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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ilaine who wrote (17432)	1/28/2002 1:38:43 PM
From: Math Junkie	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

"IOW, the one thing that angers the Palestinians the most is Jewish settlements in the West Bank - and this has been the case for a couple of decades. So why do they continue?" Good question. I'm really looking forward to seeing some answers to that.

To: Ilaine who wrote (17432)	1/28/2002 1:43:14 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 281500

Interesting Israeli web site devoted to publicizing human rights abuses by Israelis against Palestinians in the occupied territories. btselem.org It's apparently credible, as I found it via the Mitchell Report. usinfo.state.gov Principle findings from one report: "The principle findings of B'Tselem's report are as follows: Israel uses excessive and disproportionate force in dispersing demonstrations of unarmed Palestinians; Israel did not develop non-lethal methods to disperse demonstrations or train its soldiers to confront such demonstrations. This in spite of the fact that Israel was prepared for the events of the past few weeks. As a result, soldiers only had at their disposal rubber-coated metal bullets and live ammunition, which caused many Palestinian casualties, and many injuries to medical teams and journalists. Collective punishment, in the form of Israel's severe restrictions on Palestinians' movement in the Occupied Territories, makes life unbearable for hundreds of thousands with no justification. These restrictions are also imposed on medical teams and ambulances. Curfew is imposed on tens of thousands of people for the convenience of settlers (in Hebron, Hawara and Silat a-Daher), constituting blatant discrimination. Such a severe injury to a large population, for the welfare of another population, represents a grave human rights violation. Over the past few weeks there have been many incidents of settler attacks on Palestinians. In some of these incidents, IDF soldiers were present but did nothing to protect Palestinians, as they are obliged to do as the occupying force. This phenomenon is not new, and B'Tselem has warned in the past that Israeli authorities do not take sufficient measures to end this phenomenon. The Palestinian Authority does not make serious efforts to prevent children from participating in demonstrations, in spite of the grave danger. The Palestinian Authority does almost nothing to prevent Palestinians from attacking Israeli civilians. The establishment of settlements is a violation of international law and therefore illegal; however, this does not justify attacks on settlers or on settlements. Intentional attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited, regardless of the circumstances. The Palestinian Authority does not prevent armed Palestinians from shooting from within populated areas, thereby exposing its civilian population to the IDF's response. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority prevent journalists from freely covering the events, thereby restricting freedom of speech. This is done in various ways, including physical attacks and property damage. In light of B'Tselem's findings, and the scope of the events, B'Tselem calls for the establishment of an independent and professional, international commission of inquiry to examine these events. Only such a commission can conduct a serious investigation of all human rights violations that have taken place in the past weeks." btselem.org Here is one that details how Israeli law enforcement looks the other way when Israeli settlers attack Palestinians: "Since the beginning of the al-Aqsa intifada, Palestinian civilians have attacked Israelis throughout the Occupied Territories. Most of these attacks involved gunfire and/or stone throwing at vehicles and homes. Intentionally harming civilians is a flagrant violation of international law and is absolutely prohibited, whatever the circumstances. Although the settlements violate international law, this does not affect the status and rights of civilians living there and does not turn them into a legitimate target for attack. However, acts of violence against Settlers do not legitimize acts of revenge against innocent Palestinians. Many of these incidents occurred in broad daylight, sometimes in front of television cameras. In most cases, the settlers attacked by the tens or hundreds. Since these attacks follow a distinct pattern, they are completely predictable. These facts make the inability of Israeli law enforcement authorities to prevent and control Settler violence of this kind all the more grave. These acts of violence occur in the context of the failure of Israeli law enforcement, which treats settler violence with complacency and forgiveness. This attitude is among the factors that enable the violence to continue. Israel also ignores its responsibility, as the occupier of the Occupied Territories, to protect the safety and well-being of the population under its control. The testimonies and data collected by B'Tselem in recent years indicate that Israeli leniency extends to all aspects and stages of an incident: from the lack of intervention of soldiers and police present when the attacks take place, through superficial and incomplete investigations, to light sentences and pardons of the few settlers convicted of assaulting Palestinians. For years, officials have severely criticized the bodies charged with law enforcement in the Occupied Territories: The Karp commission in1982, the state commission of inquiry investigating the massacre in the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994, and recently The State Comptroller, whose September 2001 report states that Police work in the matter is severely deficient. In response to a report published by B'Tselem in the matter in March, Minister Efraim Sneh, said that the system does not deal harshly enough with rioting settlers. The fact that top officials are aware of the lack of law enforcement on violent settlers and still no real change is made in law enforcement policy shows a blatant disregard of Palestinian lives and property." btselem.org