Finally, something that Israel and Hamas agree on

[Savonarola]

Both agree that Amnesty International is biased against both of them.

From Al Jazeera (as if you couldn't guess from the article's title):

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/07/20097234237545473.html

Israel 'wantonly destroyed Gaza' 

Amnesty said around 1,400 Palestinians were killed including hundreds of children and civilians [AFP]

Israel inflicted "wanton destruction" in the Gaza Strip during its 22-day war on the coastal enclave in December and January, Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group has said.

In a 117-page report released on Thursday, Amnesty cited evidence that Israeli troops put children and other civilians in harm's way "by forcing them to remain in or near houses which they took over and used as military positions".

Accusing Israel of "breaching laws of war", Amnesty said: "Much of the destruction was wanton and deliberate, and was carried out in a manner and circumstances which indicated that it could not be justified on grounds of military necessity."

The organisation also criticised Hamas, the movement in control of the territory, for rocket attacks on Israel, which it called "war crimes".

'Missing the point'

Mark Regev, an Israeli government spokesman, told Al Jazeera: "Amnesty's report is problematic, it's based on very faulty methodology, it rehashes a lot of old stuff that was not confirmed and it misses the main point.

Focus on Gaza
"This was that Israel, in responding to Hamas violence, tried to act as surgically as was humanly possible in a very difficult urban combat operation, while Hamas did exactly the opposite".

The Israeli military said the report had "succumbed to the manipulations of the Hamas terror organisation".

"Operation Cast Lead was a result of nine years of Hamas' unrelenting Qassam, Grad and mortar shell fire on more than a quarter of a million of Israel's citizens," a military statement said.

Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesperson, also rejected Amnesty's accusations on Thursday, saying the report was "neither fair nor balanced".

Barhoum said Hamas officials were not consulted before the publication of the report, which was "misleading" and ignored the size of destruction Israel caused.

"This report equates the aggressor with the victim and ignores international laws that guarantee resistance against occupation," he said.

Laws 'violated'

Widney Brown, the senior director for international law and policy at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday: "What we have is, in both cases, both sides violating the laws of war.

"These laws of war are intended to protect civilians and in this case neither side showed respect for the importance of protecting those civilians."

Amnesty accused Hamas and other armed groups of endangering the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip by operating near their homes.

Although rockets fired by Palestinian fighters from Gaza rarely caused casualties, they often sowed fear and panic amongst Israeli citizens and their use was "indiscriminate and hence unlawful under international law," the report said.

Amnesty said it found no evidence to support Israeli claims that Hamas fighters deliberately used civilians as "human shields" during the conflict.

About 1,400 Palestinians were killed in Israel's Operation Cast Lead, including 300 children and hundreds of innocent civilians, according to the report.

The figure is broadly in line with those from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza and the independent Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

Co-operation refused

The Israeli military put the Palestinian death toll at 1,166 of whom 295 were civilians.

Thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians, during the offensive Israel launched with the declared aim of curtailing cross-border rocket attacks.

Israel and Hamas have both rejected accusations of war crimes.

An inquiry conducted by the Israeli military found no evidence of crimes.

Israel has refused to co-operate with a United Nations inquiry currently gathering evidence into the war.

Israeli government officials said investigators were prejudiced against Israel from the outset.

Geoffrey Robertson, a human rights barrister in London, told Al Jazeera: "In order to break this vicious cycle, it's necessary for both Hamas and Israel, instead of condemning Amnesty ... to co-operate and learn from authoritative criticisms.

[Valmy]

No doubt the situation sucks ass.  Unfortunately Amnesty has no answers for how to solve it.

"These laws of war are intended to protect civilians and in this case neither side showed respect for the importance of protecting those civilians."

Yeah the laws of war were not drawn up thinking of groups like Hamas who work to make sure as many of their civilians are in harms way as possible.

Israel is baited into killing the civilians, they do, everybody gets upset and the cycle continues.  That is the whole point.  Then Israel gets held responsible while no mention of the context is made.  At least Amnesty has the integrity to attack both sides.

[Josquius]

Good on Amnesty. If only more would recognise that both sides are dicks in the Israel/Palestine situation.

[Valmy]

Good on Amnesty. If only more would recognise that both sides are dicks in the Israel/Palestine situation.

The conflict cannot be peacefully concluded without interference by an outside force.

[Savonarola]

Good on Amnesty. If only more would recognise that both sides are dicks in the Israel/Palestine situation.

The conflict cannot be peacefully concluded without interference by an outside force.

Iran is working on that right now; (except for the peaceful part.)

[Norgy]

Maybe the IDF and the Al-Aqsa martyr brigades can unite in slaughtering Amnesty International members.

[Neil]

Maybe the IDF and the Al-Aqsa martyr brigades can unite in slaughtering Amnesty International members.

I'd lend my support to that.

[Valmy]

Iran is working on that right now; (except for the peaceful part.)

Well there is already lots of outside intervention going on to create a violent resolution.

[Norgy]

Maybe the IDF and the Al-Aqsa martyr brigades can unite in slaughtering Amnesty International members.

I'd lend my support to that.

AI probably has more members than me and Marty, so there'd be a lot of collateral damage.

[Malthus]

Good on Amnesty. If only more would recognise that both sides are dicks in the Israel/Palestine situation.

The "pox on both houses" approach strikes me as moral cowardice. How Israel was acting as a "dick" in this particular situation is hard to understand. It pulled out of occupying Gaza (surely what the "international community" wanted) only to have Gaza turn into a base for Hamas. Hamas then proceeds to fire rockets at its cities with total impunity. What was Israel supposed to do? Nothing?

The notion that Hamas wasn't using human shields in this operation (as apparently alleged by AI - judging by the article, I havent read the actual AI report) defies reality- that's just in the nature of the way it fights: it isn't a regular army, it operates as a guerilla force, hidden among and indistinguishable from the civilian population. If it *didn't* use "human shields" it would be exterminated in a day.

The notion that Israel showed no respect for the importance of restraining civilian casualties (as also alleged by AI according to the article) also defies reality. If Israel truly cared nothing for civilian casualties, it could very easily flatten Gaza altogether. One would think, reading such articles, that it did - though in which case the civilian casualties would be in the tens or hundreds of thousands, not a thousand and a half of which maybe a quarter were "civilians".

In short, and again assuming that the article accurately reflects AI's own conclusions, it smells highly of bullshit. 

[Valmy]

pulled out of occupying Gaza (surely what the "international community" wanted) only to have Gaza turn into a base for Hamas.

The international community wanted nothing of the sort.  The international community just wants the issue to go away.  The issue did not go away so they remain annoyed.

There are Israelis who are driving this conflict, you know the ones I am referring to, they are a minority, perhaps even a tiny minority, but a highly dangerous minority.  Their position gets stronger with every Palestinian provocation and the pressure the world puts on Israel to...well I am not sure what exactly people want Israel to do besides something to make the crisis go away so they do not have to fuck with it. 

The Israeli Army is forced into killing civilians simply by the political pressure on the government and the tactics by Hamas and company.  I have enormous sympathy for their position, but there is no doubt that out of context they look really bad.  The anti-Israeli nutters simply ignore the context and BOOM Israel is the most evil state ever.

Pulling out of Gaza was a critical moment in the conflict where the international community could have stepped in and helped Palestine become a viable possibility.  But everybody, particulary we in the United States, fumbled the chance and now there is nothing to do but the same old same old.

Gaza and the Palestinian territories need to be occupied, the Israeli settlers must be expelled and the Palestinian terrorist networks disarmed and destroyed.  But who the hell would want that job?  Ergo I can only conclude Palestine is doomed to a tragic failure.

[Savonarola]

If anyone actually cares there is a link to the Amnesty International Report here:

http://amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/015/2009/en/8f299083-9a74-4853-860f-0563725e633a/mde150152009en.pdf

AI's own release on the report is:

Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel a recipe for further civilian suffering


Israeli forces killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of homes in Gaza in attacks which breached the laws of war, Amnesty International concluded in a new report published on Thursday. Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 days of death and destruction, is the first comprehensive report to be published on the conflict, which took place earlier this year.

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," said Donatella Rovera, who headed a field research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

"The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth."

The Amnesty International report documents Israel's use of battlefield weapons against a civilian population trapped in Gaza, with no means of escape and is based on evidence gathered by Amnesty International delegates, including a military expert, during field research in January and February.

The report shows that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, killing three Israeli civilians, injuring scores and driving thousands from their homes. "Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable," added Donatella Rovera.

The scale and intensity of the attacks on Gaza were unprecedented. Some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians who took no part in the conflict were among the 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Most were killed with high-precision weapons, relying on surveillance drones which have exceptionally good optics, allowing those observing to see their targets in detail. Others were killed with imprecise weapons, including artillery shells carrying white phosphorus – not previously used in Gaza - which should never be used in densely populated areas.

Amnesty International found that the victims of the attacks it investigated were not caught in the crossfire during battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces, nor were they shielding militants or other military objects. Many were killed when their homes were bombed while they slept. Others were sitting in their yard or hanging the laundry on the roof. Children were struck while playing in their bedrooms or on the roof, or near their homes. Paramedics and ambulances were repeatedly attacked while attempting to rescue the wounded or recover the dead.

"The deaths of so many children and other civilians cannot be dismissed simply as 'collateral damage', as argued by Israel," said Donatella Rovera. "Many questions remain to be answered about these attacks and about the fact that the strikes continued unabated despite the rising civilian death toll."

More than 3,000 homes were destroyed and some 20,000 damaged in Israeli attacks which reduced entire neighbourhoods of Gaza to rubble and left an already dire economic situation in ruins. Much of the destruction was wanton and could not be justified on grounds of "military necessity".

The Israeli army has not responded to Amnesty International's repeated requests over the past five months for information on specific cases detailed in the report and for meetings to discuss the organization's findings.

"For its part, Hamas has continued to justify the rocket attacks launched daily by its fighters and by other Palestinian armed groups into towns and villages in southern Israel during the 22-day conflict. Though less lethal, these attacks, using unguided rockets which cannot be directed at specific targets, violated  international humanitarian law and cannot be justified under any circumstance," said Donatella Rovera.

In addition to locally made Qassam rockets, Palestinian militants often fired longer-range Grad-type rockets smuggled into Gaza via the tunnels on the Egyptian border, which reached deeper into Israel and placed many more Israeli civilians at risk.

"Five months on, neither side has shown any inclination to change its practices and abide by international humanitarian law, raising the prospect that civilians will again bear the brunt if fighting resumes," said Donatella Rovera.

Under international law, states have a responsibility to exercise universal jurisdiction and start criminal investigations in national courts, wherever there is sufficient evidence of war crimes or other crimes under international law, to arrest and bring to justice alleged perpetrators.

"Those responsible for war crimes and other serious violations must not be allowed to escape accountability and justice," said Donatella Rovera.

Among other recommendations, the report calls on states to suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until there is no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used to commit serious violations of international law.

It calls on Israel to commit not to carry out direct, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians; or use artillery, mortars and white phosphorus weapons in densely populated areas; and to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is collectively punishing the entire population.

The report urges Hamas to renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel and to prevent other armed groups from carrying out such attacks.

AI is usually more fact based an less sensational than the media reporting on its statements and reports; but where is the fun in that?

[Valmy]

The report urges Hamas to renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel and to prevent other armed groups from carrying out such attacks

They might as well urge dogs to stop barking.

[Neil]

Maybe the IDF and the Al-Aqsa martyr brigades can unite in slaughtering Amnesty International members.

I'd lend my support to that.

AI probably has more members than me and Marty, so there'd be a lot of collateral damage.

I think you underestimate my willingness to sanction the sacrifice of the lives of others, in particular those who only exist to me as abstract numbers, in order to achieve relatively minor goals.

[Malthus]

If anyone actually cares there is a link to the Amnesty International Report here:


AI is usually more fact based an less sensational than the media reporting on its statements and reports; but where is the fun in that?

Still smells of bullshit.

In particular:

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," said Donatella Rovera, who headed a field research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

"The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth."

This totally ignores the purported reasons Israel ignores and refuses to co-operate with UN operations: that said operations are, in general, controlled by its enemies and have zero interest in the truth, but are rather mere propaganda outlets for a seemigly endless stream of anti-Israeli reports. Something like a third of all UN pronouncements are of the anti-Israeli variety.

This is hardly a secret, it is well-known to everyone in the ME certainly. When Iran is the chair of the UN Committee on Human Rights (and Israel barred from participating), why should Israel co-operate with any UN investigation? That deck is stacked.

And

The Amnesty International report documents Israel's use of battlefield weapons against a civilian population trapped in Gaza, with no means of escape and is based on evidence gathered by Amnesty International delegates, including a military expert, during field research in January and February.

Is a nice way of putting it: of course Israel uses "battlefield weapons" - what are they supposed to use? It's a battle. The questionable part is the conclusory "... against a civilian population". No doubt Israel assumed it was fighting against Hamas, not a "civilian population". They just lacked the magical ability to seperate out Hamas fighters, who dress, live among, and are part of the "civilian population", from those who are not Hamas fighters.