Bezettingstoerisme weer op Vakantiebeurs

Op de Vakantiebeurs zijn weer diverse reisbureau's aanwezig die de comsument misleiden. Het gaat om de zogenaamde Israëlreizen, waarin ook bezoeken worden gebracht aan de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever en de bezette Golanhoogte, en zelfs naar de nederzettingen. Maar volgens die reisbureaus liggen die locaties vrijwel allemaal "in Israël".

'Israel Wonders'

Organisatie: Israelisch Nationaal Bureau voor Toerisme (stand 08.D088)
Voorheen opererend onder de naam GoIsrael, en sinds kort heet het bureau Israel Wonders.

Vakantiebeurs: St. George klooster in de Judea woestijn toegankelijk voor toeristen
"In de Israëlische Judea woestijn ligt het St. George klooster, beter bekend als het St. George Monastery."

Het Israelisch Nationaal Bureau voor Toerisme trekt zich blijkbaar niets aan van de uitspraak van de Reclame Code Commisie. De Judea woestijn is namelijk helemaal niet "Israëlisch", maar ligt tussen Bethlehem en de Dode Zee, dus op de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever. Het klooster ligt in het Palestijnse dorp al-Khader (St. George).

Vlakbij dit dorp ligt de joodse nederzetting Efrat, wiens militante kolonisten o.a. Palestijnse boomgaarden en waterbronnen vernielen. In 2008 hebben ze de 700 jaar oude moskee Al-Hamadiyya in al-Khader in de as gelegd. Toen de tweede intifada uitbrak werden de inwoners van al-Khader zo vaak en zo lang gedwongen thuis te blijven middels de door Israël ingestelde spertijden, dat ze hun land niet meer konden bewerken. Daar maakten joodse kolonisten, die geen spertijd opgelegd kregen, gebruik van door land te stelen en outposts neer te zetten, zoals: "The larger petition against the outpost, which has 17 permanent homes and 15 caravans, was filed by eight Palestinian farmers from the village of al-Khader, together with Peace Now." (augustus 2009)

Links de officiële landkaart van Israël, rechts de versie van het Bureau voor Toerisme - "Israel Wonders"... welke bezetting?

Tijdens de jaarlijkse festiviteiten rond de oprichting van de staat Israël, toont het IDF traditioneel haar hardware. Deze rij machinegeweren werd opgesteld voor de kolonisten van Efrat.

"Op verzoek van de Grieks Orthodoxe aartsvader besloot het Israëlische Ministerie van Toerisme in samenwerking met het Ministerie van Transport de toegangsweg opnieuw aan te leggen. De nieuwe toegangsweg is vanaf 1 december geopend voor toeristen."

Aldus het Israëlische Bureau voor Toerisme, dat natuurlijk niet vermeldt dat Israël met de aanleg van die weg weer meer land van de Palestijnen hebben ingepikt, en dat de protesten van de landeigenaren zoals gewoonlijk weer onderin de prullenbak verdwenen. Het dorp al-Khader wordt bedreigd met complete insluiting door de Israëlische Muur, waardoor het 75% van haar landbouwgrond zal kwijtraken.

Eerlijke reizen naar Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden

Wilt u eerlijk reizen, zodat uw euro's niet worden uitgegeven aan illegale nederzettingen, bezetting en het terroriseren van de lokale bevolking:

Van 11 tot 16 januari presenteren touroperators en reisbureaus hun nieuwe reizen en vakantiebrochures op de Vakantiebeurs in de Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. Dit jaar zal ook de Olijfbomencampagne aanwezig zijn om alternatieve reizen naar Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden te promoten. De stand van de Olijfbomencampagne is te vinden op de Wereldhulpmarkt in Hal 2. Er zullen Palestijnse olijfproducten verkocht worden, verschillende toeristische gidsen, er is informatie van verschillende reisorganisaties in Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden èn de nieuwe promotiefilm van de Olijfbomencampagne zal worden vertoond. Natuurlijk maken wij ook promotie voor onze eigen olijfpluk- en plantreizen!
 
De publieksdagen zijn van 12 t/m 16 januari, dagelijks van 10.00 tot 18.00 uur en op vrijdag tot 22.00 uur

Ashkenazi: total war on civilians

De laatste vrijgegeven Wikileaks documenten uit 2009 tonen Israël's enthousiasme voor het starten van oorlogen in het Midden Oosten. Generaal Ashkenazi gaf ook duidelijk te kennen dat het daarbij oorlogsmisdaden gaat plegen door "geen beperkingen" in acht te nemen voor het bombarderen van burgers in dichtbevolkte gebieden. In de Nederlandse media en politiek wordt dit feit hardnekkig verzwegen.

Wikileaks: Israel Plans Total War on Lebanon, Gaza

Juan Cole | 01/02/2011

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten has summarized an Israeli military briefing by Israeli Chief of Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi of a US congressional delegation a little over a year ago and concludes that

The memo on the talks between Ashkenazi and [Congressman Ike] Skelton, as well as numerous other documents from the same period of time, to which Aftenposten has gained access, leave a clear message: The Israeli military is forging ahead at full speed with preparations for a new war in the Middle East.

The paper says that US cables quote Ashkenazi telling the US congressmen, “I’m preparing the Israeli army for a major war, since it is easier to scale down to a smaller operation than to do the opposite.”

The general’s plans are driven by fear of growing stockpiles of rockets in Hamas-controlled Gaza and in Hizbullah-controlled Southern Lebanon, the likely theaters of the planned major new war. Ashkenazi does not seem capable of considering that, given a number of Israeli invasions and occupations of those regions, the rockets may be primarily defensive.

Ashkenazi told the visiting delegation that Israeli unmanned drones had had great success in identifying rocket emplacements in southern Lebanon, and that it had been aided in this endeavor by the US National Security Agency,which spies on communications.

The new, major war will be a total war on civilians, Ashkenazi boasted: “In the next war Israel cannot accept any restrictions on warfare in urban areas.” (I den neste krigen kan Israel ikke godta noen restriksjoner på krigføring i byområder in Norwegian, or let us just translate it into the original German: In den nächsten Krieg, den Israel kann keine Beschränkungen Kriegsführung in städtischen Gebieten.) Mind you, the civilian deaths deriving from this massive and unrestricted bombing campaign on targets in the midst of civilian urban populations will be “unintentional.” Planning to bomb civilian areas with foreknowledge that you will thereby kill large numbers of civilians is a war crime.

Ashkenazi also admitted to then Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) that Hamas is not in control of even more radical groups, which had infiltrated cells into Hamas itself, and which had rocket-making capabilities. In public, Israeli officials routinely demonize Hamas for every rocket fired from the lawless, besieged territory of Gaza, but here in private Ashkenazi was admitting the opposite. He even admitted that Israeli intelligence had no means to distinguish the even-more-radical from the merely Hamas.

Other State Department documents on the same theme say that last year this time Hizbullah had about 20,000 rockets, some of which can now reach Tel Aviv, and that the Shiite militia will attempt to stretch out its supplies for a two-month-long war, and would try to lob about 100 rockets at Tel Aviv per day.

In the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon, one fourth of the Israeli population was be forced to move house. It will be more this time, and for longer.

The memos reveal that none of the goals of Israel’s 2006 war on Lebanon and its 2008-9 war on little Gaza were achieved, and that both Hamas and Hizbullah have effectively re-armed. What makes Ashkenazi think things would be different this time? Israel hawks have doomed themselves to the particular hell of Sisyphus, forced to roll the same stone up the hill over and over again with no hope of ever balancing it on the summit.

You know, Israel could have a peace treaty with Syria and Lebanon tomorrow by giving back the Golan Heights and the Shebaa Farms, and by accepting a two-state solution. Instead, its Dr. Strangeloves are planning out massive bombings of areas thick with innocent civilians and willing to subject Tel Aviv to two months worth of rocket fire.

Nor will the United States be held harmless from the blowback in the region caused by another Israeli war of aggression. Before September 11, Israel hawks used to make fun of Americans who warned that eventually there would be hell to pay for the Israeli strangulation of the Palestinians (for the argument, see this posting). And, imagine what a war would do to gasoline prices and to the world economy. My deepest fear is that US support for Israeli militarism, and the terrorism that support inevitably engenders, will be what finally finishes off the civil liberties enshrined in the American Constitution.

Will there be a strike? and if so, where? Israel: the next war

The US’s failure under Barack Obama to impose peace between Israel and the Palestinians makes a new war likely

Le Monde Diplomatique | By Alain Gresh | January 2011

In March 1973 the Israeli prime minister Golda Meir visited US president Richard Nixon in Washington. He told her that the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was prepared to negotiate a full treaty, and Meir assured him that Israel wanted peace, but that she would prefer an interim agreement as Cairo was not to be trusted. She said Egypt’s primary aim was to force Israel to withdraw to the line of 4 June 1967, then resurrect the UN plan for the partition of Palestine that had been adopted in 1947; a solution to the problem of Palestine would have to be discussed with Yasser Arafat and “the terrorists”.

Israeli journalist Aluf Benn reported this conversation, on the basis of documents disclosed by Wikileaks, and drew a parallel between the situation then, when Israel’s refusal to negotiate led directly to war and to Egyptian troops crossing the Suez Canal in October 1973, and prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s current evasive response to President Barack Obama. Benn notes that Netanyahu, who returned from the US and rushed to the front in October 1973, “would do well to refresh his memory by listening to the tape of Meir and Nixon and asking himself what he can do to avoid repeating her mistakes and keep from dragging the country blindly toward a second Yom Kippur disaster” (1). In that war the Israeli army lost 2,600 troops.

Israel’s refusal to accept Obama’s proposal to halt settlements on the West Bank (but not in East Jerusalem) for three months in return for unprecedented promises – or bribes, according to columnist Thomas Friedman (2), who is not known for sympathy to the Arabs – confirmed that Obama is unable to exert any real pressure on Israel and that Netanyahu rejects any compromise. Netanyahu, like his predecessors, claims to want peace but he wants the humiliating peace imposed by conquest and based on denial of Palestinian rights. In secret negotiations over the past year, he has repeatedly told the Palestinians they had to accept Israel’s “security concept”, keeping Israeli troops stationed in the Jordan valley along the “barrier” (on the Palestinian side) and the occupation of a substantial part of the West Bank (3). He did not say how long the occupation would last.

This deadlock is forcing the Israeli army to draw up plans for further wars based on the “security concept” – that anyone who refuses to accept Israel’s rule in the region is a “terrorist” to be eliminated. No other country, not even the US, has such a comprehensive security concept, which means that Israel is permanently at war. Who will the Israeli army attack next? Gaza? Two years ago Israeli tanks and aircraft reduced buildings to rubble and killed hundreds of civilians in what the Goldstone report describes as “war crimes” and probably “crimes against humanity”. But Hamas is as strong as ever. How long will Israel tolerate this? Lebanon? In July-August 2006, the Israeli army failed to bring down Hizballah but succeeded in destroying the country; Hizballah is now stronger than ever and the Israeli high command cannot rule out the possibility of a major operation and occupation of part of Lebanon (4). Iran? At the risk of starting a major conflict from Iraq to Lebanon, Palestine to Afghanistan?In the Middle East unrest inevitably leads to war. This time, unlike 1973, Israel would take the first direct step, but it will face far more effective enemies and, as Israeli peace campaigner Uli Avnery points out, the hostility of world public opinion (5). Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina have recognised the Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders and there has been a letter from 26 European elder statesmen (including Chris Patten, Giuliano Amato, Felipe Gonzáles, Lionel Jospin, Hubert Védrine, Romano Prodi, Javier Solana), who are anything but extremists, calling on the European Union to impose sanctions if the Israeli government has not reviewed its policy by the spring. Human Rights Watch published a report on 19 December (Israel/West Bank: Separate and Unequal) about the systematic discrimination against Palestinians, calling on the US government to withhold US funding from the Israeli government equivalent to expenditure on settlements (more than $1bn).

Avnery concludes: “Somebody wrote this week that America’s support of Israel is a case of assisted suicide. In Israel, assisting suicide is a crime. Suicide itself, however, is allowed by our laws. Those whom the gods want to destroy, they first make mad. Let’s hope we recover our senses before it is too late.”

Sde Bar, het horrorkamp van Christenen voor Israël

Volgens het jaarverslag 2009 van Christenen voor Israël (CvI) ontving de outpost Sde Bar (Sdeh Bar, S'de Bar) in 2009 15.009 euro van de stichting. CvI noemt de outpost een "kibboets" en "een woonvorm voor jongeren", en vermeldt niet dat het op de bezette Westelijke Jordaanoever ligt, maar in de "Judeese woestijn". In werkelijkheid is Sde Bar een soort werkkamp waarin Israëlische probleemjongeren door justitie worden gedumpt om klaargestoomd te worden voor hun dienstjaren in het Israëlische leger, en in de tussentijd op de boerderij te werken (nederzettingenproducten te produceren) om hun verblijf te bekostigen. Meermalen lezen we op de website van CvI over dit project van het zogeheten Ondernemersplatform: "Jongeren staan onder grote druk door spanningen, aanslagen, oorlogsdreiging en geweld." Dus is het op zijn minst merkwaardig dat de jongeren in de outpost worden klaargestoomd voor het IDF.

In april dit jaar kondigde het Israëlische ministerie van Welzijn en Sociale Zaken aan de zogeheten 'jongerenboerderij' te sluiten na een onderzoek naar klachten over drank- en drugsgebruik, seksueel misbruik, 'ondeugdelijke' financiële administratie en "criminele activiteiten". Christenen voor Israël verzwijgt dit op haar website.

Sde Bar projectleider Klaas Hoekstra van Christenen voor Israël in de outpost.

Snel na het bericht in de Jerusalem Post (april 2010) en mijn email-correspondentie hierover met projectleider Klaas Hoekstra (medio mei 2010), voelde men blijkbaar nattigheid, en verscheen er in de CvI Ondernemersplatform nieuwsbrief (juni 2010) de mededeling dat de directeur en oprichter Yossi Sade was "afgetreden" (maar niet waarom), en: "Sde Bar is door twee afgewezen jongeren helaas negatief in de publiciteit gekomen." Dat is een aperte leugen. Het Israëlische ministerie van Welzijn verklaarde immers:

"Over the years we’ve received complaints, both orally and in writing, from professionals and former educators at the farm who were alarmed by irregular events they saw as endangering the minors living there." (Jerusalem Post)

Een speciale commissie van het Israëlische ministerie heeft twee maanden lang onderzoek gedaan naar Sde Bar, waarin het 30 betrokkenen heeft gehoord, met inbegrip van leraren, begeleiders, voormalige bewoners, ander personeel en medewerkers van het ministerie van Welzijn.

De gepensioneerde Paul Baars van het transport- en aannemersbedrijf Paul Baars Holding BV sluisde tienduizenden euro's naar Sde Bar. Hier staat hij samen op de foto met de toen nog directeur Yossi Sade in Sde Bar (2007) met een cheque van 20.000 euro. Baars is nog steeds voorzitter van het Ondernemersplatform.

Directeur Yossi Sade (what's in a name) misbruikte zijn positie om jongens seksueel te misbruiken in zijn caravan. "Hij was voor ons als een goeroe, als een koning." Onder zijn supervisie werd er samen drank en drugs gebruikt, en naar pornografie gekeken. Ook werden bordelen in de omgeving bezocht. "Dat was meestal op vrijdag", volgens een voormalige bewoner. "Wij noemden het 'naar de kerk gaan'."

Bewogen vertelt Klaas Hoekstra in een nieuwsbrief van het Ondernemersplatform (oktober 2009) dat elke nieuwe bewoner van het kamp een "puppy" krijgt. "Door de zorg voor hun eigen puppy komt er een verandering tot stand van binnenuit." In werkelijkheid heerste in het kamp een cultus van wreedheden tegen en het doden van (huis-)dieren - als "oefening" voor "het doden van Arabieren". Bij één zo'n incident moesten de ingewanden van een duif worden opgegegeten. Algemeen was het aanzetten tot haat jegens "Arabieren".

Echte supervisie van het ministerie en de kinderbescherming ontbrak gedurende tien jaar, en met klachten en aangiften bij de politie werd niets gedaan. In de tussentijd werden er door het kamp rapporten met valse informatie ingediend. De jongens moesten op de boerderij naar zeggen in "afschuwelijke omstandigheden" leven. Pas toen een aanzienlijk aantal stafleden een jaar geleden besloot om met de misstanden naar buiten te komen, en na twee zelfmoorden van jongens met alarmerende afscheidsbrieven, greep het ministerie in en ordonneerde het besproken onderzoek.

Wanneer u Hebreeuws bekend bent kunt u o.a. hier en hier enkele details van de klachten en bevindingen lezen. Bij Google Translate de gebrekkige Nederlandse vertaling hier en hier, maar de strekking zal duidelijk zijn (de vertaling naar het Engels leest trouwens stukken beter). Hier vindt u een video (Hebreeuws gesproken) met het verhaal van twee slachtoffers.



"Terreurtoerisme" in bezet gebied

In de nieuwsbrief van het CvI Ondernemersplatform lezen we ook: "Yossie Sade, de oprichter van Sde Bar in 1992 is inmiddels afgetreden en heeft zijn verantwoordelijkheden overgedragen aan de public relations-man, Yehekel Klein van de Beit-Etzizon development company LTD." Maar genoemde "Beit-Etzizon development company LTD" bestaat niet, noch "Yehekel Klein". Wie echter wel bestaat is Yehezkel Klein, die hoofd "toerisme" is van de Gush Etzion Development Company, een ontwikkelingsbedrijf die de organisatie, uitbreiding en handel van alle nederzettingen in het zogeheten Gush Etzion-blok op de Westelijke Jordaanoever ontwikkelt, waaronder: industrie, toerisme, infrastructuur, wapentraining en openbaar vervoer.

"The purpose of the company is to establish a business division of the Regional Council of Gush Etzion, as an independent unit, to help with the development and rapid expansion of Gush Etzion. The company is involved in all aspects of planning and building in the area and provides various services to the entire region." (gush-etzion.org.il)

Yehezkel Klein ontwikkelde in 2003 5-daagse "terreurvakanties" voor Amerikaanse toeristen ad 5.500 dollar per persoon:

The tourists will stay at an army bunker, eat military food, and receive weapons training by veterans of elite Israeli commando units. There will be night patrols along the fence of an Israeli settlement. "A night patrol with the knowledge that there is a chance of imminent battle is an experience they will never forget," the promoters promise. On the last day of the tour, participants will experience a "terrorist attack" by instructors firing blanks. (Washington Times, 8 maart 2003)

Met dit heerschap werkt Christenen voor Israël nu samen, voor wie het ontwikkelen van toerisme in bezet gebied, en zodoende ook het financieel profiteren van de ellende van de Palestijnen, blijkbaar nog niet pervers genoeg was.

Our favorite souvenir was for sale at the gift shop of the Latrun military base: an IDF doll that played "We Will Rock You."

Dit soort toerisme bestaat nog steeds, alleen niet meer onder het mom van 'vakantie', maar 'anti-terrorisme training'. Bijvoorbeeld Caliber 3, die in samenwerking met het IDF pakketten aanbiedt voor "families, groups and individuals" in... Gush Etzion op de Westelijke Jordaanoever. In A Terror Tour of Israel (Slate, 2008) beschrijven Nathan Hodge en Sharon Weinberger op 5 pagina's zo'n weekje gewelds- en bezettingsverheffend vertier bij The Ultimate Counter Terrorism Mission.

Verbeterde relatie Israël Turkije blijkt hoax

De laatste dagen verschijnen er berichten in de media dat Israël en Turkije, na het bloedbad op de Mavi Marmara, waarbij 9 Turkse burgers door Israëlische commando's in internationale wateren werden gedood, de verslechterde relatie weer willen repareren. Dat blijkt een hoax te zijn. Gisteren stuurde een parlementslid van Likud een brief naar de Turkse premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan dat hij het jammer vindt dat niet alle opvarenden doodgeschoten werden.

In A Letter Send To Turkish PM; Likud MK Says Israel Should Have Killed All Marmara Passengers

IMEMC | December 15, 2010

Israeli sources reported Wednesday that Israeli Member of Knesset of the Likud Party, Dani Danon, sent a sarcastic letter to Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, telling him that Israeli soldiers should have killed all of the passengers of the Marmara Ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.

During the attack that took place on May 31, Israeli soldiers who boarded the ship before towing it to Ashdod, shot and killed nine Turkish activists and wounded several others.

In his letter, Dannon said that he is sorry the soldiers "had lots of discipline and only killed nine activists".

He added that "should Israel had a prior knowledge that terrorist were on board, the soldiers would have received orders to kill everyone who threatened their safety".

Dannon also stated that he is sorry because Israel did not conduct a security check on all passengers of the Turkish ship before it sailed, in addition to "being sorry" because Israel "did not prevent the passengers from arming themselves".

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, denied reports stating that Israel intends to pay compensation to the families of the nine Turkish peace activists who were killed when the Israeli army attacked the Turkish Mavi Marmara solidarity ship that was heading to Gaza to deliver humanitarian supplies.

During a Monday session with his Likud Party, Netanyahu said that Israel is holding talks with Turkey to drop all charges against the soldiers who took place in the attack, and added that any official apology or compensation will make it easier for Ankara to file lawsuits against the soldiers.

Buitenlandse hulp bij bestrijding bosbrand Israël

Summary - Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law in the OPT continued during the reporting period (25 November – 01 December 2010):

Shooting:
 
During the reporting period, 12 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded by IOF in the Gaza Strip. A 13th civilian was wounded by IOF in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem.

In the Gaza Strip, IOF fired at Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials, at fishermen and at farmers. As a result, 10 workers, one farmer and one fishermen were wounded by Israeli gunfire. The wounded include two children. 
 
On 24 November 2010, a Palestinian civilian was wounded by IOF in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem.
 
During the reporting period, IOF used excessive force to disperse peaceful demonstrations organized in protest to Israeli settlement activities and the construction of the annexation wall. As a result, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders suffered from tear gas inhalation or sustained bruises.


 
Incursions:
 
During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 35 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank, during which they arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including Nayef al-Rajoub, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council. They also summoned 13 Palestinian civilians for interrogation.
 
In the Gaza Strip, IOF conducted one limited incursion into the northern Gaza Strip, during which they leveled areas of Palestinian land, which they had already razed.


 
Restrictions on Movement:
 
Israel had continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
 
Gaza Strip
 
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip. 
 
· The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned that the new Israeli policy is simply shifting Gaza to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.
 
· Expanding the list of items allowed into Gaza does not change the illegality of this policy, which is inconsistent with Israel’s legal obligations both as an Occupying Power and under international human rights treaties to which it is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
 
· Facts on the ground refute Israeli claims with respect to the easing of the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and the reduction of restrictions imposed on the entry of goods.
 
· Israeli declaration of allowing new goods to be entered into the Gaza Strip constitutes an attempt to delude the international community, as such goods do not meet the minimal needs of the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have continued to ban the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have imposed a ban on all exports from the Gaza Strip. 
 
· Israel had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
 
· Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
 
· Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.


 
West Bank
 
IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.
 
· IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
 
· There are approximately 585 permanent roadblocks, and manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank.
 
· When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.
 
· At least 65% of the main roads that lead to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF.
 
· There are approximately 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.
 
· IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.


 
· Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.
 
Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem: 
 
IOF have continued to take measures at creating a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.
 
On 25 November 2010, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem waged a campaign against owners of shops in Hazma village near Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops claiming that their owners do not have licenses. Losses are estimated at more than 1.5 million NIS.
 
On the same day, IOF demolished a house and a printing press in al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem. 
 
IOF demolished a house in al-Tour neighborhood in Jerusalem. 
 
During the reporting period, the organization committee in the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 130 housing unit between "Gilo" settlement and Beit Safafa village. The committee approved turning the area, which was devoted to the establishment of hotels, into a residential area. 
 
On 01 December 2010, the Israeli district committee of organization and construction approved the construction of 625 housing units in "Pisgat Ze'ev" settlement, northeast of Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation authorities have started to construct another 1,300 housing units in Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and 1,000 ones in settlements in the West Bank, since the end of the temporary freezing of settlement activities on 25 September 2010.


 
Settlement Activities:
 
Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. 
 
On 25 November 2010, IOF demolished a mosque, a house and 10 barracks in Kherbat Yazra village, east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley. 
 
On the same day, IOF moved into al-Dairat area to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron. They demolished a house in the village. 
 
Also on the same day, IOF handed two notices to Mousa Taha and Hussein Shamsna, fom Qatna village northwest of Jerusalem, that their animal farms would be demolished.
 
On 29 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They handed notices to Mahmoud Ahmed Zawahra and 'Awadh Hassan Zawahra ordering the demolition of their houses. IOF also ordered the demolition of Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque by 23 December 2010.


 
 
Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (11 – 24 November 2010)
 
1. Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
 
Thursday, 25 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into the villages of Beit Ummar and Safa, north of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses, especially ones belonging to persons who are active in resisting settlement activities and the annexation wall. They arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including two brothers:
 
1. Mousa 'Abdul Hamid Abu Maria, 32, Coordinator of the National Committee against the Annexation Wall in Beit Ummar village;
2. Saddam Kassab Abu Daya, 25;
3. Yousef 'Abdul Hamid Abu Maria, 38; and
4. Mo'ayad Hassan al-Tit,20.
 
IOF also confiscated a laptop and some personal belongings of the first detainee. On Sunday evening, 29 November 2010, IOF released the four detainees after forcing them to sign oaths not to be present near "Karmi Tsur" settlement to the south of Beit Ummar village.
 
· Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Jenin town and refugee camp. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Za'tara village, east of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of Anas Mohammed Thwaib, 26, and summoned him for interrogation.
 
· At approximately 07:00, IOF moved nearly 350 meters into the northeast of the Bedouin Village in the northern Gaza Strip. They leveled areas of Palestinian land.
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Ya'bad village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and summoned 6 Palestinian civilians for interrogation.
 
· Also at approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Shwaika suburb, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched two car maintenance workshops, but no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 17:00, IOF moved into the western neighborhood in Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time. They stopped near Ajnadin School. An Israeli soldier stepped down and beat 11-year-old Wa'ed Fat'hallah al-Hamshari, when he was playing in the area. IOF also confiscated the child's bicycle. IOF withdrew from the town later and no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 21:50, IOF moved into Kharabtha al-Misbah village, west of Ramallah, and patrolled in the streets. A number of Palestinian boys gathered and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired at the boys, but no casualties were reported.
 
· At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Sa'ir village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to the family of As'ad Zaidan Jaradt, 18, and arrested him.


 
Friday, 26 November 2010
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Fahma village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 10:00, IOF moved into Ya'bad village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
Saturday, 27 November 2010
 
· At approximately 09:10, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northwest of Beit Lahia town opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers from a site where the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai" used to stand. As a result, Shamekh Sa'id al-Debes, 16, from Jabalya town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 12:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian fishermen who were fishing nearly 350 meters away from the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel. As a result, Ahmed Mahmoud Jarbou', 26, from al-Shati refugee camp in the west of Gaza City.
 
· At approximately 14:00, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Khaled Ashraf Abu Sitta, 21, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Beit Liqya village, west of Ramallah, and patrolled in the streets. A number of Palestinian boys gathered and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired at the boys, but no casualties were reported.


 
Sunday, 28 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into 'Anabta village, east of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for ssome time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into 'Aaroura village, north of Ramallah. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Jayous village, northeast of Qalqilya. They raided a number of houses and summoned 3 Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Khaled Mulaq Shamasna, 36; Taher Mohammed Jaber, 40; and Sari Mohammed Baida, 22.
 
· At approximately 08:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Mukhles Jawad al-Masri, 15, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 250 meters away.
 
· At approximately 08:30, IOF moved into Shwaika suburb, north of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 09:15, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai." As a result, Mamdouh 'Aayesh al-Sous, 28, from Beit Lahia town, was wounded by a bullet to the left foot.
 
· At approximately 09:30, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the debris of buildings in Erez industrial zone. As a result, Mohammed Khalil al-Za'anin, 20, from Beit Hanoun town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 100 meters away.
 
· At approximately 10:00, IOF moved into 'Ejja village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 10:10, IOF moved into Jainsafout village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 10:30, IOF moved into Sanour village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 11:30, IOF moved into al-Rama village, south of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 13:30, IOF moved into Bidya village, west of Salfit. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 13:30, IOF moved into Salfit. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 17:50, IOF moved into Jeet village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 19:30, IOF moved into Bourqin village, southwest of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 19:40, IOF moved into Nabi Elias village, east of Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.


 
Monday, 29 November 2010
 
· At approximately 00:30, IOF moved into Kufor al-Dik village, west of Salfit. They raided and searched a number of houses and summoned 3 Palestinian civilians for interrogation: Gharib 'Abdul Rahman al-Dik, 20; Nash'at 'Abdul Rahman al-Dik, 20; and Shihab Karem al-Dik, 20.
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to Samer Jameel al-Balboul, but no arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 01:25, IOF moved into Qalqilya. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 09:00, IOF moved into Kufor Dan village, west of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later.  No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 11:15, IOF moved into Abu Da'if village, east of Jenin. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· Also at approximately 11:15, IOF moved into al-Khalayel area near Kufor 'Abboush village, south of Tulkarm. They searched the area and withdrew later. No arrests were reported.
 
· At approximately 14:15, IOF moved into Safarin village, east of Tulkarm. They patrolled in the streets for some time and withdrew later.  No arrests were reported.
 
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
 
· At approximately 07:20, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers at the beach to the northwest of Beit Lahia town in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials from the evacuated Israeli settlement of "Elli Sinai." As a result, Isma'il Sa'ed Ghaben, 31, from Beit Lahia town, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 150 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 08:20, Israeli soldiers fired at Palestinian workers in the same area. As a result, two workers were wounded:
 
1. Ghassan Mas'oud Abu Riala, 21, from al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded by a bullet to the left leg; and
2. Ameen Akram Abu Shawish, 22, from al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 08:40, a fourth worker was wounded by IOF in the same area. He was identified as Nader Mohammed al-Anqar, 21, from Beit Lahia town, wounded by a bullet to the left leg.
 
· At approximately 10:40, IOF stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast of Beit Lahia town opened fire at Palestinian agricultural areas near the border. As a result, Bayan Farouq Tanboura, 26, a farmer from Beit Lahia, was wounded by a bullet to the left leg, when he was nearly 400 meters away from the border.
 
· At approximately 22:30, IOF moved into Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of houses, including a 3-storey apartment building belonging to the family of 'Alaa' Saleh Shahin, 38, whom they interrogated. No arrests were reported.


 
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
 
· At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura village, northwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a house belonging to Nayef Mahmoud al-Rajoub, 53, Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, without allowing him to change his sleeping clothes. It is worth noting that al-Rajoub had been released from Israeli jails on 20 June 2010.
 
· At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into 'Arraba village, southwest of Jenin. They raided a house belonging to the family of Mohammed 'Abdul Latif Shibani, 35, a leader of Islamic Jihad. An Israeli intelligence officer interrogated him about his detention by Palestinian security services. The officer also discussed with him the current political situation. IOF then raided a house belonging to Tayseer Burhan Jaber, 48, and took him to guide then to the house of his nephew, Samer Mo'in Jaber, 30, a leader of Islamic Jihad. IOF raided the house and interrogated Samer. They then raided a house belonging to Ja'far Ibrahim 'Izziddin, 39, another leader of Islamic Jihad, and discussed with him the current political situation.  
 
· At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into al-Khader village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a house belonging to Samer Jameel al-Balboul, but no arrests were reported. .
 
· At approximately 11:45, Israeli soldiers positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired at a number of Palestinian workers who were collecting raw construction materials in Bourat Abu Samra area, nearly 400 meters away from the border. As a result, Murad Bassam al-Souq, 19, was wounded by a bullet to the right leg. .
 
2. Use of Excessive Force against Peaceful Demonstrations Protesting Settlement Activities and the Construction of the Annexation Wall
 
During the reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest to the construction of the Wall and settlement activities in the West Bank. As a result, 9 Palestinian civilians, including two children, were wounded. Dozens of Palestinian civilians and human rights defenders also suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises. IOF also arrested 5 international and Israeli human rights defenders and a Palestinian child.
   
· Following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in protest to the construction of the Annexation Wall in Bil'ein village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards the annexation wall. Israeli soldiers stationed in the area fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a number of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation and others sustained bruises as they were beaten by Israeli soldiers.  
 
· Also following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Ne'lin village, west of Ramallah, in protest against the construction of the Annexation Wall. They clashed with Israeli troops positioned near the Wall. Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at demonstrators. As a result, dozens of demonstrators suffered from tear gas inhalation, and others sustained bruises.
 
· Also following the Friday Prayer on 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in Nabi Saleh village, northwest of Ramallah, in commemoration of the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, and in protest against land confiscations in the Wad al-Raya area between the villages of Nabi Saleh and Deir Nizam. When the demonstrators attempted to reach areas of land seized by Israeli settlers near "Halmish" settlement, Israeli troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at them. A number of demonstrators also suffered from tear gas inhalation. IOF also chased the demonstrators into the village. They also turned a house belonging to Helmi Tamimi into a military site. They withdrew from the village at approximately 17:00.
 
· Also on Friday noon, 26 November 2010, dozens of Palestinian civilians and a number of international human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They moved towards the annexation wall in the north and northwest of the village. IOF reinforced their presence at the entrance of the village. They attacked the demonstrators and fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at them. As a result, 6 demonstrators, including 15-year-old Mo'tassem Mos'ad Fawaghra, suffered from tear gas inhalation.
 
· At approximately 13:00 on Monday, 29 November 2010, Israeli soldiers stationed on observation towers on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel near Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing in the northern Gaza Strip opened fire about 50 demonstrators, including 7 international solidarity activists, who demonstrated nearly 50 meters away from the border in protest to the establishment of a restricted buffer zone along the border. No casualties were reported.


 
3. Continued Closure of the OPT
 
Israel has continued to impose a tightened closure of the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.
 
Gaza Strip
 
Israel has continuously closed all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for over three years. The illegal Israeli-imposed closure of the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.
 
· The illegal closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis but a crisis of human rights and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip. Measures declared recently to ease the blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned that the new Israeli policy is simply shifting Gaza to another form of illegal blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically isolated from the rest of the world.
 
· Expanding the list of items allowed into Gaza does not change the illegality of this policy, which is inconsistent with Israel’s legal obligations both as an Occupying Power and under international human rights treaties to which it is party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 
 
· Facts on the ground refute Israeli claims with respect to the easing of the closure imposed on the Gaza Strip and the reduction of restrictions imposed on the entry of goods.
 
· Israeli declaration of allowing new goods to be entered into the Gaza Strip constitutes an attempt to delude the international community, as such goods do not meet the minimal needs of the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have continued to ban the entry of raw construction materials into the Gaza Strip. 
 
· IOF have imposed a ban on all exports from the Gaza Strip. 
 
· Israel had continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or social visits.
 
· Israel has imposed additional access restrictions on international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers seeking to enter the Gaza Strip. They have prevented representatives of several international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip.
 
· Living conditions of the Palestinian civilian population have seriously deteriorated; levels of poverty and unemployment have mounted sharply.



The West Bank
 
Israel has imposed a tightened closure on the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.
 
· Jerusalem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the city. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays, preventing Muslim Palestinians from praying at al-Aqsa Mosque.     
 
· Bethlehem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. They have maintained their presence at 41 checkpoints around the town. The town has been also impacted by the construction of the annexation wall to the north and west, and large areas of Palestinian land have been isolated by the wall. During the reporting period, Israeli troops stationed at the 300 checkpoint (Rachel Tomb), north of Bethlehem, continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to Jerusalem. Palestinian civilians are forced to wait in queues on two routes outside the checkpoint. They are then checked by Israeli soldiers using electronic checking machines. Such checking is often prolonged and humiliating.   
 
· Ramallah: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of the Palestinian civilians in Ramallah. IOF troops positioned at the Jaba' and Qalandiya checkpoints, southeast of Ramallah, have imposed additional restrictions on movement and conducted prolonged checks of Palestinian civilians. During the reporting period, IOF established a number of temporary checkpoints, and stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 16:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Silwad village, northeast of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 23:00 on the same day, IOF re-established their presence at 'Attara checkpoint at the northern entrance of Bir Zeit village, north of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilians. At approximately 21:00 on Saturday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint under Deir Dibwan Bridge, northeast of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 20:00 on Sunday, 27 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at Kharabtha al-Misbah intersection, west of Ramallah. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.     
 
· Qalqilya: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established 5 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  On Saturday, 27 November 2010, IOF established 4 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.  On Sunday, 26 November 2010, IOF established 3 checkpoints around Qalqilya. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Tulkarm: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 14:00 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF closed Eannab checkpoint, east of Tulkarm, for several hours.  At approximately 16:00 on Friday, 26 November 2010, Israeli soldiers stationed at Ennab checkpoint, east of Tulkarm, imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At the same time, IOF established a checkpoint near Kufor Sour intersection on Tulkarm-Qalqilya road, south of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 20:30 on Saturday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint near Far'oun intersection on Tulkarm-Qalqilya road, south of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 09:00 on Sunday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of al-Jaroushiya village, north of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. At approximately 09:00 on Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint Beit Leed intersection on Nablus-Tulkarm road, east of Tulkarm. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Nablus: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 10:30 on Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint near Deir Sharaf intersection on Nablus-Tulkarm road, west of Nablus. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.
 
· Jenin: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 19:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF closed Barta'a checkpoint to the east of Barta'a village, which has been isolated by the annexation wall, west of Jenin, for several hours, claiming that they found explosives. At approximately 12:00 on Sunday, 28 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Jaba' village, south of Jenin, and another one at the entrance of 'Anza village, south of the town. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles. 
 
· Salfit: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. IOF have continued to close the northern entrance of Salfit with cement blocks and sand barriers since 2000. They have also continued to close two roads linking Marda village with agricultural land belonging to it.  At approximately 23:00 on Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of Deir Estia village, northwest of Salfit. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.   
 
· Jericho: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. At approximately 06 on Friday, 26 November 2010, IOF established a checkpoint at the entrance of 'Ein al-Dyouk village, north of Jericho. They stopped and searched Palestinian civilian vehicles.


 
Arrests at Military Checkpoints
 
· At approximately 14:00 on =, Israeli soldiers positioned at Ertah checkpoint near Tulkarm arrested Ma'rouf Mahmoud al-Rammal, 20.
 
· On Tuesday evening, 30 November 2010, Israeli soldiers positioned at Za'tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, arrested Nour al-Din Hafez Sawafta, 30, from Tubas. 
 

4. Measures Aimed at Creating a Jewish Demographic Majority in Jerusalem
 
Israel has recently escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem in order to force them to leave the city. PCHR has devoted this section in the Weekly Report to highlighting violations of human rights perpetrated by IOF against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem.
 
· On Thursday morning, 25 November 2010, the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem waged a campaign against owners of shops in Hazma village near Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops claiming that their owners do not have licenses.
 
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 01:30 on Thursday, IOF moved into Hazma village, east of Jerusalem. They demolished 9 shops after confiscating the majority of their contents:
1. A shop of bricks belonging to Mohammed 'Abdul Rahman 'Abdul Rahim;
2. An agricultural nursery belonging to Malek 'Abdul Karim;
3. An agricultural nursery belonging to 'Azmi al-Khatib and Samed Sabi;
4. An agricultural nursery belonging to Nader Salem and Hassan 'Abdul Latif;
5. A shop of bricks belonging to Mohammed Tafatfa;
6. A shop of furniture belonging to Riad 'Othman;
7. An agricultural nursery and a shop of bricks belonging to 'Afif Suleiman;
8. An agricultural nursery and a shop of bricks belonging to Jamal Salem; and
9. An agricultural nursery belonging to Mohammed Saladin.
 
Losses are estimated at more than 1.5 million NIS.
 
· At approximately 08:00 on Tuesday, 30 November 2010, IOF moved into al-'Eissawiya village near Jerusalem. They demolished a 120-square-meter, under-construction house belonging to 'Atiya Isma'il Mtair, claiming that it was being built without a license. According to Mtair, he had not received any demolition notice, and the issue of licensing was being considered by an Israeli court. IOF then demolished a 30-square-meter structure belonging to Mohammed Robin 'Olayan, 28, which served as a printing press.  
 
During this operation, IOF attacked Palestinian civilians who gathered in the area. Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and rubber-coated metal bullets at civilians. As a result, Ghassan 'Olayan, 35, was wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet that caused fractures to the skull and the nose. They also violently beat a number of civilians. As a result, Robin 'Olayan sustained bruises throughout the body. Additionally, 5 women suffered from tear gas inhalation.
 
· At approximately 08:00 on Wednesday, 24 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Tour neighborhood in Jerusalem. They demolished a house belonging to 'Aziz Zablah, claiming that it was built without a license. As a result, 7 individuals, including 4 children, have become homeless.
 
· During the reporting period, the organization committee in the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem approved the construction of 130 housing unit between "Gilo" settlement and Beit Safafa village. The committee approved turning the area, which was devoted to the establishment of hotels, into a residential area. 
 
· On Wednesday, 01 December 2010, the Israeli district committee of organization and construction approved the construction of 625 housing units in "Pisgat Ze'ev" settlement, northeast of Jerusalem. It is worth noting that the Israeli occupation authorities have started to construct another 1,300 housing units in Israeli settlements in Jerusalem and 1,000 ones in settlements in the West Bank, since the end of the temporary freezing of settlement activities on 25 September 2010.




5. Settlement Activities and Attacks by Settlers against Palestinian Civilians and Property
 
Israel has continued its settlement activities in the OPT in violation of international humanitarian law, and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property.
 
· At approximately 06:30 on Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF, accompanied by 3 bulldozers, moved into Kherbat Yazra village, east of Tubas, in the northern Jordan Valley. They closed the entrances of the village. At approximately 07:00, they demolished a 100-suqaure-meter mosque and a 20-square-meter subordinate room. Soon after, they demolished a 50-square-meter house belonging to Fayez Hamed Daraghma, in which 15 individuals, including 8 children, lived. They then demolished 10 tin-made barracks, which served as stores and barnyards:
 
1. A 120-square-meter barrack belonging to Na'im Hafez Masa'id;
2. A 60-square-meter barrack belonging to Hafez Na'im Masa'id;
3. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Mithqal Fayez Daraghma;
4. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Fawzi Mahmoud Daraghma;
5. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Hassan Khaled Daraghma;
6. A 75-square-meter barrack belonging to Mohammed Mahmoud Darghma;
7. A 50-square-meter barrack belonging to Mahmoud Fawzi Daraghma;
8. An 80-square-meter barrack belonging to Sami Khaled Daraghma;
9. A 70-square-meter barrack belonging to 'Omair Khaled Daraghma; and
10. A 50-square-meter barrack belonging to Khaled Mohammed Masa'id.
 
· At approximately 07:00 also on Thursday, IOF, accompanied by two bulldozers, moved into al-Dairat area to the east of Yatta village, south of Hebron. They besieged a 250-square-meter house belonging to Eyad and Mohammed Musleh al-'Omour, in which 25 individuals live. They forced its residents out and demolished it, claiming that it was built without a license. According to the two brothers, they applied for a license, but IOF refused to delay the demolition.
 
· On Thursday, 25 November 2010, IOF handed two notices to Mousa Taha and Hussein Shamsna, fom Qatna village northwest of Jerusalem, that their animal farms would be demolished.
 
· On Monday, 29 November 2010, IOF moved into al-Ma'sara village, south of Bethlehem. They handed notices to Mahmoud Ahmed Zawahra and 'Awadh Hassan Zawahra ordering the demolition of their houses; a 200-square-meter house and 230-square-meter one respectively. IOF also ordered the demolition of Ibrahim al-Khalil Mosque by 23 December 2010.



 
Recommendations to the International Community

1. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel's respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.
 
2. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel's respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.
 
3. PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with their legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.
 
4. PCHR calls for the immediate implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.
 
5. PCHR recommends that international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs, participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and urge their governments to bring the perpetrators to justice.
 
6. PCHR calls upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel. PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.
 
7. PCHR calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is - not an end to occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. 
 
8. In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.
 
9. PCHR appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel's respect for human rights in the OPT and to demand Israel end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.
 
10. PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the OPT.
 
11. PCHR reiterates that any political settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question. Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region. Any peace process or agreement must be based on respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.

Avi Shlaim: 'Netanyahu gelooft niet oprecht in vrede'

De Standaard | Bart Beirlant | 3 december 2010

BRUSSEL - De Israëlische premier Benjamin Netanyahu en rechts in Israël geloven niet in onderhandelingen met de Palestijnen, zegt de Israëlische historicus Avi Shlaim.

Avi Shlaim, professor internationale relaties aan de University of Oxford, schreef in 2000 het opmerkelijke boek ‘The Iron Wall'. Daarin betoogde Shlaim dat het Israëlische beleid tegenover de Palestijnen geleid wordt door de doctrine van de ‘IJzeren muur', die in 1923 bedacht werd door Zeev Jabotinsky, ‘de spirituele vader van joods rechts'. Volgens die doctrine kan Israël alleen onderhandelen met de Palestijnen op basis van een positie van militaire suprematie.

‘Wat aanvankelijk een strategie van de rechtervleugel binnen het zionisme was, is een nationale strategie geworden van de opeenvolgende Israëlische premiers sinds 1948: van Ben Goerion tot Benjamin Netanyahu – van BG tot Bibi', zei Shlaim tijdens een voordracht voor het Studie- en Onderzoekscentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij (SOMA) in Brussel. De enige uitzondering op die regel was Yitzhak Rabin, die in 1993 de Oslo-akkoorden sloot en daarom in 1995 vermoord werd door een joodse extremist.

Na de verkiezingen van 1996 werd Benjamin Netanyahu een eerste keer premier. ‘Bibi' greep terug naar de strategie van de ‘Iron Wall', zegt Shlaim. ‘Hij maakte er geen geheim van dat hij gekant was tegen Oslo, en probeerde als premier de Oslo-akkoorden te ondermijnen. Oslo werd een mislukking wegens de Israëlische confiscatie van Palestijns land. ‘Land afpakken en vrede sluiten gaan niet samen.'

Apartheidssysteem

Sinds de mislukking van de onderhandelingen in Camp David in 2000 onder leiding van toenmalig Amerikaans president Bill Clinton, geloven de Israëli's volgens Shlaim niet langer dat vrede met de Palestijnen mogelijk is. Daarvoor draagt toenmalig Labour-premier Ehud Barak, nu minister van Defensie, een grote verantwoordelijkheid: ‘Hij vertelde na Camp David dat hij aan Yasser Arafat bijna alles had aangeboden wat deze vroeg, maar dat de Palestijnse leider desondanks weigerde. Dat klopt niet, het maakt dat de Israëli's steeds meer voor rechtse partijen stemmen, en niet meer geloven in vredesonderhandelingen.'

‘Israël maakt een leefbare Palestijnse staat steeds minder mogelijk', aldus Shlaim. ‘Het breidt de nederzettingen op de Westoever uit, bouwt omleidingswegen en tunnels die alleen joden mogen gebruiken. Dit is een apartheidssysteem. In Jeruzalem blijft Israël Palestijnen uit hun huizen zetten, woningen die nadien exclusief voor joden voorbestemd worden. En de belangrijkste functie van de afscheidingsmuur bestaat erin om land van de Palestijnen in te nemen en een toekomstige grens af te bakenen.'

Retoriek

Toch zegt Netanyahu nu uitdrukkelijk dat hij vrede met de Palestijnen wil. Moeten we hem dan niet op zijn woord geloven?

‘Mijn groot probleem met Benjamin Netanyahu', zegt Shlaim, ‘is dat hij geen hoop biedt. Bibi en rechts in Israël geloven niet in onderhandelingen. Zij zijn voorstanders van een permanent conflict en unilateralisme. Bij politici moet je een onderscheid maken tussen hun retoriek en hun daden. Bibi is nooit een grote voorstander geweest van vrede, kijk naar wat hij deed met de Oslo-akkoorden in zijn eerste ambtstermijn.

Onder druk van president Obama zegt hij nu dat hij voorstander is van een tweestatenoplossing. Maar kijk naar wat er op het terrein gebeurt: hij stemde een eerste keer in met een bevriezing van de nederzettingen voor tien maanden op de Westoever, maar niet in Oost-Jeruzalem: dat werd door Israël geannexeerd en maakt voor Netanyahu deel uit van het Israëlische soevereine grondgebied. Nu weigert hij in te stemmen met een vernieuwing van die bevriezing voor de duur van 90 dagen, ook al bood president Obama hem een pakket incentives aan. Netanyahu gelooft niet oprecht in vrede.'

Robert Fisk: Now we know. America really doesn't care about injustice in the Middle East

The Independent | By Robert Fisk | 30 Nov 2010

I came to the latest uproarious US diplomatic history with the deepest cynicism. And yesterday, in the dust of post-election Cairo – the Egyptian parliamentary poll was as usual a mixture of farce and fraud, which is at least better than shock and awe – I ploughed through so many thousands of American diplomatic reports with something approaching utter hopelessness. After all, they do quote President Hosni Mubarak as saying that "you can forget about democracy," don't they?

It's not that US diplomats don't understand the Middle East; it's just that they've lost all sight of injustice. Vast amounts of diplomatic literature prove that the mainstay of Washington's Middle East policy is alignment with Israel, that its principal aim is to encourage the Arabs to join the American-Israeli alliance against Iran, that the compass point of US policy over years and years is the need to tame/bully/crush/oppress/ ultimately destroy the power of Iran.

There is virtually no talk (so far, at least) of illegal Jewish colonial settlements on the West Bank, of Israeli "outposts", of extremist Israeli "settlers" whose homes now smallpox the occupied Palestinian West Bank – of the vast illegal system of land theft which lies at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian war. And incredibly, all kinds of worthy US diplomats grovel and kneel before Israel's demands – many of them apparently fervent supporters of Israel – as Mossad bosses and Israel military intelligence agents read their wish-list to their benefactors.

There's a wonderful moment in the cables when the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, explains to a US congressional delegation on 28 April last year that "a Palestinian state must be demilitarised, without control of its airspace and electro-magnetic field [sic], and without the power to enter into treaties or control its border". Well goodbye, then, to the "viable" (ergo Lord Blair of Isfahan) Palestinian state we all supposedly want. And the US Congress lads and ladies appear to have said nothing.

Instead, in The New York Times, we read through the Wikileaks files for the best quote. Here is Saudi King Abdullah, via his ambassador in Washington (a dab hand with the press), sayingthat Abdullah believes America must "cut of the head of this snake" – the snake being Iran or Ahmadinejad or Iranian nuclear facilities, or whatever.

But the Saudis are always threatening to cut off the head of their latest snakes. In 1982, Yasser Arafat said he would cut off Israel's left arm after its invasion of Lebanon, and then the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin said he would cut off Arafat's right arm. And I suppose that when it is revealed to us – as, alas, it is in these Wikileaks papers – that unsuitable applicants for US visas are called by American diplomats "visa vipers", we can only conclude that snakes are much in demand.

The problem is that for decades, Middle East potentates have been threatening to chop off the heads of snakes, serpents, rats and Iranian insects – the latter a favourite of Saddam Hussein who used US-supplied "insecticide" to destroy them, as we all know – while Israeli leaders have called Palestinians "cockroaches" (Rafael Eitan), "crocodiles" (Ehud Barak) and "three-legged beasts" (Begin).

Tears of laughter, I have to admit, began to run down my face when I read the po-faced US diplomatic report from Bahrain that King Hamad – or "His Supreme Highness King Hamad" as he insists on being called, in his Sunni dictatorship with a Shia majority and a kingdom slightly larger than the Isle of Wight – had announced that the danger of letting the Iranian nuclear programme go on was "greater than the danger of stopping it".

That wonderful Palestinian journalist Marwan Bishara was right when he said at the weekend that these US diplomatic papers were of more interest to anthropologists than political scientists; for they are a record of a deviant way of thinking about the Middle East. If King Abdullah (the crumbling Saudi version, as opposed to the Plucky Little Jordanian King version) really called Ahmadinejad Hitler and Sarkozy's adviser called Iran "a fascist state", it shows only that the US State Department is still obsessed with the Second World War.

I loved the stunning report of a visitor to the US embassy in Ankara who told diplomats that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was dying of leukemia. Not because the poor old boy is a cancer victim – he is not – but because this is the same old nonsense we've been peddled about the Middle East's recalcitrant leaders for so many years. I remember the days when American or British "diplomatic sources" insisted that Gaddafi was dying of cancer, that Khomeini was dying of cancer (long before he died), that Khomeini was already dead of cancer – again, long before he died – that the Palestinian contract killer Abu Nidal was dying of cancer, 20 years before he was murdered by Saddam. Even in Northern Ireland, Britain's half-baked spooks told us that the Protestant Vanguard leader William Craig was dying of cancer. And of course, he lived on, like the awful Gaddafi, whose Ukrainian nurse is described by the Americans as "voluptuous". Of course she is. Aren't all blonde dames "voluptuous" in such descriptions?

One of the most interesting reflections – dutifully ignored by most of the pro-Wikileaks papers yesterday – came in a cable on a meeting between a US Senate delegation and President Bashar Assad of Syria earlier this year. America, Assad told his guests, possessed "a huge information apparatus" but lacked the ability to analyse this information successfully. "While we lack your intelligence abilities," he says in rather sinister fashion, "we succeed in fighting extremists because we have better analysts ... in the US you like to shoot [terrorists]. Suffocating their networks is far more effective." Iran, he concluded, was the most important country in the region, followed by Turkey and – number three – Syria itself. Poor old Israel didn't get a look in.

Of course President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan is "driven by paranoia" – so is everyone in that land, including most of Nato and especially theUnited States – and naturally the President of Yemen pretends to his own people that he is killing al-Qa'ida representatives when we all know it's General David Petraeus's warriors who are the culprits. Muslim leaders have constantly been claiming American military prowess against other Muslims as their own work.

Of course, we must not be too cynical. I loved the American diplomatic report (from Cairo, of course, not from Tel Aviv) which said that Netanyahu was "elegant and charming ... but never keeps his promises". But doesn't that apply to half the Arab leaders as well?

And then we come to the dank and frightening reporting of a meeting between Andrew Shapiro, "Assistant Secretary of State for the US Political-Military Bureau", meeting with Israel's spooks almost exactly a year ago. Israel was unable to protect its Cessna Caravan and Raven unmanned pilotless drones over southern Lebanon, admits Mossad. (Hezbollah will be obliged for this nugget.) An Israeli "J5" Colonel Shimon Arad waffles on upon the dangers of "Hezbollahstan" and Hamastan" and the "internal political deadlock" in Lebanon – there wasn't then, but there is now – and about Lebanon as a "volatile military arena" and the country's "susceptibility to outside influences, including Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia".

And, of course – though Colonel Arad doesn't mention this – American influence and Israeli influence and French influence and British influence and Turkish influence. Shapiro "cited the need to provide an alternative to Hezbollah" – the Costa Rican police force, perhaps? – and suggested that the Lebanese army would come to the defence of Hezbollah (unlikely, in the circumstances).

There's a priceless denial of the UN Goldstone report on the Gaza atrocities of 2008-09 by reserve Major General Amos Gilad, who says that the document's criticisms of Israel are "baseless" because the Israeli military made 300,000 phone calls to houses in Gaza ahead of strikes ... to prevent civilian casualties". Poor old Shapiro seems to have reacted in silence. That would be a phone call to a fifth of the entire Palestinian population of Gaza, kids, babies and all. And even then they killed 1,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Of course the Palestinian Authority of the bland Mahmoud Abbas didn't want to take over this killing field after the Israelis had won – another offer made by Israel with US knowledge – because Israel didn't win. It didn't even find its missing soldier in the tunnels of Gaza.

There's a symbolic moment when Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi – not to be compared to the "distant and uncharismatic personage" of his brother Khalifa – worries about Iran in front of the US ambassador Richard Olsen who then suggests that he has "a strategic view of the region that is curiously close to the Israeli one". But of course he does. Line them up. They will pray in their golden mosques, these kings and emirs and generals, buying more and more American weapons to protect themselves from the "Hitler" of Tehran – better, I suppose, than the 2003 Hitler of the Tigris or the 1956 Mussolini of the Nile – and entreat God that they will be saved by the might of America and Israel. I can't wait for the next episode in this fantasy.

CIDI-leugens en hypocrisie voor Rosenthal

Eergisteren stuurde het CIDI een brief aan aan minister Uri Rosenthal met het verzoek zich krachtig uit te spreken tegen de Iraanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Manouchehr Mottaki, die deelneemt aan de 14th Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in Den Haag. Israël is daar vreemd genoeg - toevallig samen met een andere schurkenstaat, Myanmar (Birma) - aanwezig als "observer". In tegenstelling tot Iran heeft Israël het verdrag om chemische wapens uit te bannen wel getekend maar weigert het te ratificeren. Tijdens de laatste grote aanval op Gaza is weer gebleken waarom: Israël gebruikte o.a. (witte) fosforbommen op dichtbevolkte gebieden - een oorlogsmisdaad die het CIDI net zo prima in orde vond als dat Israël dat deed.

"gedreigd"
Volgens het CIDI heeft Mottaki twee jaar geleden gedreigd "dat het zionistische regime gedoemd is vernietigd te worden". Dat is 100% uit de duim gezogen. Mottaki herhaalde twee jaar geleden een uitspraak van Khomeini: "Als elke moslim een emmer water over Israël zou gooien, zou het wegspoelen." Wow. En dat "het zionistische regime" van binnenuit zou desintegreren. Maar zelfs wanneer Mottaki zou hebben gesteld dat Israël 'tot iets gedoemd' zou zijn is er in wezen geen enkele sprake van een bedreiging. Daarnaast heeft Iran nog nooit een ander land aangevallen. In tegenstelling tot Israël.
De hypocrisie van het CIDI in deze is natuurlijk dat Israël, nota bene de enige (en illegale) kernwapenmacht in het Midden-Oosten, de laatste jaren Iran doorlopend bedreigt met bombardementen. Nog nooit heeft het CIDI dat veroordeeld.

"ontkenning van de holocaust"
Waar zou het CIDI zijn zonder de Tweede Wereldoorlog om de misdaden van Israël te verdedigen en te promoten? Het gaat hier dus weer om "de ontkenning van de Holocaust", in deze van Mottaki. Specifieker gaat het om de twijfel van president Ahmedinejad over de juiste getallen zoals gehanteerd voor de holocaust, en Mottaki heeft in 2006 op een Iraanse 'holocaust-conferentie' verdedigd dat Iran de holocaust niet ontkent, maar er iedereen, in tegenstelling tot in Europa, wel een mening over gunt. En dat is exact dezelfde opstelling als die van de VS (maar bijvoorbeeld ook die van Groot-Brittannië), die Artikel 1 van hun Grondwet trouw wil blijven. In de VS zijn neonazi-groeperingen dan ook legaal, en worden hun manifestaties door de overheid beschermd. Hier dus ook weer hypocrisie van het CIDI, die de VS hier nimmer over heeft bekritiseerd.

"de ontwikkeling van het kernwapen"
Ontwikkelt Iran "het" kernwapen? Nee. Bestaat "de ontwikkeling van het Iraanse atoomwapen", aldus het CIDI? Nee. Heeft Iran het recht om kernenergie te ontwikkelen? Ja. Heeft Iran het anti-proliferatieverdrag ondertekend? Ja. En Israël? Nee. Heeft Israël kernwapens? Ja. Heeft het CIDI dat wel eens bekritiseerd? Nee.

Gaza 2008

"Herhaaldelijk is Iran ervan beschuldigd voorraden van chemische wapens te hebben die blaren veroorzaken en bloed vergiftigen. Mogelijk zijn er ook zenuwgassen in het land opgeslagen."
Heeft Iran chemische wapens? Nooit bewezen. Het CIDI beroept zich op een rapport van de VS in opgesteld in 2003, waarin het stelde dat Iran "likely has already stockpiled blister, blood choking, and probably nerve agents." In de jaren daarna volgde Amerikaanse rapporten die stelden dat de betreffende chemicaliën uitsluitend werden gebruikt voor burgerlijke en commerciële doeleinden, die het CIDI blijkbaar negeert.
Heeft Israël chemische wapens? Bewezen, aangezien Israël ze ook daadwerkelijk gebruikt. Hier meer informatie. Maar het CIDI meldt geenzins dat Israël daarom 'niet thuishoort' op de betreffende conferentie in Den Haag.

Last but not least: "Mottaki heeft jarenlang mede vorm gegeven aan grove schendingen van de mensenrechten"
Weet het CIDI niet meer hoeveel en hoe vaak Israël de mensenrechten schendt? Feit is: elke dag, elk uur, elke minuut en elke seconde, decennialang, en op grote schaal. Israël schendt daarnaast meer VN-resoluties dan alle landen van de wereld bij elkaar. En nog geen week geleden nodigde het CIDI een mensenrechtenschender uit in Nederland, de "burgemeester" Avi Naim van de illegale nederzetting Beit Aryeh-Ofrim op de Westelijke Jordaanover. Dit nadat de Vereniging van Nederlandse Gemeenten (VNG) terecht had besloten om geen criminelen, in deze de "burgemeesters" van nederzettingen op de Westoever en de Golanhoogten, te fêteren.

Israeli police blasted for abusing Jerusalem children

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli police were accused of "flagrant violations" of the law Thursday over their harsh and at times violent treatment of Palestinian children suspected of stone-throwing in east Jerusalem.

The allegations were detailed in a letter sent to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by a group of 60 Israeli professionals, among them experts in medicine, psychology, education, social work and law -- all of whom work with children.

The letter expresses concern about the growing number of testimonies submitted by Palestinian minors who have been arrested by police in occupied and annexed east Jerusalem, notably in the flashpoint neighbourhood of Silwan.

"We are writing ... to express our deep concerns about the physical and emotional welfare and proper development of children and young people in east Jerusalem in the light of police behaviour during the investigation and arrest of minors in this area," it said.

"Over the last few months, there has been a growing number of testimonies of minors and their families which point to flagrant violations of the rights of detained minors, and of the use of violence during the investigation of children and young people who are suspected of throwing stones in Silwan."

Masked Israeli policemen arrest two Palestinians during clashes near Damascus
Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City February 9, 2007. [MaanImages/Magnus Johansson]

Youngsters have testified how they were dragged out of bed in the dead of the night, cuffed and taken for investigation without being accompanied by their parents -- and sometimes without their family even being informed, it said.

During the investigation, "they suffered threats and humiliation at the hand of the investigators .. which sometimes involved substantial physical violence," it said, noting with concern that even children under the age of 12 were being detained.

The crumbling neighbourhood of Silwan, which lies just south of Jerusalem's Old City, is the focal point of regular clashes between locals and hardline Jewish settlers, with police frequently arresting youngsters on charges of stone-throwing.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their promised state and oppose any attempts to extend Israel's control over the part of the city that was captured in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its "eternal and indivisible" capital, a status not recognised by the international community.

(Ma'an News, 25/11/2010)