Air Strikes Continue Despite Gaza Israeli Truce Claims

By Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Gaza City, Palestine-The Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian militant group, reported on Thursday that it had agreed to stop a series of rocket fire on Israel, prompting an end to the most active fighting between the two sides since 2012.

An Islamic Jihad underground rocket launcher (photo courtesy of The Jerusalem Post)

Over two days of violence, Palestinian militants have fired more than sixty rockets into Israel, while Israel responded by caring out a series of air strikes in Gaza.  Fortunately, no serious casualties have been reported.

“After the Egyptian brothers initiated contacts with us in the past few hours, we agreed to restore the calm.  As long as the occupation honors the calm, we will honor the clam and instructions are being given right now to Al Quds brigades, our military wing, about this understanding,” stated Khaled Al Batch, the Islamic Jihad leader.

Before the truce was reached, the Islamic Jihad resumed its rocket fire on Israel, striking outside areas of two major cities.  The previous day saw dozens of rockets being fired on Israel, the largest barrage on Israel since an eight-day assault in late 2012

It was reported by an Egyptian senior security official, who brokered similar truces in the past that Egyptian intelligence officials had been communicating with the sides in brokering an agreement.

Israeli military officials stated it retaliated with renewed air strikes on “seven terror sites in southern Gaza.  Until this week, both sides largely observed a ceasefire that ended the Israeli offensive against rocket launchers in November 2012.

“Since yesterday, there has seen a substantial deterioration in the safety of the residents in southern Israel.  We have responded and will continue to do so to eliminate threats as they develop,” said Lt. Colonel Peter Lerner.

During this latest attack, Gaza’s ruling Hamas movement has not been involved.  Israeli leaders, however, say that they hold Hamas responsible because it rules the coastal Palestinian territory.  Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, responded by saying “Israel bears full responsibility fo the escalation.”

Gaza has been controlled by Hamas since them overrunning the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.  Currently, Abbas governs in the West Bank located on the opposite side of Israel.

“We condemn the aggression and all forms of military escalation, including rockets,” stated Hamas at a meeting in Cameron in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

For more information, please see the following: 

Aljazeera-Attacks continue despite Gaza truce claims-14 March 2014

National-Rockets fired from Gaza despite ceasefire with Israel-14 March 2014

BBC News-Gaza militants and Israel exchange strikes despite ‘truce’-13 March 2014

Jerusalem Post-Sporadic rocket fire from Gaza continues to hit South despite ‘ceasefire’-13 March 2014

 

Holder Calls for Reduced Reliance on Mandatory Minimums

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – US Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday called for shorter sentences for defendants in most of the nation’s drug crimes. Holder endorsed a proposal that would result in shorter sentences for non-violent drug trafficking offenses, citing the rising cost of operating federal prisons and fairer administration of justice.

Holder’s position appears consistent with statements he made last August about the “vicious cycle of poverty and incarceration” gripping communities. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

The proposal, created by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, is part of a larger move by the Department of Justice to lessen the penalties for non-violent drug offenders.  Holder has spoken out against mandatory minimum sentences, arguing for judicial discretion in developing appropriate sentencing guidelines.

“This overreliance on incarceration is not just financially unsustainable, it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate,” said Holder in a hearing before the Commission.

Holder insisted that removing these mandatory minimums would not prevent application of harsher sentences to violent drug offenders.

This proposal is just the latest step in an on-going move by the Justice Department to reduce the prison populations.  In August, Holder instructed prosecutors to stop charging non-violent drug traffickers with offenses that carried these mandatory minimum sentences.  The Sentencing Commission took notice, convening in January to consider eliminating mandatory minimums altogether.

Justice Department officials said the proposed amendment would result in a 17 percent decrease in the average length of prison sentences for non-violent offenders.  Moreover, it would shrink the federal prison population by 6,550 inmates over the next five years.

Holder’s proposal has been met with criticism from Raymond Morrogh, director-at-large for the National District Attorney’s Association, who considered the proposal to be “[r]ewarding convicted felons with lighter sentences because America can’t balance its budget.”

The seven member Sentencing Commission is expected to vote as soon as April to amend the sentencing guidelines.  The mandatory minimums will remain in effect, however, until such time that the Commission votes on the proposed amendment.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Eric Holder to push for shorter US drug sentences – 13 March 2014

CNN – Holder: I back a plan to reduce some drug-related sentences – 13 March 2014

Fox News – Holder backs reduced sentences for some drug traffickers – 13 March 2014

The New York Times – Holder Endorses Proposal to Reduce Drug Sentences – 13 March 2014

The Washington Post – Holder calls for reduced sentences for low-level drug offenders – 13 March 2014