The Spanish judge Fernando Andreu (of Audencia Nacional) launched a probe today against seven Israeli politicians and militaries suspected of crimes against humanity in a 2002 bombing of a residential area in Gaza.
15 persons were killed in the July 22, 2002 bombing, including nine children. 150 persons were injured in the attack, some with grave injuries. The target in the attack was the Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh, who was amongst the casualities in the attack.
The seven persons named in the probe include Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (then Israeli minister of Defense, currently transportation minister) and Dan Halutz (then the commander of the Israeli Air Force), Michael Herzog (IOF Brigadier General), Moshe Ya'alon (IOF Chief of Staff), Doron Almog (IOF Major General), Giora Eiland (National Security Council president) and Abraham Dichter (presently Minister of National Security).
According to El Mundo, Dan Halutz is reported to have stated to his pilots after the bombing that "You have my full support. You can sleep assured that you have done a perfect action", thus admitting his own guilt in the massacre.
Spanish legislation approves of trying suspects of offenses like crimes against humanity, terrorism or genocide, even if they have been committed in other countries. This legislation was used to initiate a legal probe against former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, amongst others. According to La Vanguardia, Israeli authorities have not responded positively to the Spanish request to facilitate the legal process.
This is indeed encouraging news for all who seek justice for the Israeli crimes against humanity. It should be taken as a signal for all democratic forces to step up the campaigns to put the present Israeli leadership to stand trial for war crimes in The Hague.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, News links on Gaza: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, "USA asks Israel to investigate war crimes allegations"
New Reporting Details ‘Large Scale’ Use of Human Shields by Israel in Gaza
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Footage shows a Palestinian man being used by the Israel Defense Forces as
a human shield. (Photo: Al Jazeera) “The earliest testimony we have on it
is fro...
21 hours ago
I hope the recent WAR CRIMES committed by the Israeli miltitary on the population of Gaza will be independently investigated by the Courts. Illegal use of white phosperous on densely populated areas, indiscriminate killing of women and children and maiming ,destruction of property and displacement.
ReplyDeleteI see that my previous post was edited away since it didn't share your views and it took up the war crimes done by Hamas
ReplyDeletefirst of all, your comment wasn't edited away, it was never published. i outlined the policies of comments at this blog in http://gaza-peace-n-freedom.blogspot.com/2009/01/dude-wheres-my-comment.html
ReplyDeleteUN laws state clearly that any nation or individual that use their own people as a shield and therein invite enemy combatants to strike at your own people are to be considered a war criminal.
ReplyDeleteSame UN laws state that any nation or individual using emblem of UN, red cross or red moon, under cover, and under an act of war, is considered a war criminal
Further more the same laws state that using buildings where people gather in big numbers, like hospital, religious buildings and other civilian buildings where people assembly at great number, and that any nations or individual do an act of war from, are to be considered war criminal.
Since Spain do consider the laws of the world, I was just wondering, are they considering these laws when they want to process the 7 Israeli?
I only mention the laws which are within the UN and are for everyone to see, and if you edit this away, you are not fair.
If you think I act as a spokesperson of the Spanish judicial system, you're wrong. I transmit a news posting, and comment on it.
ReplyDeleteduring the entire Gaza massacre, the claim of 'hamas-using-human-shields' was repeated ad nauseum by the advocates of the massacre. And every time Israel was criticized for bombing schools, hospitals, media outlets or other civilian installations, its spokespersons mechanically repeated claims that Hamas fighters had opened fire from said location. Pro-israeli bloggers and the hasbara apparatus immediately jumped to the gun and repeated the claims, as if anything that comes out from the Israeli state organs is truth by default.
When it comes to laws of war, such arguments don't work. The laws of war are not nullified if one party of the conflict breaks them. What Hamas did or what the Israeli state apparatus claims Hamas did does not absolve Israel from responsibility for its own actions. Civilians are not to be targetted in warfare, Israel has consistently violated this provision.
Pointing blame elsewhere doesn't lead anywhere, it doesn't wash the blood off the hands of Israeli politicians and commanders.
You say:"Civilians are not to be targetted in warfare"
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. But in a warfare there is 2 sides, will you not agree?
Civilians are during war under attack, and will suffer terror, regardless which side their on.
During the last war between these 2 peoples, there where one sided media coverage in the world, and it was the palestine suffering reported to the world of the norwegian doctors at Gaza.
All world media wanted to hear what they had to say. It is hard to stay objective as you see the victims of the war pour in, and you are suppose to report to the world how things are. I admire their work for the victims, but not their politics. Especially one of them let his politics come in the way of his reports to the world.
I don't write your blog to point blame, but enlighten your readers that war is more than one side going to attack without reason.
This war is fueled by hate and it is fueled from both sides of the conflict and not only the Israeli side.
Telling just one side of the story, when there is other sides to it, shows how lacking of truth the story is. Then when you try to enlighten others of that lack of truth, and get edited. You are in a tyranny.
I don't know what you are used to, but freedom to tell our point of view, or in your case to surpress it, is what we can choose.
But if you just want to have yay and not nay sayers on your blog, why start a blog at all?
Take care
i don't agree with your statements.
ReplyDelete18 Israelis and 1500+ Palestinians were killed during December-February. Noone can claim that the situation in Sderot and gaza are analogous. In fact, Gazans would happily trade their living situation for the situation prevailing in Sderot.
When talking about responsibility, we have to take into account differences in technological capability. One might well criticize the rocket-launchings from Gaza, both from ethical and tactical viewpoints, but at the same time it must be recognized that the Palestinian factions lack the high-tech guided missile systems the Israelis possess. The Palestinian factions have no idea were their rockets will hit, whilst the Israeli military is well capable of doing a detailed selected of targets.
The statement that the conflict is fuelled by mutual hate is, in my opinion, not correct. The conflict is fuelled by the persistance of the occupation. End the occupation, and the conflict will go away. Unfortunately most Israeli politicians prefer retaining the conflict rather than ending the occupation. That's why we need international boycott movement, to pressure israel to end the occupation. That's the sole way to give peace a chance.
"Gazans would happily trade their living situation for the situation prevailing in Sderot."
ReplyDeleteThey would live in terror? Yes they would live under better conditions, with all the things they need to sustain life as we know it. But they would also know that daily it would rain down rockets that are intended on civilians and not military targets. Sderot is not any military target, or do you disagree?
Lets say the palestinian factions had the same weapons that the Israeli have. What would they do? Would they then target only military targets, or target civilians still as it seems?
I think it is a valid question.
I am not saying what the Israeli do when bombing Gaza is correct, but as I said earlier, this war has 2 sides, and need to be enlightened. I am not either saying that their response to the terror of getting rocket shoot on top of their heads, should be answered in such a way as the attack as we have seen in Gaza.
When you say occupation, what do you mean? Do you mean that all the Iraeli people has to leave the land of Palestine, or leave off the borders of 67. It is vague, what you say.
The Israeli nation has offered of land for peace before, and gotten peace with nations as Egypt and Jordan. Is this what you mean?