Geneva Convention summit on Palestine to go ahead despite US, Israeli pressure

Although Israel is a signatory to the convention, which makes settlements on occupied land illegal, the Israeli government denies its applicability to the West Bank and East Jerusalem

The contracting parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention will hold a special meeting on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip later this month, despite pressure by the US and Israel.

The Swiss government will convene the relevant state parties on 17 December, for an ambassadorial-level conference which Israel is expected to boycott. The US, Canada and Australia may also stay away.

Last month it was reported that Israel and the US were trying to dissuade the nearly 200 states that are party to the Fourth Geneva Convention from convening for the summit. Israeli officials even travelled several times to Bern and Geneva, but their efforts have proved unsuccessful.

According to Haaretz, Israel is still hoping to "lobby EU states to get as many as possible to boycott the conference." The gathering is likely to "intensify international criticism of Israeli policy in the territories, particularly with regard to the settlements."

The meeting takes place following President Abbas' decision in April to sign, on behalf of Palestine, the Fourth Geneva Convention. Shortly after, an official request was made to urgently convene the convention signatories to discuss Israel's occupation.

In 2001, the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention met in Geneva and condemned Israel's "indiscriminate or disproportionate use of force and due to lack of respect for international humanitarian law."

Israel is also a signatory to the convention, but, contrary to the overwhelming international legal consensus, denies its applicability to the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Source: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/europe/15762-geneva-convention-summit-on-palestine-to-go-ahead-despite-us-israeli-pressure

Autopsy reveals Palestinian minister was murdered

Image of activists helping the collapsed minister

The death Palestinian Minister Ziad Abu Ein was the result of beating, teargas-induced asphyxiation and obstruction by the Israeli army to transfer him to a hospital on time, a Palestinian official said, citing official forensic results.

Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hassan Al-Sheikh, detailing the forensic results to the official Palestinian radio station today, asserted that the findings show that Abu Ein, who was fatally injured yesterday during an Israeli clampdown on a Palestinian protest against settlements and the Separation Wall near Ramallah, had been "murdered".

"The forensic report is an essential piece of evidence of Israel's responsibility [for Abu Ein's death]," Al-Sheikh said following yesterday evening's autopsy.

He added that the Palestinian authorities carried out the autopsy in an East Jerusalem university hospital after refusing to allow an Israeli medical centre to handle the procedure.

However, an Israeli doctor was present during the autopsy and he confirmed that the process was carried out "professionally", Al-Sheikh explained.

Abu Ein, who was in charge of the Israeli settlements file at the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), died yesterday after Israeli troops dispersed an anti-occupation demonstration in the northern West Bank town of Turmusiya.

A military funeral will be held for him this afternoon.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has described the Israeli attack on Abu Ein as "barbaric" and declared a three-day mourning period.

The Israeli army said it is reviewing the circumstances of Abu Ein's participation in the protest and his subsequent death.

Source : https://middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/15760-autopsy-reveals-palestinian-minister-was-murdered

Hague-based ICC accepts Palestine's status

Decision clears way for the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes in the occupied territories.

The International Criminal Court has accepted the status of Palestine, clearing the way for war crimes in the occupied territories to be investigated, Al Jazeera has learned.

Monday's decision amounts to a symbolic victory for the Palestinians who will get a seat at the ICC: In theory, it is now legally possible for war crimes to be investigated in the occupied territories if requested.

The ICC, which is governed by the Rome Statute, is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.

The court, whose headquarters is at The Hague in the Netherlands, is an independent international organisation and is not part of the UN system. While its expenses are funded primarily by "states parties", the ICC also receives voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations and other entities. Al Jazeera's Diplomatic Editor James Bays, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said the acceptance happened at an open meeting on Monday of the assembly of states parties of the ICC. "What this means is that Palestine is now listed as a 'non-state party observer' - exactly the same status as the US or Russia or every other country that is not a signatory of the Rome Statute," he said. "In other words, all the ICC signatories now consider Palestine to be a state. The acceptance is symbolic but adds to the international momentum for Palestinian statehood and has legal repercussions. "If Palestine now applies to join the Rome Statute, it will be much harder to reject them. The acceptance clearly brings war-crimes trials against Israelis one step closer."

Source: Al Jazeera

Q&A: 'I saw beheaded children in Gaza'

"As a doctor, I say don’t send more bandages, don’t send more drugs, and don’t send equipment. Stop the bombing, lift the siege, treat the Palestinians as humans, include them in the human family, protect them by international law and find a peaceful political solution to the occupation of Palestine. That’s the preventative medicine of this mayhem that is going on." - Dr. Mads GIlbert

Source : http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/12/qa-i-saw-beheaded-children-gaza-201412710710149667.html#.VIR8yRsmwVY.facebook

UN Report: Israel in Regular Contact with Syrian Rebels including ISIS

A report submitted to the United Nations Security Council by UN observers in the Golan Heights over the past 18 months shows that Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have been in regular contact with Syrian rebels, including Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

Israeli soldiers stand near the border with Syria in the occupied Golan Heights as they prepare to evacuate a wounded Syrian Reuters

Citing the UN report, Haaretz noted that there have been several instances detailed in the report that shows close ties between Syrian armed rebels and Israeli army. 

According to the UN report, a person wounded on 15 September "was taken by armed members of the opposition across the ceasefire line, where he was transferred to a civilian ambulance escorted by an IDF vehicle."

Moreover, from 9-19 November, the "UNDOF observed at least 10 wounded persons being transferred by armed members of the opposition from the Bravo side across the ceasefire line to IDF."

As per the details released by the Israel's health ministry, so far some 1,000 Syrians have been treated in four Israeli hospitals. Besides the civilians, some are members of the secular Free Syrian Army rebel group. 

Israel initially had maintained that it was treating only civilians. However, reports claimed that earlier last month members of Israel's Druze minority protested the hospitalisation of wounded Syrian fighters from the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front in Israel.

A statement issued by a group of Druze activists accused the Israeli government of supporting radical Sunni factions such as the Islamic State (ISIS).

Replying to a question by i24News on whether Israel has given medical assistance to members of al-Nusra and Daesh (the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (ISIS), a Israeli military spokesman's office said: "In the past two years the Israel Defence Forces have been engaged in humanitarian, life-saving aid to wounded Syrians, irrespective of their identity."

The UN report also laid out instances where in Israeli army was seen interacting with armed rebels. In one incident, the report claimed that the IDF gave some boxes to the Syrian armed rebels.
By Johnlee Varghese December 7, 2014 17:06 IST

Source : http://www.ibtimes.co.in/un-report-israel-regular-contact-syrian-rebels-including-isis-616404

Iron Dome Fake - A Massive Hoax - Missiles Blowing Up in the Air

10,000 Palestinian Children 'Tortured' by Israeli Forces over Years, Says PLO

Israel has detained about 10,000 Palestinian children since 2000 and they were subjected to humiliation, torture and solitary confinement, according to Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).

About 10,000 Palestinian children have reportedly been detained and subjected to torture by the Israeli army.Reuters File

A senior PLO official responsible for securing the release of children and other detained youths told Press TV that some 10,000 children from the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) have been detained by Israeli armed forces over the years.

Issa Qaraqe, head of the PLO's committee on detainees, was speaking on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by the UN General Assembly.

He stated that the children's rights are violated "regularly," and they are often subjected to humiliation and torture by the Israeli army.

"Israel does not provide any immunity for children and regularly violates international agreements on children's rights by humiliating and torturing them and denying them fair trials," he said.

Qaraqe noted that 95% of children, many of them as young as seven or eight, have been subjected to torture. Currently, some 300 children are said to languish at detention camps in Israel.

Earlier in May, a report released by an international non-governmental organisation, Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCI-P), had found that most children detained by Israeli forces were taken in for stone throwing, a charge that can lead to a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

The monitoring agency that focuses on the treatment of children in the areas of conflict, found that every year about 500 to 700 minors are taken prisoners by Israel.

It also reported that the Israeli military has used solitary confinement as a form of interrogation and intimidation in nearly 22% of recorded cases. The children put in solitary confinement have been kept locked in for 10 days on an average, with the longest period being 29 days, the report stated.

By Johnlee Varghese November 25, 2014 12:59 IST

Source : http://www.ibtimes.co.in/10000-palestinian-children-tortured-by-israeli-forces-over-years-says-plo-614606