By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 29 Iraq arrested over sixty security officials for their connection to a twin suicide bombing in central Baghdad. Among those arrested were Iraqi soldiers and members of the police force.

An Iraqi military spokesperson confirmed that eleven army officers along with fifty security officials were arrested for involvement. Among those individuals were thirteen senior officials. The bombing killed one hundred fifty five people and injured over five hundred. The attack was the worst in Iraq in over two years.

The men arrested will be investigated to see if they had any involvement in the attacks themselves or if they failed to do their jobs. Iraq frequently arrests security personnel after an attack of this magnitude, but the current situation marks the first time where it has been referred to as the official policy of the Iraqi government.

The bombings that struck two government buildings have lead to a wave of public anger aimed at Iraqi security officials. The BBC’s Gabriel Gatehouse explains that the investigation gives credence to the individuals who believe that security forces are susceptible to infiltration by insurgents or are simply unable to handle the job of protecting Iraq.

The arrests come at a time in Iraq where there are questions whether the government has the ability to protect its citizens. Increasing the concerns is January’s election and the coming removal of United States troops in 2011. The Iraqi government has blamed the attacks on al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein’s Baath party.

Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshiyar Zebari, called for a United Nations investigation into the bombings. He urged the UN to investigate the bombings for external inference and accused Syria of providing a safe haven for the bombers. Syrian leaders in Damascus have denied this. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that he will be sending an envoy to Iraq to consult on the countries “security and sovereignty.”

Mr. Zebari also asserted that the security aims of the country must be met for the planned US withdrawal to proceed. He explained that “the Americans cannot just wash their hands to say ‘we are no longer engaged or interested because we have our own timetable’.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Dozens of Security Force Members Held Over Baghdad Bombs – 29 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Officers Held Over Baghdad Blasts – 29 October 2009

AP – Iraq Arrests Security Officials Over Baghdad Blast – 29 October 2009

BBC – Police Arrested Over Iraq Bombing – 29 October 2009

Reuters – Iraq Arrests Senior Officers, Vows More Over Blasts – 29 October 2009

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – The Yemeni coast guard seized a boat they say illegally entered the country’s territorial waters, near the island of Midi under the suspicion that it was smuggling arms to Shiite rebels battling government troops in the Northern Yemen province of Sa’na.

The ship’s cargo, consisting mostly of anti tank shells, was seized and her crew of five Iranians were detained under a suspicion that they were “instructors” planning the delivery of weapons and the evacuation of wounded Iranians.

Al-Alam TV, an Iranian state broadcaster, reported the incident as a mere “fabrication of the media.”  While, no comment has been issued by the Yemeni central government they have long accused Iran of supporting Shiite rebels.  Last week, Yemeni President, Ali Abdullah Saleh issued a statement alleging that Iranian dignitaries were the source of funding for previously captured rebel troops.

On Tuesday, a court in Sa’na sentenced four al-Houthi rebels to death.  This is the third trial stemming from a series of rebel clashes with government forces – twelve others have been sentenced to death in earlier trials relating to the fighting.

Clashes between al-Huthi rebels and government forces have continued sporadically for the past five-years.  The Rebels accuse authorities of neglecting their needs and of allying with hard-line Sunni fundamentalists. The fighting has intensified since August, killing hundreds in the region and displacing thousands more.  A humanitarian crisis continues to loom due to the inability of aid workers accessing the region.

For more information please see:

BBC – Yemenis Intercept ‘Iranian Ship’ – October 27 2009

Associated Press – Yemen Seizes Boat off Coast, Arrests 5 Iranians – October 27 2009

Reuters – Yemen Seizes Weapons Vessel with Iranian Crew – October 26 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – On October 29 Iran responded to a draft deal proposed the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), the nuclear arm of the United Nations. Iran reportedly is insisting that significant changes be made to the original agreed upon document. However, reports indicate that Iranian leaders have agreed to the basic framework of the deal.

The deal was agreed upon on October 21 in Vienna, Austria at a meeting organized by the United Nations.  It was agreed to by representatives of the Untied States, Russia, France. The Iranian negotiators did not have the ultimate authority to agree to the deal at the time.

The draft deal was forwarded to the Iranian leaders in order to get an official response. The initial deadline for Iran to respond to the deal was October 23. The deadline passed without response allegedly because of conflicting views from senior Iranian officials.

The goal is that the deal would reduce the amount of nuclear material that Iran would have to make a nuclear weapon. The United States has long feared that Iran’s goal with its nuclear program is a bomb, but Iranian leaders deny this. The original draft deal would have Iran sending its low enriched uranium abroad. It would then be sent back to Iran as material for use in medical research and treatment at a reactor located in Tehran.

Sources close to Iranian officials suggest that the country is looking to have two changes made to the draft deal. They first want to give up their stock of low enriched uranium gradually in several batches as opposed to seventy five percent at once. Iran currently has fifteen hundred kilograms of low enriched uranium, developed in defiance of three UN resolutions.

Secondly, Iran wants to receive highly enriched uranium fuel at the same time as they give up low enriched uranium. The amount would be determined by a formula calculated by the IAEA based on the needs of their reactor. A senior European official characterized the Iranian response as “basically a refusal.”

Despite the requested changes, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad insists that Iran is ready for nuclear cooperation. Ahmedinejad reiterated that Iran welcomes “the exchange of fuel, technical cooperation and construction of power plants and reactors and we are prepared to cooperate (in those areas).”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iran to Propose Two Amendments to IAEA Deal: Report – 29 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Iran ‘Seeks Change to Nuclear Deal’ – 29 October 2009

BBC – UN Hopes For Iran Nuclear Accord – 29 October 2009

CNN – Iran Responds to Nuclear Proposal – 29 October 2009

New York Times – Iran Said to Reject Key Element of Nuclear Deal – 29 October 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – The Hamas Interior Ministry released a statement on October 28, saying that it would not open polling stations for the national elections announced by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. The statement said that Abbas did not have the authority to call such elections without a national agreement, and characterized the move as “illegal and unconstitutional.”

 

President Abbas had announced that Palestinian elections would be held on January 24, 2010, after Hamas party leadership refused to sign an Egyptian-mediated reconciliation agreement between Hamas and its rival party, Fatah, which governs the West Bank. Ehab Al-Ghsain, the Hamas interior ministry spokesperson, said that Gazan officials have been instructed not to cooperate with any Fatah efforts to stage the election.

 

“Any preparations, any committees, any collecting of names will be regarded as an illegal action that we will pursue,” said Al-Ghsain.

 

Ghsain also said that the Palestinian Central Election Commission, which currently has five offices in Gaza, is no longer authorized to operate in the Gaza Strip, since Hamas and Fatah had agreed during the Egyptian negotiations that a new election oversight body should be formed.

 

The relationship between Hamas and Fatah erupted into a feud after Hamas took a large share of the Gaza parliamentary seats after the January 2006 elections. The two parties formed a tense power-sharing government for approximately a year, but after fighting between the two parties in June 2007, Hamas took over Fatah-run buildings and military posts in Gaza to prevent what it perceived as “a coup by some elements inside Fatah security forces.” Hamas subsequently banned Fatah from Gaza.

 

Despite the tumultuous history, Salih Rafat, a senior official with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) expressed hope that Hamas would eventually decide to participate in the elections.

 

“The leadership [of the PLO] is now making calls to all the Arab countries to assume their role with Hamas to facilitate the holding of these elections,” Rafat told the AFP news agency.

 

For more information, please see:

 

International Middle East Media Center – This Week in Palestine – 30 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Hamas “Bans” January Polls in Gaza – 28 October 2009

 

BBC News – Hamas in Gaza Elections Warning – 28 October 2009

 

Press TV – Hamas Rejects Elections in Gaza – 28 October 2009

 

Radio France Internationale – Hamas to Ban Elections in Gaza – 28 October 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JIFTLIK, Israel/West Bank – Amnesty International released a report on October 27, alleging that Israel unreasonably restricts Palestinians’ access to water in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Under the Oslo Accords, Israel and the Palestinian Authority are supposed to maintain shared control over water resources.

 

The report said that Israelis, particularly those in settlements in the West Bank, use up to 80% of the water from the Mountain Aquifer, which lies underneath the West Bank. The Mountain Aquifer is the only water source for most Palestinians in the West Bank, while only one of several for Israeli settlements. It also states that Israel takes all available water from the Jordan River, which runs down the eastern edge of the West Bank. The report estimated that Israelis use approximately 400 liters of water per person per day, while Palestinians are allowed 70 liters of water per person per day.

 

“The core issue is control over water resources and how Israel exercises that control to restrict access water for Palestinians,” said Donatella Rovera, the researcher who authored the Amnesty report. “There isn’t a lot of water, but there is water, and it should be divided in a more equitable manner. It is a shared resource that belongs to both Israelis and Palestinians.”

 

In the Palestinian village of Hebron, one of the seventeen wells has dried up, as has the nearby spring, Ein Shibley.

 

“There is very little water,” said Hussein Aidi, a farmer from Hebron. To secure more water, Mr. Aidi and his neighbors would have to dig deeper wells, requiring permits from the Israelis.

 

“The Israelis control the water,” said Mr. Aidi. “Their farmers can use as much water as they like. But they won’t allow us to dig deeper wells, and any water they give us is restricted.”

 

Closer to Jerusalem, Bedouin water holes have gone dry, forcing a halt on regular showers, laundry, and running toilets. Meanwhile, the Israeli Carmel settlement on the hill above features green, lush gardens.

 

Israel’s Water Authority protested the report, saying Amnesty International’s researchers had not consulted with the Israelis before publishing it. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said that Israel has “extensively surpassed the obligatory quantity” of water under the Oslo Accords, while Palestinians have “significantly violated” their own commitments under the treaty.

 

For more information, please see:

 

The National – Israelis Cut Water Supply to a Trickle – 28 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Israel “Cutting Palestinian Water” – 27 October 2009

 

Amnesty International – Israel Rations Palestinians to Trickle of Water – 27 October 2009

 

Jerusalem Post – Water Authority Blasts Amnesty On Report – 27 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Dry Water Holes Versus Green Gardens – 27 October 2009