De Mensenrechtentulp van Minister Verhagen

Als de hieronder genoemde Arabische organisatie in staat is op te komen voor het internationaal recht waarom kunnen de Europese landen dit dan niet? Mondvol over mensenrechten en als 'de Joodse staat', die al meer dan een halve eeuw diezelfde mensenrechten schendt, dan zwijgt de EU als het graf. Denken zij nu echt dat ze serieus genomen worden door de Derde Wereld wanneer ze met mensenrechten schermen? Verhagen? Mensenrechten?

Deze minister heeft de zogeheten Mensenrechtentulp in het leven geroepen. Die prijs gaat naar iemand die zich verdienstelijk heeft gemaakt voor de bescherming van de mensenrechten. 27 december schreef ik dit: 'In het Parool van afgelopen zaterdag las ik dat u vorige week ''in de Ridderzaal als jurylid van de Mensenrechtentulp zat.'' U vertelde ook dat u ''Tony Blair in mei'' had ''horen spreken op een bijeenkomst over het Midden-Oosten en daar erkende hij: 'Ik ben tien jaar premier geweest en ik dacht dat ik goed was ingelicht over het Midden-Oosten, maar ik realiseer mij nu hoe weinig ik wist.' Dat is vreesaanjagend om te horen; tegelijkertijd laat het zien dat je in leiderschap soms van de veilige weg af moet gaan.' Inderdaad! Op diezelfde dag schreef ik een open brief aan Soetendorp: 'U zei tegen de Parool-verslaggeefster: ''Ik heb een stichting, niet zo bekend, die mij helpt, mijn idealen steunt. Dat is het Jewish Institute for Human Values.'' Vandaar dat ik een beroep op u doe de Human Values van de Palestijnen onder de aandacht te brengen. Immers, u weet hoe belangrijk het is dat burgers goed worden geinformeerd en dat dit in het geval van Israel niet gebeurd, zoals uit de door u aangehaalde uitspraak van Tony Blair opnieuw blijkt. Ik weet dat u een fatsoenlijk mens bent, gedreven door joodse/humanistische waarden, die vecht ''voor een toekomst waarin ook Palestijnse kinderen alle rechten van de wereld hebben.'' Mijn concrete verzoek aan u is nu om de eerbiedwaardige Amerikaanse geleerde Richard Falk publiekelijk te steunen. Professor Falk is een van de meest vooraanstaande pleitbezorgers in de wereld van de mensenrechten, en als zodanig de speciale VN-rapporteur voor de bezette Palestijnse gebieden. Hij mag van Israel niet naar de bezette gebieden.'

We zijn inmiddels vele dode Palestijnse kinderen verder, maar de rabbijn die in de jury zit van de gouden Mensenrechtentulp van minister Verhagen houdt zich angstvallig stil tegenover mij. Ik heb zelfs geen bericht van ontvangst gekregen, terwijl dat toch onder gewone burgers een teken van wellevendheid is. Maar nee dus. Wel heeft de heer Soetendorp meegedaan aan een manifestatie voor Israel. De Palestijnse kinderen speelden even geen rol, en de gouden Mensenrechtentulp is hij kennelijk alweer vergeten. Hij bleef keurig in het pro-Israel gareel, terwijl je als joods geestelijk leider en jurylid van Verhagen's Mensenrechtentulp toch 'soms van de veilige weg af moet gaan,' om de wijze woorden van de rabbijn nog eens te citeren. Mensenrechten zijn kennelijk een politiek fenomeen voor hem.

'Cairo, on January 15th 2009

ACIJLP applies to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to start the investigations on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza

The Arab Center for Independence of the Judiciary and the legal profession (ACIJLP), as the coordinator of the Arab Coalition for the International Criminal Court, forward a request to Mr. Louis Ocampo, Prosecutor of the permanent International Criminal Court; in order to start the investigation on his own, on the crimes that the Palestinian civilians are facing in the Gaza Strip since 12-27-2008 .

The request submitted to the Prosecutor included directing the responsibility for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity to:
* Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israeli actions
* Ehud Barak the Israeli Defense Minister
* Matan Vilnai, Deputy Minister of Defense of Israel
* Avi Dichter, Israel's internal security minister
* Gabi Ashkenazi, Israeli army chief of staff

As they are main officials of their subordinates in the Israeli air, ground and the navy.
forces

The Center based in its request to the Prosecutor on the texts and
the relevant provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal
Court in particular Article (15), which states that:
The Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis
of information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the court.
The Prosecutor shall analyze the seriousness of the information
received. For this purpose, he or she may seek additional information
from States, organs of the United Nations, intergovernmental or
non-governmental organizations, or other reliable sources that he or
she deems appropriate, and may receive written or oral testimony at
the seat of the court.
If the Prosecutor concludes that there is a reasonable basis to
proceed with an investigation, he or she shall submit to the
Pre-Trial Chamber a request for authorization of an investigation,
together with any supporting material collected with the Rules of
Procedure and Evidence.

On the jurisdiction of the court in consideration of these crimes,
the center based on the text of Article (5) of the Statute of the
Court, which provides that:

The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious
crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The
Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect
to the following crimes: (a) The crime of genocide; (b) Crimes
against humanity; (c) War crimes; (d) The crimes of aggression.

The request included a summary of the facts d, which started from
December 27, 2008 or the "Pouring bullets" mission as called by the
Israeli army. It included also on a list of crimes like: war crimes
and crimes against humanity, in addition to the texts that condemn
the criminal acts in the Statute of the Court, and the number of
civilian casualties.

Worth mentioning, that the request included a CD that contains many
of photos and video clips that show of war crimes and crimes against
humanity perpetrated by the Israeli army in contravention of all
international laws and norms relevant, in particular the Geneva
Conventions to armed conflict, the Statute of the International Criminal
Court.

The request also included testimony and statements issued by:
* International Human Rights Council.
* The Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in Gaza (UNRWA)
* The International Red Cross
* Human Rights Watch
* Field reports of related Palestinian centers.

The Center pointed out in his request that the crimes have been
committed in the context of an organized and widespread systematic
attack against the civilian population, and the perpetrators are
aware that these crimes are punishable acts under international
humanitarian law and under the Statute of the International Criminal Court

The Center indicated that the jurisdiction is of the International
Criminal Court, and the Prosecutor should begin the proceedings to
investigate, despite the absence of Israel's ratification of the
Statute of the Court, on the basis of the articles: (3-13) and (15)
and (17 ) of the Statute of the Court.'

De Israelische Terreur 673

Door de macht van de joodse en christelijke pro-Israel kunnen Amerikaanse congresleden nooit stemmen zoals ze zouden willen. Het zou het einde van hun loopbaan betekenen.

Hoewel de Amerikaanse inlichtingendiensten naderhand verklaarden dat Iran al in 2003 was gestopt met het ontwikkelen van een atoombom, verklaarde de toenmalige senator en huidige minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Hillary Clinton, in 2007 in een toespraak voor AIPAC dat het ‘in deze moeilijke periode voor Israël, waarin het land in groot gevaar verkeert, […] van levensbelang is dat we onze vriend en bondgenoot trouw blijven, en dat we onze eigen waarden trouw blijven. Israël is een toonbeeld van wat juist is, in een omgeving die wordt overschaduwd door kwalijke zaken als radicalisme, extremisme, despotisme en terrorisme.’ Lovende woorden door een beleidsbepaler over een land dat al veertig jaar lang VN-resoluties negeert, het internationaal recht weigert te respecteren en de mensenrechten op grote schaal schendt. Het is niet verrassend dat de Israëllobby mevrouw Clintons presidentscampagne steunde. Haar echtgenoot Bill sprak uit ervaring toen hij verklaarde dat AIPAC 'beter dan wie dan ook in deze stad lobbyt… U bent verbluffend effectief geweest.’ Niemand verbaasde zich over de woorden van de vroegere president, wiens verkiezingscampagnes mede door de Israëllobby werden gefinancierd en wiens Midden-Oostenpolitiek door de lobby sterk beïnvloed was. In 2003 omschreef Condoleezza Rice AIPAC als ‘een grote aanwinst voor ons land’, en de hoofdredacteur van het goed geïnformeerde joodse dagblad The Forward, J.J. Goldberg, concludeerde dat ‘Israël vooral geluk heeft dat AIPAC in dit land bestaat om Israëls zaak te vertegenwoordigen. AIPAC werkt hard om er zeker van te zijn dat Amerika in grote lijnen Israëls kijk op de wereld en het Midden-Oosten bekrachtigt… AIPAC heeft veel invloed op de buitenlandse politiek.’ Martin Sieff, die een hoge functie bekleedt bij het persbureau UPC, constateerde in 1999 dat de ‘macht van AIPAC om financiële steun te mobiliseren voor pro-Israëlkandidaten… zo groot is dat dit jaar, zoals gebruikelijk, ongeveer de helft van de leden van de Senaat en een een derde van het Huis van Afgevaardigden verwacht worden… bij het politieke banket van AIPAC’s jaarlijkse conferentie’. In 1992 moest David Steiner als president van AIPAC terugtreden nadat was uitgelekt dat er geluidsopnamen bestonden waarop hij vrijmoedig spreekt over zijn grote politieke invloed. Zo had hij verklaard dat hij ‘een deal had gesloten’ met de regering-Bush senior om meer geld aan Israël te geven. Hij had gezorgd voor ‘bijna een miljard dollar aan spullen’, en ‘onderhandelde’ met de aantredende regering-Clinton over de benoeming van een pro-Israëlminister van Buitenlandse Zaken. ‘Wij hebben een tiental mensen in zijn [Clintons] hoofdkwartier en ze gaan allemaal hoge posten krijgen.’ De goed geïnformeerde journalist Michael Massing schreef in The New York Review of Books dat een staflid uit het Congres hem verteld had dat ‘we op meer dan de helft van het Huis van Afgevaardigden kunnen rekenen – 250 tot 300 leden – om voor elkaar te krijgen wat AIPAC wil’. Steven Rosen, de voormalige AIPAC-medewerker die is aangeklaagd wegens het - naar verluidt - doorspelen van geheime Amerikaanse staatsdocumenten aan Israël, zei tijdens een diner met een journalist van The New Yorker: ‘Binnen 24 uur hebben wij de handtekeningen van 70 senatoren (van de in totaal 100, SvH) op dit servet staan als dat zou moeten.’ De voormalige Democratische senator Ernest Hollings vatte het als volgt samen: ‘Er is geen andere Israël politiek mogelijk dan die welke AIPAC hier bepaalt.’ Het zijn al deze feiten die ertoe leidden dat Ehud Olmert als premier publiekelijk verklaarde: ‘Dank God dat wij AIPAC hebben, de grootste verdediger en vriend die we in de hele wereld hebben.’

En ook in Nederland heeft de joodse en christelijke pro-Israellobby nauwe banden met de politici.

Olmert's claims revive specter of "Israel Lobby"
Daniel Luban, The Electronic Intifada, 14 January 2009 WASHINGTON (IPS) -

The US State Department fiercely denied claims made by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert about his influence over President George W. Bush, in an incident that has stirred up old debates about the role of the Israeli government and the so-called "Israel lobby" in formulating Middle East policy in Washington. On Monday, Olmert claimed that he demanded and received an immediate conversation with President Bush, during which he convinced the president to overrule the wishes of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and abstain from a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In response, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Tuesday called Olmert's claims "wholly inaccurate as to describing the situation, just 100-percent, totally, completely not true." The State Department did not respond to an IPS request for further elaboration. Olmert's comments were made in Ashkelon, a southern Israeli city that has been the target of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. According to Olmert, he called the White House upon hearing of the upcoming UN Security Council resolution. "I said, 'Get me President Bush on the phone.' They said he was in the middle of giving a speech in Philadelphia. I said I didn't care: 'I need to talk to him now.' He got off the podium and spoke to me," Olmert said, according to multiple media reports. As a result of his conversation with President Bush, Olmert claimed, the president called Rice and forced her to abstain from voting on the measure, which she herself had helped author. "He gave an order to the secretary of state and she did not vote in favor of it -- a resolution she cooked up, phrased, organized and maneuvered for. She was left pretty shamed and abstained on a resolution she arranged," Olmert said. The Security Council resolution passed by a vote of 14 to 0, with the US the only abstention. The US government was quick to counter Olmert's remarks. In addition to the State Department's rebuttal, a White House spokesman also denounced "inaccuracies" in the story. Regardless of the truth of Olmert's claims, the story comes as an embarrassment to the Bush administration, which has faced criticism for its alleged unquestioning support for Israeli positions. While most US allies in Europe and elsewhere have called for an immediate ceasefire since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began on 27 December, the Bush administration has been unwavering in its refusal to condemn the campaign or suggest a timeline for its conclusion. The US Congress has also expressed its strong support for Israel's actions in Gaza. Last week, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly passed non-binding resolutions in support of the military campaign. But polls indicate that both members of Congress and the public at large may be more skeptical of the Israeli offensive than the official positions of the US government would indicate. An anonymous poll of 68 congressmen conducted by National Journal found that 39 percent of Democrats and 12 percent of Republicans felt that Israel had used "too much" force in Gaza. Nevertheless, over 90 percent of representatives voted in favor of the House resolution, which placed all blame for civilian casualties in Gaza upon Hamas.'
Zie: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10189.shtml

De Israelische Terreur 672

Ik wil de eerste komende tien jaar geen enkele Europese intellectueel meer horen over de westerse beschaving en al dat andere borstgeroffel. De rest van de wereld weet nu hoe hypocriet de Europeanen zijn. De Chinezen lachen zich rot, wanneer we volgende keer weer over een of andere democratische Chinees komen zeuren. 1 van de 1,3 miljard wel te verstaan. En het feit dat de EU niet gedwongen wordt door de eigen burgers om zich aan hun verdragen te houden is helemaal opmerkelijk. Zo was het in de jaren dertig ook. Vooruitgang, dat is een woord voor mensen met een verwrongen strot, lui als Bolkestein.

'Thousand deaths do not put off EU David Cronin, The Electronic Intifada, 15 January 2009

BRUSSELS (IPS) - Senior European Union figures have signaled that they could push ahead with plans to strengthen formal ties with Israel, even though more than 1,000 have now been killed by the bombardment of Gaza.Two conflicting statements about EU-Israeli relations were delivered 14 January, as the number of Palestinians, about one-third of them children, killed in Gaza continued to climb. Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the European Commission's envoy in Jerusalem, claimed that a proposed "upgrading" in relations with Israel cannot "proceed business as usual." Yet his statement was soon contradicted by Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which holds the EU's rotating presidency. Schwarzenberg noted that EU governments agreed in June last year to intensify efforts to build a stronger alliance with Israel. This decision could only be revised by those governments, he said, adding: "It can't be changed at the word of a very respected representative of the European Union in Jerusalem." The June decision paves the way for Israel to be offered a "privileged partnership" with the Union, allowing it to become integrated into the single market on which the EU has been based, and to take part in a wide variety of other programs. Schwarzenberg, who described himself as a "lifelong friend of Israel," though "not too happy with what it's doing at the moment," was speaking to members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Many MEPs demanded a robust response from the EU to the carnage in Gaza. Chris Davies, a British Liberal who visited the war zone last weekend, said that the Israeli army "has turned Gaza into hell" with its relentless attacks using US-made F-16 jets, or "21st century killing machines" as he described them. "We have made allowances for Israel we have not made for any other country," he said. "On no occasion has the European Union ever backed up its criticism of the treatment of the Palestinians with any kind of action." Such inaction has "given the green light to Israel" for attacks. "We don't plan to condemn Israel," he added. "We plan to reward it." Israel's relations, both economic and diplomatic, with the EU are based on an association agreement that entered into force in 2000. Article 2 of that agreement commits both sides to respecting fundamental human rights. Before the offensive against Gaza began in late December voluminous evidence had been compiled by many organizations of human rights abuses by Israeli forces in the occupied territories and in the conduct of its 2006 war in Lebanon. Still, the EU has never invoked Article 2 to impose trade or other sanctions on Israel.'

Lees verder: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10190.shtml

De Israelische Terreur 671

'1 pm Gaza Time (+2hrs GMT) The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) has seriously escalated its attacks on the Gaza Strip since midnight yesterday, as it advanced into Tel al-Hawa neighborhood southern Gaza City, and heavily bombarded the neighborhoods of al-Shejaiya and al-Tuffah in the east of the City. Al Mezan Center's monitoring indicates that about 70 percent of IOF's attacks casualties of these attacks are from families who were hit inside their homes or as they left their homes to flee these areas. Most of the other victims were also civilians. According to the field reports of Al Mezan, out of the 48 casualties of these attacks, three were fighters. Entire families were killed from IOF's artillery shelling.Between 1pm yesterday, Wednesday 14 January 2009, and 1pm today, Thursday 15 January 2009, the IOF killed 102 people in the Gaza Strip. Of them were 29 children and 11 women. Al Mezan's monitoring also indicates that the IOF has killed 1,081 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of its Operation Cast Lead on 27 December 2008. This includes at least 235 children and 81 women. The number of casualties is expected to be higher, since Al Mezan only reports on the cases which it has been able to verify. Moreover, 3,683 people have been injured, including at least 786 children and 460 women.As estimated by Al Mezan Center in previous updates, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and rescue teams were able to reach one of the houses that had been destroyed with civilians inside them yesterday. The bodies of 22 members of the al-Samuni family were taken out from under the rubble of their house, including nine children and seven women. Five members of this same family had been reportedly killed on the same day with those 22, however, the ICRC was able to collect them last week. Two of the five were children and one was a woman. The family lost 27 (12 children and eight women) of its members in one Israeli attack on the house where they took shelter upon directions from the IOF.At approximately 3:55pm yesterday, medical teams managed to reach and recover the bodies of four people, three of whom children, in al-Atatra area in the southwest of Beit Lahia. Al Mezan's field worker in the area reported that their bodies were buried under rubble moved by Israeli bulldozers. The bodies were largely decomposed.Today, starting at 8:10am, IOF started artillery shelling on northern Beit Lahia town. Shells hit the house of the Irmilat family, killing five civilians, including one elderly woman and four children. They were identified as:
Ayisha Ayyad Irmilat, 80;
Sabrin Atta Hassan Irmilat, 15; (and her sisters)
Bara Atta Hassan Irmilat, two;
Areej Atta Hassan Irmilat, nine months; and
Amal Atta Hassan Irmilat, 14;In Gaza City, at approximately 1am today, Thursday 15 January 2009, about 40 IOF tanks and armored vehicles moved into the southern suburbs of the City coming from the former settlement of Nitzarim. They penetrated the neighborhoods of al-Zeitoun, al-Sabra and Tel al-Hawa, in the deepest incursion into Gaza City since the start of the ground invasion. IOF fired artillery and machine gun fire extensively. It also used guided missiles and what is believed to be white phosphorus bombs. As a result, 19 people, the cast majority civilians, were killed in the neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa.At 9am today, Israeli aircraft fired a missile at the house of Ezadin Wahid Mousa in the al-Sabra neighborhood, killing the 48-year-old Mousa together with his wife and his four sons and daughters, including a 14-year-old daughter.At approximately 3:30am, also today, Israeli aircrafts fired a missile into a group of civilians in the al-Shaaf neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City. Once ambulances arrived at the scene to collect the victims of the attack, aircrafts raided the same place again. As a result, seven people were killed, including a child.At approximately 5:15am today, Israeli aircrafts raided the house of Fareed Shaban in the al-Sabra neighborhood in Gaza City, killing two brothers of the family.At 1am today, Israeli aircraft fired a missile at a group of civilians who were trying to flee from their homes, which are located in the al-Sabra neighborhood near the invasion area, killing five of them. Four were from the same family of al-Aloul.At 10am, IOF artillery fire hit the house of Adel al-Jadba, which is located in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in the northeast of Gaza City, killing five, including two children.IOF also continued to target journalists. At 11:15am today, it bombarded media offices located in the al-Shorouq Tower, where several local and international media studios are located. As a result, two journalists, Mohammed al-Swirki and Ayman al-Razzi, where injured.In a yet serious escalation, the IOF fired three shells, which are believed white phosphorus shells, at the UNRWA [United Nations agency for Palestine refugees] warehouse in Gaza City. A huge fire started in the warehouse, which contains fuel and food reserves. The warehouse in located inside the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza City. Earlier, at 10:15 am today, IOF had fired artillery into the Headquarters, causing severe damage to the main meeting hall and the car park inside it. Yesterday night, at 10:45pm, IOF targeted 50-year-old Nidal al-Whidi, an UNRWA officer, as he was getting into an UNRWA jeep.In Rafah district, southern the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft raided, at approximately 12:32am today, the al-Abrar Mosque, which is located inside the town's central market. The mosque was completely destroyed. Another 20 shops in the market were also completely destroyed. Dozens of houses and 10 other shops were damaged.Also in Rafah, Israeli troops carried out an incursion in the eastern parts of the town, near the al-Nasser village. Tanks fired artillery and killed five people in this incursion.Al Mezan Center, and based on its monitoring, strongly condemns the deliberate targeting of civilians inside their homes, and as they tried to flee from IOF bombardment. The Center asserts that the IOF's acts represent scandalous war crimes that must be investigated and punished. It is urgent that the international community intervenes immediately to prevent the perpetration of more crimes, especially as the IOF's incursions and indiscriminate attacks continue at this moment.Al Mezan Center therefore renews its strong condemnation of the IOF's aggression on the Gaza Strip, and its flagrant disregard of the applicable rules of international law. This behavior has so far cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and the suffering of hundreds of thousands.Al Mezan renews its outrage by the, partly complicit, failure of the international community to prevent such violations of international law. While civilians are being murdered, the UN Security Council continues to fail to take meaningful, effective action, thus trading off non-derogable human rights and peremptory rules of international law for political considerations. War must not be allowed to be conducted in the way it is happening in Gaza, where civilians are willfully targeted, killed, maimed and strangulated to near death.Hence, Al Mezan Center calls upon the UN Secretary-General, as a matter of utmost urgency, to focus on the protection of civilians who are the main victims of the violation of international law by Israel. Political debates can wait, however, civilian life cannot be compensated. The United Nations is called on to ensure the compliance with international law and the protection of civilians, including its own staff. Every hour of aggression on Gaza in the way we have witnessed during the past 16 days means the loss of more civilian life, destruction of property and extending the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people who should be protected, not neglected.Al Mezan Center also calls on the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Times of War, of 1949, to live up to their legal and moral responsibilities upholding their own obligations under Common Article 1, by respecting, and ensuring respect of, the Convection.The Center, while commending the worldwide action against these violations, calls on civil societies around the world to exert more pressure on their governments so that they act in conformity with the relevant human rights and humanitarian obligations as prescribed in relevant international law.'

Zie: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10191.shtml

De Israelische Terreur 670

De Electronic Intifada bericht:

Israel bombs UN agency headquarters in Gaza City

Interview, The Electronic Intifada, 15 January 2009

The Electronic Intifada interviewed Sami Mushasha, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) following Israel's bombing of its quarters today.The Electronic Intifada: Can you describe the extent of the damage suffered by UNRWA in the bombing of the headquarters today and exactly where the site is that was bombed?Sami Mushasha: The UNRWA headquarters are in the al-Rimal district in the center of Gaza City. The location is well known to the Israeli authorities as is the fact that they enjoy UN immunity. The damage is great. Although we do not know the exact extent yet, we have lost many trucks, cars and food aid supplies.We are trying to put out the fires and hopefully, God willing, we will be able to restore things as soon as possible.Early reports say that three people were injured but we do not know if they were refugees [taking shelter there] or UNRWA personnel.EI: Today's bombing of the UNRWA office was the third time a UN institution was hit in two weeks. What is your response to this bombing?SM: This is not the first, second, or even third time. In fact there have been about six or seven bombings of UNRWA sites and the latest is the bombing of the UNRWA headquarters. This is our main site which has our main offices and warehouses.It was targeted when there were about 750 women, children and men -- all civilians [taking shelter there]. There is no safe place, not for UNRWA or for those who use its services.We had previously received guarantees relating to the freedom of movement and safe corridors for delivering aid, but these have not been respected. This is a very dangerous signal for those who seek UNRWA's assistance.At this moment we are trying to put out the fire [from the bombing], but it has already destroyed much of the food supplies that we were able to bring into Gaza.We were barely able to put out fire near the fuel storage tanks before they could explode. This all impacts very negatively on our ability to protect civilians.This underscores once more the UN's call for an immediate ceasefire so that we can provide assistance to an area that has suffered a catastrophe, to say the very least.EI: There has been talk of suspending UNRWA services in Gaza. Is this true?SM: We have not suspended services but most of our trucks are inside the UNRWA site that was bombed and we are unable to move them to Karem Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel] so that they can receive aid supplies and distribute them.So a suspension has effectively been imposed on us, but we want to restore services as soon as we are able.This testimony was obtained by The Electronic Intifada correspondent in Gaza Rami Almeghari with technical assistance from IMEMC.org'

Zie: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article10192.shtml

Carl Stellweg van het AD 9

'Beheerst en effectief.'

Beste Carl Stellweg,

Je schrijft in je reactie aan mij: 'Het Israelische leger had het hele kamp kunnen platbombarderen, een methode waarvoor Rusland en anderen niet terigdeinzen. Het Israelische leger deinsde hiervoor wél terug, niet uit humane overwegingen, naar we mogen aannemen, maar uit angst voor de publieke opinie, die Israel wel degelijk iets kan schelen, al lijkt dat soms niet zo. Soit. In ieder geval koos dat leger ervoor het kamp in te gaan, om de strijders eruit te pikken, waarbij 23 militairen sneuvelden.'

Je blijft een vertekend beeld geven van wat daar in Jenin is gebeurd. 'Om de strijders eruit te pikken?' Nee, dat is aantoonbaar onjuist, en dat had je kunnen weten wanneer je je in het onderwerp had verdiept. Lees nog even met me mee, dit is informatie uit de eerste hand, die jouw bewering onderuit haalt: 'On May 31, the Israel newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth published an interview with Israeli army D-9 bulldozer operator, Moshe Nissim, nicknamed "Kurdi Bear." Here is some of what Kurdi Bear had to say: "Many people were inside [the] houses we started to demolish. They would come out of the houses we were working on... I am sure people died inside these houses, but it was difficult to see, there was lots of dust everywhere, and we worked a lot at night. I found joy with every house that came down, because I knew they didn't mind dying, but they cared for their homes. If you knocked down a house, you bury 40 or 50 people for generations. If I am sorry for anything, it is for not tearing the whole camp down.' Dit is niet - om in jouw terminologie te blijven - 'strijders eruit pikken', maar deze strategie is het plegen van oorlogsmisdaden.

Je schrijft: 'Treurig, dat is wat het is, Stan van Houcke. En waarom? Ik denk dat we op dat gebied wel op één lijn zitten. Om het feit dat Israel al vele, vele jaren miljoenen mensen burgerrechten en het recht op zelfbeschikking ontzegt, enkel omdat ze niet joods zijn. Om het feit dat Israel maar blijft vasthouden aan die nederzettingen, en het vredesproces, zoals wij dat ooit noemden, vanaf het begin heeft gesaboteerd. Je zult je niet eerder verwaardigd hebben om iets van mij - vertegenwoordiger van een medium dat je ongetwijfeld verachtelijk vindt - te lezen, neem ik aan, maar geloof me: ik heb zulks herhaaldelijk naar voren gebracht.'

Even om met het laatste te beginnen, het medium is niet wat ik 'verachtelijk vindt', dat kan ook niet, ik werk al meer dan veertig jaar in de journalistiek en dat zou ik zeker niet gedaan hebben als dat medium verachtelijk is. Carl, je bent in de war, niet het medium is 'verachtelijk', maar de journalisten die het misbruiken zijn 'verachtelijk', bijvoorbeeld wanneer ze geweld dat leidt tot oorlogsmisdaden bewust omschrijven als 'beheerst en effectief' om zo te kunnen suggereren dat het Israelische leger met zijn tanks en gevechtshelicopters een zegen zijn geweest, aangezien ‘Jenin destijds een van de meest gewelddadige en wetteloze steden op de Westelijke Jordaanoever [was], maar sindsdien tot bloei [is] gekomen.' Met andere woorden: het ‘beheerst en effectief' geweld heeft ertoe geleid dat Jenin ‘tot bloei’ is gekomen. En dat beweerde je om je lezers de indruk te geven dat we de Israelische strijdkrachten zonder enig moreel bezwaar Gaza-stad kunnen laten binnenrukken. Want niet voor niets schreef je nu over Jenin. Dat, beste Carl, is nu verachtelijk, voor jou in het veilige Nederland zijn jouw woorden consequentieloos, maar niet voor de Palestijnse slachtoffers die de hulp nodig hebben van journalisten die oorlogsmisdaden oorlogsmisdaden noemen.

Zie: http://www.ad.nl/buitenland/2906604/Isral_voor_dilemma_in_Gazastrook.html

Je schrijft: 'Je zult je niet eerder verwaardigd hebben om iets van mij... maar geloof me: ik heb zulks herhaaldelijk naar voren gebracht.' So what? Ik heb als lezer van jouw bericht te maken met wat je op een bepaald moment schrijft, niet met wat je meent. En wat je schreef heb ik je duidelijk proberen te maken. En dan tenslotte nog dit: 'Overigens noem je mijn soort journalistiek misdadig, omdat deze terreur goedpraat. Wel, ik heb het boekje ´11 september, het Keerpunt´ in mijn boekenkast staan, en jouw bijdrage daaraan bevat de impliciete boodschap: Amerika heeft het over zichzelf afgeroepen. Goedpraten van terreur, zei je?' In dat boekje worden vier vooraanstaande geleerden geinterviewd die alle vier motieven proberen te geven voor de actuele vraag: waarom haten ze ons zo. Welnu, collega, het zoeken van motieven is niet hetzelfde als het 'goedpraten'. Geloof me, daar zit een wereld van verschil tussen. Een journalist die niet naar beweegredenen zoekt, maar alleen bezig is met het benoemen van het kwaad is een slechte journalist. Die moet of de politiek of het geloof in. En verdomd als het niet waar is, dat gebeurt in Nederland opvallend vaak, vaker dan elders is me opgevallen.

En als slotakkoord schreef je dit: 'Jij denkt dat jij de verdrukten help met jouw soort journalistiek, en misschien is dat af en toe ook zo, maar tevens vind ik jou een vooringenomen sujet.' Ai, stom Carl, je hebt het vanochtend vroeg geschreven, je hebt er misschien wel over liggen malen in bed en je steeds woedender gemaakt. Had nog even adem gehaald voordat je met deze onduidelijke kwalificatie kwam. Sujet? Wat een grappig woord, ik dacht dat dit alleen nog in stripverhalen werd gebruikt. Ik heb het meteen in de dikke Van Dale opgezocht. Ik vermoed dat je sujet bedoelt in de zin van gemeen sujet, of verlopen sujet. Of bedoelde je het nog weer anders?

De Israelische Terreur 669

'Dear Stan,

In Gaza, the children of CARE staff member Jawed Harb wonder if they will ever see peace again. Their days are filled with the fear of bombs hitting their home, the threat of running out of food, and no electricity to light their way. Jawed explains with overwhelming sadness in his voice, "I can't really describe what my children are feeling. They burst out crying when it is dark and cold at night, when we listen to the bombs explode like thunder." Within hours of the start of the conflict, CARE began distributing medical supplies, blankets, heaters and winterization kits and fresh vegetables to hospitals, families and feeding centers. We continue to work during the few hours allotted under the humanitarian ceasefire. But, it's never enough time to meet the need as the crisis grows ever more desperate by the day for unimaginably poor families in Gaza. There is constant crying in the streets. People are tearing down their own houses, even those not shelled, to burn doors for heating and cooking. And innocent people, including very young children, are injured and killed as the fighting continues. CARE is a leading humanitarian organization that delivers emergency medical supplies, food, water, shelter and other lifesaving aid and services to people in crisis all over the world. We often carry out this work in the face of complex and dangerous situations on the ground. Today, we're working with families in war-torn areas of the Middle East, Darfur, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. We are able to carry out our vital emergency work around the world -- and help families and communities rebuild in the aftermath of war and disaster -- because of the generosity of donors like you. Please make a gift today so that we can continue to offer a helping hand to survivors of war and disaster. CARE has been working in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza since 1948, running programs that have brought critically-needed food, water and health care to the region. We call for all sides to end violence against innocent civilians, and allow immediate humanitarian access to those in need. Give today and help CARE bring lifesaving aid and much-needed hope to women, families and communities in crisis all over the world.

Sincerely, Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH President and CEO, CARE'

Zie: https://my.care.org/site/Donation2?df_id=2400&2400.donation=form1