The United Nations Human Rights Council said in a report issued Thursday that Israel is violating international law in the West Bank, that Israel “must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers” from the West Bank and cease further settlement building “without preconditions.”
The UNHRC report said that Israel’s settlement policies violate article 49 of the fourth Geneva convention, which prohibits the transfer of civilian populations to occupied territory. It says the settlements are “leading to a creeping annexation that prevents the establishment of a contiguous and viable Palestinian state and undermines the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”
These conclusions, while perhaps shocking to some who believe Israelis have rights and Palestinians have none, are nothing new or special. These are conclusions that merely reiterate the long-standing international consensus that Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians and what remains of their land are criminal.
What is important about this latest report, however, it the context in which it was issued. The Palestinians were successful two months ago in obtaining “non-member observer state” status at the United Nations. This may give them the jurisdiction they previously were denied for bringing Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The Rome statute establishes the international criminal court’s jurisdiction over the deportation or transfer, directly or indirectly, by the occupying power of parts of its own population into the territory it occupies, or the deportation or transfer of all or parts of the population of the occupied territory within or outside this territory,” said the UNHRC report .
It added: “Ratification of the statute by Palestine may lead to accountability for gross violations of human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law and justice for victims.”
Unity Dow, one of the UNHRC judges who contributed to the report, said in a statement: “The magnitude of violations relating to Israel’s policies of dispossessions, evictions, demolitions and displacements from land shows the widespread nature of these breaches of human rights…The motivation behind violence and intimidation against the Palestinians and their properties is to drive the local populations away from their lands, allowing the settlements to expand.”
Israel responded indignantly to the report, calling it “biased” and “counterproductive,” adding that any resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict is through”direct negotiations” between the parties, a strategy that has operated under the direction of the fundamentally biased United States. The process has only resulted in more Israeli crimes and further subjugation and dispossession of Palestinians.
The United States has opposed and attempted to block Palestine’s upgraded UN status at every step, primarily in an attempt to shield Israel from legal scrutiny of its actions which are considered criminal by virtually every expert of note on the subject. America enables Israel’s crimes as a matter of policy, and it doesn’t appear that is going to change if the Palestinians are successful in bringing their case to the ICC.
bout time!
Why did UNHRC suddenly condemn illegal Israel’s settlement building after Decades? Who the f*ck is UHNHRC? Why no name is given, only few letters. This is a HOAX to implement the savage US policy designed by the first BLACK president.
Obama, a war criminal who should be arrested by ICC, is MAKING his hollow Palestine policy to DECIEVE people for further act of violence against Syria and Iran. How many times did you hear about phony “peace process”? How many times did you read about “road map”? All are hoax designed by the US administration to implement its SAVAGE policy in the Middle East and Africa. Obama was selected because of his BLACKNESS not his leadership where he has NONE. No one should believe the latest lies from UN, puppet of US. Why UN is silent against the latest Israeli’s aggression against Syria? Ban Ki moon is a PUPPET. How many times did you hear about phony “talk” on occupied Golan height deception design to turn Assad against Iran? This lie is made to pacify ARAB GULLIBLES for Obama’s SAVAGE AND BLACK policy against Syria and Iran. Down with the liars.
blowback was 9/11..more to come one has to assume
9/11 was a false flag, which is US specialty. The question of Palestinians is world’s concern and it is not limited to Arab alone. Since his selection to the throne, Obama has done nothing to help Palestinians but EVERYTHING TO COVER FOR ISRALIS's WAR CRIMES. Both deserve each other. How UN, US puppet, can do anything since Obama will veto. So, it is obvious that this call is nothing but HOAX to divert attention from settlement building, which is against International law, onto Syria and Iran for the interest of "greater Israel" which does not support a state for Palestine. Then, you see this is HOAX to buy time and fool Palestinians, to give HOAX for ‘hope’ to silent critics. Obama can fool no one but himself.
"Why no name is given, only few letters."
The very first words of the article spell it out:
"The United Nations Human Rights Council"
{The very first words of the article spell it out}
Use your brain. UNCHR consists of 53 countries from different continents. Most of them, probably, agree with this call, but countries from West Europe and America are the problem. 10 from the Western Europe and American are part of UNHRC are: Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, United Kingdom, US have supported the war crimes of Israel and United States for the last 64 years has veto every resolution against Israel. Iran LEGAL nuclear program has become politicized by every single US president including Obama and has designed A PUPPET, Amano, to go after Iran and be spokeperson for UN. The same is true with “Iran human rights” which is politicized because Iran is a targeted country and its spokesperson is Ahmed Shaheed, another PUPPET.
Who is the spokesperson for UNHRC?
Baloney! You;'ve got it all backwards (and you don't have to be so filthy mouthed about it!
wow……..
americas first BLACK president?……….
do I need to remind you he is half white..
i cant understand why this blatantly angry racist comment has not been removed.
what a weak, ignorant and cowardly human this is
baz,
While we do delete many racist comments, it's important for readers to understand how much racism and bigotry are part of what makes empire work.
believe it when it happens.
un reports are filled with things Israel must do "immediately" and "without precondition"
Isreal has not complied with ANY UN resolution to date. There is very little hope of them doing the right thing. The ONLY language that the Isreali's understand is FORCE.
They will comply IF they are FORCED to.
And what does that mean in the real world. If the Palestinians win on the ground, the Zionists will retreat. The Palestinians still have to win on the ground for this to happen. Good luck with that.
Remember, the Arabs are eager to fight the Israelis, but only to the last Palestinian.
Yes Andrew . Its a sad sad world. Where once the USA was a pillar of Justice and Freedom and Fairness It now stands for murder, torture and propping up sadistic regimes like Isreal, Saudi Aribia and Bahrain.
But I believe someday somehow these terrorists will get their just deserts. One can only hope that Karma will finally catch up and right the wrongs being done now.
"These problems can only be solved through direct negotiations between the two parties" – said the wife beater to the police after they find a woman laying on the floor, beaten black and blue
"These problems can only be solved through direct negotiations between the two parties" – said the wife beater to the police after they find a woman laying on the floor, beaten black and blue
Except those "negotiations" are continually delayed, pushed back, made excuses for, and generally ignored for decades while the wounded party is never afforded relief. You've described it well.
Is about time.., not that they should have done somwthing sooner.., but is good news and Israel is on notice for its inhuman acts toward Palestinians for last 60 tegars. Now that UN is on the issue let see if they have the stomach to go after Bush, Cheny, Tony Blair and rest of the gang of Neo Fascism.
The UN plan for resolving the "Israeli Question":
Step 1: Establish Palestine as an independent state along the '67 Green Line.
Step 2: Eject Israel from the UN, citing non-compliance with UN requirements and repeated misconduct.
Step 3: Install Palestine as a full member state of the United Nations.
Step 4: Watch Netanyahu and Leiberman as their heads explode.
Step 5: Profit..
Israel has damaged it's own image so badly that even many republicans and the grass root christian zionist feel ashamed to support them. Right wind leadership is still cowed but they are finding out that there are less and less fundamentalist attendance everyday. It is just a mater of time before the even the US flips sides!! Fundamentalist lost their voice in the last election.
Zionists will not take any notice of an ICC verdict; they will ignore it and carry on regardless. Removing the illegal settlers will lead to civil war. There are already too many of these armed thugs in the West Bank; they will resist evictions tooth and nail and they have the support of the overwhelming majority of a over the years brainwashed, misguided Israeli public and IDF. Evictions should therefore be conducted by UN forces, but will they ? Nevertheless all this is a further step in the eventially inevitable ultimate demise of the Zionist era. There are already several indications that cracks are appearing in the US/Israel alliance. It's all a matter of time and who has the longest breath. Israel has been build on the wrong foundations and will eventually collaps.
Collapse. You think so? Then why does the book of future history (The Book Of Revelations) discuss the Battle of Armageddon, in which an army of 200 million (Army of Islam?) engages the final battle in the Valley of Armageddon, which is located in Israel, surrounded by the Megiddo Mountains? Israel isn't going anywhere until Islam musters a totally unified army and fights the Battle Of Armageddon.
Why? Hallucinogens would be an obvious guess. Then he writes a 'book' and folks fawn over it.
Answer: Because the Old Testament is based on Deutoronomics written by primitive people who lived some 26 hundred years ago and who based their stories on legends,old folktales,fables and the interpretations of dreams . Biblical narratives are so filled with inconsistencies, anachronisms in complete contradiction with modern scientific archeological and anthropological eveidence that they must be considered more of an historical novel than an accurate historical chronicle. Besides who says the people living in Israel to-day are Jews ? They are not; they they are CONVERTED Jews most of them originating from eastern Europe. Where is Zionism mentioned in the Bible ? The demise of empires do not necessarily have to be violent. Sometimes they disintergrate from within ( do I have to mention examples ?) and rot away from within. Nothing is static in this ever changing world. Visit my blog Contraviews Post 111 to read what Henry Kissinger and all the US Intelligence agencies have to say on the surviving chances of Zionist (sic) Israel.I can tell you now it won't survive another sixty years.
Contraviews there is already a UN security council resolution that tells the Israelies to move back to the pre 67 borders. That means no further resolution is necessary, JUST ask BUSH, remember his famous arguement in relation to Iraq, the Iraqis are refusing to abide by the resolutions, In this case the Israelies are refusing to abide by the UN resolutions the arguement is similar Israel is a rogue state that practices Apartheid activities and not just to Arabs but even to their Black Ethiopian Jews, forced sterilisation of citizens, this is exactly what happenned in Pre WWII Germany even down to the sterilization of undesirables!
GOD BLESS AMERICA and its zionist entity.
As far as i"am concern the UN is impotent when it comes to Israel, they serve no purpose and should pack their bags and get the hell out of the united states,they are a bunch of leeches and is sucking the blood out of their host 'the US".
How can we expect them to come-to-the-table without Crippling Sanctions?
Take away a few the carrots.
Israel's judgement is coming … The US will have no choice but to reverse course and allow justice to commence in the not too distant future.
The rest of the world is no longer afraid to take on Zionism. The US can only defer the consequences of Israel's crimes for a little while longer.
The rest of the world contains 90% of both the world's population and oil reserves. The plutocracy can no longer ignore the ramifications in trying to hold onto the petro-dollar and market share.
Dream on. Israel is the toughest little guy on the block in the Mideast. It has hundreds of deliverable nuclear weapons. It is supported by the majority of the American People. It will take more than a few words from a bunch of UN idiots to make Israel even yawn.
Yes Andrew, thats why Hizbollah, armed with light weapons and heavy balls, carved them a new shiny asshole in 2006. But they are really tough as you say with unarmed civilians, specially women and children.
I challenge every as*hole zionist christian to get to the lebanese border and try to act tough, you are all pussies.
I don't agree with you at all. The majority of people I know do NOT blindly support Israel. In fact, even the jewish people I know don't blindly support whatever Israel does!! There are limits and they are fast reaching the line.
No such thing as a deliverable Nuclear weapon, the first one israel ever delivers (except those it sold to Sth Africa) will mean the total end of Israel as a state. America got away with it because no one knew what it was and no one had one to retaliate with!
Of course everything Israel does/did over the years to cling to survival must be illegal while everything the musilim countries do to isolate, alienate, harass, suicide bomb, fire rockets into them, is of course self defense. Thats the twisted world and logic of the left wing paranoids and crazy islamists. I applaud everything that Israel MUST do to cling to survival against the crazed extyremist muslim states. If Israel ever has to launch a nuclear weapon every muslim country within its missle range will be incinerated; all will go down with Israel if thats the decision of the muslim extremists.