimes, and members of the organization used the principle of national sovereignty as a pretext to remain silent about or even collaborate on grave violations in several Arab states. Little hope should be invested in the Arab League as a protector of human rights regionally. Indeed, the Arab Commission on Human Rights, created by the Arab Charter on Human Rights (a weak document compared to other regional charters), is partially composed of government officials, and the secretariat of the Arab League has begun to take measures to weaken the Commission, including obstructing the inclusion of NGOs in its work, intentionally undermining its ability to engage in independent action, even within the stifling constraints laid out by the charter.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHR)

Jewish town won't let Arab build home on his own land

Jewish town won't let Arab build home on his own land

    6:18 AM   No comments

Aadel Suad first came to the planning and construction committee of the Misgav Local Council in 1997. Suad, an educator, was seeking a construction permit to build a home on a plot of land he owns in the community of Mitzpeh Kamon. The reply he got, from a senior official on the committee, was a memorable one.

"Don't waste your time," he reportedly told Suad. "We'll keep you waiting for 30 years."

For Suad it's now been 12 years of fighting the committee's red tape to build a home on his own land. The reason, as far as he and his family are concerned, is singular: The local council doesn't want Arabs, with or without the legal amendments legalizing such objection that passed preliminary reading in the Knesset this week.

"We didn't invade the plot and we didn't take over the land," Suad says. "My grandfather has been here since the Turks. We have a land registry document proving ownership of three acres."

Suad's plot is on the northern edge of the hilltop community, founded in 1979. In 1984, Suad's land, along with others, was redefined as a development area rather than agricultural land. The land was divided into two plots. Suad and his family, who have been living in shacks on the site, were not informed.

"In 1990 we got a notice to pay capital gains taxes on the land, and they only told us about the changes when we asked for an explanation," he says.

The plots were split between the family and the Israel Land Administration. Only one plot was owned by the family - half an acre, minus half a square meter owned by the ILA.

Having paid the tax, Suad asked for a written confirmation of the change. "This usually takes a couple of days," he says. "They dragged it on for 8 months." While repeatedly refusing to sell the land or swap it for a plot outside Kamon, Suad was told that his plot is jointly owned by the ILA, because of the 50 square centimeters.

"They asked me for a document stating the ILA was giving up their part in the plot," Suad says. "It took the ILA another 4 years."

In 2007, the planning committee finally gave the construction permit, under four conditions: Suad would promise to demolish his shack, the future house would be moved by some 12 meters, Suad would contribute a part of the land to public needs, and he himself would ensure the house is connected to all infrastructure. Suad agreed to everything, but then found that no sewage line extended to his land. His suggestion to install a cesspit was rejected, despite this being a common practice in the community.

"I even offered to pave the 150 meters of the road at my own expense," Suad said. "We were supposed to meet about it on December 8, but then they told me the meeting was off."

"It's clear that the threat I heard in 1997 is coming true. They don't want us here. But I'll keep fighting until my children and I live on our private land," he said.

The Misgav Local Council rejected the accusations. The council said Suad's plot is located far from the other homes of the community and has no roads, sidewalks, lighting, water or sewer. All these would need to be connected through other plots, some of which are privately owned, the council said.

The council also said Suad's construction permit was conditioned on coming up with a plan to connect the plot to infrastructure, which he failed to produce in sufficient detail, or to accompany it with permits.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1134898.html

The Other Occupation: Western Sahara and the Case of Aminatou Haidar

The Other Occupation: Western Sahara and the Case of Aminatou Haidar

    2:31 PM   No comments

By Stephen Zunes

Aminatou Haidar, a nonviolent activist from Western Sahara and a key leader in her nation's struggle against the 34-year-old U.S.-backed Moroccan occupation of her country, has been forced into exile by Moroccan authorities. She was returning from the United States, where she had won the Civil Courage Award from the Train Foundation. Forcing residents of territories under belligerent occupation into exile is a direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which both the United States and Morocco are signatories.

Her arrest and expulsion is part of a broader Moroccan crackdown that appears to have received the endorsement of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Rather than joining Amnesty International and other human rights groups in condemning the increase in the already-severe repression in the occupied territory during her visit to Morocco early this month, she instead praised the government’s human rights record. Just days before her arrival, seven other nonviolent activists from Western Sahara – Ahmed Alansari, Brahim Dahane, Yahdih Ettarouzi, Saleh Labihi, Dakja Lashgar, Rachid Sghir and Ali Salem Tamek – were arrested on trumped-up charges of high treason and are currently awaiting trial. Amnesty international has declared them prisoners of conscience and called for their unconditional release, but Clinton decided to ignore the plight of those and other political prisoners.

Almost exactly one year ago, Haidar was in Washington D.C. receiving the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights award. The late Senator Ted Kennedy, while too ill to take part in the ceremony personally, said of Aminatou Haidar, “All who care about democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for the people of the Western Sahara are inspired by her extraordinary courage, dedication and skilled work on their behalf."

Patrick Leahy, speaking in place of Kennedy, praised Haidar’s struggle for human rights against Moroccan repression and promised that, with the incoming Obama administration, “Help was on the way.” Unfortunately, Obama ended up appointing Clinton, a longtime supporter of the Moroccan occupation, to oversee his foreign policy.

It is not surprising that Morocco sees Haidar as a threat and that Clinton has not demanded her right to return to her homeland. Not only is her nonviolent campaign an embarrassment to a traditional American ally, but having an Arab Muslim woman leading a mass movement for her people's freedom through nonviolent action challenges the widely held impression that those resisting U.S.-backed regimes in that part of the world are misogynist, violent extremists. Successive U.S. administrations have used this stereotype to justify military intervention and support for repressive governments and military occupations.

Moroccan Occupation

In 1975, the kingdom of Morocco conquered Western Sahara on the eve of its anticipated independence from Spain in defiance of a series of UN Security Council resolutions and a landmark 1975 decision by the International Court of Justice upholding the right of the country's inhabitants to self-determination. With threats of a French and American veto at the UN preventing decisive action by the international community to stop the Moroccan invasion, the nationalist Polisario Front launched an armed struggle against the occupiers. The Polisario established the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in February 1976, which has subsequently been recognized by nearly 80 countries and is a full member state of the African Union. The majority of the indigenous population, known as Sahrawis, went into exile, primarily in Polisario-run refugee camps in Algeria.

By 1982, the Polisario had liberated 85 percent of the territory, but thanks to a dramatic increase in U.S. military aid and an influx of U.S. advisers during the Reagan administration, Morocco eventually was able to take control of most of the territory, including all of its major towns. It also built, thanks to U.S. assistance, a series of fortified sand berms in the desert that effectively prevented penetration by Polisario forces into Moroccan-controlled territory. In addition, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Morocco moved tens of thousands of settlers into Western Sahara until they were more than twice the population of the remaining indigenous Sahrawis.

Yet the Polisario achieved a series of diplomatic victories that generated widespread international support for self-determination and a refusal to recognize the Moroccan takeover. In 1991, the Polisario agreed to a ceasefire in return for a Moroccan promise to allow for an internationally supervised referendum on the fate of the territory. Morocco, however, refused to allow the referendum to move forward.

French and American support for the Moroccan government blocked the UN Security Council from providing the necessary diplomatic pressure to force Morocco to allow the promised referendum to take place. The Polisario, meanwhile, recognized its inability to defeat the Moroccans by military means. As a result, the struggle for self-determination shifted to within the Moroccan-occupied territory, where the Sahrawi population has launched a nonviolent resistance campaign against the occupation.

Nonviolent Resistance

Western Sahara had seen scattered impromptu acts of open nonviolent resistance ever since the Moroccan conquest. In 1987, for instance, a visit to the occupied territory by a special UN committee to investigate the human right violations sparked protests in the Western Saharan capital of El Aaiún. The success of this major demonstration was all the more remarkable, given that most of the key organizers had been arrested the night before and the city was under a strict curfew. Among the more than 700 people arrested was Aminatou Haidar, then 21 years old.

For four years she was "disappeared," held without charges or trial, and kept in secret detention centers. In these facilities, she and 17 other Sahrawi women underwent regular torture and abuse.

The current Sahrawi intifada began in May 2005. Thousands of Sahrawi demonstrators, led by women and youths, took to the streets of El Aaiún protesting the ongoing Moroccan occupation and calling for independence. The largely nonviolent protests and sit-ins were met with severe repression by Moroccan troops and Moroccan settlers. Within hours, leading Sahrawi activists were kidnapped, including Haidar, who was brutally beaten by Moroccan occupation forces. Sahrawi students at Moroccan universities then organized solidarity demonstrations, hunger strikes, and other forms of nonviolent protests. Throughout the remainder of 2005, the intifada continued with both spontaneous and planned protests, all of which were met with harsh repression by Moroccan authorities.

Haidar was released within seven months as a result of pressure from Amnesty International and the European parliament. Meanwhile, nonviolent protests have continued, despite ongoing repression by U.S.-supported Moroccan authorities. Despite the continued disappearances, killings, beatings and torture, Haidar has continued to advocate nonviolent action. In addition to organizing efforts at home, she traveled extensively to raise awareness internationally about the ongoing Moroccan occupation and advocate for the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. For this reason, she has been forced into exile from her homeland.

U.S. Increases Backing for Morocco

As the repression grew, so did U.S. support for Morocco. The Bush administration increased military and security assistance five-fold and also signed a free-trade agreement, remaining silent over the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Western Sahara while heaping praise on King Mohammed VI's domestic political and economic reforms.

However, the occupation itself continues to prove problematic for Morocco. The nonviolent resistance to the occupation continues. Most of the international community, despite French and American efforts, has refused to recognize Morocco's illegal annexation of the territory.

As a result, the Moroccan kingdom recently advocated an autonomy plan for the territory. The Sahrawis, with the support of most of the world's nations, rejected the proposal since it is based on the assumption that Western Sahara is part of Morocco, a contention that the UN, the World Court, the African Union, and a broad consensus of international legal opinion have long rejected. To accept Morocco's autonomy plan would mean that, for the first time since the founding of the UN and the ratification of the UN Charter more than 60 years ago, the international community would be endorsing the expansion of a country's territory by military force and without consent of the subjected population, thereby establishing a very dangerous and destabilizing precedent.

In addition, Morocco's proposal contains no enforcement mechanisms, nor are there indications of any improvement of the current poor human rights situation. It's also unclear how much autonomy Morocco is offering, since it would retain control of Western Sahara's natural resources and law enforcement. In addition, the proposal appears to indicate that all powers not specifically vested in the autonomous region would remain with the kingdom.

Despite this, Secretary of State Clinton appeared to endorse Morocco’s plans for annexation under the name of autonomy. In an interview during her recent visit she refused to call for a referendum on the fate of the territory in accordance with a series of UN Security Council resolutions. Instead, she backed Moroccan calls for “mediation,” which would not offer the people of the territory a say in their future, as required by international law and reaffirmed in the case of Western Sahara by a landmark opinion of the International Court of Justice.

Meanwhile, key House Democrats have weighed in support of Morocco's right of conquest as well, with Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-NY, who chairs the Subcommittee on the Middle East, joining Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-MD signing a letter endorsing Morocco’s autonomy plan. Prominent Republicans signing the letter included Minority Leader John Boehner, R-OH; House Republican Whip Roy Blunt, R-MO; and former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL. Indeed, more than 80 of the signers are either committee chairmen or ranking members of key committees, subcommittees and elected leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives; yet another indication in this post-Cold War era of a growing bipartisan effort to undermine the longstanding principle of the right of self-determination.

It is particularly ironic that Morocco’s autonomy plan has received such strong bipartisan support since the United States rejected a more generous autonomy plan for Kosovo and instead pushed for UN recognition of that nation's unilateral declaration of independence. This double standard is all the more glaring given that Kosovo is legally part of Serbia and Western Sahara is legally a country under foreign military occupation.

Next Steps

Given the reluctance of the Obama administration to publicly demand that the Moroccans end their forced exile of Aminatou Haidar and release political prisoners, their freedom may depend on the willingness of human rights activists to mobilize on their behalf. Indeed, this may be the only hope for Western Sahara as a whole.

Western Sahara remains an occupied territory only because Morocco has refused to abide by a series of UN Security Council resolutions calling on the kingdom to end its occupation and recognize the right of the people of that territory to self-determination. Morocco has been able to persist in its defiance of its international legal obligations because France and the United States, which wield veto power in the UN Security Council, have blocked the enforcement of these resolutions. In addition, France and the United States served as principal suppliers of the armaments and other security assistance to Moroccan occupation forces. As a result, nonviolent action by the citizens of France, the United States and other countries that enable Morocco to maintain its occupation would be as least as important as the Sahrawis' nonviolent resistance against Morocco's occupation policies. Such campaigns played a major role in forcing the United States, Australia and Great Britain to cease their support for Indonesia's occupation of East Timor. Solidarity networks in support of Western Sahara have emerged in dozens of countries around the world, most notably in Spain and Norway, but not yet in the United States, where it could matter most.

A successful nonviolent independence struggle by an Arab Muslim people under Haidar's leadership could set an important precedent. It would demonstrate how, against great odds, an outnumbered and outgunned population could win through the power of nonviolence in a part of the world where resistance to autocratic rule and foreign military occupation has often spawned acts of terrorism and other violence. Furthermore, the participatory democratic structure within the Sahrawi resistance movement and the prominence of women in key positions of leadership could serve as an important model in a region where authoritarian and patriarchal forms of governance have traditionally dominated.

The eventual outcome rests not just on the Sahrawis alone, but whether the international community, particularly those of us in the United States, decide whether such a struggle is worthy of our support.

Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics and chair of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus.

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal

    10:15 AM   No comments

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal: "Only “Them” Can Commit Acts of Violence?


By A. E. SOUAIAIA*

Linking Islam to violence is not new trend any longer. However, after the tragic Fort Hood shooting, many people are making the connection unabashedly. I am not about to write a rebuttal. I would state, instead, that Islam—as practiced by many self-proclaimed Muslims—does have a violent side. In fact, it has some indoctrinated notion of violence manifested in the institutions governing war and peace and social order. As a religion that developed in the arms of political entity (Madinah), Islam could not have escaped the use of violence because that is what state/government does: monopolize the institutions and the use of violence. What is also true is this: the use of violence in Islam is governed by the rules put forth by the founder of Islam, Muhammad.

But I am also absolutely sure that other religions have some indoctrinated notion of violence, too. But, the rules in the use of violence were not even put in place by the founders (or first leaders) of these religions. This is particularly true for Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. These facts, coupled with other historical facts, ought to make the case for the propensity of all humans to engage in violent acts, not just “them, Muslims.”
Here is an observation: People who single out one religion as violence-prone are narcissistically masking their own faith’s propensity to embrace violence. Moreover, the accusatory tone is generally indicative of a fractured self torn between the manufactured image of a faith’s pacifism and the naked reality of blatant reversion to violent means. Overcompensation for failure to follow-through with one’s faith-based teachings and the demands of reality may lead one to embark on a mission to demonize others in hopes of winning arguments by default rather than by merit.

Supportive evidence for this observation can be found in numerous specious arguments presented by many politicians, pundits, and commentators. The common link between these otherwise persons of different backgrounds is the shared commitment to supremacist ideology although most of them avoid making it the issue of discussion at any cost. It suffices to examine three figures: a Hindu commentator, a Jewish politician, and a Zionist ideologue. The first argues that Islam is inherently violent, the second claims that extremism is inherently Islamic, and the third contends that Islam is pure evil—no matter what shade of Islam; all of Islam is dangerous.

Recently, the commentator, Tunku Varadarajan, recycled the phrase “Going Postal” to suggest that, because of the violent nature of Islam, one must be wary of someone next to them “Going Muslim.” By reading his other commentaries, one would easily discover that Varadarajan sees the world as a static mosaic of good people—Hindus—and bad people—Muslims. In his mind, Muslims are violent the same way Hindus are tolerant. Let us consider what he thinks of his own faith to see the failure of his logic.
In an article entitled A Democratic Inclination, Varadarajan declared that “there is a strong correlation between electoral democracy and Hinduism.” To be sure, he added, “Hinduism, more than any other religion—with the possible exception of mainstream Protestant Christianity—has an intensely tolerant core, one that encourages religious and intellectual plurality in society… Indian society is predominantly Hindu, and mainstream Hinduism tends to be big-hearted, broad-minded, easygoing, indulgent... in my estimation, preponderantly Hindu societies will always be predisposed toward democracy.”

Of course, he is talking about the same Hinduism that enshrined the lovely cast system whose dehumanizing effects were only mitigated through secular institution; the same Hinduism whose adherents destroy mosques in India; the same Hinduism that produced Hindus who gleefully cut and murdered pregnant Muslim women alive in Gujarat; the same Hinduism that he himself described in a piece written for The New York Times, on January 11, 1999 by saying, 'What we are witnessing in India is the growth of a sort of Hindu Taliban movement.” Of course, he needed to use “Taliban” just like he used “postal” to indicate the foreignness of violence in “true” Hinduism.
*****
The politician is Sen. Joe Lieberman who took advantage of the Fort Hood tragedy to push his political agenda of making connection between Islam and murder. Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Lieberman declared, 'If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance, he should have been gone.”

Every word spoken by Sen. Lieberman is problematic and it is, I believe, deliberately worded to suggest to his listeners that Islam is a disease, an illness that has “signs” (symptoms). Then by suggesting that the army should have fired “Hasan,” he leaves no doubt that being Islamic extremist is bona fide criminal. I am not sure which part of the phrase denotes a crime, being Muslim, being extremist, or being extremist Muslim?

Given Sen. Lieberman’s political savvy, it would not surprise anyone if he responds that he is not anti-Muslim; which leaves us with him being against extremism. If this were to be the case, then why would Sen. Lieberman attach the adjective “Islamic “to “extremism”? In other words, is Sen. Lieberman ambivalent to extremism linked to Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, nationalism, and all other forms of isms that have been historically linked to acts of violence?
Since Sen. Lieberman is a self-described Jew, let me remind him that it was a self-declared Jew who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin (Prime Minister of Israel); it was in the fold of Judaism that the Stern Gangs, Meir Kahanes, and Baruch Goldsteins were born and raised… Judaism, Senator, has its extremists, too.

Here are the facts: in a democracy, neither being a Muslim nor being an extremist is a crime. There are extremists in every society and no civilized community ought to criminalize extremism. Doing so will take humanity back to the dark ages of absolutism. To put things in context, many Americans think that Rev. Wright, Minister Louis Farrakhan, David Duke are extremists. Many Americans, especially Democrats, think that Senator Lieberman is an extremist and that is why they fired him during the primaries last time he ran. Another Lieberman, Avigdor Lieberman, is by most accounts an extremist Jew who is now the Foreign Minister of Israel. Every Jewish prophet was dubbed extremist when he first arrived. The right to hold extreme views (as long as they do not break the law) is what separates a nation of laws from a nation of tyrants.

Christianity, too, has had its share of violence and extremism. Christianity nurtured the crusades and Spanish conquistadors who burned native Americans alive in bundles of 13 in honor of the Twelve Apostles and Jesus Christ. Not just in the past, but also in the present, Christianity continues to justify—in the mind of many—the murder of those who violate some Christian dogma: in the last two decades alone, 24 murders or attempted murders, 179 bombing and arson or attempted bombing or arson, 2795 of other acts of violence (invasion, assault & battery, death threats, etc…) were undertaken by self-proclaimed Christian activists against doctors who worked in clinics that provided abortion.
*****
The most outrageous thesis is authored by Daniel Pipes who is in favor of interning all American Muslims during times of war because, in his mind, they cannot be trusted. In a piece written for The Jerusalem Post (Nov. 14, 2009), not only did Pipes compare Recep Tayyip Erdogan (the Prime Minister of Turkey) and Keith Ellison (US Congressman) to Osama bin Laden, but he actually declared them to “pose a greater threat to Western civilization.” Pipes dislike of Muslims extends to elected leaders, suggesting that Muslims should be shut down even if they come to govern through democratic means.

Unlike these representative demagogues, I am not suggesting that only religious people commit acts of violence; violent individuals are as diverse as American society. After all, it is American society that produced Seung-Hui Cho who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., who raped and murdered 33 young men and boys in Chicago, Illinois, in the 1970s; Robert Lee Yates and Gary Ridgway of Washington who murdered 61 women, and more than 125 serial killers who killed hundreds of innocent men, women, and children.

The idea of linking all of Islam to extremism is absurd given that there are 1.57 billion Muslims who did not “go Muslim” or “go extremist.” In the U.S. military alone, there are more than 5000 American-Muslim service men and women who served, continued to serve, and gave their lives in the most heroic fashion to save the lives of their fellow soldiers.

The Liebermans, the Pipes, and the Varadarajans will always continue to look for imperfections in an imperfect world, for faults in faulty religious views, for reasons to hate others. Yes, there is a propensity to violence in any religious and secular ideology. They are human discourses and as such, they are shaped by all that is human. If one feels the urge to condemn violence, one should have the courage to condemn it for what it is not for where it came from. In the end, we may all be complicit in fomenting hate and violence by preaching our own supremacy and by looking for foreignness to explain away instances that make one’s faith look like any other: to some extent, violent. There is nothing foreign about violence in human societies. There will always be criminals, psychotics, lunatics, murders, and rapists amongst us, especially among those who insist that none are amongst them.
____________

*Dr. Ahmed E. Souaiaia teaches course in International Studies, Islamic studies, and law at the University of Iowa; he is the author of the book, Contesting Justice."

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal

    10:15 AM   No comments

Studies in Islam and the Middle East journal; SIME journal: "Only “Them” Can Commit Acts of Violence?


By A. E. SOUAIAIA*

Linking Islam to violence is not new trend any longer. However, after the tragic Fort Hood shooting, many people are making the connection unabashedly. I am not about to write a rebuttal. I would state, instead, that Islam—as practiced by many self-proclaimed Muslims—does have a violent side. In fact, it has some indoctrinated notion of violence manifested in the institutions governing war and peace and social order. As a religion that developed in the arms of political entity (Madinah), Islam could not have escaped the use of violence because that is what state/government does: monopolize the institutions and the use of violence. What is also true is this: the use of violence in Islam is governed by the rules put forth by the founder of Islam, Muhammad.

But I am also absolutely sure that other religions have some indoctrinated notion of violence, too. But, the rules in the use of violence were not even put in place by the founders (or first leaders) of these religions. This is particularly true for Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. These facts, coupled with other historical facts, ought to make the case for the propensity of all humans to engage in violent acts, not just “them, Muslims.”
Here is an observation: People who single out one religion as violence-prone are narcissistically masking their own faith’s propensity to embrace violence. Moreover, the accusatory tone is generally indicative of a fractured self torn between the manufactured image of a faith’s pacifism and the naked reality of blatant reversion to violent means. Overcompensation for failure to follow-through with one’s faith-based teachings and the demands of reality may lead one to embark on a mission to demonize others in hopes of winning arguments by default rather than by merit.

Supportive evidence for this observation can be found in numerous specious arguments presented by many politicians, pundits, and commentators. The common link between these otherwise persons of different backgrounds is the shared commitment to supremacist ideology although most of them avoid making it the issue of discussion at any cost. It suffices to examine three figures: a Hindu commentator, a Jewish politician, and a Zionist ideologue. The first argues that Islam is inherently violent, the second claims that extremism is inherently Islamic, and the third contends that Islam is pure evil—no matter what shade of Islam; all of Islam is dangerous.

Recently, the commentator, Tunku Varadarajan, recycled the phrase “Going Postal” to suggest that, because of the violent nature of Islam, one must be wary of someone next to them “Going Muslim.” By reading his other commentaries, one would easily discover that Varadarajan sees the world as a static mosaic of good people—Hindus—and bad people—Muslims. In his mind, Muslims are violent the same way Hindus are tolerant. Let us consider what he thinks of his own faith to see the failure of his logic.
In an article entitled A Democratic Inclination, Varadarajan declared that “there is a strong correlation between electoral democracy and Hinduism.” To be sure, he added, “Hinduism, more than any other religion—with the possible exception of mainstream Protestant Christianity—has an intensely tolerant core, one that encourages religious and intellectual plurality in society… Indian society is predominantly Hindu, and mainstream Hinduism tends to be big-hearted, broad-minded, easygoing, indulgent... in my estimation, preponderantly Hindu societies will always be predisposed toward democracy.”

Of course, he is talking about the same Hinduism that enshrined the lovely cast system whose dehumanizing effects were only mitigated through secular institution; the same Hinduism whose adherents destroy mosques in India; the same Hinduism that produced Hindus who gleefully cut and murdered pregnant Muslim women alive in Gujarat; the same Hinduism that he himself described in a piece written for The New York Times, on January 11, 1999 by saying, 'What we are witnessing in India is the growth of a sort of Hindu Taliban movement.” Of course, he needed to use “Taliban” just like he used “postal” to indicate the foreignness of violence in “true” Hinduism.
*****
The politician is Sen. Joe Lieberman who took advantage of the Fort Hood tragedy to push his political agenda of making connection between Islam and murder. Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Lieberman declared, 'If Hasan was showing signs, saying to people that he had become an Islamist extremist, the U.S. Army has to have zero tolerance, he should have been gone.”

Every word spoken by Sen. Lieberman is problematic and it is, I believe, deliberately worded to suggest to his listeners that Islam is a disease, an illness that has “signs” (symptoms). Then by suggesting that the army should have fired “Hasan,” he leaves no doubt that being Islamic extremist is bona fide criminal. I am not sure which part of the phrase denotes a crime, being Muslim, being extremist, or being extremist Muslim?

Given Sen. Lieberman’s political savvy, it would not surprise anyone if he responds that he is not anti-Muslim; which leaves us with him being against extremism. If this were to be the case, then why would Sen. Lieberman attach the adjective “Islamic “to “extremism”? In other words, is Sen. Lieberman ambivalent to extremism linked to Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, nationalism, and all other forms of isms that have been historically linked to acts of violence?
Since Sen. Lieberman is a self-described Jew, let me remind him that it was a self-declared Jew who assassinated Yitzhak Rabin (Prime Minister of Israel); it was in the fold of Judaism that the Stern Gangs, Meir Kahanes, and Baruch Goldsteins were born and raised… Judaism, Senator, has its extremists, too.

Here are the facts: in a democracy, neither being a Muslim nor being an extremist is a crime. There are extremists in every society and no civilized community ought to criminalize extremism. Doing so will take humanity back to the dark ages of absolutism. To put things in context, many Americans think that Rev. Wright, Minister Louis Farrakhan, David Duke are extremists. Many Americans, especially Democrats, think that Senator Lieberman is an extremist and that is why they fired him during the primaries last time he ran. Another Lieberman, Avigdor Lieberman, is by most accounts an extremist Jew who is now the Foreign Minister of Israel. Every Jewish prophet was dubbed extremist when he first arrived. The right to hold extreme views (as long as they do not break the law) is what separates a nation of laws from a nation of tyrants.

Christianity, too, has had its share of violence and extremism. Christianity nurtured the crusades and Spanish conquistadors who burned native Americans alive in bundles of 13 in honor of the Twelve Apostles and Jesus Christ. Not just in the past, but also in the present, Christianity continues to justify—in the mind of many—the murder of those who violate some Christian dogma: in the last two decades alone, 24 murders or attempted murders, 179 bombing and arson or attempted bombing or arson, 2795 of other acts of violence (invasion, assault & battery, death threats, etc…) were undertaken by self-proclaimed Christian activists against doctors who worked in clinics that provided abortion.
*****
The most outrageous thesis is authored by Daniel Pipes who is in favor of interning all American Muslims during times of war because, in his mind, they cannot be trusted. In a piece written for The Jerusalem Post (Nov. 14, 2009), not only did Pipes compare Recep Tayyip Erdogan (the Prime Minister of Turkey) and Keith Ellison (US Congressman) to Osama bin Laden, but he actually declared them to “pose a greater threat to Western civilization.” Pipes dislike of Muslims extends to elected leaders, suggesting that Muslims should be shut down even if they come to govern through democratic means.

Unlike these representative demagogues, I am not suggesting that only religious people commit acts of violence; violent individuals are as diverse as American society. After all, it is American society that produced Seung-Hui Cho who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech, John Wayne Gacy, Jr., who raped and murdered 33 young men and boys in Chicago, Illinois, in the 1970s; Robert Lee Yates and Gary Ridgway of Washington who murdered 61 women, and more than 125 serial killers who killed hundreds of innocent men, women, and children.

The idea of linking all of Islam to extremism is absurd given that there are 1.57 billion Muslims who did not “go Muslim” or “go extremist.” In the U.S. military alone, there are more than 5000 American-Muslim service men and women who served, continued to serve, and gave their lives in the most heroic fashion to save the lives of their fellow soldiers.

The Liebermans, the Pipes, and the Varadarajans will always continue to look for imperfections in an imperfect world, for faults in faulty religious views, for reasons to hate others. Yes, there is a propensity to violence in any religious and secular ideology. They are human discourses and as such, they are shaped by all that is human. If one feels the urge to condemn violence, one should have the courage to condemn it for what it is not for where it came from. In the end, we may all be complicit in fomenting hate and violence by preaching our own supremacy and by looking for foreignness to explain away instances that make one’s faith look like any other: to some extent, violent. There is nothing foreign about violence in human societies. There will always be criminals, psychotics, lunatics, murders, and rapists amongst us, especially among those who insist that none are amongst them.
____________

*Dr. Ahmed E. Souaiaia teaches course in International Studies, Islamic studies, and law at the University of Iowa; he is the author of the book, Contesting Justice."

Voters in Switzerland have approved a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques

Voters in Switzerland have approved a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques

    7:51 AM   No comments

Photo: Walter Wobmann, president of the committee "Yes for a Ban on Minarets," gave a thumbs-up in Egerkingen, Switzerland, on Sunday.

Voters in Switzerland have approved a ban on the construction of minarets on mosques, official results posted by the Swiss news agency ATS have shown.

Over 57 per cent of those who cast votes in Sunday's poll approved the ban while only four cantons out of 26 rejected the proposals, paving the way for a constitutional amendment to be made.

Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Bern, the Swiss capital, said: "There is concern in Switzerland undoubtedly about what is being seen as the spread of radical Islam, but the Muslim community here has always been regarded as fairly moderate.

"They were saying that they wanted to see this proposal defeated, so I'm sure it is a real shock to them that at the moment we are seeing that most of the people here have voted in favour of [the ban]."

The Swiss People's Party (SVP) had forced a referendum on the issue after it collected 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters.

The Swiss government had opposed the call for a vote, saying that a ban on minarets would hurt Switzerland's image in other countries.

'Anti-Islamic hate'

Supporters of the proposed ban say minarets represent the growth of an alien ideology and legal system that have no place in the Swiss democracy.

"Forced marriages and other things like cemeteries separating the pure and impure - we don't have that in Switzerland, and we do not want to introduce it," Ulrich Schlueer, co-president of the Initiative Committee to ban minarets, said.

"Therefore, there's no room for minarets in Switzerland."

But Switzerland's Muslims have said that the referendum is fuelling anti-Islamic feeling in the country.

"The initiators have achieved something everyone wanted to prevent, and that is to influence and change the relations to Muslims and their social integration in a negative way," Taner Hatipoglu, the president of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Zurich, said.

"We are frightened, and if the atmosphere continues to be like this and if the anti-Islamic hate increases, then the Muslims indeed will not feel safe anymore. This of course is very unpleasant."

Although Islam is the country's second largest religion after Christianity, there are only four mosques with minarets in the whole country.

'Know your place'

Posters have appeared in many Swiss cities showing a dark, almost menacing figure of a woman, shrouded from head to foot in a black burka. Behind her is the Swiss flag, shaped like a map of the country, with black minarets shooting up out of it like missiles.

The cities of Basel, Lausanne and Fribourg banned the billboards, saying they painted a "racist, disrespectful and dangerous image" of Islam.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee called the posters discriminatory and said Switzerland would violate international law if it bans minarets.

Al Jazeera's Fisher said that there was a political message behind Sunday's referendum.

"The reality is, as was described to me by a Swiss resident who is not a Swiss citizen, this is the right-wing Swiss People's Party sending out a message to Muslims: 'Know your place in Switzerland'," he said.

"They believe, the right-wing People's Party, that if the Muslims get their mosques and their minarets it will follow on that they will want, perhaps, separate schooling and there could be a campaign to turn Switzerland, of all places, into a place that practices Sharia."

The Swiss government and business leaders have opposed a minaret ban, saying it would be harmful to the country's image abroad and disastrous for the Swiss economy.

The Swiss People's Party forced the referendum after collecting 100,000 signatures within 18 months from eligible voters supporting the motion.

Britain 'knew of Iraq WMD doubts'

Britain 'knew of Iraq WMD doubts'

    11:26 AM   No comments

The British inquiry will investigate the justification for involvement in the Iraq war [GALLO/GETTY] Britain learned in the days before the Iraq war that Saddam Hussein's forces may not have had the capability to deploy chemical weapons, a civil servant has told an inquiry into the conflict. William Ehrman, the then director of international security for the UK foreign office, said on Wednesday that British intelligence was told Iraqi weapons may not have been assembled in the build-up to the conflict. "We were getting ... some [intelligence] on chemical and biological weapons that it was dismantled and [Iraq] might not have the munitions to deliver it," he said at the hearing in London. "There was also a suggestion that Iraq might lack warheads capable of effective dispersal of agents." But Ehrman said the information made no difference to the case for war, and described a series of intelligence briefings on WMDs between 2000 and 2002 and "patchy" and "sporadic". 45-minute claim Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent in London, said the inquiry has so far revelead "just how difficult it was to make any sort of assessment about the threat of Iraq in the years leading up to the war". He said both witnesses testified that intelligence was unclear about what was going on in the country following the departure of UN weapons inspectors from Iraq in 1998. "There was a general belief that he [Saddam] no longer had nuclear capability but there were concerns about chemical and biological weapons." IN DEPTH Iraq inquiry - another whitewash? Video: UK begins Iraq war hearings An official dossier to justify the 2003 war said that Saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction, understood by officials to mean chemical weapons, within 45 minutes, the inquiry heard. Tim Dowse, a former head of counterproliferation at the foreign office, said he had not been surprised by the 45-minute claim "because it didn't seem out of line [with assessments at the time]". "It subsequently took on a rather iconic status which I don't think those of us who saw the initial report [expected] ... it wasn't surprising." The 45-minute claim caused a major political row in Britain, after the BBC alleged that the intelligence dossier containing the claim was "sexed up" to strengthen the case for war. The storm escalated when David Kelly, a government weapons expert, killed himself amid claims he was the source of the BBC story, prompting an official inquiry. Other security threats On the second day of the Iraq inquiry, the five-member panel also heard that Libya and Iran were Britain's main security concerns before the invasion of Iraq. "In terms of nuclear and missiles, I think Iran, North Korea and Libya were probably of greater concern than Iraq," Ehrman said. "In terms of nuclear and missiles, I think Iran, North Korea and Libya were probably of greater concern than Iraq" William Ehrman, former director of international security for the UK foreign office Dowse said that Iraq "wasn't top of the list". "In terms of my concerns on coming into the job in 2001, I would say we put Libya and Iran ahead of Iraq," he said. He also said that while there was evidence of contacts between Iraqi officials and members of al-Qaeda in the late 1990s, these links were stepped further back after the September 11 attacks. Dowse said they "did find some evidence of contacts between Iraqi officials and individual members of al-Qaeda in the late 1990s. These had been quite sporadic contacts ... they hadn't been anything that looked like a relationship between the Iraqis and al-Qaeda. "After 9/11, we concluded that Iraq actually stepped further back. They did not want to be associated with al-Qaeda. They weren't natural allies." The five-panel inquiry, led by John Chilcot, a former civil servant, is investigating the justification for the war, how well military were equipped and trained and looking at lessons for future foreign policy. Former senior officials from the foreign and defence ministries outlined on Tuesday Britain's policy towards Baghdad in early 2000. The hearings are expected to climax with Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, taking the stand, at some point in the new year. Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2009/11/20091125164926469666.html

Spokesman for Islam Comes Forward in Wake of Fort Hood Killings

Spokesman for Islam Comes Forward in Wake of Fort Hood Killings

    11:24 AM   No comments

November 25, 2009

Eric Fingerhut
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

WASHINGTON

MIKEY WEINSTEIN

Mikey Weinstein is best known for defending Jews from alleged bigotry in the U.S. military. In the past few days, however, he's been raising questions about whether there's an anti-Muslim bias in the service as well.

Weinstein, founder and president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, says that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan's alleged killing of 13 soldiers at Fort Hood is inexcusable and reprehensible. But he believes that it's important to investigate reports of harassment that Hasan said he faced as a Muslim in the military, which might have contributed to his mental state.

"There's enough out there" to look into, said Weinstein. "I'm not excusing him, but did it affect him, or was he just a maniac to begin with?"

Weinstein cited media reports quoting Hasan's family, saying that someone had put a diaper in his car and told him, "That's your headdress," and that a camel was drawn on his car with the words, "Camel jockey, get out!"

Weinstein also provided a letter, with the name withheld, from a Muslim woman and wife of a member of the military, in which she described how her best friend on the base, immediately after the shooting, told her that "Muslims shouldn't even be allowed in the U.S. Army," and that she repeatedly heard things like, "Go back to your country" and "F---ing Muslims," as she shopped at the base commissary.

Weinstein, who spent 10 years in the Air Force as a military attorney, or JAG, said that he also doesn't believe that Hasan's colleagues hesitated to report his changes in behavior because of political correctness. In fact, he claimed, Hasan's superiors would have been sympathetic to hearing such charges because of their strong Christian beliefs.

Weinstein would like to see military leaders make an "unadulterated clarion call" that Americans shouldn't "paint all of Islam with a broad brush," as well as emphasize a "zero tolerance policy" of any religious harassment.

A 1977 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, from where his two sons and daughter-in-law have graduated, Weinstein argues that Jews, Muslims and most members of the military who are not an evangelical Christian face a hostile environment from what he says are "fundamentalist Christians" who dominate the armed forces and are constantly trying to proselytize others.

Others involved in the military say that it's true that there have been occasional issues regarding the treatment of members of minority faiths or the pushing of an evangelical worldview by some officers, but they insist that the problems are nowhere near as extensive or pernicious as Weinstein claims.

One longtime military chaplain, now retired, said that he doesn't doubt the reports of the Muslim woman that Weinstein cites, noting that such comments could be heard in many small towns throughout America.

"It's terrible, but not impossible to believe," said the chaplain, who asked not to be identified.

But the chaplain said he disagreed with Weinstein about Hasan's colleagues, saying that "definitely, people do not want to be perceived as bigots" in the military.

Mainstream Jewish groups have generally declined to comment on the shooting at Fort Hood, waiting for more details on the investigation to become available.

Mark Pelavin, director of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs of Reform Judaism and associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, sent a letter to the Rev. Pat Robertson criticizing the televangelist for declaring in the wake of the attack that Islam is not a religion but "a political system, a violent political system, bent on the overthrow of the governments of the world and world domination."

Last weekend, 100 mosques and 100 synagogues participated in joint activities as part of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding's Weekend of Twinning.

Long planned, the timing was fortuitous, said the foundation's president, Rabbi Marc Schneier, because it increased interest, and offered an opportunity for Jews and Muslims to talk about the internal struggle of American Muslims, in addition to relations between Muslims and Jews in the United States.

Source: http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/20075/

ACLU sues for students to wear anti-Islam shirts

ACLU sues for students to wear anti-Islam shirts

    3:36 PM   No comments

The Associated Press

The American Civil Liberties Union has sued a north Florida school district. The lawsuit claims the Alachua County School District violated students' rights by not allowing them to wear T-shirts with an anti-Islamic message.

The civil rights organization says it doesn't agree with the "Islam is of the Devil," message printed on T-shirts distributed by the Dove World Outreach Center and worn by area school children. But the ACLU says it supports the students' constitutional right to freedom of speech.

The district, which did not return a phone call seeking comment from The Associated Press, has called the messages disruptive and a violation of the dress code.

Houthis release new footage of Saudi Bombing of Civilians

Houthis release new footage of Saudi Bombing of Civilians

    7:32 AM   No comments

The Houthi fighters have released new footage, which they say depict Saudi aircraft targeting civilians in northern Yemeni villages near the border.

The videos released on Friday picture Saudi artillery fire and Saudi fighter jets flying over northern Yemen and bombarding spots, which the Houthis maintain to be civilian positions on the Yemeni soil.

Saudi Arabia's army has been pounding Houthi positions for over two weeks, charging that the fighters had attacked one of its border checkpoints.

The Houthis, however, have firmly rejected the allegations, saying that they are fighting other battlefields and are not interested in opening another front.

Saudi airstrikes and land incursions coincide with Yemen's stepped-up crackdown on the Houthis, who are fighting against the government's political, religious and economic marginalization of the country's Shia minority.

The Saudi-Yemeni offensive against the Shia fighters has been clouded with claims and counter-claims, with the armies announcing victories against the Houthi fighters, who deny the claims arguing that their positions are not prone to easy identification.

The Saudi army has suffered several losses in its cross-border clashes with the Houthi fighters.

The international community, meanwhile, says that the massive military action has driven hundreds of thousands of civilians out of their homes in and around the battle zone in the north.

Since the beginning of the new military offensive in early August, the Houthi fighters have been accusing Sana'a of seeking help from the Riyadh to eradicate the Shia movement.

Earlier footage released by the Houthis showed Saudi warplanes targeting villages deep inside the Yemeni territory, dropping banned white phosphorus bombs.

View Video here:

http://huquq-com.blogspot.com/

Source: http://huquq-com.blogspot.com/2009/11/houthis-release-new-footage-of-saudi.html

Yemen news from the perspective of the rebels available here: http://www.youtube.com/user/shiatAlyaman

Give justice, true justice, a chance to be heard

Give justice, true justice, a chance to be heard

    6:11 AM   No comments

Gosh, I didn’t see this. But it’s news now as it will be news when they replay this in 30 years to our grandchildren. Brian Baird on the floor of the House saying he has twin four-year-old boys and then turning to a photo of three massacred Palestinian children and saying, These children deserve to have someone ask why they died! Unlike most of my colleagues, Baird goes on, I have been to Gaza. And there is much truth in the report by that distinguished jurist, Richard Goldstone. "Give justice, true justice, a chance to be heard."

See Keith Ellison granting Baird more time. These brave Congresspeople are the future. Donna Edwards too. Welcome the future, America, don’t shy away:

See video at: http://huquq-com.blogspot.com/2009/11/give-justice-true-justice-chance-to-be.html

Source: http://huquq-com.blogspot.com

U.S. 'dismayed' at Israel plan to build 900 homes beyond Green Line

U.S. 'dismayed' at Israel plan to build 900 homes beyond Green Line

    3:18 PM   No comments

Israel disregards specific U.S. objection, approves plan to expand Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood.

The White House responded angrily Tuesday to Israel's plan to build 900 new housing units beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem, despite specific objections from the U.S., saying that "we are dismayed."

In a statement, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs voiced the U.S.'s disappointment with "the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem."

The Jerusalem municipal planning committee approved the construction plan Tuesday despite an expose in Israel's Yedioth Aharonot newspaper earlier in the day revealing that the U.S. has specifically objected to the construction outlined in the plan.

"At a time when we are working to relaunch negotiations," the White House spokesman went on to say, "these actions make it more difficult for our efforts to succeed. Neither party should engage in efforts or take actions that could unilaterally pre-empt, or appear to pre-empt, negotiations."

"The U.S. also objects to other Israeli practices in Jerusalem related to housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes," the statement continued.

"Our position is clear: the status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved through negotiations between the parties," he added.

State Department Spokesman Ian Kelly also voiced disapproval, saying "we understand the Israeli point of view about Jerusalem but we think all sides right now should refrain from these actions. We're calling on both parties to refrain from action and from rhetoric that would impede this process. It's a challenging time and we need to focus on what's important."

The plan - named "Gilo's western slopes" - will account for a significant expansion of the neighborhood. The planned 900 housing unites will be built in the form of 4-5 bedroom apartments, in an effort to lure relatively well-off residents.

The plan was initiated by the Israel Land Administration, and has received an initial green light, but on Tuesday the authorization was finalized.

The additional housing units are only part of the planned expansion of Gilo. In fact, the majority of apartments slated to be built in Jerusalem in the coming years will be located in Gilo. Other building plans in various stages of approval include some 4,000 new housing units in Gilo and adjacent areas.

According to sources in the planning committee, extensive building plans stem from the scrapping of the Safdie plan, which would have seen the city expand westward. The Safdie plan, named after architect Moshe Safdie, included over 20,000 housing units on open areas covering 26,600 dunams (some 6,600 acres) west of the city on natural and planted forests near Ramot. The plan had come under attack by environmental groups, and was later discarded.

According to the sources, this created a need for new land for construction, which can be found in the southern parts of the city and beyond the Green Line.

The chairman of the Gilo community administration, Moshe Ben Shushan, voiced amazement at the American disapproval, saying "this is a trend of interference in Israel's policies. I have never thought of Gilo as a settlement."

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said Tuesday that there was no point in negotiating while Israel expands Jewish neighborhoods in the part of Jerusalem the Palestinians want for their capital.

He said the Israeli move shows that it is meaningless to resume negotiations.

Over recent days, American officials have shown a tremendous amount of interest in the construction plans, and have even approached left-wing activists for information.

Source: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1128814.html

Rome hosts global food summit

Rome hosts global food summit

    1:25 PM   No comments

World leaders and government representatives have agreed to boost agricultural aid to poor nations at the beginning of a three-day summit on hunger.

But no target or a timeframe for action has been set at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation meeting, held in Rome, the Italian capital.

A final declaration, which called for "urgent action" to eliminate hunger around the world, made no mention of a proposal by the agency to raise farm aid to $44bn.

Earlier, many activists warned that with leaders of the wealthiest nations deciding not to attend, the conference in Rome on Monday is essentially powerless.

None of the leaders of the G8 group of industrialised nations are attending the conference, apart from Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, at the meeting of delegates from 60 nations.

Humanitarian agencies had hoped the summit would agree greater assistance to the world's one billion hungry people.

Frederic Mousseau, an Oxfam spokesman, said: "Rich countries are failing to show enough interest and urgency.

"At the G8 in Italy this summer they pledged $20bn for agriculture over three years, so they believe they have done enough. They haven't - and the $20bn is a mirage."

'Moral outrage'

Pope Benedict XVI will be an introductory speaker at the "Hunger Summit", which is being held at the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian President, Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader, Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, and Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, are also slated to attend.

Avvenire, an Italian bishops' newspaper, complained that the draft final declaration failed to mention the $44bn Jacques Diouf, the FAO head, has requested for agriculture in less developed nations.

"Every six seconds a child dies of hunger," Diouf said last week.

"This enormous tragedy is not only a moral outrage and an economic absurdity, but also it presents a serious threat to our collective peace and security."

The draft declaration seeks to commit leaders to a new strategy to promote agricultural development aid, but lacks a target date for eradication of hunger - set by the UN at 2025.

The draft was "just a rehash of old platitudes," Francisco Sarmento, Action Aid's food rights co-ordinator, said.

The Islamic Development Bank committed $1bn for projects with the FAO on Sunday, the agency said.

Argentina protestors to Peres: You need Nobel prize for murder

Argentina protestors to Peres: You need Nobel prize for murder

    1:15 PM   No comments

Thousands of people in Buenos Aires protested against President Shimon Peres' visit to Argentina on Monday, some of whom carried a banner telling the octogenarian he deserved a Nobel Prize for murder.

The banner referred to 1994 Nobel Peace Prize, which Peres won together with former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for the peace talks that resulted in the Oslo Accords.

The demonstrators, who marched toward the Israeli embassy, also waved banners bearing slogans against Israel, as well as posters of Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Protestors in Brazil last week offered Peres a similar welcome, some of whom shouted at him: "War criminal, go home."

During Peres' visit on Monday, he held met with Néstor Carlos Kirchner, his Argentinian counterpart. Kirchner told Peres in the meeting that he supported Iran's nuclear program, as long as it was for peaceful purposes.

Peres, in Argentina: 'the beginning of a new relationship'

Israeli President Shimon Peres, who arrived Sunday in Argentina, home to Latin America's biggest Jewish community, for a two-day visit, today met with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, just ahead of a planned visit by Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas. "We are not talking of extending an existing relationship but of starting a new one, for a new world," Peres said.

Peres was greeted on arrival here by Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana that said that the meeting between President Fernández de Kirchner and Peres will "contribute to the search for peace in the Middle East."

The 1994 Nobel Peace prize laureate, Peres is the first Israeli president in 20 years to visit Argentina.

On his speech Peres, who came to meet with Fernández de Kirchner to sign agreements and take part in an economic seminar, remarked that "people should not forget the attacks against the Israeli embassy (1992) and the AMIA Jewish Centre (1994) in Buenos Aires, whose victims were not only jewish", and insisted that the whole world should pay real attention to "Iran's nuclear programme."

Peres is accompanied by a 40-strong business delegation and by Israeli Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov with the aim of boosting the relationship at a variety of levels.Apart from his fellow-president CFK, the Israeli Labour Party veteran (86) will be meeting with various important politicians and members of the local Jewish community. Peres will be addressing an Argentine-Israeli business seminar this morning and the Argentine Council for Argentine Relations (CARI) on Tuesday morning. His tour of the region also included Brazil.

The president's entourage confirmed that one of the events he was scheduled to participate in was relocated following security concerns. The decision to move the event followed reports of fears of a massive anti-Israel protest.

At Argentina's president turn to speak, Fernández de Kirchner addressed Peres by saying that "for this country (Argentina), the peace in the Middle East is a fundamental cuestion due to the pursue of a safety world".

Cristina also remarked that "Argentina gives recognition to the Palestine Estate but also the right for Israel to lie peacefully in its territory."

During his visit here, Peres is also expected to visit a public square erected on the site of the 1992 bombing of the Israeli embassy, as well as the rebuilt Jewish cultural center that was blown up in 1994.

Both attacks killed 107 people and despite years of investigation remain unsolved. Argentina blames the cultural center bombing on Iran and has requested but failed to get the extradition of several Iranian officials for questioning.

The Delegation of Associations of Jewish Argentines said one of Peres' chief reasons for his visit to Argentina was to offset growing Iranian influence in the region.

Peres last week visited Brazil, where Abbas is also scheduled to arrive on Friday.

The Israeli president is also expected to address a gathering of thousands of Jews in a Buenos Aires stadium before he leaves.

Amid stalled peace negotiation in the Middle East, Peres' visit comes only days ahead of Abbas' and coincides with a Palestinian announcement that they plan to ask for United Nations recognition of their independence.

Israel has warned the Palestinians against taking such "unilateral action" saying it would be like taking a step backwards in the decades-long negotiating process.

Kirchner has been pushing for fresh negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and has condemned Israel's settlement policy in the occupied territories.

Source: http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/17515

Protesters Greet Peres on his Visit To Brazil, south America

Protesters Greet Peres on his Visit To Brazil, south America

    4:33 PM   No comments

Dozens of activists protested on Thursday against the Israeli President, Shimon Peres, during a visit to Sao Paolo – Brazil. Peres was participating in an event when the activists gathered outside protesting against Peres and describing him as “Shimon Hitler”.

Israeli Ynet News reported that one of the protesters told its reporter that the protest is against the government of Brazil for hosting Peres, the president of a country that occupied and kills Palestinian children.

The protesters added that protests would be held anytime an Israeli official, and would tell any official who visits the country that Israel kills children.

Argentina already boosted the security of Peres on Wednesday as Brazilian officials anticipated such protests.

Peres is visiting Argentina to advertise for an energy deal that would be signed between a Brazilian and Israeli company, the Ynet said.

An official accompanying Peres said that the Israeli presidents is hopeful that his visit would lead to a number of deal that mount to one billion U.S. Dollars.

Peres visited the Brazilian soccer star, Ronaldo, and invited him to visit Israel, and the later welcomed the Israeli president and said that he would be happy to visit Israel again.

As for the so-called Iranian file, Brazil defended its relation with Iran, and said that the country has the right to pursue a peaceful nuclear energy program.The signs included some showing Peres beside the Israeli flag with a swastika drawn on it and the president drawn with a mustache similar to that of Adolf Hitler and the text "Shimon Hitler". Other signs showed charred children's bodies.

Peres himself was in the building at the time of the protest, as the demonstrators chanted anti-Israeli chants.

'Not for a single moment' has Israel ceased illegal settlement activities, Fourth Committee told, opening discussion of Israeli practices in occupied

'Not for a single moment' has Israel ceased illegal settlement activities, Fourth Committee told, opening discussion of Israeli practices in occupied

    3:41 PM   No comments

GA/SPD/443

Sixty-fourth General Assembly

Fourth Committee

23rd Meeting (AM)

'Terrifying Logic' of Israeli Expansionism Dramatically Affecting Territorial Contiguity, Social Fabric of Palestinian People, Obstructing Chances for Peace

The past year had witnessed a deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, as Israel intensified its military aggression, serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, instead of pursuing peace, the observer for Palestine said today as the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) began its annual discussion of Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Arabs in the occupied territories.

Opening the Fourth Committee's general debate on the subject, she said that "not for a single moment" had Israel ceased its illegal settlement activities and its many related illegal practices aimed at advancing its attempts to de facto annex even more Palestinian land with the creation of facts on the ground altering the demographic composition, character, geographic nature and status of the Occupied Territory. That unlawful, two-pronged Israeli policy -– centred on the subjugation and oppression of the Palestinian people in conjunction with the colonization of the Palestinian land -– had intensified in the past year.

Stressing that "colonization and the peace process could not coexist", she said that the continuation of that illegitimate situation threatened prospects for peace and stability. With the Fact Finding Mission's report and the international reaction to it, momentum was rising to end the cycle of impunity and truly pursue accountability for the perpetration of war crimes and justice for the victims, and for the international community to shoulder the individual and collective legal obligations and responsibilities in that regard. The Palestinian side, for its part, had pledged to do so.

Expressing regret that the Special Committee –- established by the General Assembly in 1968 to investigate Israeli practices affecting Palestinian human rights in the occupied territories -– had again been unable to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Occupied Syrian Golan due to Israel's "obstruction and refusal to cooperate with yet another United Nations mission", she said that despite that, Palestine was aware that, for its report, the Special Committee had been able to carry out a mission to the region, reviewing, among other things, Palestinian, Syrian and Israeli witness testimonies on the basis of human rights standards.

Drawing particular attention to the "drastic humanitarian impacts" on the populations living in the Gaza Strip, the Chairman of the Special Committee, Palitha Kohona (Sri Lanka) -– who introduced the report -– noted the finding that the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in that area, as well as in other Palestinian and Arab territories under occupation, seriously affected the prospects for peace in the Palestinian territories and in the Middle East. "Repression only constrained the right of the Palestinian peoples, as they strove for self-determination and the realization of the two-State solution," he said.

This year's report reiterated many concerns already expressed in previous reports, he said, adding that despite the ceasefires declared by the parties to the conflict, the situation in Gaza remained volatile. During the Gaza war, access to humanitarian assistance was either impossible or limited. Lack of construction materials, raw materials for commerce and industry in Gaza, shortages of fuel and long power cuts had contributed to increased unemployment and poverty in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, more than 20 per cent of the agricultural land in Gaza had been destroyed and further areas had been contaminated.

Meanwhile, he said that the continued settlement activities and the construction of the separation wall by Israel severely constrained the freedom of movement of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and that the human rights situation in the Occupied Syrian Golan also remained serious. The Special Committee believed that all parties concerned had a collective responsibility to alleviate the long years of suffering of the people living under occupation, to turn sustainable peace from an illusion into a reality.

During the debate, many speakers stressed that the expansion of Israeli settlements were illegal under international law and constituted an obstacle to a lasting peace. The representative of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that the continued settlement activities, house demolitions, and evictions in the occupied West Bank, and particularly in East Jerusalem, remained a serious concern, because a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two States if there was to be genuine peace.

Algeria's speaker bemoaned the situation, which was deteriorating daily as a result of the Israeli policies of intimidation. The "terrifying logic" of Israeli expansionism had taken the form of a "greed for land", which was carried out with impunity. Israel had systematically used force to impose its will, and it enjoyed support and the knowledge that any decision within the United Nations would be blocked, enabling it to continue its annexation of land.

Israel's policy of fragmentation of the Occupied Territory continued to dramatically affect the territorial contiguity and social fabric of the Palestinian peoples, and was worsening an already tense situation, said Malaysia's speaker. Moreover, Palestinian farmers were frequently harassed by Israeli settlers. Palestinian children and women were particularly exposed to violence, since they were frequently alone during the day. Women were often targeted by Israeli settlers, having their property and houses vandalized while inside their homes, in attacks which often occurred in the presence of the Israeli army.

Also speaking on that subject were the representatives of Cuba, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Senegal, South Africa, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Morocco and Kuwait.

Earlier this morning, the Fourth Committee concluded its discussion on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), during which the representatives of Bahrain and Bangladesh spoke.

The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 10 November, to continue its debate on Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Arabs in occupied territories.

Background

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this morning to conclude its general debate on the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). (Reports before the Committee on the subject are summarized in Press Release GA/SPD/441.)

The Committee was also expected to begin its consideration of Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

On that subject, the Committee had before it a note of the Secretary-General transmitting the forty-first Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (document A/64/339). The Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories is composed of three Member States: Sri Lanka (Chairman), Malaysia and Senegal. The report says that this year, owing to the absence of the Chairman of the Committee, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, the Ambassador of Malaysia in New York functioned as the Acting Chair of the Special Committee.

The report to the General Assembly reflects the substance of the information gathered during the mission of the Special Committee to Egypt, Jordan and Syria from 3 August to 13 August. In those three countries, the Committee interviewed 33 Palestinian, Israeli and Syrian witnesses and representatives of non-governmental organizations. The Committee also reviewed numerous relevant documents and research materials, including a written submission by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Syria.

Section V of the report provides information concerning the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories, while section VI constitutes an overview of Israeli practices affecting the human rights of Syrian Arab citizens in the Occupied Syrian Golan. Section VII presents the conclusions of the report and the recommendations of the Special Committee to the General Assembly.

Among the recommendations that the Special Committee makes in the report are that the Assembly should urge the Security Council to ensure the implementation of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and General Assembly resolution ES-10/15, in which the Assembly requested Israel to comply with its legal obligation to cease the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem; to dismantle the segments of the wall already built; to repeal all legislative and regulatory acts adopted in view of the construction of the wall; and to make reparation for the damage arising from the construction of the wall.

According to the report, the Assembly should also urge the Security Council and Member States to enforce Security Council resolution 497 (1981) and similar relevant resolutions on the status of the Occupied Territories, including the Occupied Syrian Golan, which declared the annexation of the Occupied Territories illegal. Further, it should urge Member States to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee, and intensify diplomatic efforts, including the imposition of appropriate sanctions to enforce Israel's compliance with relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly Security Council resolutions, and international humanitarian and human rights law.

In addition, the Assembly should call for heightened and concerted international efforts to ensure the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance, particularly food, medicines, and construction materials to the besieged population of Gaza. It should also request the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to take concrete measures in respect of their obligations to ensure respect for the Convention by Israel. A meeting of the High Contracting Parties to that effect should be convened urgently, the report states.

Another report of the Secretary-General, on Applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the other Occupied Arab Territories (document A/64/332), states that, on 19 June, the Secretary-General addressed a note verbale to the Government of Israel, requesting information on steps taken or envisaged concerning the implementation of the relevant provisions of resolution 63/96. No reply had been received at the time of the report's preparation. Replies to similar notes verbale, sent to all Permanent Missions, were received from the Permanent Mission of Venezuela on 7 July, from the Permanent Mission of Syria on 9 July, from the Permanent Mission of Qatar on 14 July, from the Permanent Mission of Egypt on 27 July, and from the Permanent Mission of Colombia on 28 July.

Also before the Committee was the Secretary-General's report on the work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (document A/64/340), which gives an overview of that body's activities and mission, as well as the activities of the Department of Public Information on the issue and the Special Committee's work during the period from August 2008 to July 2009.

The Secretary-General's report on the Occupied Syrian Golan (document A/64/354) notes that on 12 June, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on behalf of the Secretary-General, addressed a note verbale to the Governments of Syria and Israel informing them of a mission by OHCHR to the Occupied Syrian Golan and to Syria on the basis of the aforementioned resolution. Syria welcomed the mission, and between 4 and 11 July, OHCHR conducted a mission to that country to collect information for a possible substantive report on the Occupied Syrian Golan.

It further notes that allegations were raised with OHCHR that water was being rationed in a discriminatory manner between settlers and Syrian Golanis in the Occupied Syrian Golan. In addition, several sources alleged that Israel was disposing of nuclear and toxic waste, as well as laying landmines, near Syrian Golani villages. If confirmed, the alleged actions are contrary to international human rights law and international humanitarian law. On 19 June, OHCHR addressed a note verbale to Israel asking the Government to give any information on steps taken or to be taken concerning the implementation of the relevant provisions of General Assembly resolution 63/99. As in previous years, no replies had been received at the time of the preparation of the report.

The report further notes that replies to similar notes verbale, sent to all Permanent Missions, were received from the Permanent Mission of Venezuela on 7 July, the Permanent Mission of Syria on 9 July, the Permanent Mission of Qatar on 14 July, the Permanent Mission of Egypt on 24 July, and the Permanent Mission of Colombia on 28 July.

Statements on UNRWA

FAISAL AL ZAYANI ( Bahrain) expressed gratitude and appreciation for the "brotherly host countries" of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, and for Norway's representative for his report on the activities of the working group. Despite the reforms being carried out within UNRWA to improve services for refugees, the Agency's financial situation was vulnerable. That would impede its work in the suffering of Palestinian refugees, unless all efforts were mobilized to provide it with adequate financing.

He thanked the Agency's donors, especially the major donors who always responded generously, and he expressed hope that the Agency would receive further funds to allow it to carry out its tasks and allow it to avoid carrying out any measures that would negatively impact its services. The report before the Committee on UNRWA indicated that the Agency had used every effort to improve the quality of its services by promoting and strengthening programme management, and by simplifying the provision of support services through organizational development. The Agency had responded to emergencies in all of its five fields of operation, combating such difficulties as high rates of malnutrition, the increasing homelessness of Palestinians, and damaged educational programmes.

Self-reliance among Palestinians was "exhausted" in the face of the economic and social deterioration, he said. Each Palestinian refugee should enjoy the best possible levels of human development and be able to participate productively in social, economic and cultural life. They should feel confident that there was "someone to protect his rights and defend them." Instead, they saw the "human crisis" resulting from the continued aggressive campaign by Israeli forces against them, through such measures as the widespread curfew in the Occupied Territory, the continued building of the separation wall in the West Bank and around Jerusalem, settlements, deforestation, and the bulldozing of land and property.

NAHIDA SOBHAN ( Bangladesh) said that her delegation, since December 2007, had been witnessing, with utter frustration, the Israeli operations in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, in violation of the fundamental and human rights of the Palestinian refugees. Unabated and intensive Israeli military operations and increased settlement activities in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon had caused widespread displacement of the innocent civilian population. Her delegation strongly condemned the illegal expansion of Israeli settlements, which encroached on Palestinian lands. Her delegation also regretted that repeated appeals of the international community to Israel to improve the deteriorating conditions of the Palestinians had not been heeded. Her delegation remained deeply concerned about the spiralling violence, persecution, deprivation of rights and degrading humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian refugees.

She also expressed concern about the restrictions imposed on the freedom of movement of UNRWA personnel and vehicles in the Occupied Territory. Those restrictions severely hampered UNRWA's humanitarian activities and led to further deterioration of the Palestinians' socio-economic and living conditions. In order to restore regional and international security and the rights of the Palestinians, there was no alternative but to remove the blockade imposed by Israel. She also reiterated her demand on Israel to ensure unrestricted mobility and non-interference in the activities of the Agency so that it could fulfil its mandate.

Further, she said that income generation through the creation of new jobs had been identified as the principle means to ensure the welfare of the Palestinian people. Continued contribution towards that goal remained the focus of UNRWA's activities. For Bangladesh, being the birthplace of the concept of microcredit, it was gratifying to observe the success of the Agency's microfinance and microenterprise programme and its resultant rapid growth and wide acceptance in the region, as the major tools for poverty alleviation and economic development. She called for the programme's further extension, with a particular focus on empowering poor Palestinian women. Given her country's experience in that field, it would be happy to share its expertise, particularly to fine-tune the programmes to meet the specific needs of the Palestinian people and the region as a whole.

Introduction of Report

PALITHA KOHONA ( Sri Lanka) said that the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People had once again examined the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by holding meetings with witnesses, in Cairo, Amman and Damascus. While in those three cities, the Special Committee had heard the testimonies of several witnesses from Palestinian and Israeli non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, Government representatives, national institutions and United Nations staff.

He said it had been learned that the deteriorating socio-economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza, as well as in other Palestinian and Arab territories under occupation, seriously affected the prospects for a viable peace in the Palestinian territories and in the Middle East. Repression only constrained the right of the Palestinian peoples, as they strove for self-determination and the realization of the two-State solution.

This year's report reiterated many concerns already expressed in previous reports, he said, adding that he wished to emphasize the drastic humanitarian impacts on the populations living in the Gaza Strip, following the war that began in December 2008. It had been reported that Israel had used excessive force and white phosphorous munitions, inflicting serious injuries on the victims. Israeli aerial attacks had destroyed and damaged more than 20,000 vital civilian infrastructures, including private homes, hospitals, schools and mosques. However, despite the ceasefires declared by the parties to the conflict, the situation in Gaza remained volatile.

Even before the Gaza War, the majority of civilians were largely dependent on humanitarian assistance for their daily survival, he said. During the war, access to humanitarian assistance was either impossible or limited. Lack of construction materials, raw materials for commerce and industry in Gaza, shortages of fuel and long power cuts had contributed to increased unemployment and poverty in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, more than 20 per cent of the agricultural land in Gaza had been destroyed and further areas had been contaminated.

Furthermore, he said, the continued settlement activities and the construction of the separation wall by Israel severely constrained the freedom of movement of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Road barriers and other types of controls had led to high rates of school dropouts. There were also increasing incidents of "humiliation" faced by Palestinians, especially women and girls, at road checkpoints and even in their own homes during security searches. Furthermore, the illegal construction of the separation wall continued, despite the International Court of Justices' advisory opinion. In the view of many Israeli and Palestinian witnesses, the route of the wall was not based on security considerations; it perpetuated and expanded settlements, restricted the area of the Palestinians State, and ensured lasting Israeli control over the areas of the West Bank. The settlement activities and arbitrary demolition of Palestinian homes had created serious tensions and animosities between Israeli settlers and their Palestinian neighbours.

The human rights situating in the Occupied Syrian Golan too remained serious, he said. The continued illegal imposition of Israeli law, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Golan region warranted the immediate attention of the international community. The Special Committee recommended that the General Assembly take all measures at its disposal to enable the Special Committee to fulfil its mandate, including gaining access to the Occupied Territories. He urged the Security Council to ensure the implementation of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and General Assembly resolution ES-10/15. The Special Committee was of the belief that all parties concerned should take action on its recommendations, which was a "collective responsibility", to alleviate the long years of sufferings of the people living under occupation, so that sustainable peace would not be an illusion.

Statements

FEDA ABDELHADY-NASSER, observer for Palestine, thanked the Special Committee for its report on the critical human rights situation of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories as a result of ongoing illegal Israeli policies and practices against the civilian populations under its military occupation since 1967, for a total of more than 42 years now. Expressing regret that the Special Committee had again been unable to enter the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Occupied Syrian Golan due to Israel's obstruction and refusal to cooperate with yet another United Nations mission, she said that Palestine was aware, however, that the Special Committee had been able to carry out a mission to the region, reviewing, inter alia, Palestinian, Syrian and Israeli witness testimonies on the basis of human rights standards. She also regretted that two reports by the Secretary-General had not been issued earlier.

She said that, as noted in the report, the past year had witnessed the deterioration of the situation on the ground in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, on all fronts. There had been a brutal Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip, resulting in serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes. That was the conclusion of the Human Rights Council's Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, which had produced the so-called "Goldstone Report", as well as by other independent investigations, including the Secretary-General's Board of Inquiry and the Arab League's Independent Fact Finding Committee on Gaza. That military aggression was carried out against a civilian population already debilitated from the collective punishment, imprisonment and deprivation imposed upon them by the more than two-year Israeli blockade of Gaza.

At the same time, she said, the world had witnessed Israel's continued pursuit of its unlawful colonization campaign in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, especially in and around East Jerusalem. Not for a single moment had Israel ceased its illegal settlement activities and the many other related illegal practices aimed at advancing its attempts to de facto annex even more Palestinian land with the creation of facts on the ground altering the demographic composition, character, geographic nature and status of the Territory. That unlawful two-pronged Israeli policy -– centred on the subjugation and oppression of the Palestinian people in conjunction with the colonization of the Palestinian land -– had not only continued, but had intensified in the past year. The policy entailed gross human rights violations -– including the rights to self-determination, life, security, property, food, health care, education, livelihood, an adequate standard of living, movement and worship.

Such illegal Israeli practices had caused socio-economic devastation, fragmented the unity, contiguity and integrity of the Palestinian Territory, and fuelled the cycles of violence over the years, she continued. Moreover, Israel's flagrant disrespect for international law and the international community's calls for compliance with legal obligations had impeded efforts to resume the peace process -– based on relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, the Arab Peace initiative, and the Quartet Road Map -– and caused the further deterioration and destabilization of the situation on the ground.

Tragically for the Palestinian people, instead of pursuing peace, successive Israeli Governments had systematically pursued policies in absolute contravention of all rules and norms of international law, she said. All of that had traumatized and terrorized generation after generation, inflicting harm, humiliation and hardship on the entire population. Those serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law had once again been documented by the Special Committee.

Moreover, Israel had deliberately obstructed any reconstruction in Gaza through the continued imposition of its unlawful blockade of the entire population in Gaza, which continued to live in misery in the rubble of their homes and communities, she said. Combined with the destruction of factories, businesses and fishing boats, the blockade had exacerbated the already high levels of poverty, unemployment and food insecurity, with UNRWA estimating that there were now at least 300,000 persons living in abject poverty, owing to that manmade disaster. The blockade must be immediately lifted to allow for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

As concluded by the Goldstone mission after surveying the reality of the situation on the ground, all phases of the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip had been planned as "a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorize a civilian population, radically diminish its local capacity both to work and to provide for itself, and to force upon it an ever increasing sense of dependency and vulnerability", she said. In sum, the Goldstone investigation had found that Israel, the occupying Power, had committed serious human rights violations and grave breaches of international humanitarian law, amounting to war crimes against the Palestinian people.

She added that Israel had committed those crimes before the eyes of the international community, no doubt emboldened by the fact that it had never been truly held accountable for its transgressions against the Palestinian people under its occupation. That culture of impunity had been fostered by the failure to uphold the rule of law and ensure its respect in all circumstances. That had not only deepened the injustice and suffering endured by the Palestinian people, but had undermined the credibility of international law and the international system as a whole.

With the Goldstone report and the international reaction to it, including the General Assembly's adoption of a resolution on 5 November to follow-up the report and the recommendations therein, momentum was rising to end the cycle of impunity and truly pursue accountability for the perpetration of war crimes and justice for the victims, she said. The international community must shoulder the individual and collective legal obligations and responsibilities in that regard. The Palestinian side, for its part, had pledged to do so.

Regrettably, the situation in the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, also remained volatile, she said. Israel continued its military raids and arrest operations in the West Bank, adding to the nearly 11,000 imprisoned Palestinians, including children, women and elected officials, the majority under degrading, inhumane conditions, subjected to physical and psychological ill-treatment, coercion and even torture. Of particular concern remained Israel's settlement colonization campaign throughout the Territory, which was being carried out in grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I. The situation was most severe in and around East Jerusalem, where Israel continued pursuing measures aimed at the "quiet transfer" or de-population of the indigenous Palestinian inhabitants and at ensuring a Jewish majority in the city. Settler violence had also intensified recently, with violent, extremist Israeli settlers continuing to harass, intimidate and terrorize Palestinian civilians, violating their rights to life, liberty and pursuit of person, and destroying Palestinian properties and crops.

In addition, she said, Israel continued to impose hundreds of checkpoints –- many of them linked to the settlements and the wall -– and to restrict the movement of persons and goods into and out of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in collective punishment of the civilian population. Combined, the settlements, wall, bypass roads, checkpoints and other Israeli military installations, were occupying huge swaths of Palestinian land, including areas with water and natural resources, which were being exploited. The continuation of that illegitimate situation threatened prospects for peace and stability.

Colonization and the peace process could not coexist, she stressed.

It might truly be possible to break the obscene cycle of impunity by the occupier and persecution of the occupied, she continued. The calls for responsible action, accountability and justice were intense and must be heeded. That was imperative for halting Israel's violations and ensuring its compliance with international law. It was also necessary for creating the appropriate conditions advancing the cause of peace towards ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and establishing the independent State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, where the Palestinian people could finally realize their human rights, including those of self-determination. As affirmed in the Goldstone report, "The [Permanent Observer] Mission is of the view that ending the occupation is a prerequisite for the return of a dignified life for Palestinians, as well as development and a peaceful solution to the conflict."

ANN MÅWE (Sweden), speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that the Union remained committed to a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, on the basis of international law, the relevant United NationsSecurity Council resolutions, the terms of reference of the Madrid conference, including land for peace, the Road Map, the agreements previously reached by the parties, and the Arab Peace Initiative. The Union remained equally committed to the two-State solution with an independent, democratic contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel. The continued settlement activities, house demolitions, and evictions in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem remained a serious concern. Of particular concerned was the development in East Jerusalem, for if there was to be genuine peace, a way must be found to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two States.

She urged the Government of Israel to immediately end settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem, and including so-called "natural growth", and to dismantle all outposts erected since March 2001. The Union reiterated that the settlements were illegal under international law and constituted an obstacle to peace. The Union would not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders, other than those agreed by both parties. She recalled the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the building of the separation barrier in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and reiterated the request that Israel halt construction and dismantle the separation barrier on occupied land, the lines of which did not correspond to the 1949 Armistice Demarcation, which ran contrary to international law. She called for the progressive removal of Israeli restrictions on movement and access, in order to improve the situation on the ground and living conditions in the West Bank, and to revitalize the Palestinian economy.

Palestinian prisoners should be released in greater numbers, with priority being given to minors, she said. The Union was also concerned about the practice of administrative detention by Israel. That raised serious concerns regarding the respect for human rights of persons deprived of their liberty.

The European Union had deeply deplored the loss of life during the Gaza conflict in the beginning of the year, she said, reiterating the importance of the Geneva Convention, which formed "the heart of international humanitarian law." A durable solution to the Gaza crisis had to be achieved through the full implementation of United NationsSecurity Council resolution 1860 (2009). The Union remained gravely concerned by the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Reconstruction and economy recovery must be allowed, and she called for an immediate and unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of humanitarian aid into and out of Gaza, in line with international humanitarian law, as well as that of commercial goods.

She said that regional peace was of fundamental interest for the European Union, and thus that body was ready to work with the parties to the conflict, as well as the United States and other Quartet members and regional parties, to achieve that goal.

REBECA HERNÁNDEZ TOLEDANO ( Cuba) expressed her delegation's support for the statement to be made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. She also reiterated her delegation's full support for the work of the Special Committee and for the request made by the General Assembly in resolution 63/95 calling for the Special Committee to continue its work until an end was put to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land and that of other Arab territories occupied since 1967.

She said that the international community continued to bear witness to the alarming situation and unprecedented escalation of violence in Arab territories. Her delegation noted with extreme concern the ever-increasing number of poor people and the number who could not have their daily needs met. Currently, 65.8 per cent of the population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and 80 per cent in the Gaza Strip were poor. In the Gaza Strip, the majority depended on food aid to survive, and almost 50 per cent were unemployed. Efforts made by the international community had been unfruitful. Israeli authorities, in frank disdain of international law and open disregard of resolutions, continued with their policies of aggression in the region.

The Security Council remained unable to address the matter and to find a solution to the conflict, she said, pointing to the common use or threat of use of the veto by a permanent member. Moreover, the Israeli settlement activities demonstrated a lack of commitment and cooperation from the Israeli Government, and defiance of the General Assembly. Her delegation was concerned about the indiscriminate and aggressive use of force by Israel, and its other illegal policies and practices. The United Nations Fact Finding Mission and resulting Goldstone report showed vivid and stark evidence of violations of rights by Israel. Her delegation was deeply concerned over the impunity with which Israel had acted and continued to act. Israel continued with its policy of closures, and its unjust and inhumane policies towards inhabitants in the Gaza Strip. It also maintained intense settlement activities, which included confiscation of large swaths of land, and continued to build the separation wall.

Her delegation reaffirmed that all Israeli actions seeking to alter the physical and demographic State of the Occupied Syrian Golan, and aimed at imposing its jurisdiction there, were null and void, she said. The Palestinian people had the inalienable right to establish an independent and sovereign State, with East Jerusalem as its capital. In addition, her delegation demanded the return of all territories occupied by Israel since 1967.

MOHAMMED ABDULLAH AL HADHRAMI ( Yemen) said 20,000 Palestinian families had found themselves homeless as a result of last year's war of aggression by the Israeli forces, which was "erroneously" waged under the mantle of "self defence". Pre-meditated direct bombing, using the most deadly kinds of weapons, including the bombing of schools, hospitals and infrastructure in a region known for its high population density, could not really be considered self-defence. The occupying Power had launched this "barbaric machine of war", which had displaced so many people, all falsely on the grounds of "self-defence".

He said that the Goldstone report, which had just recently been adopted by the General Assembly, was professional and thorough. Highlighting some of its conclusions, he said that Palestinians had the right to resist the abuse of their right to self-determination and their right to life. The report concluded that the military attack was unprecedented in terms of its extent and intensity, and its "barbarity", and that there would be long-term consequences. The report showed quite clearly that Israel had targeted civilians and their property, and said that the Israeli military attack on Gaza had very serious repercussions.

While Israel tried to show that its military actions were a self-defensive response to the launching of missiles, the report rejected that argument, saying that Israel's aggressions were, to some extent, directed against the civilian population of Gaza. The repeated failure to distinguish between combatants and civilians was not an unintentional error, but the result of clear instructions given to the soldiers, as some soldiers had borne witness to. The destruction of sewer systems, food processing factories, cement factories, and homes was a clear and methodical policy, since those targets were not a direct military threat. Instead, Israel wanted to make Palestinians' lives more intolerable. The suffering of the Palestinian people would not end until the international community shouldered its responsibilities and put an end to the Israeli occupation of all Palestinian and Arab Territory, including the Occupied Syrian Golan.

MONA AL-KAHTANI ( United Arab Emirates) said that Israel followed a methodology of media blockade, through which the authorities covered up their crimes and grave violations against the Palestinian and Arab population. That included preventing the members of the Special Committee from entering the Occupied Territories. Israel's actions had exceeded the limits of reasonableness and had led the Special Committee to carry out annually, since its establishment, meetings with witnesses and affected individuals in the neighbouring States, in order to find out the truth about Israeli practices and its violations of basic human rights principles. The present report presented, in numbers and very clear evidence, the state of affairs and the inhumane realities suffered by the Arab population in the Palestinian Territory and the Occupied Syrian Golan.

She said that Israel continued its widespread and aggressive campaign, not even satisfied with aggression and military intervention, nor merely killing and the random and haphazard arrest of civilians, nor with the destruction of homes and the targeting of social and economic structures, the destruction of farms, the threat of natural resources, nor limiting the freedom of worship. Israel had extended its activities recently to subjecting the Palestinian people to daily punishment, and continued military incursions into Palestinian Territory, enforcing a blockade on entry points to Palestinian cities and villages, thus depriving the population of the basic necessities of life, including relief supplies and medicines, fuel, and so on. That action had intensified the suffering, socially, economically and humanely. It had also inflicted great losses on the Palestinian economy. Now, 80 per cent of the population in Gaza and 45 per cent of the families in the West Bank lived below the poverty level. Palestinian communities were also suffering numerous social and health problems, such as the spread of diseases.

All of those actions were in addition to Israel's aggression against United Nations facilities in the Palestinian Territory, and undermined humanitarian international efforts. Those actions constituted a deliberate and outrageous disregard for the will of the international community. Her delegation strongly denounced those practices, and viewed them as war crimes and crimes against humanity, as deduced by the Fact Finding Mission.

She called on the international community to pressure Israel to force it to stop its aggression and policy of collective punishment and blockade on Gaza. Israel must immediately open all borders and crossing points to humanitarian support, especially medical supplies and treatment. The international community must also call upon Israel to withdraw completely from all of the Palestinian and Arab Territories, occupied since 1967, and must immediately comply with the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. It must also implement the International Court of Justice advisory opinion, which called for an immediate halt to construction of the wall. She also called on the international community to carry out several immediate and effective measures, as indicated in the Special Committee's report.

MOURAD BENMEHIDI (Algeria) aligning his delegation with the statement to be made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that the situation in the Middle East deteriorated every day as a result of the Israeli policies of intimidation. The Middle East, which had been a place of tolerance among faiths and peoples, was now a place of conflict. The occupying regime had elevated aggression to an institutionalized policy, which had become the only policy governing its relations with States in the region. Oppression against the Palestinian peoples occurred in broad daylight, as part of a campaign of annexation of land and "Judaization". The Israeli repression went along with a virtual genocide campaign, of which the recent campaign against Gaza was an edifying example.

He said that although Israel faced international rejection of its practices, it continued to show disdain, arrogance and defiance. In recent years, Muslim holy places in Jerusalem had suffered many desecrations by Israel. Those intolerable efforts to "Judaize" the city constituted the crossing of a new threshold and a new challenge to the authority of the Security Council and the international community as a whole. His delegation wished to convey the "deep sense of outrage and revulsion" of the people and Government of Algeria over those most serious violations. The "terrifying logic" of Israeli expansionism had taken the form of a "greed for land", which was carried out with impunity. Israel was pursuing a policy of aggression, domination and intimidation, and had systematically used force to impose its will. It enjoyed support and the knowledge that any decision within the United Nations would be blocked so that it could continue its annexation of land.

BABACAR CARLOS MBAYE ( Senegal) expressed the full support of his delegation for the recommendations in the report of the Fact Finding Mission. The State of Israel had stepped up its controls along the border of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and had, among other things, intensified its restrictions of food aid. In addition, rebuilding had still not begun in Gaza. His delegation feared that such a particularly difficult situation would become an unprecedented humanitarian disaster if nothing was done to end it immediately. In the West Bank, settlements were still being expanded, and hundreds of new homes had been built, while the occupying Authority continued to approve other similar projects. As for the Occupied Syrian Golan, Israel continued to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration, which had negative consequences for the fundamental freedoms and human rights of the people there.

He said that the people in the occupied territories were understandably frustrated, and were waiting for an immediate end to the Israeli occupation and a life of some dignity. Despite the completely unjustifiable lack of cooperation on the part of Israeli occupiers, the Special Committee had been able to collect sufficient evidence and actual proof about the situation, and they had described how the Palestinian people and other Arabs in the occupied territories were still living. The United Nations must take the necessary steps to lead Israel to abide scrupulously by the principles of international law. His delegation called on the State of Israel to look into its own history, and to look into the spirit of its own great people, in order to put an end to the suffering inflicted every day on the people of the occupied territories and enable them to recover the highest aspiration of a person. In addition, his delegation called for a restart of negotiations. Israel should cooperate with the Special Committee and allow it to visit the occupied territories, and he urged the international community, and particularly the Security Council, to ensure there was actual implementation of the recommendations made by the Special Committee.

BASO SANGQU (South Africa), aligning his delegation with the statement to be delivered on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, reiterated full support for the work of the Special Committee. The situation of Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories should be understood in the context of the ongoing Israeli military occupation, which dated back to 1967, and the associated denial of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. The report once again showed that the illegal Israeli practices associated with the military, socio-economic and humanitarian disaster in the occupied Arab territories had not only continued, but had intensified.

He said that South Africa condemned the acts of aggression, as well as the gross and systematic violations of human rights in the Gaza Strip. While the military incursion must come to an end, the consequences for the people of Gaza must also not be forgotten. Israel bore full responsibility for compensating the Palestinian people, and the international community must also take the lead in efforts to rebuild Gaza. He reiterated his delegation's strong belief that the full implementation of the Special Committee's report would contribute greatly towards ensuring accountability.

He also reiterated the call for Israel to immediately cease the building and expansion of settlements in the West Bank, and the continued demolition of Palestinian houses there and in East Jerusalem. All of those actions were serious violations of international law and severely damaged the social and economic structures of the West Bank and Gaza. They also increased unemployment and poverty, as well as reliance on humanitarian assistance. Sadly, the economic hardships in the Occupied Palestinian Territory had intensified, owing to the border control regime and other trade-related obstacles.

The vision of peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians based on the two-State solution, on the basis of the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine, was the only sustainable solution. South Africa looked forward to the day when Israel complied with its international obligations and fully cooperated with the Special Committee.

TAHIR HUSSAIN ANDRABI ( Pakistan) said that the Special Committee's report, over the years, had become a compendium of human rights abuse faced by the people of Palestine and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, including Syrian Golan, at the hands of occupation forces. This year, as well, a serious deterioration of the human rights situation had been reported. Such findings were corroborated, not only by a number of United Nations reports, especially those of the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNRWA, and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), but also those reported by independent international media. The consequences of high-handed policies to maintain illegal occupation were disastrous on two counts: firstly, their direct effect on the situation on the ground in terms of effects on lives and livelihoods; and secondly, their negative impact on the broader peace process, which was the only light at the end of a long tunnel of conflict and violence.

He said that the worsening humanitarian situation in the occupied territories was a matter of serious concern for his delegation. Settlement activity and construction of the separation wall were against the Road Map and the commitments made by Israel on a number of occasions. Those actions, in fact, triggered a whole range of human rights violations and hardships for the people of the occupied territories, including a denial of the right to life, liberty, property, freedom of movement, adequate standard of living, work, education and health. They also deprived them of their scarce water resources. The right to self-determination was a fundamental human right, whose denial and violation was at the core of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He agreed with the Special Committee that failure to realize that right would compromise the possibility for full respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of the Palestinian people.

An end to Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the peoples in the occupied territories was important for building an environment of trust and confidence, he said. That trust and confidence, together with the active engagement of the international community, was the only way forward for the peace process and progress towards a two-State solution, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.

TARIQ ALI FARAJ AL-ANSARI (Qatar), associating his delegation with the statement to be made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that the military occupation did not provide security for Israel, but was instead the worst violation of human rights against unarmed and oppressed people under the pretext of combating violence and terrorism. That pretext was false and baseless, because the right to fight for liberation from foreign occupation was a legitimate right, which could not be equated with military aggression.

He welcomed the findings of the Special Committee as well as those of the Goldstone Fact Finding Mission, but said those were not enough; the international community had identified the issues, such as the wall's construction and the dumping of toxic waste. What was crucial was for the international community to act to stop those aggressions. That was the particular responsibility of the five permanent members of the Security Council, specifically those States that had a historical responsibility for the Middle East issue. Statements in support of the Palestinian peoples must be turned into action on the ground.

Among the most dangerous of Israel's practices were attempts to "prejudice" the Islamic and Christian holy sites, he said. Those harmful policies impeded opportunities for establishing lasting and comprehensive peace, and must be denounced and condemned. Additionally, there were serious shortcomings in Israeli legislation, since those actions were not criminalized, even though they incited hatred and could be considered one of the "root causes of terrorism".

Israel's insistence on its illegal practices against the Palestinian and Arab peoples under occupation did not conform to the behaviour of the civilized world, he said. With those practices, Israel had distanced itself from the family of nations, and squandered the opportunity to establish relations with the peace-loving nations of the Middle East. If Israel's leaders had foresight, they would realize that ending the occupation would provide a secure future, economically and socially, for the people of the entire region, including the Israeli people.

BASHAR JA'AFARI ( Syria) said that the report drew attention, for the fortieth consecutive year, to Israeli practices and to Israel's deliberate and systematic destruction of the legal character of the Occupied Syrian Golan, as well as to the fact that it benefited from a culture of impunity and continued to have a mentality of being above the law. That was despite the international community's condemnation of such practices. Israel paid no heed to international legitimacy or to ethical or humanitarian law, and it had persisted for decades in denying those rights and resolutions. That was all in addition to its continuous refusal to receive the Special Committee or to permit it to visit the Occupied Arab Territories. Furthermore, Israel did not cooperate with the international community to establish a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

He said that Israel continued to occupy the Syrian Golan, in defiance of hundreds of United Nations resolutions. Israel persisted in such policies as the destruction of Syrian villages, replacing them with illegal settlements. The report reiterated the chain of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation authorities, such as seizing the properties of Syrians in the Golan Heights, plundering their natural wealth and infrastructure, stealing water and diverting it to the settlements, pressuring the Syrian residents who had remained in the Golan, controlling their means of livelihood, bulldozing their land, and imposing exorbitant taxes, among other things. Also, Israel refused to specify the mine sites in the territories. There were approximately 2 million mines, which threatened the lives of farmers and other Syrian residents in the Occupied Golan.

Moreover, Israel had buried nuclear waste in some areas of the Occupied Golan, which demonstrated that it was indifferent to the health, environmental and agricultural safety of the Occupied Golan, as well as to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His delegation called on the international community to bring pressure upon Israel to stop buying such waste, and to abide by international instruments as well as relevant International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) decisions. Furthermore, he said that all laws had been enacted to apply to everyone; hence, the credibility of the United Nations was at stake, and Israel had to fulfil its responsibilities and bring Israeli criminals to justice.

AMINE CHABI (Morocco), associating his statement with that to be made on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that aggressions against civilians and the confiscation of land had "dastardly" and extremely serious consequences for the people of the Gaza Strip. Suffering had increased, following the destruction of houses and public institutions, and Israel's continued construction of the separation wall was in violation of international humanitarian law. He condemned the "racial segregation" pursued by Israel, as that had terrible repercussions for the Palestinians, cutting them off from their villages and dividing them into small, isolated areas, forcing thousands to leave their lands.

He said that the Palestinians were experiencing difficult political situations as well, as there was a freezing of activities of the Palestinian Authority, making it impossible to meet vital needs in health and education. Many Palestinians were tortured in detention centres established by Israel. The Occupied Syrian Golan was also the site of serious human rights violations, and had been a theatre of serious violations against the Arab inhabitants of that region. The "clamping down of the vise" of the Israeli Government on the population of that area, including taxes against the inhabitants, confiscation of lands and the exploitation of the natural resources, had greatly hurt the population. Human rights violations continued, as did the violations of international conventions, including the Fourth Geneva Convention.

KHALAF BU DHHAIR (Kuwait) said that the Special Committee's present report, as well as its previous ones, indicated clearly and unequivocally the continuation of the oppressive Israeli practices against the Palestinian population and others in the occupied Arab territories. Those practices ran counter to international humanitarian law and to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and had led to the deterioration of the situation of human rights in those territories, thus increasing the suffering and complicating economic and social living conditions. Since the middle of the last century, the Middle East crisis, with the question of Palestine at its core, remained at a standstill. The Palestinian people were still suffering, their human rights violated and their lands occupied, and Security Council resolutions remained frozen.

He said that despite all the fast-paced international efforts exerted to revive the peace process, the Israeli Government -- instead of taking serious confidence-building measures -- continued its inhumane practices, represented by an excessive use of its military machine against the unarmed Palestinian people, its intentional destruction of homes and infrastructure institutions of the Palestinian Authority, its closure of border crossing points, and its limitation of the freedom of movement and transportation of persons and goods.

Israel always claimed that it acted to guarantee human rights and respect for international laws and conventions, he said, calling on the international community, represented by the Security Council, to assume its responsibilities to stop the practices of the Israel Government by activating and implementing its own resolutions. The international community should also take immediate measures to protect the civilian population and guarantee that such brutal practices, which led to the further deterioration of the living conditions of the Palestinian people, did not occur. In addition, he called for the immediate and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from the Occupied Syrian Golan and for the Israeli Government to commit itself to implement the recommendations of the Special Committee and to cooperate with it.

HAMIDON ALI ( Malaysia) said the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory had been severely aggravated by the Israeli military operations of December 2008 and January 2009. Israel's policy of fragmentation of the Occupied Territory continued to dramatically affect the territorial contiguity and social fabric of the Palestinian peoples and was in violation of international law. The expansion of illegal settlements had also worsened an already tense situation and negatively affected all Palestinians.

He said that Palestinian farmers were frequently harassed by physical attacks or threats by Israeli settlers. Palestinian children and women were particularly exposed to violence, since they often appeared as the most vulnerable and were frequently alone during the day. Women were often targeted by Israeli settlers, having their property and houses vandalized while inside their homes, being hit by rocks, fired at, beaten or verbally abused. Those attacks frequently occurred in the presence of the Israeli army, which did not prevent or stop them.

Furthermore, Israeli authorities continued to demolish Palestinian houses, and the high number of checkpoints, road blocks and other obstacles severely violated the Palestinian's right to freedom of movement, he said. The right to an adequate standard of living, education, health and work were also impeded by years of Israeli blockades and military operations in Gaza. Israel also continued to detain Palestinians, including children, under the administrative detention regime in "incommunicado" conditions for prolonged periods of time.

He said that the dehumanisation of the Palestinian peoples and other Arabs in the occupied territories was counterproductive to the aim of achieving the two-State solution, where peoples of two contiguous States lived together in peace. He urged that the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Committee be fully implemented and that no efforts be spared to pursue its goals.

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