By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GENEVA, Switzerland – Iranian officials allowed Swiss diplomats access to the three American hikers that are currently being detained in Iran. The meeting between the captive Americans and Swiss envoys took place on September 29. The goal of the meeting was for the Swiss to see the exact condition under which the American hikers are being held. The Swiss government represents the United States’ interests in Iran as the U.S. and the Islamic Republic do not have formal diplomatic relations.

The three hikers currently being held are Joshua Fattal, 27, Shane Bauer, 27 and Sarah Shourd, 31. The three Americans went missing on July 31 after setting out on a hike in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The group came to Iraq from Northern Turkey, planning on a five day hike. The three were supposed to be joined by a fourth individual, Shon Meckfessel, who did not go on the hike. Meckfessel claims that his friends were not aware that they were near the Iranian border and that they had made “a simple and regrettable mistake.”

Iranian authorities have charged the three Americans with illegally entering the country. The mothers of the hikers wrote a letter the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. In their letters, they asked the country’s leader to bring the Americans with him when he came to New York for his address to the United Nation’s General Assembly.

President Ahmedinejad addressed the issue and said the actions of the hikers constituted an “illegal entry” that was clearly a crime. He also emphasized his lack of control over the Iranian judicial process. President Ahmedinejad did say that he would possibly be willing to ask to the judiciary to expedite their process and ask that they rule with leniency. However, an Iranian lawmaker indicated that hikers’ entry into the country could have been related to the contested June 12 election and that the country will look for the “real reason” why the hikers entered.

The U.S. State Department indicated that they were looking forward to hearing from the Swiss as to how the hikers were being treated. The White House has declared that they will not let the hikers’ detainment conflate with discussion regarding Iran’s nuclear program. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained that, “there isn’t any connection and there shouldn’t be. The hikers should be released.”

For more information, please see:

AFP – Swiss Granted Access to Americans in Iran – 29 September 2009

AP – Iran Will Allow Swiss Access to Detained Americans – 29 September 2009

BBC – Iran Allows Visit To U.S. Detainees – 29 September 2009

CNN – Iran to Let Swiss Officials Visit 3 Detained U.S. Hikers – 29 September 2009

Reuters – Swiss Confirm Visit to U.S. Hikers Held in Iran – 29 September 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GENEVA, Switzerland – Richard Goldstone, lead investigator of the United Nations fact-finding report on Israeli-Palestinian fighting in Gaza during the winter of 2008, called on the UN Human Rights Council to accept the report and to hold both Israelis and Palestinians accountable for violations of human rights laws.

 

“A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long,” said Goldstone to the UN Human Rights Council on September 29. “The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point…The ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence.”

 

The Goldstone Report called for the UN Security Council to refer any allegations of war crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague after six months from the report’s release if either the Israelis or the Palestinians did not investigate or prosecute those suspected of war crimes.

 

On September 30, Goldstone told CNN that he believed Israel had intentionally targeted civilians, though not as a policy, nor as the primary goal of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. However, Goldstone pointed to evidence that some of the civilian casualties were intentional.

 

“There was no mistake in bombing factories,” Goldstone said. “The Israeli intelligence has very precise information.”

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to the UN Human Rights Council on September 30, urging the Council to “come to its senses” and reject the Goldstone Report. Netanyahu said that the UN Human Rights Council has passed more resolutions against Israel than any other nation, and that adopting this report would harm peace efforts in the Middle East.

 

“It will harm the war on terrorism and it will grant legitimacy to terrorists who hide behind civilians,” said Netanyahu. “It will also harm the UN’s standing and, most of all, it will be a crippling blow to the peace process.”

 

Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch, emphasized that the Goldstone Report sharply criticized both the Israeli government and the Hamas government, demonstrating the report’s lack of bias. Whitson called on both Israel and Hamas to conduct thorough investigations of the report’s allegations.

 

“Israel has repeatedly shown that it lacks the political will to investigate itself impartially,” Whitson said. “And Hamas’s record on internal investigations is even worse.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Israel to UN Body: Come to Your Senses on Goldstone Report – 1 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Goldstone: Israel Intentionally Targeted Gaza Civilians – 1 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – UN Investigator Defends Gaza Report – 29 September 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Through Women’s Eyes: PCHR Report on Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead – 29 September 2009

 

Human Rights Watch – US: Endorse Goldstone Report on Gaza – 27 September 2009

 

 

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On September 28, a number of Iraqis died as a result of a number of bombings that took place throughout the country. While the exact number of dead has not been confirmed, estimates range between thirteen and eighteen dead as a result of the first major acts of violence in the country that followed the end of Ramadan. There had been somewhat of a pause in violence in the country since the Muslim holy month ended. Additionally, at least fifty five people were injured as a result of the bombings.

The deadliest bomb went off twenty miles west of the city of Ramadi, capital of the Anbar province.  It killed a number of Iraqi security forces members. The Anbar province and its capital were bases for insurgents after the United States invasion in 2003. A suicide attacker was able to blow up a water tanker that was packed with explosives at the headquarters of a quick response unit located on the highway. The explosion killed seven police officers and wounded ten others. The explosion also damaged a number of nearby buildings.

Another bomb went off in Diwaniyah, a city located one hundred miles south of Baghdad. The bomb went off in a minibus. Three passengers were killed while two others wounded.

Two bombs exploded in western Baghdad. The bombs went off in the Ghazaliyah neighborhood and killed three people. Among those killed was the commander of the army battalion. The first blast was a roadside bomb that did not kill anyone but injured one individual. The second bomb was attached to a parked motorcycle vehicle and accounted for the three deaths. Overall the Baghdad bombings wounded twenty-eight individuals.

A bomb also went off in the city of Mosul. This northern city is an area where it is believed that insurgents have regrouped after being forced out of Baghdad. A roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle exploded and killed two officers.

Despite the drop in violence from 2006 and 2007, roadside bombs and attempted assassinations are frequent occurrences. The primary targets for insurgents are Iraqi security forces, who are expected to take complete control of the country after all United States combat forces leave in August 2010.

For more information, please see:

Washington Post – Bombings Across Iraq Kill 15, Wound Dozens – 29 September 2009

AFP – Eighteen Killed, Dozens Wounded In Iraq Attacks – 28 September 2009

BBC – Iraq Hit By Deadly Bomb Attacks – 28 September 2009

New York Times – Holy Month Ends, And Violence Rises Again In Iraq – 28 September 2009

Reuters – Iraq Bomb Attacks End Ramadan Relative Lull – 28 September 2009

By Ahmad Shihadah

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – As Iran continued missile tests, Saudi officials in a closed door London meeting with British Intelligence chief John Scarlett and his Israeli counterpart Meir, agreed to give logistical support to Israel in the event it decides it decides to attack Iran. During the meeting it was agreed that Saudi Arabian air space would be available for Israeli airplanes to launch a hit-and-run operations against Iran. The Israeli offense and possible Iranian retaliatory strikes could result in the death of as many as 6 million people.

The alleged Iranian nuclear plant is located inside of a mountain near the ancient city of Qom and was discovered by British and Saudi officials. Both Tel Aviv and Riyadh perceive the site as a major threat. British Foreign Secretary David Milliband, acknowledged the danger of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and did not rule out military action but insisted “we are 100% focused on a diplomatic solution.” Further condemnations came from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and US President Barack Obama urging Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to comply with weapons inspectors or face more sanctions.

Iran insists that the tests were part of Sacred Defense Week’s annual military exercises to commemorate Iran’s with Iraq in the 1980s. They further stress that their nuclear work is for peaceful power generation.

Officials from Iran and the United States are set to meet next Thursday in what are the highest-level talks between the two sides in three decades. Also joining the talks are the members of the UN Security Council including – Britain, France, Russia and China as well as Germany. According to State department spokesmen P.J. Crowley the main question to be answered at the meeting is whether Iran is prepared to seriously address the concerns of the international community.

For More Information Please See:

Arab Monitor – Saudi Arabia said to make available its airspace for Israeli fighter jets – 28 September 2009

Israel News Agency – Israel, Saudi Arabia, US, UK join forces as Iran fires nuclear capable missiles – 28 September 2009

The Daily Express (UK) – Saudis will let Israel bomb Iran nuclear site – 27 September 2009

CNN – Thursday meeting with Iran to test Obama ‘engagement policy’ – 29 September 2009

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

JERUSALEM, Israel/West Bank – On September 27, fighting inside and outside the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem has further heightened tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, tensions that have already been strained after recent Israeli refusals to halt settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

 

After noon prayers on Sunday, September 27, fighting broke out, though the exact chain of events is unclear. Israeli police said that Muslim worshippers began throwing rocks at tourists. Palestinians have claimed that Jews from radical groups attempted to enter the mosque on the eve of the Jewish holy day, Yom Kippur. Regardless of what set off the initial event, Palestinians began loud protests, and Israeli police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. Thirty to forty people were injured and at least five people were arrested.

 

Mosque officials reported that they had asked Israeli police to not open the Moroccan Gate to any tourists on Sunday, in order to prevent any protests from Jewish settlers, but the police refused to do so. Instead, mosque officials said that police opened the gate early in the morning, and protected the settlers as they entered the mosque compound.

 

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, accused the Israelis of deliberately stoking tensions.

 

“At a time when [U.S.] President [Barack] Obama is trying to bridge the divide between Palestinians and Israelis, and to get negotiations back on track, Israel is deliberately escalating tensions in Jerusalem,” said Erekat on Sunday evening.

 

Erekat said the situation was reminiscent of former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s visit to the site in 2000. Sharon’s visit to Islam’s third-holiest site triggered the start of the Second Palestinian Intifada, or Uprising.

 

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, called for Palestinians to rise up in response to the incident, calling it a “Zionist crime.”

 

With Israeli government offices closed for Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, there was no official comment immediately following the skirmishes. There was no sign that any fighting at the Dome of the Rock continued the next day, though teens in Bethlehem threw rocks at an Israeli military watchtower, and Israeli military personnel responded by throwing a stun grenade.

 

For more information, please see:

 

Al-Jazeera – Arab Officials Condemn Aqsa Raid – 28 September 2009

 

Ha’aretz – Erekat: Israel Deliberately Escalating Tensions in Jerusalem – 28 September 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Bethlehem Teens Hurl Stones at Watchtower After Al-Aqsa Violence – 28 September 2009

 

Reuters – Palestinian “Moderate” Govt Slams Israel on Mosque – 28 September 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Extremists Have Attempted for Weeks to Storm Al Aqsa – 27 September 2009