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No Random Drug Tests, No Foodstamps

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Via Don’t Tase Me, Bro! 

Call it the Great Recession meets the War on Drugs. West Virginia ponders law mandating compulsory random drug tests for anyone applying for food stamps or unemployment benefits.

The Register-Herald (WV) reports:

An Eastern Panhandle lawmaker is attempting to craft a bill for the 2009 legislative session that would require anyone on welfare, food stamps or unemployment benefits to undergo random drug testing.

Under the tentative plan in mind by Delegate Craig Blair, R-Berkeley, it would be two strikes and you’re out.

“It’s pretty simple,” Blair said Monday, when asked why he is pursuing such legislation in West Virginia.

“If you go out here and want a good job, most of the time, we have to sign off and say, ‘Hey, it’s OK, I submit to random drug testing on the job. That’s part of the deal you make whenever you get a job. It’s sort of crazy, in my opinion, and I think in the general public’s opinion, when they’re on the dole with the state, we’re subsidizing their income one way or another, that they don’t have to submit to the same thing.”

Blair wants to compel anyone collecting food stamps, welfare checks or jobless benefits to submit to random testing. If the first test proves positive, under his proposal, a second one would be mandatory in two months, allowing the recipient that much time to clean up his act, or face a cutoff of government relief.

“It’s just a common sense approach to this,” he said.

“There have been issues in the past. For instance, in the food stamp program, people would take a $10 stamp, buy a pack of gum, get the rest in cash and buy beer with it.”

That no longer is possible, he acknowledged, but there exists the potential to spend taxpayer dollars to satisfy a drug habit.

“It’s just a natural deterrent, in my opinion, that if you want that assistance program, you’ve got to show that you’re clean,” the legislator said.

“You get two marks, and you get off. You can go into a program that can help you get off the drug and then you test again. So, you would get a two-month grace period from the time that you fail to the time you get cut off financially. But you’ve got to be able to pass in those two months.”

Blair said he must overcome one “obstacle,” a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, that found this approach a constitutional violation.

“I’m still in the middle of how to get this drafted so I can circumvent this,” he said. “Everybody I’ve talked to loves this idea.”

Not everyone who sent him an e-mail is on board, however.

One person who contacted him said only 2 percent of people on public assistance have a drug problem, but Blair feels the number is far too low, given the substance abuse that is prevalent in the general society.

“I don’t believe the 2 percent number for a minute,” he said.

“You and I know there are more people hooked on drugs in the general population. I’m trying to find a way to get around this court ruling. If I feel I can’t get around it, then it’s just wasting the Legislature’s time.”

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Council worker feared she was being spied on

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

Christine Laird thought her emails were being spied on while she was managing director of Cheltenham Borough Council and asked Gloucestershire police and GCHQ to investigate, a court was told yesterday.

Mrs Laird is being sued in London’s High Court for £982,000 by her former employer for fraud and negligence for failing to disclose she was depressed when she applied for the job in 2002.

After collapsing in courtroom 36 of the Royal Courts of Justice at the end of Tuesday’s proceedings, Mrs Laird was again present with her husband Hugh.

Her solicitor John Dagnall concentrated on the events leading up to Mrs Laird’s suspension in June 2004.

The court heard that Mrs Laird was convinced that her emails were being read and that some were being deleted without her knowledge.

Fearing she was due to be suspended, she asked an officer to retrieve politically sensitive emails, who discovered a virus that gave access to her email account.

Mr Dagnall read an email from Christine Laird which said: “I was relieved to dis$I wasn’t imagining it, that emails were missing.”

Mrs Laird downloaded the contents of her hard drive to disc and sent it to Gloucestershire police for investigation, said Mr Dagnall.

He quoted an email from a member of the council’s IT department saying he had also been in contact with GCHQ about Mrs Laird’s email.

Mrs Laird denies she acted fraudulently and is not liable for the £982,000 the council is claiming against her.

Mr Dagnall questioned borough council solicitor Sarah Farooqi about whether the invoices for legal advice in the matter were reasonable.

She said: “I have just added up all the invoices we have received. I haven’t made an assessment as to whether the costs are reasonable.”

Mr Dagnall suggested the council were guilty of ‘double counting’ as it is claiming in damages both Ms Farooqi’s salary for her work in the dispute and also the fees charged for locum support to cover Miss Farooqi’s work.

Miss Farooqi said: “That’s your opinion.”

The case continues.

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Spain to stop investigations of Israeli war crimes

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

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Guantanamo Bay comes to the UK

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

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Saddam-Qaeda Conspiracy Theorist Surfaces Writing Iraq Reports For The Pentagon

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

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Bush officials authorized torture of US citizen, lawyers say

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

By John Byrne, RawStory

Attorneys for US citizen Jose Padilla — who was convicted of material support for terrorist activities in 2007 — say that high-level Bush Administration officials knew their client was being tortured during the time he was held an enemy combatant in a South Carolina brig, because of the command structure and that then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld employed in approving harsh interrogation tactics.

Rumsfeld approved the harsh interrogation techniques early in Bush’s presidency. In Iraq, a cheat sheet titled “Interrogation Rules of Engagement,” revealed that some of them required the Iraq commanding general’s approval.

Among those requiring approval are tactics Padilla’s mother and lawyer say he was the victim of: “Sleep adjustment,” “Sleep management, “Sensory deprivation,” “isolation lasting longer than thirty days” and “stress” positions.” It wouldn’t be a shock if military guards went beyond the traditional treatment of a US prisoner, given Rumsfeld’s approved techniques and that Padilla was is legal limbo as an enemy combatant and eligible to be held for years without charge.

Padilla and his mother filed suit against the US government last year alleging a litany of harsh interrogation practices they said were tantamount to torture. His lawyer also says he was held in isolation for years while held at the South Carolina brig.

“They knew what was going on at the brig and they permitted it to continue,” Tahlia Townsend, an attorney representing Padilla, told the Associated Press Thursday. “Defendants Rumsfeld and [Deputy Paul] Wolfowitz were routinely consulted on these kinds of questions.”

The Justice Department is attempting to get the case dismissed. Padilla’s suit alleges mistreatment and that Padilla’s being held as an enemy combat was unconstitutional.

Dismissal might quietly shut the door on a troubled case that drew broad attention because the Bush Administration had deemed a US citizen an enemy combatant, the quasi-legal terminology used to hold suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay.

Padilla, a US citizen, was arrested in 2002 and accused of plotting with al-Qaida to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb” in a major U.S. city, but those charges were dropped. He was declared an enemy combatant after his arrest, and held at the brig from June 2002 until January 2006, again without charge.

In 2008, Padilla and his mother, Estela Lebron, filed a lawsuit accusing the government of mistreating and illegally detaining Padilla while he was held near Charleston, South Carolina. Padilla suffered “extreme isolation, sensory deprivation, severe physical pain, sleep deprivation, and profound disruption of his sense and personality, all well beyond the physical and mental discomfort that normally accompanies incarceration,” according to the lawyers’ claim. Such treatment bears the hallmarks of harsh interrogation techniques approved by then-Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and used by interrogators of other enemy combatants held at the US’ Guantanamo Bay and Iraqi prisons.

In particular, they singled out then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and then Undersecretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.

Padilla has alleged he was shackled in painful “stress positions,” a technique used at Guantanamo Bay that a bipartisan U.S. Senate panel ruled last year was the direct result of Bush administration detention policies, not individual guards or interrogators.

The original charge leveled at Padilla when he was arrested in 2002 was that he was part of a “dirty bomb” al Qaeda plot. By the time he was charged five years later, government lawyers had dropped the charge.

The following are excerpts from Padilla’s 2006 motion (PDF link) which describe the claims of torture in more detail:

####

A substantial quantum of torture endured by Mr. Padilla came at the hands of his interrogators. In an effort to disorient Mr. Padilla, his captors would deceive him about his location and who his interrogators actually were. Mr. Padilla was threatened with being forcibly removed from the United States to another country, including U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was threatened his fate would be even worse than in the Naval Brig. He was threatened with being cut with a knife and having alcohol poured on the wounds. He was also threatened with imminent execution. He was hooded and forced to stand in stress positions for long durations of time. He was forced to endure exceedingly long interrogation sessions, without adequate sleep, wherein he would be confronted with false information, scenarios, and documents to further disorient him. Often
he had to endure multiple interrogators who would scream, shake, and otherwise assault Mr. Padilla. Additionally, Mr. Padilla was given drugs against his will, believed to be some form of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or phencyclidine (PCP), to act as a sort of truth serum during his interrogations.

….

It is worth noting that throughout his captivity, none of the restrictive and inhumane conditions visited upon Mr. Padilla were brought on by his behavior or by any actions on his part. There were no incidents of Mr. Padilla violating any regulation of the Naval Brig or taking any aggressive action towards any of his captors. Mr. Padilla has always been
peaceful and compliant with his captors. He was, and remains to the time of this filing, docile and resigned B a model detainee.

….

In sum, many of the conditions Mr. Padilla experienced were inhumane and caused him great physical and psychological pain and anguish. Other deprivations experienced by Mr. Padilla, taken in isolation, are merely cruel and some, merely petty. However, it is important to recognize that all of the deprivations and assaults recounted above were employed in concert in a calculated manner to cause him maximum anguish. It is also extremely important to note that the torturous acts visited upon Mr. Padilla were done over the course almost the entire three years and seven months of his captivity in the Naval Brig. For most of one thousand three hundred and seven days, Mr. Padilla was tortured by the United States government without cause or justification. Mr. Padilla=s treatment at the
hands of the United States government is shocking to even the most hardened conscience, and such outrageous conduct on the part of the government divests it of jurisdiction, under the Due Process clause of the Fifth Amendment, to prosecute Mr. Padilla in the instant matter.

####

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Tony Blair admits daily doubts about the war in Iraq

Friday, January 30th, 2009

By James Kirkup

Mr Blair, now an international envoy to the Middle East, spoke of his “sense of responsibility” over the deaths of soldiers and civilians since the 2003 invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Asked if he suffered from doubt over Iraq, Mr Blair replied: “Of course you ask that question the whole time. You’d be weird if you didn’t ask that question.”

Mr Blair spoke in an interview with The Times, which is due to be published tomorrow.

In some of his frankest comments on the Iraq war, he spoke of his daily reflections on the decision and its consequences.

He said: “The most difficult thing in any set of circumstances is the sense of responsibility for people who have given their lives and fallen – the soldiers and the civilians. If I did not feel that, there really would be something wrong with me, and there is not a single day of my life when I do not reflect upon it . . . many times. And that’s as it should be.”

Yet Mr Blair still stands by his decision to back the US invasion of Iraq, suggesting it could actually have saved lives.

He said: “On the other hand you have to take the decision and I look at the Middle East now and I think, well, if Saddam and his two sons were still running Iraq how many other people would have died and would the region be more stable?”

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POA delegates scorn Straw’s big bribe

Friday, January 30th, 2009

By ADRIAN ROBERTS

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Bush okayed torture to outwit defense lawyers

Friday, January 30th, 2009

By Stephen C. Webster

It comes as no surprise that the Bush administration had little love for lawyers. Long before the “Attorneygate” scandal developed around the firing of nine US Attorneys in his second term, former President George W. Bush spent a good amount of the time bashing trial lawyers whenever he had the opportunity.

And it was just recently revealed that Bush appointee Bradley Schlozman, who supervised civil rights and voting rights lawyers from 2003 to 2006, thought his charges were little more than a bunch of “mold spores,” “commies” and “crazy libs.”

But now, in a Thursday editorial published by the Wall Street Journal, John Yoo, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel, explained that the Bush administration’s torture programs, for which he co-authored the legal justifications, were initially designed to outwit crafty defense attorneys.

“The first thing any lawyer will do is tell his clients to shut up,” writes Yoo. “The [Khalid Sheikh Mohammeds] or Abu Zubaydahs of the future will respond to no verbal questioning or trickery — which is precisely why the Bush administration felt compelled to use more coercive measures in the first place.”

Yoo neglects to mention, however, that before the Supreme Court stepped in, terror defendants were using military lawyers. Nor does he mention that that judge advocate generals (JAGs) for the Army, Air Force and Marines later “said they expressed their concerns as the policy was being hashed out at the Pentagon in March and April 2003.”

“Though their letters to the Defense Department’s general counsel are classified, sources familiar with them said the lawyers worried that broadly defined, tough interrogation tactics would not only contravene long-standing military doctrine — leaving too much room for interpretation by interrogators — but also would cause public outrage if the tactics became known,” Josh White wrote for The Washington Post in 2005.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who chaired the 2005 Armed Services subcommittee hearing, told the top military lawyers then, “If they had listened to you from the outset, we wouldn’t have a lot of the problems we’ve dealt with.”

Evidently, the Bush administration never did listen to them.

In his time with the Department of Justice, John Yoo co-authored the Patriot Act and helped craft legal justifications for the Bush administration’s torture programs and the NSA’s full-spectrum spying apparatus.

“Relying on the civilian justice system not only robs us of the most effective intelligence tool to avert future attacks, it provides an opportunity for our enemies to obtain intelligence on us,” continued Yoo. “If terrorists are now to be treated as ordinary criminals, their defense lawyers will insist that the government produce in open court all U.S. intelligence on their client along with the methods used by the CIA and NSA to get it. A defendant’s constitutional right to demand the government’s files often forces prosecutors to offer plea bargains to spies rather than risk disclosure of intelligence secrets.”

In the piece, titled Obama Made a Rash Decision on Gitmo, Yoo also directly states that President Bush ordered waterboarding “three times” after 9/11.

“Mr. Obama is returning America to the failed law enforcement approach to fighting terrorism that prevailed before Sept. 11, 2001,” he opined.

Yoo argues Obama’s order banning torture “amounts to requiring — on penalty of prosecution — that CIA interrogators be polite,” and even parrots a Rove talking point: the claim that Obama’s ban of torture somehow “prohibits” good-cop, bad-cop interrogation routines with prisoners.

“The Army Field Manual, for example, prohibits you from using good cop-bad cop in interrogating,” Rove said on Fox News’ Hannity on Monday.

“The CIA must now conduct interrogations according to the rules of the Army Field Manual, which prohibits coercive techniques, threats and promises, and the good-cop bad-cop routines used in police stations throughout America,” writes Yoo Thursday.

Of course, it doesn’t.

“In fact, the Army Field Manual explicitly permits good cop-bad cop interrogations under the name of ‘Mutt and Jeff’ interrogations, which involve two interrogators ‘display[ing] opposing personalities and attitudes toward the source,’” reported Media Matters, on the instance of Rove introducing the manufactured “fact.” “The Field Manual says the ‘goal of this technique is to make the source identify with one of the interrogators and thereby establish[ing] rapport and cooperation.’”

After stating unequivocally that the new interrogation rules will completely cut off any further intelligence from captured al-Qaeda members, he goes so far as to imply that President Obama is “naïve.”

“It is naïve to say, as Mr. Obama did in his inaugural speech, that we can ‘reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals,’” opines Yoo. “That high-flying rhetoric means that we must give al-Qaeda — a hardened enemy committed to our destruction — the same rights as garden-variety criminals at the cost of losing critical intelligence about real, future threats.”

His opinion seems to be that suspected terrorists should be given no rights, and the government should not be burdened with needing to provide legitimate evidence against the accused.

“Zacarias Moussaoui, the only member of the 9/11 cell arrested before the attack, turned his trial into a circus by making such demands,” his screed against the American justice system concludes. “He was convicted after four years of pretrial wrangling only because he chose to plead guilty. Expect more of this, but with far more valuable intelligence at stake.”

This, coming from the man who once refused to say whether, under his definition of executive power, the president could order a man buried alive.

Speaking with a reporter, Yoo also agreed with an analysis of executive power which posited the hypothetical situation in which Bush might order a boy’s testicles “crushed” in order to affect a response from his parents.

On the legality of such an order, Yoo said, “I think it depends on why the president thinks he needs to do that.”

“The real reason John Yoo wrote this foolish, inaccurate piece is in the hopes of gathering around him some support for his illegal actions,” writes RAW STORY investigative news editor Larisa Alexandrovna on her blog, at-Largely.

“You may wish to read his latest epic verbiage festival, but I would urge you not to waste your time,” she writes. “The man is a liar, a coward, and now defends his illegal actions by using lies and discredited propaganda to justify the unjustifiable.”

Ron Brynaert contributed to this report.

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Israeli Human Rights Violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) Continue Systematic Attacks against Palestinian Civilians and Property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and Continue to Impose a Total Siege on the Gaza Strip

 

 

• A Palestinian farmer was killed by IOF, and two civilians, including a child, died of previous injuries.  

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• 17 Palestinian civilians, including four children and two international journalists were wounded by IOF in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

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• IOF conducted 32 incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

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• IOF arrested 64 Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, including 15 children.

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• IOF transformed a house in Battir village near Bethlehem into a military site.

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• IOF have continued to impose a total siege on the OPT.

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• The Gaza Strip is completely isolated from the outside world.

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• IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints in the West Bank arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child.

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• IOF have continued to take measures towards the Judaization of Jerusalem.

•  

• IOF demolished two houses in Jerusalem, making 53 people homeless.

 

 

Summary

Israeli violations of international law and humanitarian law continued in the OPT during the reporting period (22 – 28 January 2009):

Shooting: During the reporting period, IOF killed a Palestinian civilian and wounded 17 others, including four children, and two international journalists in the West Bank. Two Palestinian civilians, including a child, also died of injuries they had sustained during the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.

On 27 January, IOF opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers east of Khan Yunis, killing one of them.

On 22 and 23 January, medical sources confirmed that two Palestinian civilians, including a child, had died of injuries sustained during the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.

During the reporting period, seven Palestinians were injured by IOF gunfire in the Gaza Strip.

In the West Bank, ten Palestinian civilians, including two children, and two international journalists, were injured by IOF gunfire.

Two Palestinian civilians were injured by IOF during an IOF incursion into al-Fara’a refugee camp, south of Tubas.

During the reporting period, eight Palestinian civilians, including two children, and two international journalists, were injured when IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized in protest at the construction of the Annexation Wall.  

Incursions: During the reporting period, IOF conducted at least 32 military incursions into Palestinian communities in the West Bank. IOF arrested 64 Palestinian civilians, including 15 children. IOF also transformed a house in Battir village near Bethlehem into a military site.

Restrictions on Movement: IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem.

 

Gaza Strip

IOF have continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip for more than two years. The IOF siege of Gaza, which has steadily tightened since June 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the Gaza Strip.

·      1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including freedom of movement, and their rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education..

 

·      Hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip are facing power cuts for 8-12 hours per day, which is severly affecting their quality of life and access to basic facilities incuding light and heat, and also impacts on their access to drinking water, as electric pumps are frequently not working.

 

·      The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has been repeatedly forced to suspend it humanitarian aid program for at least 750,000 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, due to consistent obstructions in aid delivery and the risks facing its staff.

 

·      Rafah International Crossing Point has been opened for only a few days for a limited number of patients who were permitted to receive medical treatment abroad and subsequently needed to return home to Gaza. The corssing remains closed for all other Palestinians.

 

·      IOF have continued to close Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing to all Palestinian civilians wishing to travel to the West Bank and Israeli for medical treatment, trade or to visit family, relatives and friends.  

 

·      IOF have imposed additional restrictions on access to Gaza for international diplomats, journalists and humanitarian workers. They have prevented representatives of international humanitarian organizations from entering the Gaza Strip to carry out humanitarian work.

 

·      Health conditions in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated, and all medical facilities are being affected by the chronic power shortages.

 

·      The lives of premature babies continue to be at risk as they depend on medical equipment in neonatal units that are electrically powered.

 

·      Standards of living arcoss Gaza have seriously deteriorated, whilst poverty and unemployment levels have sharply increased.  

 

·      At least 900 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails continue to be deprived of all family visits. The viist were first suspended sixteen months ago, in June 2007.   

 

West Bank

IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians throughout the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip continue to be denied access to Jerusalem.

 

·      IOF have established checkpoints in and around Jerusalem, severely restricting Palestinian access to the city. Civilians are frequently prevented from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

 

·      There are approximately permanent 630 roadblocks, manned and unmanned checkpoints across the West Bank. In addition, there are some 60-80 ‘flying’ or temporary checkpoints erected across the West Bank by IOF every week.

 

·      When complete, the illegal Annexation Wall will stretch for 724 kilometers around the West Bank, further isolating the entire population. 350 kilometers of the Wall have already been constructed. Approximately 99% of the Wall has been constructed inside the West Bank itself, further confiscating Palestinian land.

 

·      At least 65% of the main roads that leads to 18 Palestinian communities in the West Bank are closed or fully controlled by IOF (47 out of 72 roads).

 

·      There are around 500 kilometers of restricted roads across the West Bank. In addition, approximately one third of the West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, is inaccessible to Palestinians without a permit issued by the IOF. These permits are extremely difficult to obtain.

 

·      IOF continue to harass, and assault demonstrators who hold peaceful protests against the construction of the Annexation Wall.

 

·      Palestinian civilians continue to be harassed by IOF in Jerusalem, and across the West Bank, including being regularly stopped and searched in the streets by IOF.

 

·      During the reporting period, IOF arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including one child, at various checkpoints in the West Bank.

 

·     IOF have escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem aimed at forcing them to leave the city. During the reporting period, IOF demolished two houses in Jerusalem, making fifty three Palestinians homeless.  

 
 

Israeli Violations Documented during the Reporting Period (22- 28 January 2009):

 

1.      Incursions into Palestinian Areas and Attacks on Palestinian Civilians and Property in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

 

Thursday, 22 January  

·      At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Jenin town and refugee camp. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Yamoun village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Maher Jameel Khamaisa, 19.

 

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Qiffin village, north of Tulkarm. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Eyad Ahmed Khader, 26.

 

·      At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Taqqou’ village, south of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Ahmed Kayed Jebril, 29;

2.      Tariq Mousa Jebril, 29;

3.      Akram Mousa Jebril, 26.

 

·      Also at approximately 02:30, IOF moved into Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Ahmed Khader Masalma, 21.

 

·      At approximately 04:00, IOF moved into Deir Estia village, northwest of Salfit. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinian civilians:

1.      Mo’taz Kayed Abu Khalaf, 20;

2.      Shaher ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Salman, 31.

 

·      At approximately 16:00, medical sources in Egypt confirmed that ‘Eid ‘Ayada Abu Rabee’, 56, from al-Mughraqa village, south of Gaza City, had died of injuries sustained on 4 January 2009 during the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip.

 

Friday, 23 January   

·      At approximately 01:00, medical sources confirmed that ‘Abdullah Mohammed Hamdan Abu Touk, 17,m from Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, died at an Egyptian hospital of injuries sustained when IOF shelled his village on 11 January, 2009.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at Palestinian civilians who were checking the destruction of their houses in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, Nabeel Ibrahim al-Najjar, 40, was wounded by shrapnel from a gunshot to the left hand. 

 

·      At approximately 02:30, IOF moved into ‘Arraba village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

·      At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Kufor Qallil village, southeast of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 4 Palestinian civilians, including a child:

1.      Sanad Subhi Mansour, 22;

2.      Diaa’ Ra’d Mansour, 22;

3.      ‘Abdullah Ref’at ‘Aamer, 17;

4.      Tariq Diab al-Hourani, 18.

 

·      At approximately 03:30, IOF moved into al-’Eissawiya village, northeast of Jerusalem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 17 Palestinian civilians, including 10 children:

1.      Mohammed Khader Abu al-Hummos, 18;

2.      Ra’ed Taha, 19;

3.      Ahmed ‘Arafat Mustafa, 19;

4.      Ahmed Mousa Mustafa, 20;

5.      Anas Riad Hamdan, 18;

6.      Hussein Maher Muhaisen, 18;

7.      ‘Aassem ‘Obaid, 19;

8.      Rami ‘Obaid, 15;

9.      Farahat ‘Obaid, 16;

10.  Rami ‘Obaid, 16;

11.  Mohammed Jamal ‘Obaid, 16;

12.  Eihab ‘Olayan, 17;

13.  Ahmed Ra’ed Muhaisen, 15;

14.  Mohammed Faisal ‘Obaid, 15;

15.  ‘Aaref Hamayel, 17;

16.  Kareem al-Masri, 16;

17.  Bassel ‘Obaid, 16.

 

Saturday, 24 January  

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 6 Palestinian civilians, including a child:

1.      Muhannad Fat’hi Hanaisha, 32;

2.      Mohammed Yousef Khuzamia, 18;

3.      Mohammed Ahmed Abu Zaid, 18;

4.      Ussama Mahmoud Abu Zaid, 19;

5.      Ahmed Mo’men Abu Zaid, 16;

6.      Hamad Rafeeq Abu ‘Eisha, 19.

 

Sunday, 25 January

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 7 Palestinian civilians, including two children:

1.      Hussein Mohammed al-Atrash, 30;

2.      Wissam Mustafa al-Rajabi, 31;

3.      Isma’il Fayez Abu Hussein, 21;

4.      Sameh Mohammed al-Sharbati, 26;

5.      Mahmoud Yousef Abu Turki, 17;

6.      Ahmed Sa’id al-Sammak, 20;

7.      ‘Ali ‘Abdul Muttaleb Ahmed, 16.

·      At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Duhaisha refugee camp, southwest of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Shyoukh village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Yousef Ghassan Su’aifan, 20.

 

·      At approximately 15:00, IOF moved into Beita village, southeast of Nablus. They stormed the local market searching for children who allegedly threw stones at military vehicles. Before leaving the area, IOF troops arrested ‘Abed Rabbu Zaid Abu al-Radah, 28.

 

·      At approximately 16:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel opened fire at houses and streets in Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis. As a result, Subhi Tafesh Qudaih, 55, was wounded by a gunshot to the back.

 

Monday, 26 January

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested ‘Abdul Ghani Nihad Bader, 18.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Dura village, southwest of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Amjad Mohammed Qazzaz, 26.

 

·      At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Nablus and the neighboring Balata refugee camp. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested two Palestinians:

1.      Mohammed Jamal Jaber, 20;

2.      Yasser Rushdi Nada, 24, a member of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service.

 

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Bitounia town, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Tayseer Mohammed Sammar, 25.

 

·      At approximately 06:00, IOF moved into Battir village, west of Bethlehem. They raided a house belonging to Ibrahim al-Sagheer and transformed the second floor into a military site. IOF troops informed the owner that the house would be seized for several days for “security purposes.”

 

·      At approximately 22:30, IOF moved into Budros village, west of Ramallah. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians:

1.      Ahmed Hassan Khalil, 40, a member of the local council;

2.      Jebril Ahmed ‘Abdul Karim, 24;

3.      Yousef Mohammed Shaheen, 23.

 

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested ‘Aayesh Ibrahim Nawawra, 24.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:00, IOF moved into al-’Azza refugee camp, north of Bethlehem. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Maher Mohammed Zabboun, 18.

 

·      At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Beit Dajan village, east of Nablus. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into ‘Arraba village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      Also at approximately 01:30, IOF moved into Kufor Ra’ei village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF moved into Fahma village, southwest of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      At approximately 03:00, IOF moved into al-Fara’a refugee camp, south of Tubas. They raided a local market in the center of the camp. A number of Palestinian boys gathered and threw stones at IOF military vehicles. Immediately, IOF troops fired at these boys. Two Palestinian civilians were wounded:

1.      ‘Emad Waleed Abu Tayeh, 20, wounded by a gunshot to the leg;

2.      Jamal Jalal Eshtaiwi, 18, wounded by a gunshot to the right hand.   

 

·      Also at approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Jaba’ village, south of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      Also at approximately 03:00, IOF moved into Seilat al-Zaher village, south of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses, but no arrests were reported.

 

·      At approximately 10:00, IOF troops positioned at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, east of Khan Yunis, opened fire at a number of Palestinian farmers who were farming agricultural land belonging to the Abu Daqqa clan, nearly 600 meters away from the border. The farmers lay down to avoid being shot. When the shooting stopped, the farmer stood up to leave the area, but IOF troops opened fire at them. One of them, 26-year-old Anwar Zayed al-Buraim, was killed by a gunshot to the neck.

 

·      At approximately 15:00, IOF heavy military vehicles moved nearly 500 meters into the east of Deir al-Balah town in the central Gaza Strip. They razed areas of Palestinian agricultural land. At approximately 19:00, IOF troops opened fire at houses in the areas. As a result, Mohammed Salama al-Ma’ni, 21, was wounded by a gunshot to the left thigh. IOF military vehicles moved 200 meters back, but continued to patrol the area.  

 

·      At approximately 16:40, an IOF drone fired a missile at a Palestinian who was riding a motorcycle in al-’Aqqad area in Khan Yunis. He was seriously wounded. He was identified as Hussein Fayez Shamiya, age 25. Two children in the vicinity were also wounded by shrapnel throughout their bodies: Ahmed Wa’el Sirdah, 5, and Mahmoud Mohammed Abu Tawq, 13.

 

·      At approximately 23:00, IOF moved into Zabbouba village, west of Jenin. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested 8 Palestinian civilians, including a child:

1.      Mubdi Mahmoud Maqalda, 18;

2.      Hussein Abu Zaytoun, 19;

3.      Sa’id Mohammed Jaradat, 19;

4.      Tha’er Bassam Maqalda, 19;

5.      Mohammed ‘Emad ‘Amarna, 18;

6.      ‘Abada Fudail Zughol, 18;

7.      Hussein Mohammed ‘Atatra, 16;

8.      Hassan Mohammed ‘Atatra, 19.

 

Wednesday, 28 January 2009

·      At approximately 01:00, IOF moved into Shyoukh village, northeast of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Isma’il Hamed Hassasna, 21.

 

·      At approximately 01:30, IOF moved into al-Zahiriya village, south of Hebron. They raided and searched a number of houses and arrested Khaled Mohammed al-Battat, 40.

 

·      At approximately 02:00, IOF warplanes bombarded tunnels along the Egyptian border, south of Rafah. A number of houses in the area were damaged, but no casualties were reported.

 

Continued Siege on the OPT

IOF have continued to impose a tightened siege on the OPT and imposed severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Occupied East Jerusalem.

 

Gaza Strip

IOF continue to impose a siege on the 1.5 million civilians of the Gaza Strip. The border crossings of the Strip have been closed for more than two years as part of IOF’s policy of collective punishment, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of civilians and goods. As a result, the territory is unable to secure basic foods, medicine, and other supplies, and the poverty rate now stands at more 80%.

 

The continued Israeli ban on fuel supplies has led to the paralysis of the educational sector. Healthcare facilities have registered a drop in clients due to the transport crisis, and hundreds of healthcare professionals have been unable to reach their work places.

 

The tightened siege has led to the collapse of the Gaza Strip economic sectors. Most production facilities have ceased to operate due to the siege and restriction on movement of goods and individuals.

With regard to Rafah International Crossing Point on the Egyptian border, the Egyptian authorities started to open on a limited basis for some patients.

 

IOF allow a very limited number of seriously ill patients and staff of international organizations to pass through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing..

 

The closure of border crossings deprives the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip of their right to freedom of movement, education and health. IOF also continue to impose severe restrictions on fishing in the Gaza Strip. Approximately 35,000 people in and around Gaza’s coastal communities rely on the fishing industry, including at least 3,500 fishermen, 2,500 support staff and their families. Fishermen have been subjected to intensive monitoring by IOF, which use helicopter gunships and gunboats to monitor the fishermen. The Oslo Accords permit Palestinian fishermen to go fishing up to 20 nautical miles from the Gaza coastline.  

 

During the twenty two day IOF offensive in the Gaza Strip, the civilian population suffered a massivie deterioration in the overall humanitarian situation. The resulting acute humanitarian crisis is increasingly impacting on all aspects of civilians life, and Palestinian civilians continue to be denied their economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights.

 

The overall deterioration of health services in the Gaza Strip has been exacerbated due to the overwhelming number of fatalities and casualties caused by the IOF military offensive. All medical institutions in the Gaza Strip continue to be affected, including hospitals, primary healthcare centers and mental health service providers. Health institutions cannot meet the demand for their services.

 

 

Movement at Border Crossings during the Reporting Period:

 

Movement at Karm Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) Crossing

14 – 27 January 2009

Date	Details
14 January 2009	104 containers of food aid for international humanitarian organizations were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
15  January 2009	65 containers of food aid for international humanitarian organizations were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
16 January 2009	73 containers of humanitarian aid were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
17 January 2009	52 containers of humanitarian aid were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
18 January 2009	97 containers of humanitarian aid were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
19 January 2009	108 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and of goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
20 January 2009	118 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
21 January 2009	71 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
22 January 2009	99.5 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
23 January 2009	65 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
24 January 2009	Closed.
25 January 2009	118 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
26 January 2009	118 containers of humanitarian aid for international humanitarian organizations and  goods for local traders were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
27 January 2009	Closed.

 

Movement at Rafah International Crossing Point

14 – 27 January 2009

 

Date	Details
14 January 2009	29 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 29 of their relatives, were allowed to travel to Egypt. 33 Arab physicians, 4 Palestinians, the bodies of two Palestinians who had died of their wounds, 14 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 24 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
15 January 2009	3 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 3 of their relatives, were allowed to travel to Egypt. 7 Arab physicians, 60 international journalists and 4 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
16 January 2009	16 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 16 of their relatives, were allowed to travel to Egypt. 6 international physicians, 5 international journalists, 20 Palestinians, 20 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 3 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
17 January 2009	37 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 37 of their relatives, were allowed to travel to Egypt. 24 Arab physicians, 15 internationals, 7 Palestinians, the body of a Palestinian who had died of his injuries and 10 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
18 January 2009	40 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 40 of their relatives, were allowed to travel to Egypt. 48 Arab and international physicians, 60 international journalists, 5 Palestinians, the body of a Palestinian who died of his wounds, 15 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 11 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
19 January 2009	75 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 75 of their relatives, and 259 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 27 Arab physicians, 50 Palestinians, 28 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 3 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
20 January 2009	40 Palestinians who were injured by IOF, accompanied by 40 of their relatives, and 186 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 27 Arab and international physicians, 50 Palestinians, 28 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 3 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
21 January 2009	66 Palestinian patients and 128 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 42 Palestinians, 107 Arabs and internationals and 10 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
22 January 2009	80 Palestinian patients and 150 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 200 Palestinians, Arabs and internationals, 12 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 15 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
23 January 2009	41 Palestinian patients, 20 physicians, 15 journalists, 20 Egyptians and a delegation of Hamas were allowed to travel to Egypt. 50 Palestinians and a Kuwaiti delegation were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
24 January 2009	29 Palestinian patients and 95 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 11 Palestinians, 83 Arabs and internationals, 10 trucks of medicines and medical equipment and 10 ambulances were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
25 January 2009	76 Palestinian patients, 86 Arabs and internationals and delegations of Palestinian factions were allowed to travel to Egypt. 32 Palestinians, 5 internationals and 10 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
26 January 2009	20 Palestinian patients and 60 Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 117 Palestinians, Arab and international delegates and 10 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
27 January 2009	94 Palestinian patients, Arabs and internationals were allowed to travel to Egypt. 22 Palestinians, Arab and international delegations and 8 trucks of medicines and medical equipment were allowed into the Gaza Strip.

 

 

Movement at Nahal Ouz Crossing

19 – 27 January 2009

Date	Cooking Gas (tons)	Energy Fuel (liters)
19 January 2009	206.160	537,100
20 January 2009	198.900	443,000
21 January 2009	163.840	456,000
22 January 2009	199.680	444,400
25 January 2009	137.880	320,120
26 January 2009	103.880	169,140
27 January 2009	21.160	129,400

 

Movement at Nahal Ouz Crossing

19 – 27 January 2009

 

Date	Details
18 January 2009	18 trucks of wheat and 20 trucks of seeds were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
19 January 2009	34 trucks of wheat and 38 trucks of fodder were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
20 January 2009	48 trucks of wheat and 23 trucks of fodder  were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
21 January 2009	23 trucks of seeds and 14 ones of fodder were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
22 January 2009	43 trucks of wheat, 37 trucks of fodder and 12 trucks of seeds were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
26 January 2009	102 trucks of wheat, 51 trucks of feeds and 12 trucks of seeds were allowed into the Gaza Strip.
27 January 2009	6 trucks of seeds and wheat were allowed into the Gaza Strip.

 

The West Bank

IOF have imposed a tightened siege on the West Bank. During the reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.

·      Jerusalem: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians to and from the city. Thousands of Palestinian civilians from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been denied access to the city. IOF have established many checkpoints around and inside the city. Restrictions of the movement of Palestinian civilians often escalate on Fridays to prevent them from praying at the al-Aqsa Mosque. IOF often violently assault Palestinian civilians who attempt to bypass checkpoints and enter the city. IOF impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians on Fridays to restrict their access to the al-Aqsa Mosque. During the reporting period, IOF imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Friday morning, 23 January 2009, IOF prevented Palestinian civilians living outside of the Old Town from entering it. They also prevented Palestinian civilians aged below 50 from reaching the al-Aqsa Mosque for the Friday Prayer.

 

On Tuesday evening, 27 January, IOF troops positioned at the Container checkpoint, east of Jerusalem, arrested Ayman ‘Ali Abu ‘Arqoub, 23, from al-Sammou’ village southwest of Hebron.

 

·      Nablus: IOF have continued to impose severe restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Thursday and Saturday, 22 and January, IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints around Nablus imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians. On Sunday morning, 25 January, IOF troops positioned at Za’tara checkpoint, south of Nablus, conducted prolonged checking on Palestinian civilians. On Monday morning, 26 January, IOF troops positioned at various checkpoints around Nablus imposed additional restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians.

 

At approximately 14:00 on Sunday, 25 January, IOF troops positioned at Hawara checkpoint, south of Nablus, arrested ‘Abdullah Jihad al-Massimi, 17, from Ramallah.

 

·      Ramallah: On Monday evening, 26 January, IOF troops positioned at a checkpoint near Silwad village, northeast of Ramallah, arrested Ahmed ‘Abdullah Ba’irat, 35, and Ra’ed Suleiman Ba’irat, 28, both from Kufor Malek village east of Ramallah.

  

2.     Construction of the Annexation Wall

IOF have continued to construct the Annexation Wall inside West Bank territory. During the reporting period, IOF used force against peaceful demonstrations organized by Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders in protest at the construction of the Wall.

 

·      Following the Friday Prayer on 23 January, scores of Palestinian civilians organized a peaceful demonstration in Bal’ein village, west of Ramallah, in protest to the IOF offensive on the Gaza Strip. The demonstrators moved towards the Wall and threw stones at IOF troops positioned in the area. IOF troops immediately fired gunshots, rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, a Palestinian civilian and two international journalists were wounded:

1.      Khamis Fat’hi Abu Rahma, 28, hit by a tear gas canister to the head;

2.      Kazoki Kairo, 27, a Japanese journalist, hit by a tear gas canister to the hand;  

3.      A Spanish journalist, 40, hit by a tear gas canister to the thigh.  

 

·      Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 January, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international and Israeli human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in protest to the construction of the Wall in Ne’lin village, west of Ramallah. They moved towards areas of land which are threatened to be confiscated for the purpose of the construction of the Wall. IOF troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, sound bombs and tear gas canisters at the demonstrators. As a result, 6 demonstrators, including two children, were wounded:

1.      Mohammed ‘Essam al-Khawaja, 20, wounded by a gunshot to the right leg;

2.      Firas ‘Abdul Raziq, 32, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the head;

3.      ‘Abdul Qader Mustafa al-Khawaja, 18, wounded by a gunshot to the left leg;

4.      Ibrahim Khalil ‘Amira, 28, wounded by a gunshot to the right hand;

5.      Mohammed Ibrahim ‘Amira, 17, hit by a tear gas canister to the shoulder;

6.      Mohammed Ahmed ‘Amira, 16, wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the right leg.

 

·      Also following the Friday Prayer on 23 January, dozens of Palestinian civilians and international human rights defenders organized a peaceful demonstration in protest to the construction of the Wall in Jayous village, northeast of Qalqilya. They moved towards the Wall and attempted to pass through towards their lands, which are isolated by the Wall. IOF troops fired rubber-coated metal bullets, tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the demonstrators. As a result, Laith ‘Abdul Qader Saleem, 19, was wounded by a rubber-coated metal bullet to the leg..

 

3.      Judaization of Jerusalem

OF has recently escalated arbitrary measures against Palestinian civilians in East Jerusalem to force them to leave the city.

 

·      On Wednesday morning, 28 January, IOF moved into Wadi Qaddoum quarter in Silwan village, south of Jerusalem. They demolished the top floor of a three storey house belonging to Talal al-Shwaiki, claiming that it was built without a valid permit.

 

·      Also on Wednesday morning, IOF moved into Tal al-Foul area in Beit Hanina suburb, north of Jerusalem. They demolished a 3-storey house belonging to Mohammed ‘Eid al-Ja’bari, in which 45 people from five families were living. IOF claimed that the house was built without a valid permit.

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Recommendations to the International Community

1.      PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to fulfill their legal and moral obligations under Article 1 of the Convention to ensure Israel’s respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  PCHR believes that the conspiracy of silence practiced by the international community has encouraged Israel to act as if it is above the law and encourages Israel continue to violate international human rights and humanitarian law.

 

2.      PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to convene a conference to take effective steps to ensure Israel’s respect of the Convention in the OPT and to provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians.

 

3.      PCHR calls upon the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to comply with its legal obligations detailed in Article 146 of the Convention to search for and prosecute those responsible for grave breaches, namely war crimes.

 

4.      PCHR calls for the immediately implementation of the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice, which considers the construction of the Annexation Wall inside the West Bank illegal.

 

5.      PCHR recommends international civil society organizations, including human rights organizations, bar associations and NGOs to participate in the process of exposing those accused of grave breaches of international law and to urge their governments to bring these people to justice.

 

6.      PCHR calls upon the European Union to activate Article 2 of the Euro-Israel Association Agreement, which provides that Israel must respect human rights as a precondition for economic cooperation between the EU states and Israel.  PCHR further calls upon the EU states to prohibit import of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT.

 

7.      PCHR calls on the international community to recognize the Gaza disengagement plan, which was implemented in September 2005, for what it is - not an end to occupation but a compounding of the occupation and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. 

 

8.      In recognition of ICRC as the guardian of the Fourth Geneva Convention, PCHR calls upon the ICRC to increase its staff and activities in the OPT, including the facilitation of family visitations to Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

 

9.      PCHR appreciates the efforts of international civil society, including human rights organizations, bar associations, unions and NGOs, and urges them to continue their role in pressuring their governments to secure Israel’s respect for human rights in the OPT and to end its attacks on Palestinian civilians.

 

10.  PCHR calls upon the international community to pressure Israel to lift the severe restrictions imposed by the Israeli government and its occupation forces on access for international organizations to the OPT.

 

11.  PCHR reiterates that any political settlement not based on international human rights law and humanitarian law cannot lead to a peaceful and just solution of the Palestinian question.  Rather, such an arrangement can only lead to further suffering and instability in the region.  Any peace agreement or process must be based on respect for international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law.

 

…………………………………………………………

 

Public Document

For further information please visit our website (http://www.pchrgaza.org) or contact PCHR’s office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip by email (pchr@pchrgaza.org) or telephone (+972 (0)8 2824776 – 2825893).

 

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Iraq to Deny New License To Blackwater Mercenary Firm

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

U.S. Embassy’s Preferred Contractor Accused of Killings

By Ernesto Londoño and Qais Mizher, Washington Post 

The Iraqi government has informed the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that it will not issue a new operating license to Blackwater Worldwide, the embassy’s primary security company, which has come under scrutiny for allegedly using excessive force while protecting American diplomats, Iraqi and U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry conveyed its decision to U.S. officials in Baghdad on Friday, in one of the boldest moves the government has made since the Jan. 1 implementation of a security agreement with the United States that sharply curbed American power in Iraq.

Blackwater employees who have not been accused of improper conduct will be allowed to continue working as private security contractors in Iraq if they switch employers, Iraqi officials said Wednesday.

The officials said Blackwater must leave the country as soon as a joint Iraqi-U.S. committee finishes drawing up guidelines for private contractors under the security agreement. It is unclear how long that will take. Blackwater employees and other U.S. contractors had been immune from prosecution under Iraqi law.

“When the work of this committee ends,” Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf said, private security companies “will be under the authority of the Iraqi government, and those companies that don’t have licenses, such as Blackwater, should leave Iraq immediately.”

The State Department said Wednesday that its contractors will obey Iraqi law.

“We will work with the government of Iraq and our contractors to address the implications of this decision in a way that minimizes any impact on safety and security of embassy Baghdad personnel,” spokesman Noel Clay said.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said she was not aware of the Iraqi government’s decision.

“It would be irresponsible for me to comment on a decision that may or may not have been reached,” she said in an e-mail Wednesday.

The United States was unable to persuade the Iraqi government to extend the immunity of its contractors past the expiration of the U.N. Security Council resolution on Dec. 31. No American diplomat has been killed during missions secured by Blackwater.

The North Carolina company became widely despised by Iraqis after a string of incidents during which its heavily armed guards were accused of using excessive force. The deadliest was the Sept. 16, 2007, shooting in Nisoor Square, in central Baghdad, when Blackwater guards opened fire on Iraqis in a crowded street, killing 17 civilians, after the guards’ convoy reportedly came under fire.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington last month charged five of the men with voluntary manslaughter and using a machine gun to commit a violent act. The men entered not guilty pleas and are awaiting trial. A sixth guard reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Private security companies working for the U.S. government in Iraq have been required to obtain licenses from the Iraqi Interior Ministry since 2004, but some have operated without licenses, and until this year, there was little the Iraqi government could do to enforce the rule.

The ministry revoked Blackwater’s license in September 2007 and threatened to expel the company’s employees, but U.S. officials ignored the order and renewed the company’s contract the following April.

Iraqi officials said Wednesday they decided not to issue the company a new license largely because of the Nisoor Square shooting.

“We informed the U.S. Embassy in Iraq about this decision, and they will have to find another company to replace them,” said Gen. Hussain Kamal, a senior Interior Ministry official.

Blackwater employees were also accused of shooting Iraqi guards working for a television station in the spring of 2007. And on Dec. 24, 2006, a drunk Blackwater guard fatally shot a guard employed by Iraqi Vice President Adel Abdul Mahdi.

According to a congressional report issued in October 2007, Blackwater guards have been involved in nearly 200 shootings in Iraq since 2005.

The company has received more than $1 billion from the federal government since 2000. In recent months, however, Blackwater has expanded its business model to rely less heavily on private security work overseas. Though tremendously profitable, the field has generated an avalanche of bad publicity for the company and exposed it to numerous lawsuits.

The two other large security companies that protect American diplomats in Iraq are DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, both based in Northern Virginia.

Blackwater employees work under the supervision of the embassy’s regional security officer. The company’s drivers and bodyguards take U.S. diplomats to meetings outside the Green Zone, and its pilots often fly in small helicopters over convoys as an added security measure. The Blackwater employees live in a compound in the Green Zone that is informally referred to as “man camp.” According to the October 2007 congressional report, Blackwater guards made more than $1,200 per day.

Private security contractors in Iraq last year became deeply concerned about losing their immunity with the implementation of the security agreement, which U.S. officials feared would trigger a mass exodus. But few have left. Instead, in recent months, Western private security companies have sought to build strong relationships with the Iraqi government and have hired more Iraqi guards.

Sami Hawa Hamud al-Sabahin, who was among those wounded in the Nisoor Square shooting, said he was overjoyed to hear the news about Blackwater.

“It makes me happy and lets me feel that the government didn’t forget us,” he said.

Umm Tahsin , the widow of Ali Khalil Abdul Hussein, one of the men killed in the shooting, also applauded the government’s decision. But she lamented that neither the Iraqi nor the U.S. government has compensated her family for their loss.

“Those people are a group of criminals,” she said of Blackwater. “What they did was a massacre. Pushing them out is the best solution. They destroyed our family.”

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Loophole allows terrorist detentions

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

By Eli Lake 

President Obama’s executive order closing CIA “black sites” contains a little-noticed exception that allows the spy agency to continue to operate temporary detention facilities abroad.

The provision illustrates that the president’s order to shutter foreign-based prisons, known as black sites, is not airtight and that the Central Intelligence Agency still has options if it wants to hold terrorist suspects for several days at a time.

Current and former U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition that they aren’t identified because of the sensitivity of the subject, said such temporary facilities around the world will remain open, giving the administration the opportunity to seize and hold assumed terrorists.

The detentions would be temporary. Suspects either would be brought later to the United States for trial or sent to other countries where they are wanted and can face trial.

The exception is evidence that the new administration, while announcing an end to many elements of the Bush “war on terror,” is leaving itself wiggle room to continue some of its predecessor’s practices regarding terrorist suspects.

According to the executive order, “The terms ‘detention facilities’ and ‘detention facility’ in section 4(a) of this order do not refer to facilities used only to hold people on a short-term, transitory basis.”

Analysts inside and outside government say this refers to so-called safe houses, which are buildings where operatives can go to protect themselves from pursuers or can hide people they have taken into custody.

“This executive order does not close down all operations. There are still facilities on a temporary basis, often called safe houses, for holding someone for a matter of days,” an administration official said.

Ken Gude, the associate director of international rights and responsibilities at the Center for American Progress, said the temporary facilities operated by the CIA should not be confused with the Bush administration’s black sites.

“My understanding is that these types of temporary facilities can be in no way described as a prison,” Mr. Gude said. “They are temporary holding facilities that the CIA has used in the past for decades, … often parts of exchange agreements with other foreign intelligence agencies.”

“For example, we may have an agreement with the Pakistanis, where we agree to pick someone up and we need a place to hold them temporarily while we decide what is the next appropriate course of action,” he said. “This is not like the so-called black site prisons that we heard about as part of the extraordinary rendition program.”

Michael Kraft, a former senior adviser at the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department, said the temporary facilities could be used for any number of reasons.

“A scenario might be, someone is picked up in country X, and maybe for logistics reasons, we hold him somewhere else, while a plane with larger fuel tanks is prepared to take him to his final destination,” said Mr. Kraft, who retired in 2004.

Duane Clarridge, who founded the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center, said the temporary facilities may be used for interrogations.

“It seems to me that they will take down terrorist suspects, bring them to a safe house, which is acquired on a temporary basis and controlled by the CIA or the military, where they interrogate the suspect over a period of days before making a decision on future disposition.

“We don’t know what that is; it could be a variety of things. It could be turn him over to the country of origin, or for standing trial in a third country, or release,” Mr. Clarridge said.

The practice of moving terrorist suspects abroad, called rendition, began during the Reagan administration and escalated under President Clinton. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush administration began classifying terrorist suspects as enemy combatants and holding them indefinitely without formal charges or the protections afforded prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions.

The closure of black-site prisons by Mr. Obama was part of a series of orders issued last week that included closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other measures to undo the previous administration’s war on terrorism. The president revoked all executive directives issued by the CIA between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 20, 2009, that have been used to justify harsh interrogation techniques, which critics have called torture. Mr. Obama also revoked Executive Order 13440, which declares al Qaeda and Taliban fighters to be “enemy combatants” and therefore not protected by the Geneva Conventions.

The CIA practiced rendition before Sept. 11, 2001, and in some cases sent suspected terrorists to countries where human rights groups have claimed they were tortured.

The issue of rendition will be one of the policies studied by a Cabinet-level special task force on interrogation and transfer policies.

While the CIA operated special prisons overseas for high-value al Qaeda and Taliban detainees, the agency holds no such detainees in custody today, two U.S. officials said.

The last person in the CIA detention program was Muhammed Rahim, purported to be a driver for Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of the Taliban that governed Afghanistan until being overthrown in a U.S.-led invasion shortly after Sept. 11.

Rahim was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay prison on March 14, 2008.

One of the two officials, when asked about the executive order Tuesday, said: “The wording seems to preserve the ability to capture terrorists. But long-term detention by the CIA is out.”

The loophole for safe houses worries the American Civil Liberties Union, which has pressed for the closing of Guantanamo Bay and the black sites.

“This is a place where what we all understood to be the CIA’s secret prison system with prisons in places like Poland and Thailand is shut down here, and there is no future detention authority to operate those facilities,” said Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the ACLU.

“But there is a provision on some kind of short-term detention authority, and our position is that the CIA should have no detention authority,” Mr. Anders said. “If President Obama has taken the CIA out of the prison business, he should also take the CIA out of the short-term jailer business as well.”

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Marijuana Reform Is Part of the Progressive Agenda

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

So Why Are Obama’s Drug Cops Already Making Pot Raids?

By Paul Armentano 

Pot-reform activists have swarmed Obama’s Change.gov, and huge majorities voted for pot reform in election ‘08, but no change yet from Obama.

This past August, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during a live interview with CNN, did something quite remarkable. She spoke candidly and openly about her support for marijuana-law reform. But rather than demanding her colleagues in Washington take the necessary steps to end the federal government’s seven-decade war on weed, she instead called on the public to act.

“We have important work to do outside the Congress in order for us to have success inside the Congress.” Pelosi said. “[W]e need peoples’ help to be in touch with their members of Congress to say why this (marijuana law reform) should be the case.”

As the saying goes, “Ask and ye shall receive.”

In the past few months, the public has expressed its support for marijuana law reform in unprecedented numbers. The election of former pot smoker, Barack “I inhaled frequently; that was the point” Obama, coupled with a sagging economy, has stimulated tens of thousands of Americans to demand their government stop spending its limited state and federal law enforcement resources on efforts targeting, arresting and prosecuting marijuana smokers.

For example, in December the question: “Will (President Obama) consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar-industry right here in the U.S.?” beat over 7,300 public-policy issues to claim the top spot in Change.gov’s inaugural “Open for Questions” poll. (Change.gov, now WhiteHouse.gov, was the official Web site of President Obama’s transition team.)

The first-place finish was hardly a fluke. The public’s demand to “legalize the medicinal and recreational use of marijuana” also finished first in a two-month-long Web poll hosted by the liberal-leaning social-networking Web site Change.org and Washington’s Case Foundation — finishing some 5,000 votes ahead of the next most popular idea.

More recently, 26,000 visitors cast their vote in a CNBC online poll asking, “Do you favor the decriminalization of marijuana use?” More than 97 percent of those who voted said yes.

Perhaps most impressively, in a follow-up poll conducted by the Obama administration — commissioned under the guise of creating a Citizens’ Briefing Book for the new president — the public’s call to “stop imprisoning responsible adult citizens” finished first out of 44,000 policy proposals. But that was far from the only marijuana-related question to resonate with the public. Amazingly, a separate question calling on the new administration to “stop using federal resources to undermine states’ medicinal marijuana laws” finished in third place.

Critics of the recent poll results are quick to note that online polls are not scientific and that arguably more Americans are concerned about other pressing social issues — such as rising unemployment, for instance — than care about reforming the United States’ pot policies. But those who interpret these results so superficially are missing the bigger political picture.

As the popularity of the marijuana issue in these polls indicates, there is a significant, vocal and identifiable minority of American society that wants to see an end to America’s archaic and overly punitive marijuana laws. Politicians, particularly progressive politicians, would be well-advised to acknowledge this interest group and respond accordingly.

Further, a majority of the American public is ready and willing to engage in a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing the use of cannabis by adults, even if their elected officials are not. One only has to log on to the thousands of public comments, both for and against, marijuana legalization on the message board of Change.gov and Change.org to see that Americans are pining for, if nothing else, an honest review of our nation’s so-called war on drugs.

So is the new administration listening? Apparently, not yet.

In response to the Change.gov poll, the administration posted a curt, one-sentence response, “President Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.” The reply, though disappointing to some, was hardly unexpected. In 2004, Obama voiced support for decriminalizing pot (a policy that replaces criminal sanctions with the imposition of fines only), but fell short of endorsing legalization. (Although as a candidate for president, Obama renounced his support for decriminalization.)

Less expected, however, were the actions of the Justice Department last week when U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials raided the office of a California medical marijuana provider, as well as two medical grow houses in Colorado. (The possession of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in both states, and nonprofit organizations may legally dispense marijuana to authorized patients under California law.)

The busts outraged many drug-law-reform advocates, who were quick to point out that the new president had pledged on the campaign trail not to use Justice Department resources to circumvent state medical marijuana laws. Many news outlets also were quick to voice criticism toward the new administration for continuing with the federal raids, noting that these aggressive actions possess little to no public support.

Of course, it is not yet known whether Obama directly authorized the DEA raids. (Both the DOJ and the DEA are staffed, in large part, by holdovers from the Bush regime.) That said, there’s also no indication that anyone at DOJ or DEA has been admonished for their behavior either. Obama’s silence on the issue so far may be telling. It may also be politically detrimental.

Rather than ignore the public’s calls for drug-policy reform, the new administration ought to be embracing it. After all, many of the same voters that put Barack Obama in the White House also voted by wide margins in November to liberalize marijuana laws in two states — Michigan and Massachusetts — and in nearly a dozen municipalities nationwide.

In fact, historically, marijuana-law reform has been a proven winner at the polls. Voters in 10 states and the District of Columbia have approved ballot measures legalizing the medical use of marijuana. (By contrast, only once — in South Dakota in 2006 — have voters rejected such a measure.)

Municipal ordinances mandating law enforcement to make the prosecution of minor pot offenses its “lowest priority” have enjoyed similar success — passing in more than a dozen cities across the country, including Denver, Seattle, Oakland, Calif., Santa Barbara, Calif., Missoula, Mont., Colombia, Mo., and Fayetteville, Ark.

These results shouldn’t be surprising. According to a national poll commissioned by CNN and Time magazine, 80 percent of Americans support the physician-supervised use of cannabis, and some 3 out of 4 say that adults should be fined, but not jailed, for using pot recreationally.

In short, marijuana-law reform should no longer be viewed by legislators as a political liability. It isn’t. Instead, for the new administration and for 111th Congress, it is a political opportunity. The sooner our federally elected leaders recognize this fact, the sooner we, and they, can begin to undo the damage caused by America’s longest and costliest war, the so-called war on drugs.

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Military seeks better use of finger, eye scans

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON — On the front lines in Iraq, U.S. troops can scan someone’s eye or finger to try to determine if he is a potential enemy or has been connected to a terror attack.

At military bases on U.S. soil, it’s not that easy.

The use of biometrics - ranging from simple fingerprints to more advanced retinal and facial scans - has thrived in Iraq, where soldiers carry handheld devices that enable them to link to databases filled with hundreds of thousands of identities.

But in Colorado, military bases just 20 miles or so apart have different identification requirements and access procedures for personnel or contractors trying to get onto the property. The gaps raise security concerns and worries of another attempted massacre scheme, like the one foiled at Fort Dix in New Jersey in 2007.

“Interestingly, we are probably further forward in using biometrics outside our country in some of the combat environments than we are inside our country,” Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said Tuesday. “We’ve got to find a way to fix that.”

Speaking at a biometrics conference, Renuart said the military services and law enforcement agencies around the country all carry different ID badges, and many are embedded with different information. And in some cases those agencies, he said, also have different computer databases that don’t communicate well.

The more coordinated collection and use of biometrics, however, raises privacy concerns in the United States as well as in Iraq, where there are fears the information could be used for ethnic cleansing, to discern whether someone is a Sunni or a Shiite. And the presidential order for improved information sharing is also among the directives signed by President Bush that may be reviewed anew by the Obama administration.

Using biometrics on the battlefield took hold early in the Afghanistan war, when U.S. officials wanted to allow Afghan Muslim pilgrims to travel to the holy city of Mecca for the annual hajj. Officials reached for biometrics as a way to track who was traveling to Saudi Arabia, and to make sure those were the same people allowed back.

Renuart, the military commander in charge of domestic defense, said the thousands of Defense Department installations across the country - from sprawling bases to smaller compounds - have different access requirements and their plastic-encased ID cards may not look the same or tap into similar personal data.

Guards at the gates, he said, are also confronted with an array of contractors, vendors and representatives from other federal agencies - from the FBI to the Department of Homeland Security - all with identification cards that could be faked or stolen.

“ID cards give you data, but they don’t necessarily give you all the right data,” said Renuart. “They don’t give you access into a database that will allow you very quickly to discern whether this person is here legally or not” or if they are a criminal or someone who should not be allowed onto the base.

Underscoring the possible threat, Renuart pointed to the Fort Dix case in which five Muslim immigrants were convicted of conspiracy late last month in connection with a plot to kill military personnel at the base. They were acquitted of attempted murder after prosecutors acknowledged the men were probably months away from an attack and did not necessarily have a specific plan. And they were not accused of any ties to foreign terror groups.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., called biometrics the best non-lethal defense against terrorism, and he said Tuesday that while federal agencies have information, it often can’t be shared or accessed easily.

The Defense Science Board, in a 2007 report, echoed many of the same concerns about gaps in information sharing, coordination and research and development. The board, a standing committee of outside experts, including retired military officers and former government officials, found that biometrics is growing in importance and while technology is improving, there is still more to be done.

President Bush signed the presidential directive last June ordering senior leaders to develop coordinated guidelines for the timely collection, storage, use and sharing of biometric information, and giving them a year to report back.

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Economic Policy Could Scuttle Obama’s Good Start

Thursday, January 29th, 2009

By Robert Scheer 

Only a week into the new administration, and yet there is this nagging thought that Barack Obama’s legacy already hangs in the balance. Sounds absurd, I know, given the brief time, but his early response to the financial meltdown is just that important. Despite a terrific start in so many directions, Obama is up against an economic crisis that, although not of his making, will, if handled improperly, spell his—and the nation’s—undoing.

Obama is in these early weeks making trillion-dollar decisions that will cast the die for the rest of his promising agenda. Unfortunately, while the new president has already proved to be a brilliant and super-competent agent of change in so many ways, in matters of economic policy he has relied excessively on the financial “experts” who helped get America into this mess.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers are retreads from the Clinton years who sided with congressional Republicans in unraveling the regulatory regime created by Franklin Roosevelt that had served the nation so well. Perhaps they have now come to their senses, given the financial horrors that their deregulatory mania unleashed, but it gives one pause to see these folks back on center stage performing with the same arrogant aplomb as they did when they had it all wrong.

We can only hope they are now prepared to make amends, although Geithner and Summers often seem to be pushing for more of the same: bankers first, women and children later. The good news is that the message coming from the mouth of the new president is that he intends to make a significant departure from the Bush bailout, by placing emphasis on preventing foreclosures, curtailing bank lobbying and holding the recipients of federal funds responsible for opening the tap of loans to the public. The structure of the stimulus package is also reassuring, with its emphasis on spending money in ways that will improve the quality of life for ordinary Americans and its ban on bonuses for corporate execs who utterly failed in their responsibilities. Imagine how much better off we would be if we had just taken the first $350 billion of TARP funds and used it to help teachers, cops, nurses and firemen buy homes in the communities they serve.

We certainly should give Obama the benefit of the doubt. In every other area his early performance has been stellar. Certainly so with respect to human rights and protection of civil liberties; in his first week in office, he reversed many of the atrocious Bush-era policies. With an urgency unmatched by any other modern president, Obama has sharply countered America’s tainted image by acting to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, ban the CIA’s “enhanced” interrogation tactics and restore the power of the Freedom of Information Act to ensure public access to the information required for an informed democracy.

In other important instances, Obama has been refreshingly true to the promises of his campaign by taking the first steps toward ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq, by moving toward energy conservation and by ending punishment of international health organizations that have been severely undermined by the dictates of anti-abortion zealots. His early actions on global warming and the Mideast show a clarity of commitment absent from the executive office over the past eight years.

In these areas, Obama has acted with an informed confidence not always evidenced in his initial moves on the economy. Why, in the management of the economy, do we hear so little from the Chicago community organizer concerned with the pain of the average person and instead perceive so much of the sensibility of the Harvard business and law school elite, preoccupied with the well-being of the denizens of Wall Street?

As Obama stated in his inauguration speech, “A nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.” That is the problem with the Bush bailout, which Obama asked to be extended and which has resulted in little more than a rearranging of the chairs, not to mention the commodes, of the first-class passengers on a sinking ship. It has been the biggest corporate welfare program in history, enabling Wall Street hustlers to cut themselves lucrative deals while so many millions lose their jobs and homes. I’m betting that Obama will try to put a stop to all of this, but he needs to hear from ordinary folks who are hurting and outraged.

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