By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

RAMALLAH, West Bank – Failure to hold Palestinian parliamentary elections by the date set in an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation document is a violation of Palestinians’ right to democratic elections, according to the Al-Marsad Center for Human Rights. The human rights organization, based out of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, issued a statement on January 25, saying that the mandate for the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) had expired, and called upon Hamas to sign the reconciliation agreement and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to set a date for elections in June, the date called for by the reconciliation document.

 

As the expiration date for PLC members’ terms passed, the two major Palestinian parties argued about what the PLC’s next move should be. Hamas declared that their members’ mandate only ends when new parliamentarians have been sworn in, and are therefore allowed to remain in office until new elections are held. Fatah argued that the PLC’s mandate was legally over.

 

The PLC is the main legislative branch of the Palestinian territorial government, and is based in the West Bank. Hamas took control of the PLC in a landslide election in January 2006, replacing Fatah as the dominant party in the PLC. Since the Hamas take-over, however, the PLC has been largely unable to function, as Israel arrested most of the Hamas representatives after Hamas militants led a cross-border raid into Israel and captured an Israeli citizen. Both Hamas and Fatah representatives have been arrested by opposing parties, as long-standing animosity between the factions have grown stronger in the past few years.

 

Al-Marsad said in its statement that the current PLC should be regarded as a “caretaker council with limited powers,” and that “[n]ot holding elections on their legal and constitutional day is a serious violation of the right of the Palestinian citizens to practice their right to political participation through voting.”

 

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)’s Central Council met in Ramallah in December 2009 and asked the Palestinian president and legislature to continue in office until elections are held. Hamas has not recognized the Central Council’s decision.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Fatah and Hamas No Nearer to Unity as Palestinian Parliament’s Term Ends – 25 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Rights Org: Failure to Hold Elections Violates Palestinian Rights – 25 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Human Rights Organization: Position Paper on Elections – 25 January 2010

 

Ynet News – Palestinian Parliament’s Term Expires – 24 January 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MOSCOW, Russia – On January 21 Iranian and Russian officials said that Iran’s first nuclear power plant will be operating by mid-2011. Russian officials confirmed that the nuclear reactor would be started to be built in 2010. The plant will be located in the Iranian city of Bushehr. Russia’s nuclear chief, Sergei Kiryenko, commented that “2010 is the year of the Bushehr.”

Kiryenko also said that “all the work is going as scheduled. The tests are a success.” The Director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, also commented on the plants creation. Salehi said that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be operational by late September. He also explained that experts are conducting final tests and there would be no delays on the part of the Russians in the launching of the nuclear plant.

This development comes amidst rising tensions over Iran’s refusal to accept a proposal by the United Nations aimed at easing the international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA (nuclear arm of the united nations) plan calls for the Islamic Republic to ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and then to France where it would converted into fuel for Tehran’s medical purpose reactor.

Iran’s refusal to accept this deal lead to Western nations in the UN Security Council to threaten to imposed further sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The other two members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have called for more restraint and patience. Iran insists that they only have peaceful intentions with their nuclear program. The West believes that these claims are a cover-up for a nuclear weapons program.

The Bushehr plant’s construction began in 1974 but was abandoned five years later after the Islamic Revolution led to upheaval in Iran’s government. Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the Islamic Republic and the project after political pressure from the United States federal government. Russia ultimately agreed to complete the project.

In 1992 the two countries signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant. Russia started working on the plant in 1995 and its contract was estimated to worth close to one billion dollars. The plant was was originally scheduled to open in 1999 but has been repeatedly delayed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to Open in 2010 – 21 January 2010

Press TV – Russia: Bushehr Plant to Come on Stream in 2010 – 21 January 2010

RTT – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to be Launched by Mid-2010 – 21 January 2010

Washington Post – Russia Says to Start Iran Nuclear Plant in 2010 – 21 January 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza. On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

 

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza. “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

 

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade. Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

 

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N. Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

 

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease. Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit. Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

 

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand. Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

 

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region. The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms. But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go. Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons.

 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

 

For more information, please see:

 

BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 

Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 

Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza.  On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza.  “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009.  Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade.  Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N.  Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease.  Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit.  Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand.  Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region.  The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms.  But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go.  Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons. 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

For more information, please see:

 BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MOSCOW, Russia – On January 21 Iranian and Russian officials said that Iran’s first nuclear power plant will be operating by mid-2011. Russian officials confirmed that the nuclear reactor would be started to be built in 2010. The plant will be located in the Iranian city of Bushehr. Russia’s nuclear chief, Sergei Kiryenko, commented that “2010 is the year of the Bushehr.”

Kiryenko also said that “all the work is going as scheduled. The tests are a success.” The Director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, also commented on the plants creation. Salehi said that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be operational by late September. He also explained that experts are conducting final tests and there would be no delays on the part of the Russians in the launching of the nuclear plant.

This development comes amidst rising tensions over Iran’s refusal to accept a proposal by the United Nations aimed at easing the international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA (nuclear arm of the united nations) plan calls for the Islamic Republic to ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and then to France where it would converted into fuel for Tehran’s medical purpose reactor.

Iran’s refusal to accept this deal lead to Western nations in the UN Security Council to threaten to imposed further sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The other two members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have called for more restraint and patience. Iran insists that they only have peaceful intentions with their nuclear program. The West believes that these claims are a cover-up for a nuclear weapons program.

The Bushehr plant’s construction began in 1974 but was abandoned five years later after the Islamic Revolution led to upheaval in Iran’s government. Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the Islamic Republic and the project after political pressure from the United States federal government. Russia ultimately agreed to complete the project.

In 1992 the two countries signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant. Russia started working on the plant in 1995 and its contract was estimated to worth close to one billion dollars. The plant was was originally scheduled to open in 1999 but has been repeatedly delayed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to Open in 2010 – 21 January 2010

Press TV – Russia: Bushehr Plant to Come on Stream in 2010 – 21 January 2010

RTT – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to be Launched by Mid-2010 – 21 January 2010

Washington Post – Russia Says to Start Iran Nuclear Plant in 2010 – 21 January 2010