Posts Tagged ‘war crimes’
Israeli Troops Ordered to “Cleanse” Gaza
January 27th, 2011 • Film & Documentary, News
Tags: Concrete, documentary, film, gaza, idf, interview, Nurit Kedar, Operation Cast Lead, Testimony, war crimes
Stunning new testimony from IDF troops sent into Gaza during Operation Cast Lead from Nurit Kedar’s film ‘Concrete’:
Nurit Kedar’s film, Concrete, hears from Israeli soldiers who blame their military leaders for encouraging a “disproportionate” response to Hamas’s rockets.
They claim their commanders used to “psych up” soldiers before an operation so they were ready to shoot indiscriminately.
This is the first time Israeli soldiers have come forward publicly with claims which counter those of their bosses.
In a report first aired on Channel 4 News on Wednesday, 24-year-old tank commander Ohad remembers being told the night before the operation that the entry into Gaza was to be “disproportionate”.
Once into Gaza, he says his orders were unambiguous: “We needed to cleanse the neighbourhoods, the buildings, the area. It sounds really terrible to say “cleanse”, but those were the orders….I don’t want to make a mistake with the words.”
The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] has said its operational orders during the war emphasised “proportionality” and “humanity”.
The importance of minimising harm to civilians was made clear to soldiers, the IDF said at the time. By the end of the 22 day long operation some 1,400 Palestinians had been killed and large areas of Gaza razed. Ten Israeli soldiers and three Israeli civilians also died.
Read more at Channel 4 News…
Israeli Embassy response:
“Unlike much of the region, the open society within Israel allows for all allegations such as these to be aired and investigated.
“Israel has already authorised over 100 separate investigations into the operation, five broader investigations, and close to 50 criminal investigations are also taking place.
“All this in the context of having to respond to over 12,000 missiles raining on our citizens – such an operation could unfortunately never be flawless given these circumstances.
“Our judicial process is renowned across the world for its independence. This is a country after all, which holds even the very top of society to account, as has been proven in recent days. This is Israel in the 21st Century, a flourishing democracy, thriving amongst a desert of tyranny in the Middle East.”
Interview with filmmaker Nurit Kedar:
Nurit Kedar’s other films include ‘One Shot’:
Abandoning universal jurisdiction?
November 8th, 2010 • Film & Documentary, News
Tags: arrest, israel, law, legal, palestine, praliament, uk, universal jurisdiction, war crimes, william hague
from AJE’s Inside Story:
William Hague, the British foreign minister, has pledged that the UK will quickly amend a law that has allowed pro-Palestinian activists to request arrest warrants for visiting Israeli officials over alleged war crimes.
Activists in Britain have sought the arrest of Israeli officials in the past under the principle of “universal jurisdiction”, which allows courts to prosecute alleged war crimes from elsewhere in the world.
The reassurance came after Israel suspended ‘special strategic dialogue’ with the UK in protest over the law.
But what message is the UK sending to the rest of the world?
Joining Inside Story to discuss this are: Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the British parliament and a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition; Mark Taylor, an international legal analyst; and Dan Schueftan, the director of national security studies at the University of Haifa.
PSC Weekly Update – Wednesday 23rd December
December 23rd, 2009 • News
Tags: AGM, choir, gaza, jamal jua, PSC, settlers, update, war crimes
A packed final update of 2009…
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Gaza One Year On
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Free Jamal Juma’ – free the anti-wall prisoners
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War criminals must be brought to justice!
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Clare College Choir’s tour of Israel
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Israeli settlers attack Palestinian home in Sheikh Jarrah
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End of year Message from the PSC – 2009 Overview
Read the full update…
Please note the PSC office will be closed from Thursday the 24th December until Monday the 4th January.
Make sure to pencil in the 6th February in your calendar for the PSC AGM at Conway Hall London
British government ‘urgently’ looking at changing the law
December 16th, 2009 • Action
Tags: arrest, brown, Foreign Office, gaza, hague, harman, miliband, MP, PSC, tzipi livni, uk, war crimes, warrant
UPDATE – from Islington Friends of Yibna via Lambeth & Wandsworth PSC
UK government may act during Christmas
“At today’s PMQ the Conservatives made a shocking demand. William Hague MP [standing in for Conservative leader Cameron], suggested possible pressure on the judiciary and whatever it takes to ensure Israeli politicians would not be subjected to an arrest warrant for their responsibilities for war crimes. Harman MP [standing in for Gordon Brown] fully and shamelessly endorsed his demand.”
Clip of the Hague–Harman exchange followed by a question from Bob Marshall-Andrews about The Geneva Conventions Act:
Following arrest warrant for Tzipi Livni, British government ‘urgently’ looking at changing the law
Please act now! Contact your MP!
Following the news that Tzipi Livni, who served as Foreign Minister in the Israeli government that planned and executed Israel’s brutal bombing and massacre in Gaza, faced arrest if she entered Britain, tell the government there must be no impunity for Israeli war criminals. Please act URGENTLY – if possible email your MP today, and come to the vigil on 27 December to show the government that we will not let them forget Gaza.
Ask your MP to do the following:
1. Sign Early Day Motion 502 tabled by Jeremy Corbyn MP
Defending the right to bring war criminals to justice:
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40074&SESSION=903
Solidarity in crime
December 16th, 2009 • News
Tags: arrest, livni, london, miliband, tzipi, war crimes, warrant
Miliband promises to protect Israeli Minister Livni
Israeli ex-Minister Livni called off her planned visit to London after a Westminster magistrate issued an warrant for her arrest for her involvement in the planning of war crimes in Gaza.
Like the verdicts of British juries that the Israeli Army murdered Tom Hurndall and journalist James Miller, previous arrest warrants for war crimes against Doron Almog, and the hurried exit of other Israeli generals, the latest UK magistrate’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for an Israeli Government official on war crimes charges adds to the long-term build up of pressure for the British Government to break with its support for Israel.
Channel 4 report and debate with Jewish Chronicle’s Stephen Pollard and Daud Abdullah from MCB:
Update
What David Miliband should say to Tzipi Livni
If Britain’s foreign secretary has faith in his country’s standards of justice, this is the phonecall he should make.
