The Middle East

Israeli Settlers Destroy Palestinian Trees, Property

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

NABLUS, West Bank – Israeli settlers set fire to Palestinian automobiles, farm equipment, and buildings, and uprooted over fifty trees in the early morning on December 6. The settlers were allegedly protesting the Israeli government’s decision of a ten-month suspension in settlement construction in West Bank. The decision was a response to the Palestinian demand to freeze construction as a precondition for restarting peace talks.

 

Settlers reportedly set fire to property belonging to two Palestinian farmers in the town of Einabus, near Nablus, as well as a car and barn in the same area. Firefighters from the Palestinian Civil Defense Department were able to contain the fires, and reported that the property losses amounted to $40,000 (US).

 

The Israeli Defense Forces told the Ma’an News Agency that they could not confirm that the arsons were revenge attacks for the temporary construction suspension, but that a large military contingent was in the area, operating under the assumption that it was indeed “a revenge act.”

 

Settlers from the Yizhar settlement were likely involved, according to sources. The day before the arsons, a rabbi from the Yizhar settlement published an article that promoted confrontation to protest the settlement suspension.

 

“If there is no quiet for the Jews, there will be no quiet for the Arabs,” the article said. “A Civil Administration base can serve as a target for a quick, precise infiltration that could damage and destroy one of their offices. You destroy ours, we destroy yours!”

 

Many settlers have expressed outrage at what they deem to be a betrayal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who they say was elected to preserve Israeli rule over the West Bank. Other Israelis believe Netanyahu is merely responding to pressure from the United States.

 

Prime Minister Netanyahu held a two-hour meeting with settlers in Tel Aviv on December 2, in which Netanyahu promised building could resume after the ten-month period. The settlers at the meeting widely dismissed any promises made by the Prime Minister.

 

Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Youth Protesting Settlement Freeze Block Jerusalem Entrance – 7 December 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Settlers Torch Palestinian Property, Uproot Trees – 7 December 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – West Bank Settlers Reject Netanyahu’s Plea for Support – 7 December 2009

 

BBC News – West Bank Settlers Reject Netanyahu Plea for Support – 3 December 2009

 

Christian Science Monitor – In Israeli Settlements, Residents and Builders Push Back on 10-Month Freeze – 1 December 2009

Alleged Police Brutality Puts Jordan in Spotlight

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

AMMAN, Jordan– The recent death of two Jordanians as a result of alleged police brutality has put the spotlight on human rights in Jordan.  These deaths have resulted in local and international human rights groups calling for excessive use of force cases to be tried in civil rather than closed police courts.

The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) in Jordan has warned that existing measures are not enough to deter policemen from using excessive force to impose public law and order.  Nisreen Zreiqat, the director of the NCHR’s criminal justice unit, has said that “we have recommended several times in our reports that cases of torture should be referred to a civil court instead of a police court to ensure the independence and transparency of the decisions.”

Maj Mohammad Khatib, the Public Security Directorate’s (PSD) spokesman, dismissed the NCHR’s concerns and noted that police resort to the use of force only when the situation dictates such.  Khatib has said that “the beatings only occur out of necessity, like when police need to take control of suspects.”  He also noted that “the PSD holds accountable those who resort to excessive use of force outside the law.”

Amnesty International said last week that the deaths of the two men at the hands of police within one week are a “very worrying development.”  They further went on to say that the police courts in Jordan are neither sufficiently independent nor transparent in their conduct.  Since the court decisions are not disclosed and the sessions are closed to the public, Amnesty International and other human rights groups fear that the current system in place serves as no deterrent to police brutality.

In response, the PSD defended itself.  They released a statement saying that “the trials take place within a court as a sign of respect to the uniform which we revere.  The police court decisions related to crimes are further reviewed by the court of cessation, which is an independent body.”

Nonetheless, the recent deaths have sparked a wave of anger throughout Jordan.

For more information, please see:

The National Newspaper- Deaths Put Spotlight on Human Rights in Jordan– 6 December 2009

The Seattle Times- Second Police Beating Raises Alarm in Jordan– 16 November 2009

Al Bawaba- Jordan: Second Citizen Dies by Police Beating– 15 November 2009

Lebanese Cabinet Allows Hezbollah to Keep Weapons

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon– On Wednesday, the Lebanese government endorsed Hezbollah’s right to keep its weapons cache to deter Israeli attacks.  This decision comes as the latest sign that Hezbollah has no intention of meeting a U.N. resolution calling for it to disarm.

Hezbollah is believed to have thousands of rockets and missiles hidden in bunkers and basements throughout Shi’ite Muslim areas throughout the country.  However, Hezbollah’s refusal to give up its weapons cache has created a great deal of division in the country as well as in Israel, which says it is in the process of preparing to deploy a defense system to shoot down rockets from Lebanon.

After Hezbollah’s 2006 war with Israel, a United Nations resolution was passed which called on the armed militant group to disarm.  Despite that resolution, Hezbollah says it must retain its weapons to fight off any future Israeli threat and persistent violations of Lebanon’s airspace.  Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, recently said that his group had replenished its weapons stock since the 2006 war and now has more than 30,000 rockets at its disposal.  These rockets are believed to be capable of striking anywhere in Israel.

All thirty members of the Lebanese cabinet voted Wednesday to approve the policy statement that endorses Hezbollah’s right to keep its weapons.   The adopted policy statement, which lays out the government’s goals for the next four years, illustrates how the government is reluctant to take strong action against Hezbollah for fear of instigating a crisis.  Of course, as many analysts believe, Hezbollah has virtual veto power over the government and so any reservations of instigating a crisis may be unfounded.

Nonetheless, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri largely dismissed the policy statement, arguing that its lasting effect is to tackle economic woes, financial instability and public debt.  The statement, to be presented to Parliament next week for a vote of confidence, is seen as a key to tacking the deep divisions between Hariri’s coalition and Syrian and Iranian backed Hezbollah and its allies.

For more information, please see:

Kuwait Times- Lebanon Government Backs Hezbollah Arms Right– 3 December 2009

The Associated Press- Lebanese Cabinet Lets Hezbollah Keep Its Weapons– 2 December 2009

BBC News- Hezbollah Weapons Right Endorsed– 2 December 2009

November Death Toll Lowest Since Beginning of Iraq War

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – The civilian death toll in Iraq dropped to its lowest level in November since the beginning the US-led invasion in 2003. At least eighty eight Iraqi civilians were killed during the month according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official. This is the first month in which less than one hundred civilians were killed since the beginning of the conflict. Overall one hundred and twenty two Iraqis died in November. Twenty two police officers and twelve soldiers died in addition to the civilians who were killed.

The November total is a noticeable drop from October’s death toll in which a total of four hundred and ten individuals were killed throughout Iraq. A large number of these deaths came during a twin suicide bombing near government offices in Baghdad in which one hundred fifty people were killed. The previous lowest monthly death was in May 2009, when one hundred fifty five people were killed. Among those were one hundred twenty four civilians.

The current monthly totals for casualties in Iraq pale in comparison to those of 2006 and 2007. The period was marked by rampant sectarian violence. In January 2007 alone two thousand Iraqi people were killed.

The low death toll number comes at a time where senior Iraqi and United States officials predict a possible increase in violence leading up to the country’s parliamentary election. The top US commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, predicted last month that politically motivated violence would be used to undermine the Iraqi government and security forces prior to the election. General Odierno recently said, “we still have a small group of extremist elements that will do anything and everything to undermine Iraq’s progress and the people’s confidence in the government in Iraq.”

While the reports of the decreased death toll pleased senior Iraqi officials, they emphasized that the numbers still could be improved upon. Ali Mussawi, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minster Nouri al-Maliki commented that, “we’re delighted with the decrease in the number of victims of terrorism, but we will only be happy when we eliminate all threats.” Mussawi also called on civilians and security forces to “remain vigilant because the enemy is waiting.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq Monthly Death Toll Lowest Since US Invasion – 1 December 2009

CNN – Iraq’s Civilian Death Toll in November is Lowest Since War Began – 1 December 2009

Associated Press – Iraq Reports Drop in Civilian Deaths in November – 30 November 2009

Reuters – Iraqi Civilian Deaths Drop to Lowest Level of War – 30 November 2009

Thousands of Palestinians Lost Residency Rights in East Jerusalem

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

EAST JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – The Israeli Interior Ministry stripped 4,577 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem of their residency rights during 2008, according to official state records released on December 3. The total was twenty-one times higher than the average number during the past forty years, and the highest total since the beginning of the Israeli rule over East Jerusalem.

 

The Interior Ministry said the drastic increase was due to an investigation into the legal status of thousands of East Jerusalem residents during March and April 2008. The Ministry said that most of those whose permits were revoked were no longer in Israel; ninety-nine were minors under the age of eighteen.

 

Israel began its rule over predominantly-Palestinian East Jerusalem after the 1967 War. During the first forty years of Israeli occupation, from 1967 to 2007, the Interior Ministry deprived a total of 8,558 Palestinians of their residency permits. Of all the Palestinians who lost their residency rights in the past forty-two years, 35% lost theirs in 2008.

 

Yotam Ben-Hillel, an attorney with Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual, said that Palestinians in East Jerusalem are treated the same as legal immigrants to Israel and are not entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return. Residents can easily lose their status, and once a Palestinian has lost his or her residency status, it can be extremely difficult or impossible to return to Jerusalem for any reason, even for a family visit.

 

“The list may include students who went for a few years to study in another country, and can no longer return to their homes,” said Ben-Hillel.

 

Those who had their residency permits revoked may not be associated with any other nation, so the individuals may now by stateless.

 

Palestinians have attacked the Interior Ministry’s actions, saying it undermines the feasibility of the Palestinian plan to have East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also excluded East Jerusalem from the recent freeze in settlement construction.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Financial Times – Israel Strips Thousands of Palestinians of Jerusalem Residency – 3 December 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Israel Stripped Thousands of Jerusalem Arabs of Residency in 2008 – 2 December 2009

 

Jordan Times – Israel Strips More Palestinians of Their Palestinian Status – 2 December 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Thousands in East Jerusalem Lost Residency Rights – 2 December 2009