ISI - War & Crimes against Humanity

US used depleted uranium in recent wars

2012-01-30T22:55:00.001Z

Uploaded by PressTVGlobalNews on 30 Jan 2012 - A prominent investigative journalist says the United States is using illegal weaponry - particularly depleted uranium - during its wars in the Middle East.

Mayor Of London Warns George Bush: He Might Face Arrest As A War Criminal.

2012-01-21T13:45:00.002Z

The 1% of the 1% would not like this to happen, it's bad for the military hardware business! The 99% has to make the about turn & reassert..."all men are equal before the law".

Uploaded by SuchIsLifeVideos on 19 Nov 2010 - Keith Olbermann talks with Jonathan Turley (law professor) about a piece in the conservative Daily Telegraph where Boris Johnson, Mayor Of London, advises George W. Bush not to bring his book tour to Britain, because he could face arrest as a war criminal.

Four Days in Guantanamo.

2012-01-18T20:19:00.002Z

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on 18 Jan 2012 : Video footage reveals a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between captor and captive at Guantanamo Bay prison.

Libya civilian victims looking for NATO trial.

2012-01-16T05:57:00.000Z

Uploaded by presstvmobile on 15 Jan 2012:

Israel war crimes question festers.

2011-12-26T22:36:00.001Z

Published on 26 Dec 2011 by Euronews - Gilles Devers, you are the spokesman for a group of lawyers who, in 2009, filed a complaint of war crimes against Israeli officers with the International Criminal Court. Since then, what progress has there been?

Israel committing war crimes in Gaza

2011-12-12T21:36:00.001Z

Uploaded by presstvmobile on 10 Dec 2011:

Made in the USA: Tear Gas, Tanks, Helicopters, Rifles and Fighter Planes

2011-12-05T20:11:00.001Z

Used on Egypt Protesters

Depleted Uranium: A War Crime Within a War Crime.

2011-12-05T18:50:00.001Z

Destroying Iraq's Future, Its Children,

As if destroying a country and its culture ain't bad enough, how about destroying its future, its children? I want to scream it from the rooftops! We are complicit in crimes of such enormity that I find it difficult to find the words to describe how I feel about this crime committed in my name! In the name of the 'civilized' world?

"Forget about oil, occupation, terrorism or even Al-Qaeda. The real hazard for Iraqis these days is cancer. Cancer is spreading like wildfire in Iraq. Thousands of infants are being born with deformities. Doctors say they are struggling to cope with the rise of cancer and birth defects, especially in cities subjected to heavy American and British bombardment." — Jalal Ghazi, for New America Media

According to Dahr Jamail,

"The U.S. and British militaries used more than 1,700 tons of depleted uranium in Iraq in the 2003 invasion (Jane's Defence News, 4/2/04)-on top of 320 tons used in the 1991 Gulf War (Inter Press Service, 3/25/03). Literally every local person I've ever spoken with in Iraq during my nine months of reporting there knows someone who either suffers from or has died of cancer.

Ghazi reported that in Fallujah, which bore the brunt of two massive U.S. military operations in 2004, as many as 25 percent of newborn infants have serious physical abnormalities. Cancer rates in Babil, an area south of Baghdad, have risen from 500 cases in 2004 to more than 9,000 in 2009. Dr. Jawad al-Ali, the director of the Oncology Center in Basra, told Al Jazeera English (10/12/09) that there were 1,885 cases of cancer in all of 2005; between 1,250 and 1,500 patients visit his center every month now. — 'The New 'Forgotten' War' By Dahr Jamail, 15 March, 2010

Even the BBC was forced to acknowledge the reality (Listen:'Child deformities 'increasing' in Falluja' 4 March, 2010). True to form I searched the BBC Website in vain for the video clip I watched last week, so you are spared the horrific scenes I witnessed, recorded in Fallujah's main hospital. Had this been Saddam's legacy, we would have seen images like the one above endlessly repeated in the mass media, complete with UN resolutions and the like.

Global research | for full report

War Crimes Tribunal Tries Bush, Blair.

2011-11-21T23:18:00.001Z

A War Crimes Tribunal in the Malaysian capital has begun its hearing against George W. Bush and Tony Blair, charging the former officials for the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, Press TV reports. The tribunal will determine whether the former US president and British prime minister committed war crimes and violated international law during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal is an initiative by Malaysia's former Premier Mahathir Mohamad, who staunchly opposes US-led military adventures in various troubled regions.The hearing comes after two years of in-depth investigation, including testimonials from Iraqi war victims by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission.According to the Kuala Lumpur War Commission, both Bush and Blair had participated in the formulation of executive orders and directives to exclude the applicability of all international conventions and laws.

One complainant told the commission in 2009 that he was mistakenly detained and kept for six years in Guantanamo Bay under harsh conditions.A notification of the trial was served to known addresses of the two, and to the US Embassy and the UK High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on September 19, 2011.

This comes at a time when the Perdana Global Peace Foundation has mounted a war crimes exhibition in the Malaysian capital.The exhibition put on display gory images of decapitated bodies, to educate the public about the inhumane effects of war.The exhibition also featured the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq along with life-sized mannequins to show the abuse and torture of prisoners by the US army.Millions of people have lost their lives in the US-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan over the past years.

Unmasking the Illusion - Drones on Trial.

2011-11-21T07:04:00.001Z

Uploaded by pazamidon on 19 Nov 2011 - The Hancock 38 dramatically put drone warfare on trial in Dewitt Town Court, (near Syracuse, NY ) on November 1-6, 2011. While the verdict will not be rendered until December 1, 2011 it is clear that each of the Hancock 38 was lead by conscience, refusing to be complicit with the immoral and illegal assassinations and killings committed by the USAF and other US government agencies. Please join us in court on Dec. 1, 2011 to support the Hancock 38.

NATO used Enriched Uranium Weapon in Falluja, Iraq.

2011-11-15T14:58:00.001Z

Uploaded by gpduf on 31 Oct 2011:-

Ethnic clearing policy in Israel.

2011-11-12T09:41:00.001Z

"infra needs" regulated in a such a way to push Palestinians out of their dwellings. This is against the Geneva Convention that imposes the responsibility on the occupiers to "take care" of the occupied.

America war crimes: They NUKE Iraq!

2011-10-25T17:17:00.000+01:00

Interview - Dennis Kyne - Depleted Uranium (DU)

Uploaded by talkingsticktv on 22 Nov 2009 - Interview with Dennis Kyne, 15-year U.S. Army Veteran serving in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm

100s of Canadians protest Bush's visit.

2011-10-21T14:07:00.000+01:00

Uploaded by presstvmobile on Oct 21, 2011:

Gaddafi's Murder and International Law.

2011-10-21T05:19:00.001+01:00

‎... is Gadaffi murdered..Sirte - another coffin for International Law.The final nailing instructions was delivered from the White House to Tripoli by Ms Hillary Clinton!

Uploaded by TheRealNews on 20 Oct 2011 - Firoze Manji: Nothing in international law allows regime change and assassination of a leader

Laos: The Curse of Cluster Bombs

2011-10-18T06:39:00.000+01:00

Cluster bombs

Source: Foreign Policy in Focus

Laos, a small landlocked country in Southeast Asia known as “the most bombed country on earth,” fittingly hosted an international disarmament conference in November 2010.

This was a follow-up to an Oslo conference in 2008 when 94 nations signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty to ban all cluster weapons following in the footsteps of the global campaign to ban landmines which came into force in 1999.

“This convention is a humanitarian instrument in nature that aims to liberate ourselves from fear and threat of cluster bombs,” Saleumxay Kommasith, director general of the Department of International Organizations at the Lao foreign ministry, told IPS news agency. “We view our role in the cluster ban treaty as a contributor to the global effort to ban cluster munitions.”

During the “secret war” waged by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1964 to 1973 against communist and nationalist forces in Laos, more bombs were dropped on this rural nation of poor farmers than all the explosives dropped on Germany and Japan in the Second World War. Over two million tons of ordnance was dropped over Laos during the 580,000 bombing missions—this equates to approximately a planeload of bombs every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, for nine years.

Read full post :

CIA behind drone strikes in Muslim world

2011-10-17T03:39:00.001+01:00

Uploaded by presstvmobile on 16 Oct 2011 -

CIA executes two Americans, using drones.

2011-10-01T16:16:00.001+01:00

The killing of Anwar al-Awlaki

Published on 1 Oct 2011 by CBS - The CIA drone strike that killed al Qaeda's leader of external operations, Anwar al-Awlaki, also apparently killed al Qaeda's top bomb-maker and its lead ppopaganda expert. Bob Orr reports on one of the most successful U.S. strikes ever.

Read about it

Israel approves 1,100 new settlement homes.

2011-09-28T16:56:00.001+01:00

Published on 27 Sep 2011 by Euronews - Israel says it has approved the construction of 1,100 homes in a Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem.

U.S. Continues to Back Afghan Warlord Linked to 2006 Massacre and Torture of Prisoners.

2011-09-27T21:09:00.000+01:00

New revelations about a U.S.-backed warlord in Afghanistan are raising questions about whether the United States has violated its own laws in its aim to defeat the Taliban.

The Atlantic magazine reports the United States, under both former President George W. Bush and President Obama, has actively supported the police commander in Kandahar, General Abdul Raziq, despite knowing of his involvement not just in corruption and drug smuggling, but also in major human rights abuses including killings and torture. Raziq has been a key figure in the U.S. strategy of supporting Afghan warlords in order to weaken the Taliban, working closely with U.S. special forces.

He was promoted to head the police in Kandahar earlier this year after playing a key role in the U.S.-backed assault on the Taliban one year ago. The allegations against Raziq include responsibility for the torture of two teenage boys and the killing of 15 people in 2006. According to an investigation by our guest, Matthieu Aikins, for The Atlantic, the United States has continued supporting Raziq despite having been aware "of credible allegations that Raziq and his men participated in a cold-blooded massacre of civilians."

MORE - DN[includes rush transcript] Sept 27, 2011

Welcome to Boston, Mr. Rumsfeld. You Are Under Arrest.

2011-09-24T14:42:00.001+01:00

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (picture) has been stripped of legal immunity for acts of torture against US citizens authorized while he was in office.

The 7th Circuit made the ruling in the case of two American contractors who were tortured by the US military in Iraq after uncovering a smuggling ring within an Iraqi security company. The company was under contract to the Department of Defense. The company was assisting Iraqi insurgent groups in the “mass acquisition” of American weapons. The ruling comes as Rumsfeld begins his book tour with a visit to Boston on Monday, September 26, and as new, uncensored photos of Abu Ghraib spark fresh outrage across Internet. Awareness is growing that Bush-era crimes went far beyond mere waterboarding.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters in 2004 of photos withheld by the Defense Department from Abu Ghraib, “The American public needs to understand, we’re talking about rape and murder here… We’re not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience. We’re talking about rape and murder and some very serious charges.” And journalist Seymour Hersh says: “boys were sodomized with the cameras rolling. And the worst above all of that is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking that your government has.”

Rumsfeld resigned days before a criminal complaint was filed in Germany in which the American general who commanded the military police battalion at Abu Ghraib had promised to testify. General Janis Karpinski in an interview with Salon.com was asked: “Do you feel like Rumsfeld is at the heart of all of this and should be held completely accountable for what happened [at Abu Ghraib]?”

Karpinski answered: “Yes, absolutely.” In the criminal complaint filed in Germany against Rumsfeld, Karpinskisubmitted 17 pages of testimony and offered to appear before the German prosecutor as a witness. Congressman Kendrick Meek of Florida, who participated in the hearings on Abu Ghraib, said of Rumsfeld: “There was no way Rumsfeld didn’t know what was going on. He’s a guy who wants to know everything.”

And Major General Antonio Taguba, who led the official Army investigation into Abu Ghraib, said in his report:

“there is no longer any doubt as to whether the [Bush] administration has committed war crimes. The only question is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.”

September 20, 2011 | read full report

Libya: Just whose side is Western intelligence really on?

2011-09-22T12:11:00.002+01:00

Broadcast Date: 10 Sep. 2011 - Following recent revelation that the US, UK and Gaddafi were collaborating over torture, rendition and kidnap of Libyan men living in exile.

The Black Hole of Guantánamo: The Sad Story of Ravil Mingazov

2011-09-21T19:28:00.001+01:00

Ravil Mingazov, the last Russian in Guantanamo, has been in US custody since 2002 - without charge, trial or hope.

Regular readers will know that the Guantánamo prisoners’ habeas corpus petitions led to the release of 26 prisoners between December 2008 and January 2011, providing confirmation that the US courts were able to address mistakes made by the Bush administration in rounding up “detainees” in its “War on Terror,” to expose those mistakes, and even to provide a remedy for them by securing the release of prisoners who should never have been held.

Last year, however, the D.C. Circuit Court — dominated by right-wingers, including Senior Judge A. Raymond Randolph, notorious for supporting every piece of Guantánamo-related legislation that was later overturned by the Supreme Court — began to fight back, pushing the lower courts to accept that very little in the way of evidence was required to justify detentions.

I have long railed against the inability of the executive, lawmakers or the judiciary to address the built-in problems of detention policies in the “War on Terror” — the Bush administration’s dreadful decision to equate the Taliban with al-Qaeda, thereby ensuring that both soldiers and terror suspects were held as interchangeable “detainees” at Guantánamo, and continue to be held as such.

This remains a huge problem, almost entirely ignored by the mainstream media in the US, although it is matched by the media’s lack of interest in what has happened since the D.C. Circuit Court began to dictate detainee policy, even though that has led to success for the government on every appeal, with the Circuit Court reversing or vacating the lower courts’ rulings in six habeas petitions, and has also led to the last eight habeas petitions (since July last year) being refused (see here, here, here, here and here for the evidence).

One of the prisoners who won his petition, but remains held while the government appeals, is Ravil Mingazov, a citizen of the former Soviet Union, whose story I told in detail when his habeas petition was granted by Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr, in May 2010, in an article entitled, “Judge Orders Release from Guantánamo of Russian Caught in Abu Zubaydah’s Web.”

One of Ravil’s lawyers, Allison M. Lefrak, who is the litigation director at Human Rights USA, described as “a nonprofit organization in Washington working to bring US laws in line with universal human rights standards,” recently wrote an article for the National Law Journal, describing the lack of progress in Ravil’s case, and her most recent visit to see him in Guantánamo.

This is a fascinating insight into the man behind the government’s propaganda, and also into the shocking delays and manipulation in his case, with, as Lefrak reports, the government’s appeal “now stayed in light of the government’s motion to present the lower court with ‘new’ evidence — evidence the government purportedly only located recently, eight years after Ravil was arrested in Faisalabad,” and which, according to the government, “would persuade Kennedy to reverse his decision and deny Ravil the writ of habeas corpus.”

That, I think, is the injustice of Guantánamo in a nutshell, and I hope you have time to read Allison Lefrak’s article in full.

Justice denied at Guantánamo

By Allison M. Lefrak, National Law Journal, September 19, 2011

As we always do at the onset of our meeting with Ravil Mingazov, my interpreter and I spread a variety of food items on the table in front of us — crusty bread, cheese and an array of sweets. We’ve gone through this same ritual every three months for five years now. And while things change for us in the outside world — marriages occur, babies are born, holidays are celebrated — for Ravil, there is very little that has changed from our first meeting back in January 2006.

Ravil remains in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba — [nine and a half] years after the night he was arrested at a house for refugees in Faisalabad, Pakistan. He remains in Guantánamo more than three years after the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Boumediene v. Bush extending the writ of habeas corpus to Guantánamo detainees and giving the lower courts great discretion in how to handle these cases.

He remains in Guantánamo, 18 months after a week-long trial at the US District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Henry Kennedy Jr., in which the facts of his case were presented in a closed courtroom. He remains in Guantánamo more than a year after Kennedy issued a comprehensive 42-page opinion [PDF] methodically analyzing each piece of evidence presented by the government, and concluding that, after eight years of detention, the government failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Mingazov was “a part of or substantially supported” al-Qaeda or the Taliban.

Ravil Mingazov remains in Guantánamo three and a half years after newly elected President Obama issued an executive order providing for the closure of the detention center at Guantánamo Bay within one year.

Ravil tears off a piece of bread, spreads a generous portion of cheese on it and looks up with eyes surprisingly full of light. “So,” he says slowly, “what should we talk about today?”

I look down at the agenda that I prepared for the meeting and begin, just as I have many times before, to explain why he still remains locked up in Guantánamo and why all of our efforts to date have been essentially futile. As I launch into my detailed explanation of the basis of the government’s appeal of Kennedy’s order granting him the writ of habeas corpus, I pause after every few sentences and stare closely at his face as he registers my words while they are spoken in Russian by the interpreter. His expression does not change — though his eyes continue to have a light in them, as if he is smiling when in fact he’s not.

I hear myself saying these words, “The US court of appeals has not affirmed a single decision ordering the release of a detainee.” I explain to my client that the government’s appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit is now stayed in light of the government’s motion to present the lower court with “new” evidence — evidence the government purportedly only located recently, eight years after Ravil was arrested in Faisalabad. I tell him that the government argues that this evidence would persuade Kennedy to reverse his decision and deny Ravil the writ of habeas of corpus. At the end of this lengthy update on the legal status of his case, I pause for the last time and ask Ravil if he has any questions.

“No,” he says. And then he smiles. “But you forgot to mention the good news.” I know him well enough to realize that he is setting me up for a one-liner. “We will all see each other again in three months.”

Some may argue that this glacial speed with which the Guantánamo detainees’ cases move one step forward and two steps back in the courts is unfortunate yet necessary to ensure that a potential terrorist is not mistakenly released. It is true that district court judges are entrusted with a great responsibility when they are considering the habeas cases of Guantánamo detainees and that there is much at stake in each of these cases.

Kennedy’s thorough and thoughtful opinion, like many of the other opinions both granting and denying the habeas petitions of Guantánamo detainees, speaks for itself. District court judges are doing what they are supposed to do, and they are doing it well. It is true, this takes time. But there are limits.

The longer Ravil Mingazov and other detainees sit languishing in Guantánamo as their cases gradually make their way through the courts (only to face near inevitable denial of the writ from the D.C. Circuit), the more credibility the US judicial system loses. As Chief Justice Warren Burger noted, “A sense of confidence in the courts is essential to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people … Delay will drain even a just judgment of its value.”

I wonder how many more times I will have to explain to Ravil that, despite the Supreme Court’s mandate to promptly process detainees’ habeas claims, the president’s promise to close the prison and his own victory in federal court, it is more likely than not that we will meet again in three months in this overly air-conditioned cell on a steamy island very far away from his elderly mother, his loving wife and his growing son that Ravil last saw eight years ago when he was a baby.

Source: Andy Worthington

Trial of Destruction: Sarkozy sued for Libya crimes.

2011-09-19T14:24:00.000+01:00

Uploaded by RussiaToday on Sep 19, 2011 - (You may find some of the images in Daniel Bushell's report disturbing) In Libya, the volatile situation shows no sign of abating - a month after Colonel Gaddafi was ousted. The country's interim leaders are struggling to form a cohesive cabinet - while their forces are still locked in battle with Gaddafi's remaining supporters.

The defiant loyalists are making a last stand in three key cities. Sirte, Bani Walid and Sabha have been under heavy assault for over a week, with reports Gaddafi and his sons could be hiding there.

Meanwhile, the rest of Libya is reeling from months of civil war, which has left tens of thousands dead. Ongoing NATO airstrikes have also reportedly killed a number of civilians by mistake. But some Western leaders are now facing charges at home over their military intervention.

& where the British Army went the torture goes!

2011-09-10T12:29:00.000+01:00

9 Sept 2011 - They did it in Malaya, Borneo Malaysia - it was banned, but they did it again in Iraq.

drones & crimes against humanity.

2011-08-20T15:17:00.001+01:00

US sees rise in demand for unmanned drones

Uploaded by AlJazeeraEnglish on Aug 20, 2011 - The US military is increasing its use of unmanned aircraft in its fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. In an era of budget cost-cutting, sellers of remote controlled drones argue they can save the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to recruit and train service members.

And as more countries add drones to their arsenals, manufacturers are taking steps to satisfy the growing demand.Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan reports from Washington.

The War on Libya : An Imperialist Project to Create Three Libyas.

2011-07-31T10:18:00.001+01:00

TRIPOLI, July 28, 2011 The division of Libya into three separate countries is part of the US-NATO imperial design. It is part of a project shared by the U.S., Britain, Italy, and France.

The NATO war launched against Libya in March 2011 was geared towards the breakup of the country into three separate entities.

The NATO led war, however, is back firing. The Libyan people have united to save their country and Tripoli is exploring its strategic options.

Preface: Reality versus Fiction

Almost all of the text herein was written a few months prior to my trip to Tripoli. It is part of a series of articles on Libya which I have been updating. It is fitting to conclude it in Tripoli, Libya. To be here on the ground in Libya is to be witness to the lies and warped narratives of the mainstream media and the governments. These lies have been used to justify this criminal military endeavor.

The mainstream media has been a major force in this war. They have endorsed and fabricated the news, they have justified an illegal and criminal war against an entire population.

Passing through the neighbourhood of Fashloom in Tripoli it is apparent that no jets attacked it as Al Jazeera and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) falsely claimed. Now the same media networks, newspapers, and wires claim on a daily basis that Tripoli is about to fall and that the Transitional Council is making new advances to various cities. Tripoli is nowhere near falling and is relatively peaceful. Foreign journalists have also all been taken to the areas that are being reported to have fallen to the Transitional Council, such as Sabha and its environs.

The mainstream media reporting out of Tripoli have consistently produced false reports. They report about information from “secure internet services” which essentially describes embassy and intelligence communication media. This is also tied to the “shadow internet” networks that the Obama Administration is promoting as part of a fake protest movement directed against governments around the world, including Latin America, Africa and Eurasia.

The foreign press operating out of Libya have deliberately worked to paint a false picture of Libya as a country on the brink of collapse and Colonel Qaddafi as a despot with little support.

GlobalReasearch - July 29 2011 | Read full article :

Expanding Territory & Resource Stealing?

2011-07-23T16:58:00.001+01:00

UN to intervene in Lebanon-Israel border tension

Jul 23, 2011 - Lebanon's struggle with Israel has lately been amplified to include a conflict at sea.UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said that "disputes over maritime delimitations between Israel and Lebanon could threaten peace and security." This comes after a consultative session regarding UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on the implementation of Resolution 1701.

Getting Away with Torture: The Bush Administration and Mistreatment of Detainees.

2011-07-16T01:39:00.000+01:00

Uploaded by TheRealNews on Jul 13, 2011 - Human rights advocates urge criminal investigations into the Bush administration for torture

Ratko Mladic : War Crimes Trial.

2011-07-08T11:05:00.000+01:00

Jul 7, 2011 - Accused of war crimes, including the massacre of 8,000 at Srebrenica in 1995

Israel loots Gaza's natural reserves.

2011-06-15T20:14:00.008+01:00

Palestinian energy officials have blasted Israel for the looting of Gaza's natural resources, saying the reserves legally belong to Palestinians.

Earlier this week, American crude oil and gas exploration giant, Noble Energy, obtained permission from Israeli officials to begin developing a natural gas field off the Gaza Strip coastline, a Press TV report said Tuesday.

Israeli regime's ministry of national infrastructure has claimed the shortage of natural gas supplies was the main reason behind granting approval to the US corporation to develop the field.

This is while Tel Aviv has for some years used rich oil and gas reserves that sit off the northeast tip of the Gaza sliver, which were once parts of the Palestinian territory.

In year 2000, British Gas (BG) drilled two wells in the region, named as Gaza Marine-1 and Gaza Marine-2.

The value of the wells is estimated to be USD 4 billion.

“This is nothing but theft of Palestinian's natural resources. Palestinians are the only ones who should benefit from natural gas reserves,” Kanan Obeid, a Gaza Energy authority said.

Moreover, UN resolution 3005 has clearly stated that natural wealth and resources of the Gaza Strip fall under the control of residents of the occupied territories.

Consequently, analysts blame the international community for an outright negligence in failing to uphold the rights of the Palestinians.

“I think this comes in line with Israel consistent policy of stealing Palestinian's land, stealing natural resources and I think that Israel knows very well that it can get away with murder due to international conspiracy of silence,” Haidar Eid, a political analyst said.

PRESSTV : READ FULL REPORT

MLADIC ARRESTED

2011-05-26T21:37:00.002+01:00

May 26, 2011 - alledged responsible for the massacre of 800 Bosnian in Srebrenice and the four years sieged of Sarajevo.

Blackwater Founder Builds Foreign Force in UAE.

2011-05-16T02:01:00.001+01:00

WASHINGTON -- The crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired the founder of private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to set up an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the United Arab Emirates, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater. The Times said it obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by Erik Prince's new company Reflex Responses with $529 million from the UAE would be used to thwart internal revolt, conduct special operations and defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from attack.

The newspaper said the decision to hire the contingent of foreign troops was taken before a wave of popular unrest spread across the Arab world in recent months, including to the UAE's Gulf neighbors Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE itself has seen no serious unrest. Most of its population is made up of foreign workers.

Blackwater, which once had lucrative contracts to protect U.S. officials in Iraq, became notorious in the region in 2007 when its guards opened fire in Baghdad traffic, killing at least 14 people in what the Iraqi government called a "massacre."

Read Full report :

Prince's mercenaries hired to protect UAE's crown.

16 May 2011 - Prince's (owner of BlackWater & Xe) Reflex Response secures a USD529mil to develop a mercenary army to protect UAE's monarchy.

WikiLeaks: Indian government accused of condoning torture in Kashmir.

2011-05-15T20:32:00.026+01:00

An Indian paramilitary trooper stands guard on a street under curfew in Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, on September 24.

(CNN)-- A U.S. diplomatic cable written five years ago concluded that the government of India condoned torture of suspects held in detention centers in Jammu and Kashmir, a region that has seen a long guerrilla war by Muslim separatists, many supported by Pakistan.

The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and published by The Guardian newspaper in Britain, describes a confidential briefing from a representative of the International Committee of Red Cross. In interviews with nearly 1,500 detainees over a three-year period, it had received reports that included sexual abuse, stretching and the

CNN | Dec 17, 2010 - read full report

63 Years of Nakba

2011-05-15T10:54:00.000+01:00

12 May 2011 - As these days mark the 63rd memory of the Nakba, our people all around the world, revolt, and object to the injustice and hatred we are met with on a day to day basis, just because we're Palestinians and just because we exist.

Wild West Justice?

2011-05-06T16:11:00.000+01:00

4 May 2011 - Looking back, to be more thoughtful, bringing Ben Laden to justice would meant a trial not an assasination. Shame on Obama, the American are asking, too!

Habib Al-Adli Accused of Deliberately Killing Demonstrators.

2011-02-10T02:12:00.000Z

The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) has filed a report on behalf of the Egyptian Committee for Fact Finding and Combating Corruption (ECFFCC) on Monday, 7/2/2011 to the general prosecutors, Abd Al-Mageed Mahmoud, against Major General Habib al-Adly, the former Minister of Interior.

Wednesday, February 9,2011 22:32 | IkhwanWeb

They seek to take all the necessary legal and administrative measures to start an immediate investigation, claiming that he committed several crimes against the Egyptian people in general, and the peaceful protestors in Tahrir Square and the different Egyptian governorates in particular especially on the days of the 25th and the 28th of January, 2011.

This report includes a request that EOHR be able to attend the investigations because it represents some of the victims of these violations in order to be able to push the civil prosecution measures in their favor.

Report number 1416 for the year 2011 included in the indictments of the general prosecutor, refers to the former Minister of Interior committing crimes against the peaceful protestors on 25/1/2011 through issuing direct orders to officers and soldiers to fire live and rubber bullets in addition to shotguns and tear gas bombs which led to the death of 4 citizens in the city of Suez and the injury of hundreds all over the country, and through allowing police officersand agents to use excessive force to attack the peacefully protesting citizens through hitting them with sticks, wooden clubs, electrical sticks and water which is considered an incitement to commit the crime of physical torture.

The accusations also include allowing them to chase the peaceful protestors using armored cars which put the lives of hundreds at risk.

EOHR has also accused al-Adly of committing crimes on Friday, 28/1/2011 for the repetitive issuance of orders to officers and soldiers to shoot live and rubber bullets as well as shotguns at demonstrators who assembled peacefully.

This led to the death of tens of citizens in different parts of Egypt including the governorates of Greater Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, North Sinai and Dakalheya, in addition to the injury of hundreds in different places.

The accusations directed against al-Adly regarding the Egyptian people in general according to the report filed by EOHR, include him issuing orders to the police force, including officers and police agents to immediately withdraw from their positions, which contradicts the decision of the president of the republic who issued an order for armed forces to be stationed in cities to preserve security and order in cooperation with the police force.

This has led to exposing public peace and security to danger and the escape of prisoners and detainees from prisons and police stations which resulted in terrorizing unsuspecting citizens and causing a state of panic and chaos all over the country due to the acts of robbery and looting that were committed and to the acts of some thugs who attacked public and private properties. Such attacks included burning some bank branches, destroying ATM machines and looting the branches of some grand commercial malls and burning them down.

Israel Bombs Medical Supply Building

2011-02-09T16:04:00.000Z

alawson911 | February 09, 2011 - This video was sent to me by Ken O'Keefe from Gaza. I assume that the attack happened on Tuesday night, February 8th, 2011.

Ken O'Keefe wrote: Israel has intentionally dropped two large bombs on the AL-Qerem Medical Supplies Factory in Jabalya, Gaza. The building is totally destroyed, as was all of the medical supplies and equipement. Gaza is already in crisis mode for lack of medical supplies, this bombing will mean even the most basic of medical needs will continue to be impossible to satisfy.

Comment from me, Anthony Lawson The Israelis are again demonstrating that the welfare and health of the people of Gaza mean absolutely nothing to them. They will probably come up with some excuse that rubbing alcohol can be used in bombs or rockets. Is there no end to their viciousness?

Charles Taylor walks out of war crimes trial

2011-02-08T19:11:00.001Z

News Wires (text)

AP - Charles Taylor’s (pic below) war crimes trial is ending the way it began - with the former Liberian president boycotting proceedings and claiming they are politically motivated and unfair.

Taylor’s British attorney Courtenay Griffiths stormed out of the courtroom Tuesday after judges at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone refused to accept his 600-page summary of the case - a key document that distills three years of testimony from the defense’s perspective.

Launch animation

Taylor briefly stayed in his seat but later refused to return to the courtroom after a break. Griffiths said it would have been “unseemly” if Taylor had tried to walk out with his lawyer and had struggled with his U.N. guards.

The boycott was unlikely to have an impact on the outcome of the case. The three international judges ordered the proceedings to continue, and one judge appeared visibly angry at what he called Taylor’s attempt to dictate to the court.

“If Mr. Taylor thinks he can make orders or disobey orders of this court at will, simply because he thinks it is in his best interest to do so, then he is running this court, not us,” said Judge Richard Lussick, of Samoa.

France 24 | 8 Feb 2011 - read full report

Swiss prosecutors to open a criminal investigation against Bush

2011-02-05T21:47:00.000Z

Photo by: AP

Bush visit to Geneva canceled after protest threat

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

02/05/2011 22:43

Former US president was scheduled to speak to Jewish charity, United Israel Appeal; cancellation coincides with request for criminal investigation.

Geneva — A visit former US President George W. Bush planned to make to Switzerland next week has been canceled because of security concerns, after left-wing groups called for mass protests and rights activists proposed legal action against him for allegedly ordering the torture of terrorism suspects.

Bush's spokesman David Sherzer said the two-term president was informed Friday by the United Israel Appeal that his Feb. 12 dinner speech in Geneva had been called off.

"We regret that the speech has been canceled," Sherzer told The Associated Press in an e-mail Saturday. "President Bush was looking forward to speaking about freedom and offering reflections from his time in office."

Saturday's edition of Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve quoted the Jewish charity's lawyer, Robert Equey, as saying the visit was canceled because of the risk that protests by left-wing groups could result in violence.

"The calls to demonstrate were sliding into dangerous terrain," Equey told the newspaper. "The organizers claimed to be able to maintain order, but warned they could not be held responsible for any outbursts."

Protest organizers had called for participants to each bring a shoe to the rally outside the lakeside Hotel Wilson — named after Bush's predecessor Woodrow Wilson — where the dinner was to be held. The shoe was meant to recall the moment an Iraqi journalist threw his footwear at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad in 2008.

Equey told Tribune de Geneve that attempts by human rights groups to submit legal complaints against Bush to Swiss prosecutors hadn't played a part in the decision to cancel the visit.

Sherzer, Bush's spokesman, declined to comment on the reasons for the cancellation.

Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the New York-basedCenter for Constitutional Rights, had planned to ask Swiss prosecutors to open a criminal investigation against Bush over the admission that he personally authorized the waterboarding of terrorism suspects.

"Whatever Bush or his hosts say, we have no doubt he canceled his trip to avoid our case," the Center for Constitutional Rights and others said in a statement.

Legal experts say it is unlikely Swiss prosecutors would have had the time to examine any criminal complaint against Bush and take action, such as requesting him to respond to the allegations, before he left Switzerland again.

Furthermore, an initial assessment by the Swiss Justice Ministry concluded that Bush would have enjoyed immunity from prosecution for any actions taken while in office, ministry spokesman Folco Galli told the AP.

Widney Brown, Amnesty's senior director of international law and policy, said the group would continue to press for Bush's prosecution the next time the former president travels to a country that has committed to prosecuting war crimes and where he could expect a fair trial.

Sherzer said Bush has made several trips outside of the United States since leaving office two years ago, including to South Korea, China, Japan, Brazil, Canada, and theMiddle East.

Mubarak may end up being charge with Crimes Against Humanity!

2011-02-04T02:50:00.000Z

3 feb 2011 - Eyewitnesses to a Massacre:

Reports from Inside Tahrir Square as Pro-Mubarak Forces Open Fire on Protesters

Just before dawn in Cairo today pro-government forces opened fire at Tahrir Square, the site of anti-Mubarak protests for the past 10 days. Minutes after the attack began, Democracy Now! spoke with Egyptian protesters Mona El Seif and Selma Tarzi inside Tahrir Square. [transcript]

Southern Thailand's - a tropical gulag!

2011-01-26T09:26:00.001Z

AlJazeeraEnglish | January 25, 2011 - People & Power investigates the death of Sulaiman Naesa, just one of the many casualties of the conflict in southern Thailand which is now in its seventh year.

Israel Moves Ahead On Massive Settlement Expansion

2011-01-23T21:24:00.000Z

theGlobalReport | January 21, 2011 - Israel is moving ahead with a project to build 1,400 new homes in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem, a development that critics claim will deliver a death knell to the already faltering peace process.

Anniversary of Guantanamo Prison Marked with Protest.

2011-01-12T16:56:00.000Z

VOAvideo | January 11, 2011 - Human rights organizations are demanding that U.S. President Barack Obama close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, nine years after the prison opened its doors. On Tuesday, protestors rallied in Washignton.

Palestinians draft UNSC resolution

2010-12-30T12:50:00.001Z

presstv.ir | Thu Dec 30, 2010:
Palestinians are set to ask the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the coming days to condemn the continuing illegal Israeli settlement construction.

A copy of the draft resolution dated Dec. 21 -- obtained by the Associated Press -- shows that the Palestinians will call on the Security Council to declare the settlements illegal and ask Israel to freeze all construction in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) said on Wednesday that its Arab allies will present the resolution to the UNSC early next month.

The 15-member council, along with the international community, has condemned Israeli settlement construction several times in the past.

Due to the renewed settlement building activities, the PA broke off the long-delayed talks which resumed in early September.

The US could use its veto power in the council to defeat any resolution against Israel, the draft resolution said.

The US said on Wednesday that it will oppose any resolution brought before the United Nations Security Council that calls on Israel to end settlement activity in the West Bank.

State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the US continued to oppose Israeli settlement activity, but also opposed bringing the issue to the UNSC.

FTP/MGH

British government paid millions to British ex-Guantanamo detainees.

2010-12-13T02:30:00.000Z

What is the UK government trying to hide?

PressTVGlobalNews - the Agenda | December 12, 2010 - Some of the ex-Guantanamo detainees in Britain have been paid a deal worth millions by the British government in return for what their court action against the UK's intelligent services.

Who profits from Israeli occupation?

2010-12-10T23:51:00.000Z

TheRealNews | August 10, 2009 - Boycotted by activists, the Israeli company AHAVA is backed by one of Israel's most powerful families.

Letters to Leaders: Stop the Genocide in Ogaden region.

2010-11-27T13:40:00.000Z

To: President Barack Obama

November 20, 2010

The Honorable Barack Obama,

I appreciate your willingness to serve the public. As a concerned citizen, we are writing this letter to inform you of the human rights violations that are currently taking place in the desiccated Ogaden region of Ethiopia. We are asking you to take immediate action to protect these incapacitated individuals from the Ethiopian government and bring reconciliation to this region. The racial extermination of the Ethiopian military against the people of the Ogaden has been ongoing since September 23, 1948, when the Ogaden region was transferred to Ethiopia. The Ogaden region is sparsely inhabited with Somali nomads, who are deprived of both personal and political freedom.

It is critical to note that very few people have limited knowledge of this genocide. Genocide is defined as the killing of members in a group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing measures intended to prevent birth, or forcibly transferring children of that group to another group. This is exactly what is taking place in Ogaden, according to the Genocide Convention signed and put into effect by the U.N December 9. 1948.

Read the letter : from 3 Congressmen

Kashmir : Amnesty International on 14 year old prisoner

2010-11-23T16:20:00.000Z

nasirjohn | November 18, 2010 - Amnesty International has urged authorities in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to release a 14-year-old child who has been detained without charge or trial for seven months, for allegedly taking part in anti-government protests.

The authorities claim that Mushtag Ahmad Sheikh was part of a large crowd which threw stones at police and security forces in the state capital Srinagar in April, as part of the ongoing unrest in Kashmir.

Police say that Mushtag Ahmad Sheikh is 19-years-old but his family claim that he was born in 1996 and is 14-years-old. Prison records reportedly confirm that he is a child.

"Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh must either be charged with a recognizable criminal offence or released immediately," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Director.

"If he is charged, he should be treated in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, held and tried in special facilities for children."

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh was first arrested in Srinagar on 9 April. He was released on bail after eight days in custody and rearrested on 21 April.

His family was not officially told that he had been detained but found out about it through a local resident.

Initially held at Udhampur Jail, Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is now held at Kot Bhalwal Jail in Jammu.

Both prisons do not have special facilities for detaining children. Prison Conditions in Jammu are harsh with limited health care.

In May, Amnesty International raised Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh's detention at a meeting with the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and the State Human Rights Commission. To date, despite their assurances, nothing appears to have been done.

Mushtaq Ahmad Sheikh is detained under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act - a law that allows the authorities to hold people for up to two years without any judicial review.

This year, at least 322 people are reported to have been detained without trial under the act. A number of them, including children, have been detained on similar grounds of stone throwing and rioting during protests against the Indian government.

Over the summer demonstrators in Jammu and Kashmir voiced their concerns about the lack of accountability of the security forces; the withdrawal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and the removal of Army camps - along with the underlying demand of independence for Kashmir.

Congo's Former VP Trial at The Hague.

2010-11-23T13:25:00.000Z

War Crimes Trial for Congo's Former VP Opens at The Hague ::

VOAvideo | November 22, 2010 - Jean-Pierre Bemba, a former vice president of the Democratic Republic of Congo,went on trial Monday at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The crimes were allegedly committed by his militia, The Movement for the Liberation of Congo, after they crossed into the Central African Republic in 2002. Mariama Diallo reports.

Former DR Congo leader faces trial ::

AlJazeeraEnglish | November 22, 2010 - Jean-Pierre Bemba, former vice-president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has gone on trial for rape and murder allegedly committed by his troops in the neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR).

The 48 year old pleaded not guilty as the trial began at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on Monday.

Bemba is charged with three counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity for the alleged atrocities by about 1,500 fighters of his Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) between October 2002 and March 2003.

Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull from the Netherlands, where the trial is being held.

No Jail - No Justice? Israeli troops set free in 'Human Shield' trial

2010-11-21T19:09:00.000Z

RussiaToday | November 21, 2010 - An Israeli military court has let two of its soldiers walk free, after they were convicted of using a Palestinian boy as a human shield, during the Gaza War nearly two years ago. The two made a 9-year-old open bags they suspected were full of explosives.

Kashmir Violence :

2010-11-21T15:00:00.000Z

PressTV InFocus : Nov 14,2010 - Kashmir as one of the most dangerous clash points is located partly in Indian and Pakistani border. Kashmir's unrest continues to be unresolved after more than six decades.Both India and Pakistan who claim full control of the region have fought two of the three wars in Kashmir and the area has remained at the heart of enmity between the two nuclear rivals.

In this edition of InFocus, Press TV's correspondent Shahana Butt takes a look at how the people in Kashmir are caught up in this long disputed between India and Pakistan.

After flood, landmines emerge in Pakistan.

2010-11-16T10:51:00.000Z

unicef | November 09, 2010

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA, Pakistan, 9 November 2010 -- Catastrophic flash floods have scarred the lives of Tayyab, 4, and his family in unimaginable ways. His father, Mohammad Aslam, is a small farmer in the remote village of Sadra Sharif, located in north-western Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

In early August, as floodwaters receded in the village, Mr. Aslam went to the fields to assess the damage to his crops. "I saw this thing stuck in the crops and I brought it home out of curiosity," he remembers. "Not even for a moment did it cross my mind that I was bringing destruction to my family."

The receding waters have unearthed a lurking menace of unexploded ordnance and landmines in Pakistan. The floods carried the explosives into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the mountains in neighbouring, conflict-stricken South Waziristan, one of the country's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"Sixteen cases have been reported during the last two months in flood-affected areas," says UNICEF Child Protection Officer Farman Ali. "Seven victims, including women and children, have been injured leading to amputation."

In response to the danger, UNICEF and its non-governmental partner, the Sustainable Peace and Development Organization, have expanded their mine-risk education (MRE) programme to flood-affected areas.

Kashmir Burning - India

2010-11-14T01:23:00.000Z

journeymanpictures | November 08, 2010 - It's one of the world's longest-running conflicts, defined by daily street battles and accusations of military abuse. Once again levels of violence have risen with daily battles raging - terror on Srinagar's tired streets?

"What do you think we're fighting for?! Freedom!", cries one of the masked young men preparing to take on the armed police in Srinigar. Once famed for its beauty, the Kashmir valley is now a joyless place of angry streets and automatic rifles. Frustrated over the remaining presence of Indian security forces, seemingly immune to the law. Angry young men and women taking to the streets to fight against "Indian occupation". The police have responded with force, and more than 100 people have died. We hear from the heartbroken family of an eight year old boy, who was beaten to death by the police for breaking the curfew: "a stick was thrust into his mouth, and his teeth were broken". The police deny all allegations, and insist that they "use plastic and rubber bullets". It's not what the video shows! Yet the alleged brutality has radicalised a wide cross-section of the community. The Indian Government says it has appointed three peace envoys in an attempt to calm things. Yet Kashmiris say peace is not what India wants: "the answer unfortunately to every rising in Kashmir is bullets".

Produced by Native Voice Films :: Distributed by Journeyman Pictures

Collateral Damage - Afghanistan.

2010-11-10T10:26:00.001Z

journeymanpictures | October 11, 2010 - (October 2010)Following the Oruzgan killing of an Afghan family, three Australian soldiers now face a court martial. How could a family with 6 children have been slaughtered? To date there is no evidence any were associated with the Taliban.

Maintaining to this day that they were innocent civilians, the families of those affected by the raid are fuming that their names are still being dragged through the mud. Shortly after the attack, local man Shipiro said, "I asked the interpreter what they said, he said they made a mistake. Instead of the house on the hill, they attacked us". Many questions remain unanswered surrounding what actually happened that fateful day.

Produced By SBS :: Distributed By Journeyman Pictures.

American weapon of mass destruction - harmful results.

2010-11-09T13:15:00.000Z

Vietnam still poisoned by US chemical weapons;

RT 9 Nov 2010 - For a decade, American jets dispersed 80 million litres of the new herbicide over the territory of Vietnam.

Half a million children in Vietnam were born with severe physical and mental disabilities – all because of Agent Orange.

Neither the US government nor the chemical companies that made the herbicide have paid a single cent in compensation to those whose lives were destroyed by their work.

Iraq Court Sentences Tariq Aziz to Death.

2010-10-26T13:19:00.001+01:00

BAGHDAD — Tariq Aziz, a former top aide to Saddam Hussein, was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on Tuesday for crimes against members of rival Shiite political parties.

The ruling was the latest in a series of criminal cases against Mr. Aziz, 74, who as foreign minister and, later, deputy prime minister became the bespectacled face of Mr. Hussein’s government during and before the Persian Gulf war of 1991, which was triggered by Iraq’s invasion of oil-rich Kuwait.

Because Mr. Hussein seldom left Iraq because of fears about his safety, Mr. Aziz represented Iraq in the diplomatic world. He surrendered to American forces in 2003, aware that he was among Iraq’s most hunted officials.

Read full report :

FACES OF TARIQ AZIZ

Remember Palestine, the Sabra & Shatila Massacre.

2010-10-24T16:24:00.000+01:00

PressTVGlobalNews | October 23, 2010 - The Sabra and Shatila massacre took place in the Sabra and Shatila Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut, Lebanon, between September 16 and September 18, 1982, during the Lebanese civil war. Palestinian and Lebanese civilians were massacred in the camps by the Israeli supporters Phalangist militia while the camp was surrounded by Israeli forces. In that period of time, Israel was at war with Lebanon. The Israeli forces occupied Beirut and dominated militarily the refugee camps of Palestinians and controlled the entrance to the city. Later, the Israeli forces were ruled to have been involved directly in massacres carried out in both camps.

This episode of Press TV's Remember Palestine looks at what brought on the massacres and why they are not recognized to the same extent that other atrocities in history have been.

Julian Assange to RT: WikiLeaks gives 'most accurate picture of war'.

2010-10-24T14:41:00.001+01:00

RussiaToday | October 24, 2010 - The shocking WikiLeaks release, which has revealed thousands of unreported civilian casualties in Iraq, is the most accurate picture of war ever made, and it is food for thought, says the website's editor-in-chief.

The report, condemned by the Pentagon, claims that US commanders in Iraq ignored evidence of torture and the murder of civilians. "This material has revealed 15,000 previously unreported, undocumented civilian casualties. That's an extraordinary number of people who have never been spoken about before," Julian Assange said. "We also see that the cover up of torture by coalition forces well after Andrew Graham was a concrete policy, a secret policy: to not intervene with torture conducted by the fledgling Iraqi government," he added. "This is the most accurate description of a war that has ever been released into the historic record. There is nothing comparable.

It is the details of the deaths of 109,000 people, the wounding of 170,000 people, the detaining of nearly 200,000 people during a course of six years. Of course, that is only about a half the military action that went on during that period, because it is only the US view on things, but even so we see that there is nearly no street corner in Baghdad that did not have a body found that had been killed through violence in one form or another," he said. "We should start imagining it or stop supporting it. It is not good to support things that you do not understand," he pointed out.

"We need to understand what the reality of war is, if we are going to choose to engage in it." Assange said that WikiLeaks was now expecting some kind of response from the Pentagon, a counter-attack that follows each of the website's releases. "Last time it was names appearing in the material, which the Pentagon managed to successfully fool the press into believing was going to be a great big assassination list for the Taliban. But in fact, nearly all of those names were right to appear; they were the names of governors who were taking bribes by the US military, or the names of the radio stations that were taking bribes to put on propaganda content...

As recently as last week, NATO officials in Kabul said they could not find a single person that needed protecting or moving... And a letter has come out that was originally written on August 16th by Defense Secretary Gates stating that no sensitive intelligence sources or methods were revealed in that material, but of course, this was not the public line," he said.

The Secret Iraq Files.

2010-10-24T06:59:00.000+01:00

AlJazeeraEnglish | October 23, 2010 - It is the biggest leak of military secrets ever. Al Jazeera has obtained access to almost 400,000 classified American documents. Torture, claims of murder at the checkpoint - revelations that make a mockery of the rules of combat.

Over the past ten weeks, working with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London, Al Jazeera has read tens of thousands of documents, which we sourced through WikiLeaks.

There is a good reason that Washington did not want you to see them. They reveal the covering up of Iraqi state torture to the truth about the hundreds of civilians who have been killed at coalition road blocks.

There are fresh outrages involving private security contractors and we find out what the US really thinks about the Iraqi prime minister.

The Secret Files aired from Saturday, October 23.

Jewish settlers 'building 600 new homes'

2010-10-22T20:00:00.000+01:00

france24english | October 22, 2010 - Israel has started building at least 600 homes since the end of a construction freeze, watchdog Peace Now said on Thursday, in a move which the Palestinians slammed as "a flagrant act of defiance".

Israel's secret cemeteries.

2010-10-16T17:32:00.000+01:00

france24english | October 15, 2010 - For 60 years the Israeli Army have confiscated the bodies of Palestinian and Arab fighters. The corpses are kept in secret cemeteries and given identification numbers. The Palestinians call these cemeteries "Makaber el Arkam" the cemeteries of numbers

A Costly and Brutal Anniversary

2010-10-12T03:33:00.000+01:00

On October 7, 2010, the Afghanistan War entered its 10th year. This war is not making us any safer and is not worth the cost. We must join together to bring this war to a close.

China's crimes against the Uyghurs.

2010-10-12T01:09:00.000+01:00

One on One - Rebiya Kadeer:

AlJazeeraEnglish | October 10, 2010 - Rebiya Kadeer discusses with Riz Khan the trials and tribulations she has faced in fighting for human rights. The leading Uighur activist and philanthropist shares her stories of yielding persistence and strength.

Harry Belafonte: Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Are "Immoral, Unconscionable and Unwinnable"

2010-10-04T21:18:00.000+01:00

"The President’s decision to escalate the war in that region alone costs the nation $33 billion," the legendary musician, actor and activist Harry Belafonte said at Saturday’s "One Nation Working Together" in Washington. "That sum of money could not only create 600,000 jobs here in America, but would even leave us a few billion to start rebuilding our schools, our roads, our hospitals and affordable housing. It could also help to rebuild the lives of the thousands of our returning wounded veterans."

UN Report on Gaza flotilla killings:

2010-09-23T20:48:00.002+01:00

Israel accused of war crimes for "unlawful assault"

View UN REPORT here

United Nations panel of human rights experts has accused Israel of war crimes through willful killing, unnecessary brutality and torture in its "clearly unlawful" assault on a ship attempting to break the blockade of Gaza in May in which nine Turkish activists died.

The report by three experts appointed by the UN's Human Rights Council (UNHRC) described the seizure of MV illegal under international law.

It condemned the treatment of the passengers and crew as brutal and disproportionate. It also said that the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian enclave is illegal because of the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

"There is clear evidence to support prosecutions of the following crimes within the terms of article 147 of the fourth Geneva convention: wilful killing; torture or inhuman treatment; wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health," the report said.

"A series of violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, were committed by the Israeli forces during the interception of the flotilla and during the detention of passengers in Israel prior to deportation."

Israel swiftly dismissed the accusations as "politicised and extremist". But the report is likely to be welcomed by Turkey which has dramatically cooled once-close relations with the Jewish state since the attack on the ship.

The 56-page report -- compiled by a former UN war crimes prosecutor, Desmond de Silva, a judge from Trinidad, Karl Hudson-Phillips, and a Malaysian women's rights advocate, Mary Shanthi Dairiam -- accuses Israeli forces of various crimes including violating the right to life, liberty and freedom of expression, and of failing to treat the captured crew and passengers with humanity.

"The conduct of the Israeli military and other personnel toward the flotilla passengers was not only disproportionate to the occasion but demonstrated levels of totally unnecessary and incredible violence. It betrayed an unacceptable level of brutality," the report said.

The UN security council is expected to debate the findings on Monday.

The report does not have any legal force and the UN human rights council, which has been accused of a disproportionate focus on Israel, is viewed with scepticism by many western countries because it is dominated by the developing world.

But the report will be a further severe embarrassment to Israel after the assault on the ships brought widespread international condemnation even by generally sympathetic countries and breached relations with Turkey.

Israel, which refused to co-operate with the inquiry, said the report is biased.

"The Human Rights Council blamed Israel prior to the investigation and it is no surprise that they condemn after," said Andy David, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry.

Israel has claimed that its troops only resorted to force and opened fire after coming under attack by activists with metal bars, axes and wooden clubs. The pro-Palestinian activists said they were defending the ship from what amounted to a pirate attack on a vessel in international waters.

The raid prompted an international outcry and focused attention on the blockade of Gaza. Israel has since lifted most of the restrictions on the flow of medicines, food and many goods into the territory but still maintains a ban on some items, such as building materials, on the grounds they can be used to manufacture weapons.

Israel is working with another UN inquiry under the former leaders of New Zealand and Colombia, Geoffrey Palmer and Alvaro Uribe, that is still in progress.

Last month, Israel's military commander, Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi, defended his forces' use of live ammunition during the assault on the ship, saying that commandos had not expected to meet such violence from the activists and were forced to defend themselves when they came under attack.

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas, said that the report is further evidence that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories violates human rights "not only against Palestinian people but against innocent people who came to show their sympathy".

He said the report should be used as the basis for international prosecutions of Israeli commanders responsible for the attack.

Negotiations On, Occupation via settlements are also On!

2010-09-23T09:38:00.000+01:00

Settlements are against Geneva Conventions!

East Jerusalem clash turns deadly :

AlJazeeraEnglish | September 22, 2010 - A Palestinian has been killed after a Jewish settlement guard opened fire at a group of men in an Arab neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

The incident occurred after clashes broke out between Jewish settlers and a

number of local Palestinians in the Silwan neighbourhood, Al Jazeera's Dan Nolan reports from Jerusalem.

Hamas Absent From Negotiations, but Looms Large

VOAvideo | September 22, 2010 - One question that emerges as Israeli and Palestinian leaders hold talks on a possible peace agreement is what future role Hamas will play. The militant Islamist group controls the Gaza Strip, but refuses to take part in the peace process, partly because its leaders believe negotiations brokered by Washington are biased in favor of Israel.

Editor's Note: This is from VoA, becareful - as usual they are bound to paint , Hamas is the Culprit rather than the victims!

Did U.S. Soldiers Create Afghan Killing Club?

2010-09-22T16:29:00.002+01:00

TheRealNews | September 20, 2010 - U.S. soldiers charged with targeting Afghan civilians; Army ignored pleas by soldier's father

Drugs and Murder in Afghanistan

TheRealNews | September 21, 2010 - Did U.S. Soldiers Create Afghan Killing Club Pt. 2 - Is Army culture to blame for the crimes?

Israel should not keep its History Behind Lock and key

2010-09-05T01:01:00.001+01:00

Palestinian Loss of Land 1946-2005

Jonathan Cook

The National

History may be written by the victors, as Winston Churchill is said to have observed, but the opening up of archives can threaten a nation every bit as much as the unearthing of mass graves.

That danger explains a decision quietly taken last month by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to extend by an additional 20 years the country’s 50-year rule for the release of sensitive documents.

The new 70-year disclosure rule is the government’s response to Israeli journalists who have been seeking through Israel’s courts to gain access to documents that should already be declassified, especially those concerning the 1948 war, which established Israel, and the 1956 Suez crisis.

Read all :

Israel's "Sheer Criminal Aggression"

2010-07-07T09:22:00.001+01:00

Attack on Gaza Flotilla Chomsky Says "No Credible Pretext"

The siege is savage and cruel, designed to keep the caged animals barely alive so as to fend off international protest, but hardly more than that. It is the latest stage of long-standing Israeli plans, backed by the US, to separate Gaza from the West Bank. These are only the bare outlines of very ugly policies, in which Egypt is complicit as well.

Family of Gaza war victims doubt Israeli justice

AlJazeeraEnglish | July 06, 2010 - An Israeli soldier has been charged with manslaughter in an Israeli court for the deaths of two Palestinian women during Israel's war on Gaza.

Majda Abu Hajaj and her 64-year-old mother were shot dead while carrying white flags they made out of bed sheets near their homes after the Israeli army forced the women to leave their house.

But the victims' relatives say they have have no faith in Israel's justice system, especially since it has taken 18 months for the case to be filed in court.

It is the first time an Israeli soldier has been charged with killing a civilian during the war, in which more than 1,400 Palestinians were killed.

Gaza chocolatiers under siege

2010-07-02T17:11:00.000+01:00

AlJazeeraEnglish | July 02, 2010 - Business in Gaza continues to suffer because Israel is refusing to allow companies to import certain materials which has forces thousands of Palestinians to rely on the use of underground tunnels to smuggle materials into the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from a chocolate factory in Gaza that has suffered a 70 per cent decrease in business because of the siege.

US to blame for Afghan slaughter.

2010-07-02T14:33:00.000+01:00

US-led forces have killed over 2,500 Afghan

civilians last year, according to official figures.

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 | PressTV

US-led forces in Afghanistan have killed many civilians in the southern province of Helmand amid public outrage over rising death tolls in the war-torn county, Afghan sources say.

Afghan sources told Press TV that most of the victims of the US-led forces were civilians while a statement by International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Thursday that they had killed "a large number" of Taliban militants in the region and captured a Taliban chief of Naw Zad.

Villagers in Baghran district of Helmand province reported that children and women were killed by the foreign troops.

Afghan officials have launched a probe into the deaths.

Thousands of civilians have also lost their lives either in US-led raids or in Taliban-led militancy across the violence-wracked country.

According to official figures, more than 2,500 civilians were killed in NATO operations last year, undermining support for the presence of US-led forces in the country.

Jerusalem Plan to Demolish Palestinian Homes Raises Tensions.

2010-06-25T09:42:00.000+01:00

June 24, 2010 | Israeli authorities say they are moving ahead with plans to demolish more than 20 homes in Silwan, an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Israeli officials want to clear the land to build an archeological park on a site -- just outside the walled old city -- where Jews believe the biblical King David walked. Silwan's Palestinian residents accuse Israel of trying to expel them in order to strengthen the Jewish presence in East Jerusalem, seized by Israel during the 1967 War. VOA Jerusalem correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.

Ban voices deep concern...

Gaza Siege.

2010-06-17T20:53:00.001+01:00

Israel's siege of Gaza:

June 17, 2010 — Gaza has been under Israeli blockade since Hamas took control of the Strip in 2007.

The siege has forced Gazans to rely on supplies smuggled through tunnels that go underneath the territory's border with Egypt.

On Thursday, the Israeli government announced its decision to let in some items, but Hamas dismissed it as "just propaganda". Video Inside:

Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston's reports from Gaza.

A Sop? Israel 'easing' Gaza land blockade, sea routes closed

June 17, 2010 — Israel says it's easing its land blockade of Gaza, hoping to quell international criticism over the country's attack on ships carrying aid to the region. However, the naval cordon that was at the root of the deadly raid last month, will remain in place.

Gaza Flotilla Testimony of Laura Stewart, a composed housewife.

2010-06-10T09:03:00.000+01:00

June 09, 2010 — produced by http://www.counterfire.org

Laura is a housewife from North London. She was on the Marvi Marmara when the Israelis attacked.

Predator Drones: Joking over innocent deaths?

2010-06-08T19:04:00.000+01:00

RussiaToday — June 08, 2010 — As Washington expands its drone strikes in Pakistan, the number of civilians killed in the attacks keeps rising. Hundreds of people have died since 2004 and critics say the program only helps fuel the conflict and creates new militants rather than eliminating them.

US Drone Attacks - in Pakistan

2010-05-08T13:25:00.000+01:00

PressTVGlobalNews | News Analysis — May 08, 2010 — CIA to expand drone raids in Pakistan

Mass grave of Iraqis soldiers found in Kuwait.

2010-05-07T09:19:00.000+01:00

Fri, 07 May 2010 | PressTV

Kuwait says it has found a mass grave where scores of slain Iraqi soldiers were buried during the 1991 US war with the ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Kuwaiti Interior Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Saber said on Thursday that at least 55 Iraqi soldiers were buried in the grave in a northern town across from the Iraqi border, the official news agency KUNA reported.

The remains of the soldiers, identified from their uniforms, will be handed to Iraq through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the official added.

The US-led forces that engaged Iraqi troops in 1991 failed to record the location of the grave site.

The ICRC had originally initiated the search in an attempt to find traces of some 600 Kuwaiti citizens and others who went missing during the so-called Persian Gulf War.

The US, aided by its allies, launched an attack against Saddam's military in the area after the ex-Iraqi dictator ordered the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

Zionist group bans Goldstone.

2010-05-06T03:26:00.000+01:00

In this June 3, 2009, file photo, UN investigator Richard Goldstone visits a destroyed house where family members were killed in an artillery strike during Israel's offensive on Gaza. AP Photo

Zionists threatened to interfere with the family matters of the author of the UN report which found Israel responsible for war crimes in Gaza.

The report, composed by South African Judge Richard Goldstone, also charged the Israeli forces with crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.

He wrote the report as part of a United Nations investigative delegation which looked into the January 2008-December 2009 Israeli raids on the coastal sliver. The attacks killed more than 1,400 Gazans.

Reacting to the document, the South African Zionist Federation threatened to swarm the synagogue where Goldstone was to attend a religious Jewish celebration, marking his grandson's 13th birthday, known as bar mitzvah Baltimore Jewish Times reported.

"I was dismayed that the chief rabbi would so brazenly politicize the occasion of my 13-year-old grandson's bar mitzvah to engage in further personal attacks," Goldstone said, according to the International Middle East Media Center on Tuesday.

The ceremony, however, was finally held without any complications, the Times added.

Two Serbian policemen jailed for 31 years for killing 8,000 Muslims

2010-04-26T18:55:00.000+01:00

Bosnia's war crimes court has jailed two former Serb police officers for 31 years each on charges of aiding in genocide and taking part in the killing of up to 8,000 Muslims in the town of Srebrenica in 1995.

'Radomir Vukovic, 36, and Zoran Tomic, 38, were members of the 2nd Sekovici Special Police Detachment which intended to partly exterminate a group of Muslims and help remove forcibly 40,000 civilians from the eastern enclave,' judge Senadin Bektasevic said Thursday.

He said the two participated in the capture and execution of at least 1,000 Muslim men who tried to escape Srebrenica through the woods and were detained in a warehouse in the nearby village of Kravice.

Meanwhile, a protected witness hurled insults at the war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic in the Hague calling him a 'sick man'.
The witness said the UN was the 'main cause of the Srebrenica tragedy' and blamed it for failing to protect Muslims.

Scuffles at Jerusalem protest

2010-04-26T00:39:00.000+01:00

AlJazeeraEnglish — April 25, 2010 — Palestinian demonstrators have hurled stones at Jewish settlers rallying for the demolition of Arab houses in occupied East Jerusalem.

The clashes took place on Sunday as George Mitchell, the US special envoy to the Middle East, was visiting Israeli officials in Tel Aviv for talks on restarting the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis.

Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, reportedly tried but failed to ban the settlers' march.

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports from East Jerusalem.

Israeli fire injures six in Gaza

2010-04-24T23:20:00.000+01:00

Intl. peace activists chant pro-Palestinian

slogans in Gaza City on Jan. 7, 2010.

Sat, 24 Apr 2010 | PessTV

Israeli forces injure six people, one seriously, attacking the people who had protested Tel Aviv's declaring great chunks of Gaza's arable land no-go area.

The victims, hit by live Israeli rounds, were among the local residents and activists to gather around the restricted zone in central Gaza Strip on Saturday, the Palestinian Ma'an news agency reported.

The ban keeps the farmers off 20 percent of the arable lands in Gaza. It also intrudes into the strip beyond the areas from which Israel is supposed to have withdrawn in 2005.

"The non-violent rally approached the border area to protest the creation of a buffer zone along the borders between Israel and the Gaza Strip," rally coordinator Mahmoud Az-Ziq was quoted by the agency as saying.

Among the wounded were a 22-year-old youth who was shot in the stomach before requiring emergency medical attention as well as 28-year-old Maltese activist Bianca Zimmit.

US drone attack kills 7 in Pakistan

2010-04-24T21:04:00.000+01:00

A US drone aircraft fires three missiles into the troubled northwestern Pakistan, killing at least seven people and injuring several others.

According to Pakistani intelligence officials, the missiles landed in the country's North Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border on Saturday.
The death toll is expected to rise as some of the injured are reported to be in critical condition, sources said.

Washington claims the raids target militants in Pakistan, but hundreds of civilians have fallen victim to the US drone attacks since 2008.

Islamabad has repeatedly condemned the strikes, saying they threaten the country's sovereignty and fuel public anger.

AI : US helicopter killings in Iraq must be independently investigated.

2010-04-08T11:44:00.000+01:00

Iraqi family demands justice for US attack death

AlJazeeraEnglish — April 06, 2010 — The US military says it has no reason to doubt the authenticity of a video leaked through the whistleblower website WikiLeaks showing a US military attack on a group of civilians in Iraq.

In the 2007 attack, a US military helicopter fired on a group of Iraqis, killing 12 civilians, according to the website, including two employees of the Reuters news agency.

The footage from a helicopter cockpit also shows a man stopping to help the injured, but he too is shot dead.

In an Al Jazeera exclusive, Omar al-Saleh reports on the man's children, who were injured but survived the attack. (Apr 07, 2010)

Amnesty International : 08 April 2010

The 39-minute video released on Monday by WikiLeaks, appears to show a helicopter gunsight video with an audio track of conversation among the crew opening fire on a group of men, two of whom appear to be armed, moving about a square in eastern Baghdad. It also shows further firing on a van which arrives, apparently to evacuate the wounded and the dead. Two children were wounded in the incident.

Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Director Malcolm Smart said:

“This highly disturbing video appears to show that after the initial attack, US troops opened fire on people seeking to assist a wounded man, injuring two children, and killing several more people.

“These troubling images can not be viewed or judged in isolation and must be put into the context of what else was happening in the vicinity. The US authorities must disclose any further information or footage that will shed light on this and they must conduct a proper investigation to determine whether US forces adhered to the rules of international humanitarian law and took necessary precautions to spare civilians.”

Amnesty is calling for the incidents depicted in the video to be independently investigated and for reparation, including compensation, to be made available to victims of violations of international humanitarian law.

A US military investigation into the attack concluded that correct rules of engagement were followed, although those killed and injured included civilians.

WikiLeaks said the men in the square included Reuters photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his assistant and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40, who were both killed in the incident.

Israel seizing hundreds of millions of shekels meant for Palestinian services .

2010-04-07T09:44:00.000+01:00

By Chaim Levinson | Haaretz - Wed., April 07, 2010

For the past 15 years, Israel has been channeling hundreds of millions of shekels it had collected in the West Bank into its state coffers. The move is considered illegal, since international law prohibits an occupying power from appropriating the fruit of economic activity in an occupied territory.

Following protests by military lawyers, the deputy attorney general has ruled that the practice should be stopped and ordered an inquiry into whether the Civil Administration in the West Bank should be compensated retroactively.

"Following staff work by an interministerial team composed of representatives of the Finance Ministry, Justice Ministry and Civil Administration, it has been agreed that the ... said fees will be entered into the Civil Administration's budget. The technical aspects of the affair will be sorted out in the coming weeks."

The funds in question are collected by the Civil Administration, overwhelmingly from Israelis. They include fees and levies for various activities such as royalties from quarries and levies on public auctions. The sums are estimated in the hundreds of millions of shekels, sometimes reaching as much as NIS 80 million a year.

Until the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, the funds were transferred to the Civil Administration to be used for operational expenses as well as for infrastructure and welfare services for Palestinians in the territories. The Oslo Accords dictated the closing down of the administration, the funds in question were reclassified as income to the Israel Lands Administration and were redirected to state coffers.

The Civil Administration, however, continued to operate in Area C of the West Bank, working on infrastructure, planning and construction. The funds are still channeled to the state, although international law prohibits an occupying power from appropriating the fruit of economic activity in an occupied territory. Funds collected in American-occupied areas of Iraq, for example, are channeled to the United States, and, except for 5 percent that goes to Kuwait, are returned for direct investment in Iraq.

Budget ramifications

Recently, a lawyer at the Military Advocate General's Office said the transfer of such funds to the state was improper. Because the issue is complex and has budget ramifications far beyond the military, the authorities entrusted the inquiry to Deputy Attorney General Malchiel Blas.

He ruled that the direct transfer of the funds to the state budget should cease. A team that includes officials from the treasury, Justice Ministry and Civil Administration is now examining the implications of Blas' decision.

At the team's meetings, the Civil Administration has requested that the money again be directly channeled to its coffers. The Finance Ministry, by contrast, proposed that a fund be set up for the money, which would be divided among various ministries investing in the territories, such the transportation, agriculture and industry, trade and labor ministries.

Another question facing the team is whether the Civil Administration should be compensated for the funds it lost to the state. The Finance Ministry is strongly opposed, and claims that in the past 15 years the state has invested in the West Bank, apart from the settlements, more than double the amount it has collected. The government will make the final decision.

"This income was registered as part of state income, and the Finance Ministry budgeted all the activities of the Civil Administration and the military in the area out of the state budget," the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

"Recently ... it turned out that the issue should be arranged in a way that would make it obvious that the income should be registered as part of the Civil Administration's budget, as authorized by the Knesset."

The Finance Ministry said: "It should be noted the question of whether the funds are registered as state income or Civil Administration income is a technical question, because at the end of the day the State of Israel invests in the area amounts considerably larger than the fees it collects.

Serbia apologizes for 1995 massacre of Muslims

2010-04-01T17:13:00.001+01:00

2010/03/31 | ABNA news - The Serbian parliament voted on Wednesday to apologize for the 1995 massacre of thousands of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, but stopped short of labeling the killings as "genocide."

The landmark resolution condemned the massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims and expressed regret for not doing enough to prevent the tragedy.

The endorsement of the declaration, with a majority of 127 from among some 173 lawmakers present, ends years of denial by Serbian politicians about the scope of the massacre at the end of the Balkan Wars.

"The parliament of Serbia strongly condemns the crime committed against the Bosnian Muslim population of Srebrenica in July 1995, as determined by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling," the text of the declaration said.

The UN has accepted responsibility for its failure in protecting the enclave when Serbian troops overran the UN-protected Srebrenica. However, no UN official has so far been held responsible.

In its newly-endorsed declaration, the parliament also vowed to help with international efforts for the arrest of Ratko Mladic — the general in charge of Serb forces in Srebrenica and the UN war crimes court's most wanted fugitive — so that he can be tried at the International Criminal Court.

Mladic is believed to be hiding in Serbia.

The apology comes at a time when Serbia continues its bid to become a member of the European Union and attract business investors.

Belgrade is expected to capture Mladic and send him to the war crimes tribunal before starting talks on its bid for EU membership.

AlJazeeraEnglish - Inside Story - Serbia Srebrenica apology

West Bank lockdown extended.

2010-03-16T14:50:00.001Z

Published Sunday 14/03/2010 (updated) 15/03/2010

Palestinian teachers argue with an Israeli soldier preventing them access through
a checkpoint in Qalqiliya between their homes and their work places on 11 March 2010.
[MaanImages/Khaleel Reash]

Bethelehem - Ma'an - Israeli authorities extended a closure of the West Bank on Saturday evening as restrictions on Palestinian entry into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remain in place.

The closure, expected to end on Saturday night, was extended until Tuesday "In accordance with the directives of the Minister of Defense, Mr. Ehud Barak, and following additional situation assessments adopted by the defense establishment," an Israeli military statement read.

The military said people who will need to pass for humanitarian reasons, including medical patients en route for treatment, 1,500 medical workers, 1,100 religious workers, 550 teachers and other professional groups "will be permitted to cross subject to the authorization of the Civil Administration. The transfer of merchandise will operate regularly."

Meanwhile, the Jerusalem Center for Civil and Economic Rights said Israeli forces continue to restrict access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem to men under 50.

Gaza…1000 Days Under Siege!

2010-03-16T14:32:00.001Z

14 March 2010 : GAZA CITY – Pitifully looking at her baby child, Om Yamen is recalling the past 1,000 days of her life under a crippling Israeli siege (picture).

“Life has been a living hell,” she told IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, March 9, in a broken voice.

“We can’t stand this anymore. The siege has exhausted us and broken our backs.”

The 1.6 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a costal enclave, are marking 1,000 days since Israel slapped a crippling siege on their territory.

“Each night seemed like a thousand days,” said the tears-eyed Palestinian mother.

Israel has clamped a siege on the Gaza Strip since Hamas was voted to power in the 2006 legislative elections.

It further tightened the blockade after Hamas assumed control in 2007 following clashes with Fatah rival.

The situation worsened after Israel launched a three-week deadly onslaught on Gaza last December, killing more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians.

The offensive wrecked havoc on the infrastructure of the densely-populated enclave, leaving some 20,000 homes and thousands other buildings in ruins.

Israel bans the entry of materials needed to rebuild Gaza, such as cement and steel, effectively undermining efforts to rebuild the strip.

“We have taken a lot of suffering,” said Om Yamen.

“Our hearts have been broken. I don’t think we can bear this anymore.”

Lifeless

The crippling siege has left the Gazan population lacking the simplest means of life.

“We are fed up with the siege,” a frustrated Yusuf Radi, who rarely finds a buyer of his child toys, told IOL.

“We have no work or electricity. Even cooking gas has become a scarcity.”

The Israeli siege has sharply increased poverty in the Strip, leaving nearly eight out of every 10 people dependent on aid and leading businesses to close and lay off workers.

“There is neither electricity, water, medicine, cooking gas nor baby milk,” said Abu-Mazen Murtagi.

“The siege has taken hard on us.”

Many international human rights groups have accused Israel of pursuing a policy of collective punishment against the Gaza population.

“We have run out of patience,” said an angry Maged Al-Sharfa, a merchant.

“We are no longer able to endure this. Life has become meaningless and the siege has hit hard everything in the strip.”

Bushrah Hamad is waiting for what the coming days will bring.

“It’s true that we endured the past days despite our suffering and screams, but we can’t take anymore,” she said.

“At the end of the day, we are human beings and will collapse at any moment.”

Rima Salama, a student, is not optimistic.

“These 1000 days will be followed by thousands others,” she said.

“The siege has become part of us. It never goes away.” have run out of patience,” said an angry Maged Al-Sharfa, a merchant.

“We are no longer able to endure this. Life has become meaningless and the siege has hit hard everything in the strip.”

Bushrah Hamad is waiting for what the coming days will bring.

“It’s true that we endured the past days despite our suffering and screams, but we can’t take anymore,” she said.

“At the end of the day, we are human beings and will collapse at any moment.”

Rima Salama, a student, is not optimistic.

“These 1000 days will be followed by thousands others,” she said.

“The siege has become part of us. It never goes away.”

Zaakirah

Palestinians protesting against the on-going construction...

2010-03-15T13:55:00.000Z

NoCommenttv | March 14, 2010 - In Beit Umar in the West Bank, dozens of Palestinians protesting against the on-going construction of the separation barrier in the West Bank.

The Palestinian demonstrators scuffled with Israeli soldiers who used tear gas to break up the demonstration....

'Just and Holy' - Karadzic defends Bosnian war at genocide trial

2010-03-01T17:51:00.000Z

Video 1 : Russia Today | March 01, 2010 - Radovan Karadzic, the wartime leader of the Bosnian Serbs, has accused prosecutors in the Hague of fabricating the evidence used during his tribunal. The comments were made as his trial resumed on Monday. Karadzic faces 11 charges of war crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity, in connection with the Bosnian conflict which left more than 100,000 people dead. During his defence speech Karadzic said: "I will defend that nation of ours and their cause, which is just and holy and in that way I shall be able to defend myself too and my nation."

Video 2: AP | March 01, 2010 - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic spoke out in his own defense during his war crimes trial in The Hague Monday. He blamed Bosnian Serb fundamentalists for the violence during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

Hebron Palestinians protest closures.

2010-02-28T23:20:00.001Z

Westbank clashes | February 25, 2010Clashes erupted between Israeli soldiers and dozens of stone-throwing Palestinian youths in the biblical West Bank town of Hebron.

TheRealNews | February 27, 2010 - For five consecutive days Palestinians in Hebron protest closures and Israeli new Heritage plan

Israel rebuffs France over possible Palestine recognition.

2010-02-21T15:57:00.000Z

Palestinians are seeking an independent state by 2011.

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 | PressTV

Israel has rejected the idea of foreign countries recognizing a Palestinian state, after France suggested the recognition could soon take place.

"Imposing this kind of semblance of a partial solution from outside goes against the very idea of peace," AFP quoted a senior Israeli official as saying on condition of anonymity.

The remarks came after French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Saturday that a Palestinian state could soon be recognized even before negotiating its borders.

"The issue before us at the moment is the building of a reality: France is training Palestinian police, businesses are being created in the West Bank," Kouchner told the French newspaper the Journal du Dimanche.

"It follows that one can envision the proclamation soon of a Palestinian state, and its immediate recognition by the international community, even before negotiating its borders," he added.

The Israeli official further said, "Granting recognition when the issues of the conflict have not been settled would add fuel to the fire. This would only push the Palestinians to be even more intransigent and thus make any compromise impossible."

Kouchner made the remarks ahead of a visit to Paris by acting Palestinian Authority (PA) Chief Mahmoud Abbas.

Earlier, PA's caretaker Prime Minister Salam Feyadh said that he could see an independent Palestinian state in 2011, regardless of whether talks with Israel will have made any progress.

Later on Sunday, Abbas is due to meet with Kouchner in the French capital and with President Nicolas Sarkozy the following day.

Face to Face: Lauren Booth meets Baroness Jenny Tonge.

2010-02-20T20:30:00.001Z

February 16, 2010 | The show was broadcast on February 2010 from Press TV

Host: Lauren Booth

Face to Face is a Press TV programme

Baroness Tonge. (Dr Jenny Tonge)

· Jenny Tonge was elected to the UK House of Commons in 1997.

· She was made Shadow Secretary of State for International Development the same year.

· She was elevated to the UK House of Lords in 2005, where she is a front bench speaker on health matters.

· She first visited Israel, the West bank and Gaza in 2003 and has been an outspoken critic of the state of Israel ever since.

· She has also spoken out against what she describes as the coalition of Christian Evangelicals, Neocons and Zionists who make up the Israel lobby in the USA and UK.

· She speaks on Palestinian issues, in universities and activist meetings all over the country.

· She recently founded Friends of Palestine an organisation affiliated to the UK Liberal Democrats.

· She is married to Dr Keith Tonge, a consultant neuroradiologist and has 2 sons, one daughter (deceased), and 8 grandchildren.

· Worked as a doctor in the NHS for over 30 years.

1 of 3

2 of 3

3 of 3

Bilin marks five years of West Bank barrier protest

2010-02-20T14:29:00.002Z

By Heather Sharp | BBC News, Bilin, West Bank- Friday 19 Feb 2010

Despite the barrages of Israeli tear gas, sound grenades, foul-smelling spray and sometimes bullets - rubber coated and occasionally live - the protesters at the Palestinian village of Bilin keep going back for more.

And as they mark five years since their first protest against the barrier Israel has built on their doorstep in the occupied West Bank, they seem as determined as ever.

The villagers - together with Israeli and international activists - see their weekly Friday demonstrations as a leading example of Palestinian non-violent, grassroots protest.

They march to the wall, chanting slogans and carrying flags, and have even tried dressing up as characters from the film Avatar, and kicking around a football to mock an Israeli mobile phone advert.

But they say the protests are marred - it is hotly debated how often - as masked Palestinian teenagers use slingshots to hurl rocks at Israeli security forces.

The barrier, here a tall wire fence, snakes over a rocky hillside covered in olive trees, cutting the villagers off from - according to their lawyer - about 2 sq km (200 hectares or 500 acres) of their land (picture above).

Barrier moved

Ritual barrier protests draw an Israeli security presence and sometimes Palestinian stone-throwing

Last week, Israel finally began implementing a court order dating back more than two years to reroute the barrier near Bilin. But the new route puts only a third of the land the villagers claim as their own on the Palestinian-controlled side.

Some of the remainder had previously been designated Israeli state land and allocated for the expansion of a Jewish settlement.

Mahmoud Samarra, 64 (picture), says he will get only a tiny fraction of his 93 dunums (9 hectares or 23 acres) of land back.He points over the hill beyond the coils of barbed wire and the towering mesh of the fence. "It was like paradise," he says, describing how he planted olive trees with his children and watched them grow over 17 years.

Bilin residents are allowed to access their land during the daytime, through a pedestrian gate in the fence. But Mr Samarra has been only once.The direct road for cars is long gone. Mr Samarra needs a stick to walk, and says he can barely cover the 1.5km to his land on foot( map). And anyway, he says, much of the land is surrounded by the Jewish settlement of Matityahu. He says that his trees were uprooted when it was built, and now he is too afraid of the settlers to visit.

The Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the fence's route could not be justified purely on security grounds.This settlement and the land around it was part of the controversy."I feel really, very sad," says Mr Samarra. "To whom we can complain?"Despite the Supreme Court ruling, as he sees it, "the judge and the enemy is the same".

'Sacrifice'

Back in the village, Subhiyeh Abu Rahma, 55, (picture) uses her headscarf to wipe away the tears that start to flow as she talks about her son, Bassem, who died last year, aged 31, after he was hit in the chest by a tear gas canister during a protest.

"I miss him every minute," she says, sipping coffee in a small, bare concrete house, adorned with posters of her dead son. He had brushed aside her suggestions that he renovate his house and look for a wife, focusing instead on the demonstrations, week after week."One has to sacrifice everything for his homeland - even if it's a high price," she says.

Bassem's brother Ahmad says he believed in peace and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.He even once suffered criticism among the villagers for choosing to wear a T-shirt showing the Israeli and Palestinian flags side by side, Ahmad adds.

'Violent riot'

Israeli military spokeswoman Avital Leibovich said his death took place during "a violent riot". But there is no obvious stone-throwing taking place in video footage of the incident, which can be seen on YouTube.Palestinians say Bassem was hit by a high-velocity tear gas canister - a type which has been blamed for severe injuries at other protests.

Ms Leibovich would neither confirm nor deny that they are used.She insists that these are not quiet protests "in which protesters come and sit on the ground".

"Those rocks they're throwing can kill people," Ms Leibovich says.

Damage costing hundreds of thousands of shekels has been done to the fence and 77 Israeli soldiers have been injured in the past two years, she adds."They go to the fence and tear it down, then we have no choice but to show up and defend the fence. And then they start throwing rocks."

Live ammunition is used only "rarely", in cases of "life and death for our forces", she said.But the Bilin organisers deny trying to damage the fence, although a few sympathetic blog posts mention the use of wire cutters.

Suicide bombers

They say they try to discourage young protesters from hurling stones, and this happens only infrequently as a reaction, when the soldiers fire tear gas and rubber bullets first."We don't have planes or tanks or rifles, all we have is the rock. And they are afraid of the rock," says Mrs Abu Rahma.

Israel says the barrier was established to stop Palestinian suicide bombers entering from the West Bank.But Palestinians point to its route, winding deep into the West Bank around Israeli settlements, and say it is a way to grab territory they want for their future state.

In 2004, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued an advisory ruling that the barrier was illegal and should be removed where it did not follow the Green Line, the internationally recognised boundary between the West Bank and Israel.

Ratib Abu Rahman, a protest organiser and university lecturer in social work, says the rerouting of the barrier is just a partial victory."We hope it will be all our land. If the wall is destroyed, that will be a big achievement," he says.He says he has been injured about 10 times, and his brother, another organiser, is still in an Israeli prison. Some 1,200 protesters have been hurt, and 85 arrested, he says.

"We pay a big price," he says, "but we are in the right, this is Palestinian land."

News Analysis -West Bank Protest : 19-Feb-2010

February 21, 2010 | TheRealNews - Palestinians tear segregation barrier

In weekly Friday protest in Bi'lin, Palestinian territories,

thousands tear through segregation barrier.

Israeli apartheid

2010-02-15T14:27:00.002Z

The Real news | February 14, 2010 - Michael Ratner reports on his recent visit to the West Bank - Vid 1

February 16, 2010 | Ratner: Building settlements in occupied territories with US support is illegal and unacceptable - Vid 2

February 16, 2010 | Ratner: Building settlements in occupied territories with US support is illegal and unacceptable

Israel rejects UN demands over Gaza war report

2010-02-13T21:03:00.000Z

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 | PressTV

Israel has rejected United Nations demands of an independent probe into its last year war on the Gaza Strip which claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians.

A senior official in the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said on Friday that the report Israel gave UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the investigations it is conducting into Operation Cast Lead earlier this month is sufficient.

“Israel feels the report it gave was a serious, comprehensive, credible and complete answer to the UN secretary-general,” the official said.

“We believe that we conduct credible investigations and that we have procedures in place to investigate these types of matters that are as good as exist in any country in the world,” he added.

Israel's rejection comes as Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly urged Tel Aviv to allow an independent inquiry into the Gaza war.

The United Nations blasted Israel last week for what it called Israel's un-reliable report.

The UN report led by former South African judge Richard Goldstone concluded last September that Israel carried out "deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects" in January-December war on Gaza.

The 575-page UN-ordered report asserts seven incidents in which Palestinian civilians were shot while leaving their homes, trying to run for safety or waving white flags.

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that accuses Israel of war crimes and criminal acts against humanity during the weeks-long onslaught on the Gaza Strip.

The Goldstone report returns

2010-02-13T11:05:00.000Z

Israel, Palestinians conduct "disappointing" investigations of Gaza war crimes allegations, UN responds.

Israel: Military Investigations Fail Gaza War Victims.

2010-02-08T02:44:00.001Z

Independent Investigation Remains Essential | February 7, 2010

HRW | Israel has failed to demonstrate that it will conduct thorough and impartial investigations into alleged laws-of-war violations by its forces during last year's Gaza conflict, Human Rights Watch said today. An independent investigation is needed if perpetrators of abuse, including senior military and political officials who set policies that violated the laws of war, are to be held accountable, Human Rights Watch said.

On February 4, 2010, Human Rights Watch met with military lawyers from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to discuss the investigations. While the military is conducting ongoing investigations, officials did not provide information showing that these will be thorough and impartial or that they will address the broader policy and command decisions that led to unlawful civilian deaths, Human Rights Watch said.

"Israel claims it is conducting credible and impartial investigations, but it has so far failed to make that case," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director for Human Rights Watch. "An independent investigation is crucial to understand why so many civilians died and to bring justice for the victims of unlawful attacks."

In one case, a military investigation apparently missed an important piece of evidence: remains of an aerial bomb found in the al-Badr flour mill outside Jabalya. Israel denied targeting the mill from the air, as alleged by the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. However, video footage obtained by Human Rights Watch and released today shows the apparent remains of an Israeli MK-82 500-pound aerial bomb in the damaged mill, and UN de-miners say they defused the bomb.

More than 750 Palestinian civilians in Gaza were killed during the conflict, according to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. The UN has said that nearly 3,500 homes and 280 factories were completely destroyed.

Human Rights Watch documented 53 civilian deaths in 19 incidents in which Israeli forces appeared to have violated the laws of war. Six of these incidents involved the unlawful use of white phosphorus munitions; six were attacks by drone-launched missiles that killed civilians; and seven involved soldiers shooting civilians who were in groups holding white flags.

To date, Israeli military courts have convicted only one soldier of wartime abuse during the Gaza conflict, for theft of a credit card.

The Israeli military lawyers said the military was investigating all cases reported by Human Rights Watch. Seven of the cases are criminal investigations into the alleged shooting of civilians waving white flags, they said. The military had originally dismissed Human Rights Watch's report on these cases as based on "unreliable witness reports."

The Israeli military has thus far examined specific incidents but not broader policies that may have caused civilian casualties in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said.

An independent investigation should examine the pre-operation decisions that led to civilian casualties, Human Rights Watch said. These include the decision to target Hamas's political infrastructure; the use of heavy artillery and white phosphorus munitions in populated areas; attacks on Gaza police; and the apparently permissive rules of engagement for drone operators and ground forces.

"The Israeli investigations so far have looked mostly at soldiers who disobeyed orders or the rules of engagement, but failed to ask the crucial question about whether those orders and rules of engagement themselves violated the laws of war," Stork said. "For those decisions and policies, senior military and political decision-makers should be held responsible."

Hamas is not known to have prosecuted anyone for firing hundreds of rockets indiscriminately into Israel. On January 27 it issued a news statement and report summary, saying that rockets from Palestinian armed groups had only targeted Israeli military objects and that civilian casualties were accidental - a conclusion that Human Rights Watch rejected as "legally and factually wrong." Hamas released a full report about its conduct during the war on February 3 that Human Rights Watch is still reviewing.

In September 2009, the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, headed by Justice Richard Goldstone, determined that Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes and possible crimes against humanity and called on both parties to conduct impartial investigations within six months.

On November 5, the UN General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone report and asked UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a progress report about domestic investigations. Ban gave his report on February 4, passing on documents provided to him by Israel and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, and reiterating his call for credible and impartial investigations by all sides.

"Secretary-General Ban merely passed on the parties' claims, but he also reasserted the importance of credible investigations in conformity with international standards," Stork said. "The pressure is still on Israel and Hamas to show that they will do it right."

According to Israel, the military has conducted roughly 150 "investigations" of incidents in Gaza, but it has not provided a list of the cases. Nearly 90 of the 150 investigations are what the military calls an "operational debriefing" - tahkir mivza'i in Hebrew. These are after-action reports, not criminal investigations, in which an officer in the chain of command interviews the soldiers involved, with no testimony from victims or witnesses. Forty-five of these 90 cases have been closed.

The Israeli military says that military police have opened 36 criminal investigations, in which a military police investigator takes statements from soldiers and seeks testimony from outside sources. One resulted in the conviction for the credit card theft, incurring a seven and a half month prison sentence, and seven were closed due to lack of evidence or because the complainants were unwilling to testify. The remaining 28 are ongoing.

The military said it has disciplined four soldiers and officers for violating orders during the Gaza conflict. In one case, two commanders received notes of reprimand for firing high-explosive artillery shells that hit a UN compound where 700 civilians were taking shelter, despite dozens of phone calls from UN officials asking for the shelling to stop. During the same attack, artillery-fired white phosphorus set fire to a UN warehouse and injured three people in the compound. The military told Human Rights Watch that the white phosphorus aspect of the case is still under investigation and was not part of the reason for the reprimand. The only information the military has released about the other two disciplinary cases is that one resulted from an attack on UN property or personnel, and the other from an incident of property destruction.

The video Human Rights Watch released today of the al-Badr flour mill was filmed by the mill's owners after it was damaged, on January 10, 2009. The UN fact-finding report said the Israeli military bombed the mill in a deliberate attempt to damage the civilian infrastructure of Gaza. Israel said its investigation found that the mill was a legitimate military target because of Hamas activity in the area and that it only fired a tank shell and did not bomb the mill from the air.

The UN told Human Rights Watch that de-miners visited the mill on February 11, 2009, and found the front half of a 500-pound Mk-82 aircraft bomb on an upper floor of the mill, corroborating the contents of the video.

The military lawyers told Human Rights Watch that, when provided with new evidence, they could reopen an investigation.

Israel has a poor record of military investigations into alleged violations against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Human Rights Watch said. The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din has documented the low levels of criminal investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of soldiers despite the large number of allegedly unlawful deaths.

Israel stole $2bn from Palestinian workers.

2010-02-07T23:27:00.000Z

Sunday, February 07, 2010 | (Jerusalem) -- Over the past four decades Israel has defrauded Palestinians working inside Israel of more than $2 billion by deducting from their salaries contributions for welfare benefits to which they were never entitled, Israeli economists have revealed.

A new report, “State Robbery”, to be published later this month, says the “theft” continued even after the Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 and part of the money was supposed to be transferred to a special fund on behalf of the workers.

According to information supplied by Israeli officials, most of the deductions from the workers’ pay were invested in infrastructure projects in the Palestinian territories -- a presumed reference to the massive state subsidies accorded to the settlements.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians from the West Bank are working in Israel -- following the easing of restrictions on entering Israel under the “economic peace” promised by Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister -- and continue to have such contributions docked from their pay.

Complicit in the deception, the report adds, is the Histadrut, the Israeli labour federation, which levies a monthly fee on Palestinian workers, even though they are not entitled to membership and are not represented in labour disputes.

“This is a clear-cut case of theft from Palestinian workers on a grand scale,” said Shir Hever, a Jerusalem-based economist and one of the authors of the report. “There are no reasons for Israel to delay in returning this money either to the workers or to their beneficiaries.”

The deductions started being made in 1970, three years after the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories began, when Palestinian workers started to enter Israel in significant numbers, most of them employed as manual labourers in the agriculture and construction industries.

Typically, the workers lose a fifth of their salary in deductions that are supposed to cover old age payments, unemployment allowance, disability insurance, child benefits, trade union fees, pension fund, holiday and sick pay, and health insurance. In practice, however, the workers are entitled only to disability payments in case of work accidents and are insured against loss of work if their employer goes bankrupt.

According to the report, compiled by two human rights groups, the Alternative Information Centre and Kav La’Oved, only a fraction of the total contributions -- less than eight per cent -- was used to award benefits to Palestinian workers. The rest was secretly transferred to the finance ministry.

The Israeli organisations assess that the workers were defrauded of at least $2.25bn in today’s prices, in what they describe as a minimum and “very conservative” estimate of the misappropriation of the funds. Such a sum represents about 10 per cent of the PA’s annual budget.

The authors also note that they excluded from their calculations two substantial groups of Palestinian workers -- those employed in the Jewish settlements and those working in Israel’s black economy -- because figures were too hard to obtain.

Mr Hever said the question of whether the bulk of the deductions -- those for national insurance -- had been illegally taken from the workers was settled by the Israeli High Court back in 1991. The judges accepted a petition from the flower growers’ union that the government should return about $1.5 million in contributions from Palestinian workers in the industry.

“The legal precedent was set then and could be used to reclaim the rest of these excessive deductions,” he said.

At the height of Palestinian participation in the Israeli labour force, in the early 1990s, as many as one in three Palestinian workers was dependent on an Israeli employer.

Israel continued requiring contributions from Palestinian workers after the creation of the Palestinian Authority in 1994, arguing that it needed to make the deductions to ensure Israeli workers remained competitive.

However, the report notes that such practices were supposed to have been curbed by the Oslo process. Israel agreed to levy an “equalisation tax” -- equivalent to the excessive contributions paid by Palestinians -- a third of which would be invested in a fund that would later be available to the workers.

In fact, however, the Israeli State Comptroller, a government watchdog official, reported in 2003 that only about a tenth of the money levied on the workers had actually been placed in the fund.

The finance ministry has admitted that most of the money taken from the workers was passed to Israeli military authorities in the Palestinian territories to pay for “infrastructure programmes”. Hannah Zohar, the director of Kav La’Oved who co-authored the report, said she believed that the ministry was actually referring to the construction of illegal settlements.

The report is also highly critical of the Histadrut, Israel’s trade union federation, which it accuses of grabbing “a piece of the pie” by forcing Palestinian workers to pay a monthly “organising fee” to the union since 1970, even though Palestinians are not entitled to membership.

Despite the Histadrut’s agreement with its Palestinian counterpart in 2008 to repay the fees, only 20 per cent was returned, leaving $30m unaccounted for.

The Histadrut was also implicated in another “rip-off”, said Mr Hever. It agreed in 1990 to the Israeli construction industry’s demand that Palestinian workers pay an extra two per cent tax to promote the training of recent Jewish immigrants, most of them from the former Soviet Union.

Mr Hever said that in effect the Palestinian labourers were required to “subsidise the training of workers meant to replace them”. The funds were never used for the stated purpose but were mainly issued as grants to the families of Israeli workers.

In one especially cynical use of the funds, the report notes, the money was spent on portable stoves for soldiers involved in Israel’s three-week attack on Gaza last year.

In response, the finance ministry called the report “incorrect and misleading”, and the Histadrut claimed it was “full of lies”. However, neither provided rebuttals of the report’s allegations or its calculations.

Mr Hever said the government body responsible for making the deductions, the department of payments, had initially refused to divulge any of its figures, but had partly relented after some statistics were made available through leaks from its staff.

Assef Saeed, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority’s labour ministry, said the PA was keen to discuss the issue of the deductions, but that talks were difficult because of the lack of contacts between the two sides.

Jonathan Cook is a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel. His latest books are “Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iraq, Iran and the Plan to Remake the Middle East” (Pluto Press) and “Disappearing Palestine: Israel's Experiments in Human Despair” (Zed Books). His website is www.jkcook.net.

A version of this article originally appeared in The National (www.thenational.ae), published in Abu Dhabi.

Deaths in Pakistan 'drone' attack

2010-02-02T23:26:00.002Z

Aljazeera English 03 Feb 2010 | Missiles fired by suspected US drones have killed at least 17 people and wounded many more in Pakistan, residents and security officials say.

Officials said the missiles rained down on Dattakhel village in the Degan area of North Waziristan, part of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region near the Afghan border, on Tuesday.

They said the missiles struck suspected fighters' hideouts and a training centre.

Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, said there were reports that up to 19 missiles had been fired.

"This would be the first time you get a co-ordinated attack by such a large group of drones since the attacks against targets inside Pakistan began.

"Seventeen people have been reported killed. However, there is mounting fear that the death toll could be at least over two dozen or even cross 30."

Locals were digging dead and wounded out of the debris.

Similar attacks

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At least nine people were killed in a suspected US drone attack in the same area on Friday.

Missiles hit a compound allegedly used by Taliban fighters in Muhammad Khel, a town in North Waziristan.

The identities of those killed in the attack were not immediately known.

A series of drone raids have been carried out this month in North Waziristan, home to fighters loyal to the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Haqqani network.

The US never confirms drone attacks, but its forces in neighbouring Afghanistan and the Central Intelligence Agency are the only ones known to use the unmanned aircraft capable of firing missiles.

The attacks have often resulted in civilian deaths, stirring anger among Pakistanis and even bolstering support for the Taliban and anti-US sentiment.

Drones: 21st century warfare

france24english | In Pakistan attacks by unmanned US drones have increased dramatically since Barack Obama came to office. In 2009 it's believed there were between 45 and 53 drone attacks on militant targets near the border with Afghanistan. So far this year there are reports of around a dozen already. For the US it's a way to fight the Taliban without major incursion and without risking the loss of American lives but in Pakistan the attacks are hugely impopular and fuelling public anger.

Concerned over CIA drones strike