Posts
since Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:04:17.
A correspondent accuses:
You have lined up with the Israeli government in seeking to delegitimize the Goldstone Report.
Zionists are arguing that the Goldstone Report is nonsense, drivel, and biased.
The appropriate response is praise for the identification of IDF atrocities but criticism for the Zionist hasbarah contained in the Report as well as for the Report's clear bias in favor of the State of Israel, whose behavior is far more criminal under International Law than was described by the fact-finding team, which was chaired by a Zionist and ever mindful of potential US government punitive reaction toward the UN.
Are they lining up with the Israeli government to delegitimize the Goldstone Report?
Here is the news report on the UNHRC endorsement:
In its resolution, which was adopted by a vote of 25 in favour, six against, and 11 abstentions, the Council strongly condemned all policies and measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, including those limiting access of Palestinians to their properties and holy sites particularly in Occupied East Jerusalem, on the basis of national origin, religion, sex, age or any other discriminatory ground, which were in grave violation of the Palestinian People's civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It also condemned the recent Israeli violations of human rights in Occupied East Jerusalem, particularly the confiscation of lands and properties, the demolishing of houses, the construction and expansion of settlements, the continuous construction of the separation Wall, the restrictions on the freedom of movement of the Palestinian citizens of East Jerusalem, as well as the continuous digging and excavation works in and around Al-Aqsa mosque and its vicinity. The Council demanded that Israel allow Palestinian citizens and worshippers unhindered access to their properties and religious sites in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and that it immediately cease all digging and excavation works and activities beneath and around Al Aqsa Mosque.
The Council also condemned the non-cooperation by Israel with the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission established by its resolution S-9/L.1. The Council endorsed the recommendations contained in the Mission's report and called upon all concerned parties to ensure their implementation. It also recommended to the General Assembly that it consider the report of the Fact-Finding Mission during the main part of its sixty-fourth session. Similarly, the Council endorsed the recommendations contained in the first periodic report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in this area, and called upon all concerned parties, including United Nations bodies, to ensure their implementation.
The Report's accusations against them are somewhat mind-boggling. Here is an example.
498. The Mission asked the Gaza authorities to provide information on the sites from where the Palestinian armed groups had launched attacks against Israel and against the Israeli armed forces in Gaza. The Mission similarly asked whether, to their knowledge, civilian buildings and mosques had been used to store weapons. In their response, the Gaza authorities stated that they had no information on the activities of the Palestinian armed groups or about the storage of weapons in mosques and civilian buildings. The Mission does not find this response to be entirely plausible. The Mission notes, more importantly, that, whether the answer reflects the reality or not, the Gaza authorities are obliged under international law to control the activities of armed groups operating on the territory under their control.345 If they failed to take the necessary measures to prevent the Palestinian armed groups from endangering the civilian population by conducting hostilities in a manner incompatible with international humanitarian law, they would bear responsibility for the damage done to the civilians living in Gaza.
By this logic the Jewish Councils in occupied E. Europe would bear responsibility for damage done by German soldiers to civilians living in Jewish ghettos if the Jewish councils did not prevent Jewish militia men from attacking the civilian and military personnel of the German occupation.
The Goldstone Commission position is simply nuts, and of course the HRC did not endorse it or similar insanity elsewhere.
This paragraph below is so fuzzy that it is hard even to be sure what it means:
1274. The Mission was also informed of indoctrination programmes allegedly introduced by the Gaza authorities, and of a process of ideological and political polarization. Such programmes have a high potential for imposing models of education at odds with human rights values and with a culture of peace and tolerance. In this regard, the Mission believes that efforts to incorporate human rights in the curricula should be encouraged by the relevant authorities.
It looks like an attempt to sneak standard Zionist Hasbarah claims
- that Palestinian educational materials contain "incitement" against Israel or Jews and
- that Palestinians educate their children to hate and to murder.
into the Report.
Not only is this stuff below just crap, but the Nuremberg Tribunal Judges consistently rejected the argument that German reprisals were an appropriate response to criminal or terrorist acts by resistance forces.
1687. There is no justification in international law for the launching of rockets and mortars that cannot be directed at specific military targets into areas where civilian populations are located. Indeed, Palestinian armed groups, among them Hamas, have publicly expressed their intention to target Israel civilians. The al-Qassam Brigades, on their website, claimed responsibility for the deaths of each of the Israeli civilians killed by rocket fire during the operations in Gaza.1045
1688. From the facts it ascertained, the Mission finds that the Palestinian armed groups have failed in their duty to protect and respect civilians. Even though the al-Qassam Brigades and other armed groups in Gaza have recently claimed that they do not intend to harm civilians, the fact that they continue to launch rockets at populated areas without any definite military targets and are aware of the consequences to civilians indicates an intent to target civilians. Furthermore, the launching of unguided rockets and mortars breaches the fundamental principle of distinction: an attack must distinguish between military and civilian targets. Where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into civilian areas, they constitute a deliberate attack against the civilian population.
1689. Given the apparent inability of the Palestinian armed groups to aim rockets and mortars at specific targets and, the fact that the attacks have caused very little damage to Israeli military assets, it is plausible that one of the primary purposes of these continued attacks is to spread terror prohibited under international humanitarian law -among the civilian population of southern Israel.
1690. The above view is supported by public statements of the armed groups, such as that made by Hamas on 5 November 2008. Following an Israeli raid in Gaza1046 which resulted in the death of five Hamas militants1047, a Hamas spokesman stated “The Israelis began this tension and they must pay an expensive price… They cannot leave us drowning in blood while they sleep soundly in their beds”.1048 As noted in chapter XVI, reprisal attacks cannot be carried out against a civilian population.
1691. From the facts available, the Mission finds that the rocket and mortars attacks, launched by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, have caused terror in the affected communities of southern Israel and in Israel as a whole. Furthermore, it is the Mission’s view that the mortars and rockets are uncontrolled and uncontrollable, respectively. This indicates the commission of an indiscriminate attack on the civilian population of southern Israel, a war crime, and may amount to crimes against humanity. These attacks have caused loss of life and physical and mental injury to civilians and damage to private houses, religious buildings and property and have eroded the economic and cultural life of the affected communities.
The best rocket technology fails in targeting, and as far as I know, jus in bello allows proportionate response (paragraph 1690) when the international or regional authorities fail to respond to their obligations.
I object to the terminology used in the above paragraphs as inconsistent and inappropriate with regard to Nuremberg Tribunal Law, the International Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, and the 4th Geneva Convention.
Not all civilians are protected noncombatants in International Law, and one can legitimately question whether many if not most Israeli civilians have protected noncombatant status. Failing to address the issue is an example of clear bias toward the State of Israel as is the Goldstone Commission's pervasive obliviousness to the body of precedents, decisions, and findings of facts contained in the 39 volume corpus of Nuremberg Tribunal proceedings.
Because the section XXVII. PROCEEDINGS BY PALESTINIAN AUTHORITIES: A. Proceedings related to actions in the Gaza Strip maintains the dangerous fiction of power equality between
- an established albeit odious state with an extremely powerful military and
- a resistance organization with some local authority in a situation that is legally an occupation made dire by siege conditions,
the Goldstone Report very effectively supports the atrocious and criminal Zionist logic
- of responding to stones with tanks and automatic weapony or
- of responding to toy mortars with heavy bombardment.
Did the Leningrad authorities live up to the following paragraph during the Siege of Leningrad?
1842. The Mission is aware that Hamas continues to view all armed activities directed against Israel as resistance to occupation and practices of the occupation, and, therefore, a legitimate right of the Palestinian people. The Mission fully recognizes the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international human rights conventions. It also acknowledges that United Nations bodies and others have repeatedly pointed out practices of the Israeli occupation that deprive Palestinians of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Nevertheless, the Mission forcefully reiterates that the peremptory norms of customary international law, both of human rights law and humanitarian law, apply to all actions that may be undertaken in response to, or to oppose, human rights violations.
Not only is the above paragraph way off base with regard to customary international law, but it has little connection to reality.
Covering up or overlooking the problems and failings of the Goldstone Report hands a victory to Zionists.
