By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – Israeli police clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on October 25. The incident was the latest in a recent series of tension-building confrontations between Israelis and Palestinians at the holy site.

 

In recent weeks, Palestinian demonstrators have taken to the streets of Jerusalem’s Old City, protesting the Israeli presence in the area and rumors that Israelis were conducting archaeological investigations underneath the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The site is holy to both Jews and Muslims. Jews know the site as the Temple Mount, and they believe it was the site of King Solomon’s temple. Muslims call the site Haram al-Sharif, and believe it was the site where the Prophet Mohammed ascended into heaven.

 

Though it remains unclear what was the catalyst for this most recent clash, early on the morning on October 25, Palestinians threw rocks at Israeli soldiers, who reportedly returned with stun grenades. Israeli police subsequently stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound two times.

 

As many as thirty Palestinians and nine Israeli police were injured, while twenty-one Palestinians were reportedly arrested. A journalist working for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was also reportedly taken to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to be treated for a broken jaw. Hatem Abdul Qader, the lead official in Jerusalem for the Palestinian Authority, was among those arrested. Qader was subsequently banned from the Old City for three weeks.

 

One local observer told Australia’s The Age that he watched the day’s events unfold from the Lion’s Gate to the Old City.

 

“I believe there was provocation on both sides,” said Mohammed Khan, a 21-year-old Palestinian. “The Israeli police knew that Palestinian people want to protest the occupation, so they come in large numbers …But many Palestinians see this as offensive, so they start throwing stones and then violence spread.”

 

The Israeli police reported that the Al-Aqsa Mosque was re-opened on the following day, though the re-opening was certainly not a resolution to the tension in Jerusalem’s Old City. A right-wing Israeli group called for Jewish mobilization to construct a third Jewish temple on the site. On the other end of the spectrum, Khaled Meshaal, the exiled leader of Hamas, called for Palestinians to abandon the peace process and respond to any Israeli violence with violence in kind.

 

For more information, please see:

 

The Age (Australia) – Israelis and Palestinians Clash on Temple Mount – 27 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Meshaal Urges Arab Action on Aqsa – 26 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – PA Official Banned from Jerusalem After Demonstration – 26 October 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Israel Police Battle Arab Rioters on Temple Mount; PA Official Arrested – 25 October 2009

 

New York Times – Israeli Police Clash with Palestinians at Sacred Compound in Jerusalem – 25 October 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – On October 20, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that his government would try to change international law regarding war crimes.

 

Netanyahu’s statement came amid his government’s toughening stance on the Goldstone Report endorsed by the UN Human Rights Council the week before. The report accused Israel and Hamas, the ruling Palestinian party in the Gaza Strip, of war crimes during heavy fighting between the two sides in Gaza last winter. During the 22-day conflict, approximately 1,400 Palestinians and thirteen Israelis were killed.

 

Netanyahu characterized the Goldstone Report as an attempt to “delegalize” the state of Israel, spreading false allegations against the country.

 

“I want to make it clear to everyone,” said Netanyahu at the October 20 meeting. “No one can undermine our ability and right to defend our children, our citizens and our communities.”

 

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak supported the Prime Minister’s statements, adding that a change in international war crimes laws was “in the interest of anyone fighting terrorism.”

 

Public opinion in Israel, however, has been more mixed. Newspaper editorials appeared in newspapers such as Ha’aretz, criticizing the government’s approach to the military action in Gaza as well as its aftermath, calling it “one-dimensional” and short-sighted.

 

International reaction has also been dubious. William Schabas, Chair of the International Institute for Criminal Investigation, told the Jerusalem Post that Netanyahu’s goals of changing the international laws of war was unrealistic, and that such an initiative was “almost an admission” that Israel had committed war crimes during the Gaza fighting.

 

“It’s one thing to claim that [the rules of war] should change,” said Schabas. “But that doesn’t give you an excuse to violate them until they’ve changed.”

 

Schabas added that one cannot change the rules by characterizing one’s enemies as cruel and vicious, and if a country breaks international law, the country behaves like the terrorists the country is trying to defeat.

 

During the October 20 cabinet meeting, Netanyahu also instructed the Israeli Justice Ministry to establish a unit to address legal challenges against Israeli officials and military officers in international courts. Charges have been brought by pro-Palestinian groups against such individuals in courts in Britain and other European countries during recent weeks.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Jerusalem Post – Schabas: Israeli Plan to Change Laws of War is Unrealistic – 22 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – Israel Push to Change Laws of War – 21 October 2009

 

ChinaView – Israel Strives to Change Int’l Law of War Following Goldstone Report – 21 October 2009

 

New York Times – Israel: Panel to Fight UN Report – 20 October 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Why Israel Failed in the Gaza War – 18 October 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

VIENNA, Austria – On October 21, a draft agreement was made for the export of Iran’s enriched uranium in Vienna. The agreement was formed between Iranian negotiators and representatives from the United States, France and Russia.

A final agreement could not be reached after two days of negotiations as the Iranian negotiators did not have the authority give a final sign-off on the wide reaching deal. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the atomic watchdog of the United Nations, all the countries involved have been given till October 23 to ratify the draft deal.

Under the agreed upon draft deal, twelve hundred kilograms of the low enriched uranium will be shipped out of Iran in order to be processed into fuel. Russian nuclear insiders allege that the uranium will first be sent to the IAEA, who will forward it to Russia for enrichment. Russia will subsequently return to enriched uranium to the IAEA who will send it to France. According to the insiders, France has the “cell elements” needed for Iran’s reactor.

This method of exporting uranium allows Iran to receive the fuel that it needs. At the same time it gives guarantees to countries, such as the United Sates, that the fuel will not be used to produce nuclear weapons.

IAEA Director Mohammed ElBaradei is confident that the agreement will help all sides move forward. He is hopeful that all sides, namely Iran, will agree to the deal negotiated in the Austrian capital. ElBaradei claims that the deal reached reflects “a balanced approach to move forwards” and that it would help normalize Iran’s relationship with the rest of the international community.

Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, claimed that Iran came to the meeting looking for cooperation. Soltanieh said that the talks were successful, but emphasized that Iran’s leaders would thoroughly look over the contents of the agreement.

The United States is urging Iran to act quickly in signing off on the agreement. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the United States looked forward to discussing “the full range of issues that have divided Iran and the United States for too long.”

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Draft Deal Agreed On Iran Uranium – 22 October 2009

AP – Diplomats: Iranian Negotiators Back Uranium Deal – 21 October 2009

BBC – Iran Nuclear Fuel Deal ‘Agreed’ – 21 October 2009

Guardian – Iran Nuclear Talks Reach Draft Deal To Export Enriched Uranium – 21 October 2009

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On October 20, the Iraqi Ministry of Health released a report concluding that eighty five thousand Iraqis were killed from 2004 to 2008. The report marks the first time since the beginning of the war that the Iraqi government attempted to estimate the number of dead. The estimate includes violent deaths of military, police and civilians, but fails to account for foreigners killed violently since the beginning of the war.

Previous attempts to estimate the number of Iraqis killed were controversial. Estimates produced earlier using a number of different methods put the number dead between one hundred thousand and half a million.

According to the ministry’s report, the number of dead includes over twelve hundred children and twenty three hundred women. Also among the killed are over two hundred fifty professors, twenty judges, ninety lawyers and two hundred sixty journalists. It is believed that these professions were specifically targeted when the country descended into chaos. Fifteen thousand unidentified bodies that have been found since 2004 were also included.

The current report does not account for the first few months of the U.S. led incursion into the country. There was no functioning government in the country at the time to count Iraqi deaths. The report additionally does not account from the number of missing Iraqis. Estimates put that number close to ten thousand individuals.

The report comes at a time where there has been a spike in the violence in Iraq. The Iraqi government blamed the increase on their neighboring countries, Iran and Syria. They accused Syria of harboring former Iraqi Baathists while the United States claims that Iran has been funding, arming and training armed groups in Iraq.

The Iraqi foreign minister has urged the countries to cease their operations within the country. Also, the human rights minister, Wijdan Salim, said, “”They need to stop interfering and stop the terrorism from entering Iraq by their borders.”

Despite the report and alleged interference from neighboring countries, Salim remains optimistic that the situation in Iraq will improve. He remains hopeful that “2010 will be better than now.”

For more information, please see:

Los Angeles Times – 85,000 Iraqis Killed In Almost 5 Years Of War, Baghdad Says – 15 October 2009

AFP – More Than 85,000 Iraqis Killed From 2004-2008: Ministry – 14 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Iraq Releases New Death Toll Figure – 14 October 2009

BBC – Iraq Says 85,000 Violently Killed – 14 October 2009

Reuters – Iraq Rights Ministry Says 85,000 Killed In 2004-08 – 13 October 2009

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

SA’NA, Yemen – A Yemeni court has sentenced 10 Huthi fighters to death and has jailed at least five others after a trial in the capital Sa’na. The fighters were sentenced to death on Tuesday for “associating with an armed group for criminal purposes, creating an organized terrorist group and resistance to the authorities.” The official SABA news agency reported the sentences given convicted members of the Huthi insurgency in the country’s north came one day after Huthu leader Al-Mohatwari was sentenced to death and 10 of this followers received jail terms ranging from 8 to 10 years.

The fighters were captured during clashes in Bani Husheish located about 30 kilometers from Sa’na between March and June 2008. A defense lawyer speaking to the AFP stated appeals had been lodged  on behalf of two members of the group, but that the 13 others refused to appeal on the grounds that they did not recognize the courts legitimacy.

Battles between Yemeni forces and Huti rebels have raged intermittently for five years. Operation Scorched earth was launched by the Yemeni government this seen and has seen a fierce escalation of hostilities in the region. Human Rights Watch has accused both the Yemeni government and rebel forces of endangering civilian life during the fighting.

For more information please see:

UPI – 10 Yemen Insurgents Draw Death Sentences – 21 October 2009

CNN – Yemen ‘Rebels’ Given Death Penalty – 21 October 2009

Al Jazeera – Yemen Fighters Sentenced to Death – 21 October 2009