Crímenes de guerra

Find more photos like this on Palestinian Mothers

HOMERO CAMPA

Israel no tiene "justificación legal o moral para lanzar misiles contra blancos civiles". Su actitud no sólo viola las leyes internacionales sobre los derechos humanos, asociadas en primer lugar con el derecho a la vida, sino que "constituye un crimen de guerra".Tajante es el informe que Richard Falk, relator especial de Naciones Unidas para los Territorios Palestinos, presentó el sábado 9 ante el Consejo de Derechos Humanos (CDH) de la ONU, reunido en "sesión especial".Con base en ese documento, tres días después -lunes 12- el CDH aprobó una resolución que "condena las operaciones militares realizadas por Israel" en la Franja de Gaza, las cuales "han resultado en masivas violaciones a los derechos humanos de los palestinos y en la sistemática destrucción de su infraestructura".Fueron 33 los países que votaron a favor, incluido México, mientras que 13 se abstuvieron y uno más, Canadá, se pronunció en contra.En su informe, Falk denuncia que las autoridades israelíes le impidieron cumplir con su misión de monitorear la situación de derechos humanos en los territorios palestinos. El relator de la ONU viajó a Tel Aviv el pasado 14 de diciembre. Al llegar al aeropuerto Ben Gurión, la policía israelí lo detuvo y lo encerró durante 15 horas en una "celda de confinamiento". Al día siguiente lo expulsó.Ese trato a un representante de la ONU "levanta serios cuestionamientos" sobre las obligaciones que Israel tiene como "Estado cooperante" de la organización internacional, señala Falk en su informe.En los hechos, a Israel parece no importarle ser "Estado cooperante" de la ONU: el jueves 15 el ejército de ese país bombardeó la sede en Gaza de la Agencia de Naciones Unidas para los Refugiados Palestinos (UNRWA, por sus siglas en inglés). Tal ataque coincidió con la visita del secretario general de la ONU, Ban Ki-moon, a la zona de conflicto.Violaciones sistemáticasRichard Falk es ciudadano estadunidense de religión judía. Experto en derechos humanos y conflictos internacionales, ha publicado unos 20 libros sobre estos temas. Es catedrático de las universidades de Princeton y de California, así como miembro de organizaciones internacionales a favor de la paz. El 26 de marzo de 2008, el CDH de la ONU lo nombró su relator para los territorios palestinos.Las declaraciones y artículos publicados por Falk en las prensas estadunidense y europea suelen ser polémicas; incluso han provocado el enojo de Washington y Tel Aviv. En noviembre pasado, por ejemplo, puso en duda la versión oficial de Washington sobre los ataques terroristas del 11 de septiembre de 2001 contra las Torres Gemelas de Nueva York y señaló la responsabilidad del gobierno de George W. Bush en esos hechos; en junio de 2007 comentó que "algunas políticas" del gobierno Israelí contra los palestinos eran comparables a las de los nazis contra los judíos.Y ahora, en su informe ante el CDH, Falk refuta los argumentos que Israel esgrime para justificar sus ataques militares en la Franja de Gaza y exhibe las violaciones al derecho internacional cometidas por el ejército de ese país. Si bien Israel alega que sus tropas se retiraron de la Franja de Gaza en 2005, por lo cual no es una "fuerza ocupante", el relator de la ONU asegura en su informe: "El persistente control que Israel mantiene sobre las fronteras, el espacio aéreo y las aguas territoriales palestinas conlleva un carácter que le permite mantener legalmente la categoría de fuerza ocupante" aun antes del 27 de diciembre, día en que inició sus operaciones militares.Por lo que atañe a las declaraciones de la ministra de Relaciones Exteriores de Israel, Tzipi Livi, en el sentido de que no existe en la Franja de Gaza una crisis humanitaria, Falk refuta en su documento: Debido al bloqueo que Israel impuso a esta zona durante 18 meses -que impidió el ingreso de alimentos, medicamentos y combustibles, entre otros productos-, la población palestina "ya experimentaba una crisis humanitaria de magnitud severa antes del 27 de diciembre".El representante de la ONU enfatiza que dicho bloqueo "es ilegal", pues impone "un castigo masivo" a los palestinos, lo cual viola los artículos 33 y 55 de la Cuarta Convención de Ginebra. Este último artículo exige a la fuerza ocupante "garantizar que la población civil tenga suficientes alimentos y que sus necesidades de salud sean atendidas".Así mismo, señala: "Tal bloqueo no altera el carácter de los ataques de los misiles artesanales lanzados desde Gaza, pero desde el punto de vista legal sugiere dos conclusiones importantes: primero, que el grado del daño civil resultante de la conducta ilegal de Israel fue mucho mayor que el de la conducta ilegal palestina; segundo, que cualquier esfuerzo para lograr un cese al fuego sostenible debe asegurar que tanto Israel como Hamas respeten la Ley Internacional Humanitaria", lo que significa que Tel Aviv debe suspender las "interferencias" que realiza sobre bienes destinados a la población palestina, los cuales "son necesarios para mantener una vida civil normal".Falk arguye que si bien Israel "reivindica su actual campaña militar como 'razonable' y 'necesaria' debido a la magnitud y severidad de los ataques atribuidos a Hamas con misiles artesanales dirigidos contra la población civil de las ciudades de Sderot y Asdod, ubicadas en el sur de Israel", las cosas no son así.Y refuta: Israel fue el primero que, de facto, rompió la tregua establecida con Hamas en julio de 2008, pues el 4 de noviembre pasado el ejército israelí utilizó "mayor fuerza letal" en un ataque realizado a la Franja de Gaza, lo que, sostiene, "condujo directamente a un incremento en los lanzamientos de misiles desde Gaza"."También resulta relevante que Hamas haya ofrecido en repetidas ocasiones extender el cese al fuego, inclusive por 10 años, siempre y cuando Israel levantara el bloqueo. Hasta donde se sabe, esta posibilidad diplomática no fue explorada por Israel", dice Falk.Incluso añade que ello "tiene una relevancia legal, dado que un principio cardinal de la Carta de la ONU es que el uso de la fuerza debe ser el último recurso, lo que obliga a Israel a basarse en la buena fe y en medidas no violentas para solucionar el problema de los ataques con misiles artesanales".
Armas prohibidas
Falk también subraya en su informe que los ataques lanzados desde Gaza de ningún modo justifican "legal o moralmente a Israel para lanzar misiles contra blancos civiles". "Este comportamiento -insiste- es una violación a las Leyes Internacionales sobre Derechos Humanos (LIDH), asociadas con el derecho a la vida, al tiempo que constituye también un crimen de guerra". De igual manera sostiene que, a la luz del derecho internacional, Israel no aplicó la fuerza de manera proporcional a la provocación de Hamas, pues "durante el período de cese al fuego previo al 27 de diciembre, no hubo una sola muerte causada por los misiles artesanales lanzados desde Gaza". En cambio, Israel realizó "una campaña militar mayor contra una sociedad palestina básicamente indefensa, ya gravemente debilitada por el bloqueo".Hasta el jueves 15, los palestinos muertos por los ataques israelíes sumaban mil 200, los heridos ascendían a 4 mil 500. De ellos, por lo menos un tercio son niños. En contraste, por la parte israelí habían muerto 12 soldados y un civil. "La desigualdad en la cifra de víctimas es una medida de esta desproporción en el uso de la fuerza; otra es el grado de devastación y la magnitud de los ataques", asienta Falk en su informe.Y señala que estos ataques están dirigidos no sólo contra edificios públicos e instalaciones de la policía ubicadas en zonas densamente pobladas, sino contra blancos civiles: escuelas, viviendas, mezquitas, hospitales y ambulancias. Ello, afirma, "agrega peso a los alegatos en el sentido de que el uso de la fuerza por parte de Israel constituye una forma de 'agresión' prohibida por la Ley Internacional y que, con toda seguridad, es excesiva en relación con los criterios de 'proporcionalidad' y 'necesidad'".El informe refiere además que Israel utiliza armas prohibidas por la Ley Internacional. Enumera: gas de fósforo en obuses y misiles, que quema la carne hasta el hueso; "explosivos de metal de inserción densa" (DIME, por sus siglas en inglés), que cortan en pedazos a las víctimas y elevan el riesgo de cáncer en los sobrevivientes; uranio debilitado asociado con bombas de penetración profunda, llamadas bunker buster, utilizadas contra los túneles de Gaza, cuya radiación podría persistir durante siglos causando diversas enfermedades". En sus recomendaciones al CDH, Falk habla de impulsar en la Asamblea General de la ONU iniciativas para investigar los "crímenes de guerra" cometidos por Israel durante su reciente ofensiva militar en la Franja de Gaza.

The Wall Street Journal writes: "Israel is Commiting War Crimes"

Find more photos like this on Palestinian Mothers

By GEORGE E. BISHARAT

Hamas's violations are no justification for Israel's actions.

Israel's current assault on the Gaza Strip cannot be justified by self-defense. Rather, it involves serious violations of international law, including war crimes. Senior Israeli political and military leaders may bear personal liability for their offenses, and they could be prosecuted by an international tribunal, or by nations practicing universal jurisdiction over grave international crimes. Hamas fighters have also violated the laws of warfare, but their misdeeds do not justify Israel's acts.

The United Nations charter preserved the customary right of a state to retaliate against an "armed attack" from another state. The right has evolved to cover nonstate actors operating beyond the borders of the state claiming self-defense, and arguably would apply to Hamas. However, an armed attack involves serious violations of the peace. Minor border skirmishes are common, and if all were considered armed attacks, states could easily exploit them -- as surrounding facts are often murky and unverifiable -- to launch wars of aggression. That is exactly what Israel seems to be currently attempting.

Israel had not suffered an "armed attack" immediately prior to its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Since firing the first Kassam rocket into Israel in 2002, Hamas and other Palestinian groups have loosed thousands of rockets and mortar shells into Israel, causing about two dozen Israeli deaths and widespread fear. As indiscriminate attacks on civilians, these were war crimes. During roughly the same period, Israeli forces killed about 2,700 Palestinians in Gaza by targeted killings, aerial bombings, in raids, etc., according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem.

But on June 19, 2008, Hamas and Israel commenced a six-month truce. Neither side complied perfectly. Israel refused to substantially ease the suffocating siege of Gaza imposed in June 2007. Hamas permitted sporadic rocket fire -- typically after Israel killed or seized Hamas members in the West Bank, where the truce did not apply. Either one or no Israelis were killed (reports differ) by rockets in the half year leading up to the current attack.

Israel then broke the truce on Nov. 4, raiding the Gaza Strip and killing a Palestinian. Hamas retaliated with rocket fire; Israel then killed five more Palestinians. In the following days, Hamas continued rocket fire -- yet still no Israelis died. Israel cannot claim self-defense against this escalation, because it was provoked by Israel's own violation.

An armed attack that is not justified by self-defense is a war of aggression. Under the Nuremberg Principles affirmed by U.N. Resolution 95, aggression is a crime against peace.

Israel has also failed to adequately discriminate between military and nonmilitary targets. Israel's American-made F-16s and Apache helicopters have destroyed mosques, the education and justice ministries, a university, prisons, courts and police stations. These institutions were part of Gaza's civilian infrastructure. And when nonmilitary institutions are targeted, civilians die. Many killed in the last week were young police recruits with no military roles. Civilian employees in the Hamas-led government deserve the protections of international law like all others. Hamas's ideology -- which employees may or may not share -- is abhorrent, but civilized nations do not kill people merely for what they think.

Deliberate attacks on civilians that lack strict military necessity are war crimes. Israel's current violations of international law extend a long pattern of abuse of the rights of Gaza Palestinians. Eighty percent of Gaza's 1.5 million residents are Palestinian refugees who were forced from their homes or fled in fear of Jewish terrorist attacks in 1948. For 60 years, Israel has denied the internationally recognized rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes -- because they are not Jews.

Although Israel withdrew its settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, it continues to tightly regulate Gaza's coast, airspace and borders. Thus, Israel remains an occupying power with a legal duty to protect Gaza's civilian population. But Israel's 18-month siege of the Gaza Strip preceding the current crisis violated this obligation egregiously. It brought economic activity to a near standstill, left children hungry and malnourished, and denied Palestinian students opportunities to study abroad.

Israel should be held accountable for its crimes, and the U.S. should stop abetting it with unconditional military and diplomatic support.

Mr. Bisharat is a professor at Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.

Palestinian Journalists in Gaza

Palestinian Mothers
Women are 50 % of the world, and gave birth to the other half.. we are the world

Dear Colleagues

We are as journalists outside Gaza borders are trying to help in any way we can. A friend supporting free lancers requested that I forward your e mails to their trust, they might help you, please do not hesitate to write to me.

Regards

Iqbal Tamimi

Creator of Palestinian Mothers

UK

Latest Palestinian News HERE:

Thousands of people flee their homes in southern Gaza after threats by the army

Thousands of Palestinian residents from the southern Gaza strip city of Rafah were forced to flee their homes on Wednesday after threats by the Israeli army of shelling them. ...

Gaza hospitals on the brink of collapse as Israeli offensive continues Civilian casualties mount as talks on ceasefire hit political obstacles. Tens of thousands of families under siege in Gaza are facing desperate conditions as mounting civilian casualties swamp a hospital system that is close to collapse, international aid agency Oxfam warned today. ...

MORE HERE..........

Urgent Please read!.... the jewish internet defence leaguae

For all who are joining to the fight for freedom to Palestina, around the World....

Is on viagara going around shutting down accounts and groups please!, please, takea a lot of caution, make your passwords more complicated and even more important...back up your information!!!....

Source Palestinian Mothers

Find more photos like this on Palestinian Mothers

Top 5 Lies about Israel's Assault on Gaza

Top 5 Lies about Israel's Assault on Gaza

Jeremy R. Hammond

Lie #1: Israel is only targeting legitimate military sites and is seeking to protect innocent lives. Israel never targets civilians.

The Gaza Strip is one of the most densely populated pieces of property in the world. The presence of militants within a civilian population does not, under international law, deprive that population of their protected status, and hence any assault upon that population under the guise of targeting militants is, in fact, a war crime.Moreover, the people Israel claims are legitimate targets are members of Hamas, which Israel says is a terrorist organization. Hamas has been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. These rockets are extremely inaccurate and thus, even if Hamas intended to hit military targets within Israel, are indiscriminate by nature. When rockets from Gaza kill Israeli civilians, it is a war crime.Hamas has a military wing. However, it is not entirely a military organization, but a political one. Members of Hamas are the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people. Dozens of these elected leaders have been kidnapped and held in Israeli prisons without charge. Others have been targeted for assassination, such as Nizar Rayan, a top Hamas official. To kill Rayan, Israel targeted a residential apartment building. The strike not only killed Rayan but two of his wives and four of his children, along with six others. There is no justification for such an attack under international law. This was a war crime.Other of Israelʼs bombardment with protected status under international law have included a mosque, a prison, police stations, and a university, in addition to residential buildings.Moreover, Israel has long held Gaza under siege, allowing only the most minimal amounts of humanitarian supplies to enter. Israel is bombing and killing Palestinian civilians. Countless more have been wounded, and cannot receive medical attention. Hospitals running on generators have little or no fuel. Doctors have no proper equipment or medical supplies to treat the injured. These people, too, are the victims of Israeli policies targeted not at Hamas or legitimate military targets, but directly designed to punish the civilian population.

Lie #2) Hamas violated the cease-fire. The Israeli bombardment is a response to Palestinian rocket fire and is designed to end such rocket attacks.

Israel never observed the cease-fire to begin with. From the beginning, it announced a "special security zone" within the Gaza Strip and announced that Palestinians who enter this zone will be fired upon. In other words, Israel announced its intention that Israeli soldiers would shoot at farmers and other individuals attempting to reach their own land in direct violation of not only the cease-fire but international law.Despite shooting incidents, including ones resulting in Palestinians getting injured, Hamas still held to the cease-fire from the time it went into effect on June 19 until Israel effectively ended the truce on November 4 by launching an airstrike into Gaza that killed five and injured several others.Israelʼs violation of the cease-fire predictably resulted in retaliation from militants in Gaza who fired rockets into Israel in response. The increased barrage of rocket fire at the end of December is being used as justification for the continued Israeli bombardment, but is a direct response to the Israeli attacks.Israel's actions, including its violation of the cease-fire, predictably resulted in an escalation of rocket attacks against its own population.

Lie #3) Hamas is using human shields, a war crime.

There has been no evidence that Hamas has used human shields. The fact is, as previously noted, Gaza is a small piece of property that is densely populated. Israel engages in indiscriminate warfare such as the assassination of Nizar Rayan, in which members of his family were also murdered. It is victims like his dead children that Israel defines as "human shields" in its propaganda. There is no legitimacy for this interpretation under international law. In circumstances such as these, Hamas is not using human shields, Israel is committing war crimes in violation of the Geneva Conventions and other applicable international law.

Lie #4) Arab nations have not condemned Israelʼs actions because they understand Israelʼs justification for its assault.

The populations of those Arab countries are outraged at Israelʼs actions and at their own governments for not condemning Israelʼs assault and acting to end the violence. Simply stated, the Arab governments do not represent their respective Arab populations. The populations of the Arab nations have staged mass protests in opposition to not only Israel's actions but also the inaction of their own governments and what they view as either complacency or complicity in Israel's crimes.Moreover, the refusal of Arab nations to take action to come to the aid of the Palestinians is not because they agree with Israelʼs actions, but because they are submissive to the will of the US, which fully supports Israel. Egypt, for instance, which refused to open the border to allow Palestinians wounded in the attacks to get medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals, is heavily dependent upon US aid, and is being widely criticized within the population of the Arab countries for what is viewed as an absolute betrayal of the Gaza Palestinians.Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has been regarded as a traitor to his own people for blaming Hamas for the suffering of the people of Gaza. Palestinians are also well aware of Abbas' past perceived betrayals in conniving with Israel and the US to sideline the democratically elected Hamas government, culminating in a counter-coup by Hamas in which it expelled Fatah (the military wing of Abbas' Palestine Authority) from the Gaza Strip. While his apparent goal was to weaken Hamas and strengthen his own position, the Palestinians and other Arabs in the Middle East are so outraged at Abbas that it is unlikely he will be able to govern effectively.

Lie #5) Israel is not responsible for civilian deaths because it warned the Palestinians of Gaza to flee areas that might be targeted.

Israel claims it sent radio and telephone text messages to residents of Gaza warning them to flee from the coming bombardment. But the people of Gaza have nowhere to flee to. They are trapped within the Gaza Strip. It is by Israeli design that they cannot escape across the border. It is by Israeli design that they have no food, water, or fuel by which to survive. It is by Israeli design that hospitals in Gaza have no electricity and few medical supplies with which to treat the injured and save lives. And Israel has bombed vast areas of Gaza, targeting civilian infrastructure and other sites with protected status under international law. No place is safe within the Gaza Strip.-Jeremy R. Hammond is the editor of Foreign Policy Journal

(http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com), a website dedicated to providing news, critical analysis, and opinion commentary on U.S. foreign policy from outside of the standard framework offered by government officials and the mainstream corporate media, particularly with regard to the "war on terrorism" and events in the Middle East. He has also written for numerous other online publications.
News, analysis, and opinion of U.S. foreign policy, particularly with regard to the war on terrorism and the Middle East.
Do watch this video:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Israel_posts_video_of_Gaza_bombings_1230.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=31077779968&topic=7205

The ground invasion of Gaza has begun -Take to the streets!

The ground invasion of Gaza has begun -Take to the streets!

PALESTINIAN MOTHERS

National Emergency Plan of Action

After heavy artillery firing by Israel into Gaza neighborhoods, a massive troop invasion has begun.

The ANSWER Coalition, Muslim American Society Freedom, Free Palestine Alliance, National Council of Arab Americans, and Al-Awda - International Palestine Right to Return Coalition are calling on people across the country and around the world to take to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and to demand an immediate end to the murderous attacks carried out by the U.S.-backed Israeli military against the people of Gaza.

Emergency Response Protests

There will be demonstrations today (Sat, Jan 3), tomorrow (Sun, Jan 4) and in the early part of next week. Click here for a list of protests taking place nationally and internationally (updated frequently). Email info@answercoalition.org to add the protest in your city.

National Day of Emergency Mass Action:

Saturday, January 10
Mass March in Washington, D.C.White House (north side)@ 1:00 pm

There will be a major regional demonstration on Saturday, January 10.
Gather at the White House (north side, Lafayette Park) at 1:00 PM.
The protest will be located between the Bush White House and the Hay Adams Hotel, where President-Elect Obama is now residing, which is located on the north side of Lafayette Park.

There will be coinciding demonstrations in San Francisco (11am at Civic Center) , Los Angeles (12 noon at Westwood Federal Building), San Diego (details TBA) and in cities around the country. If you are unable to travel to Washington, D.C., organize a protest in your city.

Email the details of demonstrations to info@answercoalition.org. Please include your city, state, country, date, time, the exact address of gathering location, contact information if you want it listed on the internet, sponsoring/endorsing/initiating organizations, and any other important information. Demonstrations will be listed at http://www.answercoalition.org/.

Statements from the Free Palestine Alliance

The Free Palestine Alliance, a member group of the ANSWER Coalition National Steering Committee, has been writing daily statements about the Gaza Strip Massacre.
These are important statements of political orientation from the Palestinian-American community.Click here to read seven statements issued by the Free Palestine Alliance between December 27 and January 2.

Send a letter to the State Department and Congress

Send a letter to the State Department and Congress: Join with people around the country and around the world who are demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel. This is an urgent situation and we must all act now. You can send a letter with our easy click and send system demanding an end to U.S. aid to Israel. Without U.S. aid, the Israeli military attacks, siege and blockade of Gaza could not be continued.
Click this link now to send a letter to the State Department and elected officials in Congress.
Donations Needed

You can help to support this important organizing effort by making a financial contribution today.
Click here to donate online, where you can also find information on how to contribute by check.