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

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has issued a pardon for Saudi journalist Rossana al-Yami. Al- Yami was sentenced to 60 lashes and a two-year travel ban for her involvement in a television show in which a Saudi man detailed his sexual exploits. Al-Yami told the Reuters news agency, “the king has vindicated me. I am satisfied with the king’s order and I accept the decisions of the sovereign.”

The man at the center of the case, Mazen Abdul Jawad, is also seeking a pardon from the King. On the episode in question, Abdul Jawad bragged about his sexual exploits.  As a result, he was sentenced to five years in prison and 1,000 lashes. Abdul Jawad’s attorney Suleiman al-Jumeii maintains his client was duped by Lebanese Broadcast Company, which ran the episode, and was unaware in many instances that he was being recorded. Further, he urged the information minister to intercede with the King to include all those involved in the case under the same ministry committee. This was done in the hopes his client could be pardoned as well.[VAC1] Al-Jumeii issued a statement saying, “justice should not be divided as long as it is one case.”

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), King Abdullah’s decision sent an important message to the country’s courts regarding punishment of freedom expression. However, HRW still calls for real reforms in the legal system that will address the repeated attacks on the media by Saudi courts.

For more information please see:

Al-Jazeera – Saudi King Spares Journalist lashes – 27 October 2009

CNN – Royal Pardon for Saudi Journalist Sentenced to Lashes – 27 October 2009

Human Rights Watch – Saudi Arabia: King Overturns 60-Lashes Verdict Against Journalist – 27 October 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 27, at least ninety-nine individuals were killed in Baghdad as a result of a double suicide vehicle bombing. Reports have come forth that the death toll is greater than one hundred individuals and could still be rising. In addition to the dead, some figures state that over five hundred people were wounded by the dual bombings; other totals put the number closer to seven hundred.

The bombings took place in the heart of the Iraqi capital near the justice ministry and the headquarters of the Baghdad provincial administration. The buildings are located near the Tigris River and the high security “Green Zone.” The attack drew comparisons to the August 19 attack where one hundred individuals were killed by the truck bombing of two ministry buildings.

The number of individuals hurt by the explosion put a strain on local emergency services. The bombs destroyed dozens of vehicles, in addition to smashing the water pipes in the area. The streets were covered with debris and the bodies of those injured in the attack, forcing the authorities to close off the streets leading to the bomb site. Civilian vehicles were forced to supplement the emergency efforts on hand and help take injured individuals to the local hospital.

The bombs came from two truck bombs and represent the deadliest attack in Iraq since October 2007. The attacks come only three months after the United States ceded control of the cities to local Iraqi authorities. Among the dead were twenty-four school age children who were nearby when the trucks exploded. The children’s school bus ran into by one of trucks as they were trying to leave the Ministry of Justice.

While immediate credit for the attack wasn’t claimed, speculation after the explosions was that the attack was done by al Qaeda or remnants of Saddam Hussein’s Ba’athist regime. On October 27, the Islamic State of Iraq, a group alleged to be associated with al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the bombings. On a web posting, the group claimed that the bombers were “martyrs who had targeted the dens of infidelity.”

For more information, please see:

Telegraph – Al-Qaeda Claims Responsibility For Iraq’s Worst Suicide Bomb Attack In Two Years – 27 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Scores Die In Iraq Car Bombings – 26 October 2009

AFP – Twin Suicide Vehicle Bombings Kill 99 In Baghdad – 25 October 2009

BBC – Twin Baghdad Blasts Kill Scores – 25 October 2009

Telegraph – Baghdad Blasts: 132 People Killed In Worst Attack In Two Years – 25 October 2009