Zionism // Current

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5 days ago

Israel defies US demands to stop building in Jerusalem

By Ben Hubbard in Jerusalem

Thursday November 19 2009

Israel pressed ahead with work on a new housing complex for Jews in east Jerusalem yesterday, brushing off President Barack Obama's criticism that construction in the disputed part of the holy city undermines efforts to relaunch Middle East peace talks.

Israel defied American, European and Palestinian demands to stop settlement activity by announcing it will press forward with construction of 900 apartments in another Jewish area in east Jerusalem.

Speaking in Beijing yesterday, Mr Obama criticised the plan to build hundreds of homes in Jerusalem's Gilo neighbourhood, saying such moves make it harder to achieve peace in the region and embitter the Palestinians in a way he said could be dangerous.

The Palestinians claim the West Bank and east Jerusalem -- areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war -- for their hoped-for state and have refused negotiations until Israel stops settlement construction in these areas. The Palestinians say the continued growth of settlements on land they claim will make it impossible for them to establish a viable country.

The Israeli government declined to respond to Mr Obama's comments. But earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel had no intention of stopping the Gilo construction.

The future of east Jerusalem is the most intractable issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The area includes Jerusalem's walled Old City -- home to Jewish, Christian and Muslim holy sites. Israel annexed east Jerusalem immediately after the 1967 war and claims the city as its eternal capital. The annexation was never recognised by other countries.

Tensions

Speaking in parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the tensions with the US. Instead, Mr Netanyahu reiterated his call for an immediate resumption of peace talks and criticised the Palestinians for refusing to return to the table.

As he spoke, however, Israel faced a growing torrent of international criticism. The EU expressed "dismay" over the Gilo project. It said that settlement activity, demolition of Palestinian homes in east Jerusalem and evictions of Palestinian families from contested properties, undermined negotiations and "threatened the viability of a two-state solution".

In the West Bank, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat welcomed the international criticism. He said the Gilo project "provides 900 more reasons why hopes for salvaging the two-state solution and restarting genuine negotiations are rapidly fading, and why Israel is not a partner for peace".By Ben Hubbard in Jerusalem Thursday November 19 2009 Israel pressed ahead with work on a new housing complex for Jews in... more

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11 days ago

Jewish Settlers cut olive trees south of Nablus

group of 25 settlers from Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus, cut down 97 olive trees in the village of Burin this morning. The attack comes on the heels of a similar attack made 5 weeks ago, and a continued campaign of intimidation and harrassment of Burin’s residents from nearby settlements Yitzhar and Bracha.

Approximately 25 settlers began hacking the trees to pieces at 3am this morning. Although cutting manually, the noise awoke a Palestinian resident, whose house is located close to the scene on the Yitzhar ’side’ of Burin. After alerting the village, the Palestinians arrived in the olive grove as it became light to survey the damage, amongst them the owner of the land, Burin farmer Akram Brahim Embran. They counted 97 trees destroyed.

It is not the first time this year that Burin’s olive trees have been caught in the middle of territorial violence, for which Yitzhar settlers are notorious. On 4 October, a neighbouring grove was wiped out when 25 settlers took to the trees with axes in the early hours of the morning, just one day before the village’s olive harvest was due to commence. Previous years have seen fields burnt and crops stolen, in addition to continual settler harrassment and intimidation. The havoc it wreaks on Burin’s economy is obvious, agriculture its main source of income – and identity.

The village of Burin and its surrounding neighbours have been subject to numerous violent attacks from the two illegal settlements of Bracha and Yitzhar that sandwich the local Palestinian villages. Burin village as also lost thousands of dunams of land from annexation by settler construction or proximity, in addition to the repeated attacks on its remaining farmland. In 2006 settlers from the settlement of Bracha fired homemade rockets on the village, burning a house down.

Settlements are illegal under international law and both settlements have numerous outposts that continue to annex further Palestinian land in violation of both Israeli and international law.group of 25 settlers from Yitzhar settlement, south of Nablus, cut down 97 olive trees in the village of Burin this morning. The... more

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1 month ago

Israeli soldiers buried Palestinians alive during the war on Gaza

GAZA, (PIC)-- Palestinian human rights activist Nashaat Al-Wahidi, revealed Monday that the Israeli occupation forces (IOF)... more

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1 month ago

Boycott Settlement Goods Protest

On 11th October 2009, activists protested inside Sainsbury’s on Cromwell Street, West London to highlight the sale of... more

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1 month ago

Israelis Facing Hundreds of War Crimes Cases?

Israeli officials respond to unconfirmed reports that almost 1,000 war crimes suits have been filed against ministers and military officers.

Israeli officials were taken aback by reports that there are almost 1,000 war crimes lawsuits against Israeli military officers and ministers outstanding around the world.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was reported as estimating that there were 964 international lawsuits outstanding against Israeli citizens around the world.

Israeli officials were mum when asked about Lieberman's reference to almost 1,000 outstanding cases.

"I'm not sure we even have a number and I don't know where they get this from," Yigal Palmor, a spokesperson for Israel's Foreign Ministry told The Media Line. "Minister Lieberman generally gives radio interviews. Perhaps the interviewer mentioned a number and then it was attributed to the minister, but we don't have a number like this."

Lieberman's office could not confirm that the minister had made reference to an exact number, but acknowledged that he may have made an estimate while speaking with the press.

Both Israel's Justice and Foreign Ministries refused to comment or provide the number of such cases Israelis are known to be facing.

"There are a few subjects that we don't speak about," said a Justice Ministry official on the condition of anonymity. "This is one of them."

"There are many different departments dealing with this: the Justice Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Prime Ministers Office and the Israeli Defense Forces," the official added. "But the chance that you'll get any of them to talk about it is very slim."

Israel has been struggling for weeks to come to grips with the potential legal consequences of a UN report calling for the Jewish state to be dragged before the International Criminal Court and for the country's military leaders to face international prosecution for war crimes.

The 575 page report on Richard Goldstone's investigation into the Gaza war, released by the UN Human Rights Council last month, called on Israel to launch "genuine, impartial and independent" investigations into possible war crimes. Should Israel fail to do so, Goldstone recommended that Israel face the International Criminal Court and that individual countries use "universal jurisdiction" to prosecute perpetrators of war crimes.

Israelis traveling without diplomatic protection face the threat of arrest in a number of countries that allow universal jurisdiction, in which a case can be filed against the citizen of a foreign country for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak avoided arrest on a visit to the UK late last month after a court ruled he had diplomatic immunity. A week later Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon then cancelled a trip to the UK.Israeli officials respond to unconfirmed reports that almost 1,000 war crimes suits have been filed against ministers and military... more