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Israel on Trail for War Crimes!

Sam Mcgill | 07.07.2010 22:10 | Flotilla to Gaza | Palestine | Terror War

On the 3rd of July; Palestine Action Group put Israel on Trial for War Crimes in a street theatre stunt on Northumberland street; city centre of Newcastle upon Tyne. Britain was also found guilty of aiding; abetting and arming Israel. We say "try the war criminals; NOT the RESISTANCE!" and Resistance is Justified when Palestine is Occupied! Boycott and Isolate Israel! Sanctions NOW!

Israel on Trial
Israel on Trial


Israel and Britain on trial for War Crimes. Newcastle 3rd July

On Saturday 3rd of July; the Palestine Action Group put Israel on Trial for War Crimes in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The street theatre took place on Northumberland Street; outside Marks and Spencer; the biggest British corporate sponsor of Israel which sits of the British-Israeli Chamber of Commerce and states “furthering the economic development of Israel” as one of its aims in “the M+S way”. The people’s court began at 12 noon as witnesses gave reports of war crimes committed from the establishment of Israel as a racist settler state in 1948; to the recent murderous attack on the Free Gaza flotilla on the 31st of May 2010. Although Israel ignored the charges of War crimes; Israel was found guilty of 8 charges which included;
• The establishment of a fundamentally racist; Zionist; colonial settler state in Palestine. Since 1948 more than 530 villages have been destroyed, over 750,000 Palestinians have been expelled and made homeless, 50% of the West bank has been stolen for the expansion of Israel. UN in 1975 ruled "Zionism is a form of racism and radical discrimination,"
• The construction of illegal settlements in West Bank and Jerusalem. This is illegal under UN law and amounts to the theft of land and racist annexation. Up to late December 2008, Israel had built 233 colonial settlements in the Occupied Territories, which are now home to 497,500 settlers.
• The routine use of collective punishment, imprisonment without trial, torture and assassinations. Since 1967, more than 650,000 Palestinians have been detained. There are currently 312 Palestinian children in Israeli custody; fifty- five percent of these were arrested for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.
• The illegal construction of an apartheid wall around the West bank; Under Article of the international convention on the suppression and punishment of the crime of Apartheid (1979), the wall divides population on the basis of race and ethnicity and discriminates against residents in the west bank to benefit illegal Israeli settlers and thus complies with the definition of “Apartheid”.
• The intentional destruction of Palestinian economy, agriculture and livelihood. After the January 2009 “operation cast lead”; 22,000 buildings in the Gaza strip were partially or completely destroyed and 300,000 people were left without running water; Gazan agriculture was decimated with financial losses estimated at $200 million. Israeli forces deliberately destroyed greenhouses, egg incubators, wells, irrigation systems and farmland.
• The 22 day massacre of over 1,400 residents of Gaza January 2009 which left over 5000 injured. Israeli forces used UN prohibited White Phosphorus and DIME explosives and repeatedly targeted schools and hospitals.
• 3 year siege of Gaza which has caused massive suffering; preventing fuel building materials and other essentials from entering Gaza and contributing to many unnecessary deaths. Since 2007; Israel has closed all 5 border crossings leaving three quarters of a million people dependent on UN food aid which is not always allowed to cross the border.
• The Attacks on Gaza freedom flotilla on the 31st of May 2010, when Israeli Commando forces illegally stormed the freedom flotilla in international waters with live ammunition, sound grenades and tear gas leaving 9 civilians dead; many more missing and over 60 injured.
Britain was also charged for the war crimes of supporting Israel’s establishment and funding and arming Israel throughout its existence. British export licences granted for arms sales to Israel were worth £11.5 million in 2004, £22.5 million in 2005 and £24 million in the first six months of 2008.
To find out more email Palestine Action Group on  palestineaction@gmail.com or phone 07858346276

Sam Mcgill
- e-mail: palestineaction@gmail.com; frfinortheast@googlemail.com

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

\\You do not haved the authority to do this

07.07.2010 23:09

they will just ignirfe your judgement unless you can enforce it

quex


Israel being in the middle east - is it a war crime?

08.07.2010 10:09

I often wonder, why isn't Palestine more like Britain a real multi-ethnic mix. Britain allows most immigrants who are here permanent residence after 10 years or more years. Foreigners (Europeans or no EU refugees) who come to the UK have no territorial claim over the land, yet we let them stay after so many years, because they have made roots here. Nobody asks: is this your historic/tribal land as they do in Palestine, which in the case of jews it actually is. Abraham and Jesus were Jewish, so it is clear that Jews have at least some legitimacy over the territory too (however much Palestinians do not like that fact). Now I am not saying that Palestinians who have lost lands do not deserve very good compensations if they have been displaced from their lands, or given back some of their territory and helped out financially, and I am against new Jewish settlements cropping up as they do in Palestinian territories. But isn't part of the reason they cannot co-exist because of religious reasons? Why are Palestinian children taught only to resist the "occupiers", but not taught that in order for Palestine to be prosperous, they must educate themselves and work hard to build up their country as they would need to in any other country. Palestine can never be a first class country unless they have peace with Israel and give up their territorial struggle (this would be true even if Israel disappeared altogether). But Israel is not going to go away, and Palestine needs to focus on educational improvements to better their lot. Israel will keep repressing Palestinians (and treat them unfairly), until they stop their warlike mentality and decide on peaceful coexistence with Israel as a neighbour. I am not saying here that Israel has not done many hideous and unfair things in this conflict - I'm sure they have, but prosperity for Palestinians will not happen unless they give up this obsession with regaining all their land, which incidentally is not going to bring them good future in itself, however much they think it will,

My 2ps worth


Sigh...

08.07.2010 11:16

"Israel will keep repressing Palestinians (and treat them unfairly), until they stop their warlike mentality and decide on peaceful coexistence with Israel as a neighbour."

There are so many things wrong with that garbage I hardly know where to start.


1.) Israel is a DECADES old nation state formed by the brutal invasion of Plaestine (after the Jews being largely gone from the area for a couple of millenia). So, by that dint, I'd have more right to invade Norway and set up my own state based on the premise my ancestors only left there 500 years ago.


2.) Gaza is in a state of seige because in a deomcratic election they voted for a party that Israel decalres to be an existential threat... yet Hamas and their rockets have only managed to kill 28 civillians in 10 years, whereas Israel killed 1500+ civillians of which around or over a third were CHILDREN in three WEEKS alone= Cast Lead

2.) Operation Cast Lead was initiated by Israel breaking a 6 month ceasefire with Hamas by assinating several high ranking members and provoking largely inneffectual rocket attacks.

The IDF response was to pound a civillian are already illegaly beseiged, drop white phosphorous on hospitals, use human shields, use children to check for booby traps; to shoot the shit out of civillians despite there being almost no Hamas resistence to the invasion.

Then on top of that Israel restricted medical assistane to emergency cases.

A whole litany of war crimes and international crimes can be read by google "the goldstone report".

3.) If your neighbour stole most of your garden, locked you in your house, would come in guns blazing to raid your fridge and randomly shot your kids and lcoked up and tortured your family... would you be idly chatting over the fence ("security wall") with them?

My 3ps Worth


Colonisation Policy

08.07.2010 12:45

"I often wonder, why isn't Palestine more like Britain a real multi-ethnic mix. Britain allows most immigrants who are here permanent residence after 10 years or more years. Foreigners (Europeans or no EU refugees) who come to the UK have no territorial claim over the land, yet we let them stay after so many years, because they have made roots here."

Here's an answer: Britain decides its own immigration policy, in conjunction with its obligations to the EU. As a member of the EU it can also influence immigration policy
at EU level.

Israel has decided immigration policy for Palestine since 1967. therefore no right of return
for all the displaced Palestinians. Israel's immigration policy for Palestine is racist. It has
involved taking land for settlements where only Israeli citizens can live, and where the
majority of inhabitants are Jewish. Because the land and resources are stolen, and
immigration policy was dictated with no reference to the Palestinians, territorial claims
of the settlers can only be sustained through the presence of the occupying Israeli
military. From behind fences and gun turrets it is much harder to achieve a "real multi-ethnic
mix"

4ps worth


Maybe I'm seeing this all wrong but...

08.07.2010 13:09

Hi 3ps worth,

Thanks for replying. You make some worthy and interesting points. Here is my view on things though...
1) I am not aware that Palestinians were considered a distinct group of people from rest of Arabs until very late. People like Edward Said popularized the notion of being "Palestinian" which is not how people necessarily viewed themselves before. Jews started coming back to Palestine in the 19th century, and in larger numbers after the Balfour Declaration made by the British, allowing them to settle from abroad. When Nazis started exterminating jews by the millions, they emigrated to Palestine in larger numbers, eventually setting up their own state. It is true that present day Israel is only several decades old, but they were allowed into the territory volutarily (blame the British for that policy if you want) and so have been given rights to live there. They came no doubt because of old links to the area, and also because of the horrors of Europe and some for obvious religious reasons too. They were a "landless" people for a long time, and now they are not. How they achieved that was not without great injustice to Palestinians (of that I am sure) but it is how many peoples have acquired territory down the ages, so not a one-off incident in the history of the world. And anyway, whether I approve of how they did it or not, it is a fact we must live with. When you described the Norway example, you seem to be suggesting that the latest that a group of people settle somewhere, the more legitimate their claim over that territory. Does that really make sense?

2) In my opinion Israel has every right to be worried about Hamas. Hamas do not wish them well and if they had any stronger weapons they would, in my mind, not hesitate to use against Israelis. If someone gave them the weaponry, it is very likely Hamas would wipe Israel from the face of the earth. For this reason Israel is doing everything it can to keep Palestinians in a bad situation. (The logic being, the weaker they are, the less damage they will inflict, however gastly that is). They do not however go after every Palestinian...they are trying to target terrorists, even if they are not always successful with these operations. You mention that rockets have killed 28 civilians in 10 years, but unfortunately many more Israelis have been killed or injured by suicide bombs inside Isreal than 28. You are right that Palestinians are suffering a lot, in many terrible ways that are very unfair, but they are not completely faultless either...in my opinion.
Why is it that Palestinians are teaching their children to hate jews so much, and teaching their own young men that they will go to Paradise if they kill them? Why are there so many billboards with pictures of suicide bombers in Palestine - how will this help Palestine rebuild itself as a nation? Is this not breeding a nation of traumatized people for whom life means nothing, except fighting your supposed enemy, in the name of Allah (or for whatever other reason they select). But it is not teaching them what they need to do to build something better in their life, so they can have more prosperity and their children too. It is easy to learn how to destroy things, but it is not easy to learn how to rebuild and make something better. That takes a different mentality and skills, which take much more patience and perseverance to achieve. Praying to God or wishful thinking will not make that happen.

3) How many more decades must pass before Palestinians accept to coexist with their Israeli neighbours in peace, without finding every excuse to attack them. I am sure that Israelis want to live in peace (that's why they escaped Europe). If they were so evil as they are often described, Palestinians would not be asking for the Security Wall to be knocked down so they can live together as one.

My 2ps worth


Difficult to solve, this...

08.07.2010 13:31

Hi 4ps worth,

The points you make are very good. However, this is a complex situation, and not one where it appears likely that Israel will want to just uproot and leave the territory in question and let Palestinian resettle in their displaced lands.

I like you am against new jewish settlements on Palestinian land. I also think that compensation needs to be paid or new buildings built for Palestinians displaced from original territories (and general reconstruction help given too). That would be some recompense for their hardship and loss of lands. It would also ease tensions between the two sides hopefully. I agree that more land should be given to Palestinians as their populations are growing and they will need the land very soon. However, beyond such things, I cannot see what else can be negotiated. As I stated before, Israelis are not going to want to pull out of its territories so it is unrealistic to push for such a solution, I am however doubtful that even if this is all achieved, Palestinians will learn to live in peace with their jewish neighbours...because such hatred as they have for jews is harder to eradicate, unless there is a real shift in attitudes. In this case, Isreal will no doubt keep meddling in affairs, to keep control of the situation as they have been doing to date. I do not think there will be any peace in Palestine, until Palestinians lay down their weapons and start thinking differently as to which way they can solve their problems and rebuild their ravaged country.

My 2ps worth


to pee or not to pee

08.07.2010 13:58

"How many more decades must pass before Palestinians accept to coexist with their Israeli neighbours in peace, without finding every excuse to attack them. I am sure that Israelis want to live in peace (that's why they escaped Europe). If they were so evil as they are often described, Palestinians would not be asking for the Security Wall to be knocked down so they can live together as one. "


Hmmm, perhaps the decades between now and resolution 242 actually being adhered to?

If you really are seriously entertaininhg the notion that bunch people bombed militarily into the 19th century really are an existential threat to Israel with all of the USA & EU's military might, you are either mental or deluded beyond all reason.

Israel is in invading force in multiple breach of the UN Security Council. It is a frequent war criminal, it frequently abuses human rights, it has attacked at least 3 of its neighbours in teh last five years. It targets civillians at a scale Hamas could only have wet dreams about.

But most importantly...

CIVILLIANS ARE NOT HAMAS!

Just like it would not be fair for me to burn your family alive for something YOU did... like for example burn my family alive.

Send my regards to the rest of your brethern in Doublestandardsland.

My 3ps Worth


Peace at the price of blood

08.07.2010 14:17

"they must educate themselves and work hard to build up their country" - actually the Palestinians are considered to be the most educated Arab nation, and they (in large) very much consider education to be a prime factor in a liberation struggle, which is why they have better grades on average then Jews in Israel, but still struggle to get jobs.

Regardless of when they started considering them selves "Palestinians", they still have a strong connection to the land, and have had it for generations.

The same thing about educating their children to hate Israelis/Jews can be said (perhaps even more so) about the Israelis. the bad education will stop when the bombs stop, and then it will take generations until we live like equals in one or two states. It's true Hamas aren't exactly the best partner to talk to, but they have agreed to stop hostilities and recognize the state of Israel, they are not going to be in power for ever, and besides the Likud/Avoda/Kadima aren't exactly great partners for peace neither. but no matter how bleak the situation seems, peace will come in the end for the simple reason that you can't fight for ever, it will take a long long time, and many more will die, but this war will eventually end.

Israelis want to live in peace, Palestinians want to live in peace, but at the moment, it seems like each side is only sees one way to achieve this, by annihilating the other side. but this will never bring about an end to the war, and when enough people recognize this, then the hostilities will cease.

2ps, I see what your trying to say, and while i disagree with it, i think that you have some points, but all of these arguments can be twisted to represent the Palestinians, the truth is I know a lot more about the Israeli side then I do about the Palestinian, but the prevailing opinion in Israel is that we should just drown all of the Palestinians, and that's not a peace-lovers solution.
The IDF does very little to distinguish between civilians and combatants, they've just cleared themselves of charges in cast led, (with minor exceptions). If you take settlers violence into the equation, well they always target civilians.
the IDF is made out of people, and those people have been thought to hate Arabs (indiscriminately), when the order comes they don't bother with the civilian/guerrilla equation, they are all just "Arabs" to a large enough part of the population to just kill them and ask questions later(if at all). Israel has a right to exist (well as much as a state have a right to exist to begin with), but not at the price of so much death, and the more of it the less moral right it retains to exist. the power of the sword will grow weak, the power of the pen will dominate, and the two nations will live together (or side by side).

Penny dropped


Histrionic Entitlement.

08.07.2010 15:48

I just don't see Israel as having ANY claim over the land they occupy. It just isn't possible to see Israel as having any legitimate claim over land they may have occupied way back in the past.

If we accept the legitimacy of the modern day ethnic land grab that Israel is trying to pull off at the moment then the argument can be used to re-engineer the continental US, Canada, North Central & South America, most of Europe, Asia and most other places. Israel is just a modern day attempt at evicting a population from its home and taking over.

They just successfully pulled this off in Sri Lanka where the long-war waged by the Sinhala against the Tamils has recently ended with victory for the Sinhala. The Tamils have been displaced.

The conflict in Palestine is just another example of how successful real terrorism is in the world we live in. The Israeli state is a qualified terrorist state that primary method is the use of terrorism. Even we in the UK have been made to suffer. Even our own armed forces have been targeted by Israeli terrorists (King David Hotel).

In reality, HAMAS is just a creation of an Israel that fully understands the value of painting your victim with the politics of violence. In reality, Israel switches the political tool of terrorism on and off at will to achieve its wider aims. Israel has broken all of the ceasefires that have been in place in that region, Israeli is the one that walks into religious centres with its heavily armed soldiers in the 'name of peace', Israel seizes boats in international waters and then shoots people dead 'because that's what they really wanted', it is Israel that deploys its assassins around the world to murder those who are 'not playing the game, it is Israel that understands the important role the media play in crafting public opinion, it is Israel that wants the land to build the greater 'city on a hill'.

I would like to carry the torch of 'the semites' just like my parents and grand parents but I can't.

Why?

Because I do not accept that terrorism is a legitimate way to achieve ones aims! Be they political or otherwise!

Gentile


Complex issue this is...

08.07.2010 20:27

Hi my 3ps worth, Penny dropped and Gentile,

I agree with you 3ps worth that Israel has bombed Palestinians into the 19th century and that even if Hamas wanted to be, they are no existential threat to Israel. True. But they can definitely pose a thread to Israeli civilians, which Israel very much wants to stop. If Hamas acquire any stronger rockets and manage smuggle them into their territory, the threat to Israelis could be considerable. Not that Israel could not respond to it with similar force if not with greater force, but Hamas' idea of launching rockets to cause Israeli casualties, is not going to do anybody any good, whether it will boost their pride a little or not. Unfortunately, it is not going to bring "liberation" to Palestinians and it will not make Palestinians any better off. It will only create more bloodshed and more suffering allround.

You are quite right in saying that the Israeli state is in breach of a lot of resolutions etc. and that it should be seen as war criminal, but I am not convinced that it goes all-out attacking civilians, because if it did so, I assure you, it would manage to kill far more of them than it currently does. That's not to say that it is acceptable that so many civilians are being killed, it is not, but thus why it is so important for both sides to try to find some resolution. You are quite right 3ps worth, that the Israeli state targets civillians at a scale Hamas could only have wet dreams about. But picture the scene - lets imagine if Hamas were the occupiers. I doubt Israeli kids would even dare to venture out, let alone to throw stones at Hamas! I don't imagine they would last long, if they were given the right to exist at all.

I do not know about you, but I am very concerned about young Palestinian kids being indoctrinated to despise Israelis and jews. I am not convinced, that Isrealis are indoctrinating their children in the same way, though no doubt some degree of hatred in rerverse is inevitable. But why are most kids in the Middle East taught to hate jews? Many of them live so far away, they have nothing to do with Israel. I cannot help but think, that at least some of this hatred is because of religious reasons.

Penny dropped, you stated that Palestinians are considered the most educated Arab nation. I do not know enough about it to comment, though I do believe that in Israel, Palestinian kids do receive a fair education. My Jordanian friends told me that in the Middle East, Palestinians are often looked down upon by other Arabs. Apparently, people do not say the most constructive things about them. I do not know if that is true or not, but they have certainly not being helped as much as they could have been by any rich Middle Eastern states in regards to improvement to housing and the like which is a pity.

You state that no matter how bleak the situation seems, peace will come in the end for the simple reason that you can't fight for ever, it will take a long long time, and many more will die, but this war will eventually end. I don't know about you but I would like the fighting to stop now. This cannot be done unless both sides are prepared to see themselves as noble losers in some way. What will be better about the situation in twenty years? I cannot see what will be better - only more lives lost, more people shattered by warfare and suffering from trauma (and Phosphorus wounds etc.). It takes people to start viewing things differently though, not about trying to win more supporters over to one's side and proving that the other is the "wrong" party. That gets people nowhere. It's about saying. Let's accept that we are all going to be losers here in some way, but that with losing this war, we will gain another - the chance of a peaceful and more prosperous life. It is especially about Palestinians being able to say, yes we have not won this war but peace will bring us better things which will be worth it in the end, even if we do not win all our demands.

I do not know if you have ever lost a lot of money, but people who have often say that it is the way you look at it that determines how you will feel about it down the line. You can wollow in disappointment and never get over it, or you can say, let's close that chapter and start a new one from where we're at today and try to focus on what's left that's positive. Only a shift in perception can achieve that. Why should Palestinians feel only winners when they are attacking Israelis, and when in truth they are really taking far too much of a beating than what is good for them. What they are presently doing is suicide and really a lost cause. Why can't they accept defeat, and say, eh,so what? It's not the end of our existence. This is the beginning of a new chapter for us. The bleak truth is that Israel is the victor in some ways, but they are not the worst enemy one could face. There have been far worse conquerors in history, I promise you! In fact, Palestine still exists. It has not been oliterated. Palestinians are not Israeli slaves, even if they are not quite free to do as they like. It's quite likely that if the Palestinian tone changes, things could improve for them a lot - they have the most to gain in all this really. If Palestinians can get over their hatred, be it religious or due purely to occupation reasons, they could begin to rebuild their nation and shattered lives. They could be the moral victors in all this, even if not military ones. And their children would reap the benefits of it for sure.

I agree Gentile, that the land grab many settler are trying to achieve is very unethical. That is why it is so necessary to reach agreements on things with Israel fast, so that more land grabs do not occur. If Palestinians can show moral superiority in a peaceful, dignified manner, and not through pointless fighting as they normally do, it won't be long before Israel faces ethical dilemmas regarding land grab issues. They know they are wrong on this, but whilst Palestinians fight them with ardent hatred, they will continue to view them simply as enemies and not as decent human beings which they are.

Anyway, enough of my writing. I'm not saying I've got the answers to the conflict, but would like to see this conflict resolved sooner rather than later, for everyone's sake, especially the Palestinians'.

My 2ps worth


The rights and wrongs are irrelevant

09.07.2010 12:45

I think it's a bit late to be complaining about Israel and its existance. It doesn't amount to anything except whining that "the world isn't fair". That's what happens in many cases when you lose a war - you lose territory.

After the First and Second World Wars Germy lost much of its historic territory to Poland, France etc and millions of Germans were expelled. Poland lost huge territories to the Soviet Union (now Belarus and Ukraine). Japan lost Sakhalin and the Kuril islands to the USSR, with the Soviets expelling every Japanese from the territory. Finland and Romania lost territories. Even the Dutch grabbed a bit of Germany. The rights and wrongs of it didn't come into it - the victors took territory because they could in the full knowldge that if they themselves had lost the situation would be reversed.

If we were going to turn the clock back 60 or 70 years, Israel and the Palestinians would be the least of the changes. Europe would be redrawn and millions of people "unexpelled". But it's not going to happen any more than Israel is going to disappear.

Countries don't exist because they have a right to, but because no-one else has the will or ability to take them away.

Ed