By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

LONDON, England – On January 11, the Times ran an editorial endorsed by 27 prominent lawyers and academics, which called the Israeli operations in Gaza war crimes.  While calling the Hamas rocket attacks “deplorable,” these legal scholars argue that the attacks do not justify Israel’s actions.  They reject Israel’s argument that the operations in Gaza are justified as self defense and state that under international law, self defense is subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality.

The editorial states: “The killing of almost 800 Palestinians, mostly civilians, and more than 3,000 injuries, accompanied by the destruction of schools, mosques, houses, UN compounds and government buildings, which Israel has a responsibility to protect under the Fourth Geneva Convention, is not commensurate to the deaths caused by Hamas rocket fire.”

The group contends that Israel’s actions amount to aggression, not self-defense, “not least because its assault on Gaza was unnecessary.”  In addition, the group argues that Israel’s invasion and bombardment amounts to collective punishment of Gaza’s 1.5 million residents.  Also, “the blockade of humanitarian relief, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and preventing access to basic necessities such as food and fuel, are prima facie war crimes.”

The group recognized that Hamas rocket and suicide attacks are also war crimes.  The group also recognized that “Israel has a right to take reasonable and proportionate means to protect its civilian population from such attacks.”  However, the manner and scale of Israel’s operations amount to acts of aggression and are “contrary to international law, notwithstanding the rocket attacks from Hamas.”

Similarly, condemnation from states and human rights groups continue to increase as the Israeli operations in Gaza enter their third week.  For example, on January 12, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeman, Hassan Qashqavi, stated that it is expected that an international court will bring to justice the Israeli leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.  Qashqavi’s statements followed a call by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to leaders of the regional states to support a demand for an international war crimes tribunal.

In addition, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled 10 resolutions before the UN General Assembly relating to Israel’s operations in Gaza.  Specifically, one urged the General Assembly to immediately set up an International Crimes Tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspected Israeli war criminals involved in the atrocities against Palestinians.

Additionally, Raji Sourani from the Palestinian Center for Human Rights said the Palestinian Authority will conduct legal proceedings against top Israeli officials for alleged war crimes committed during the Gaza operations.  According to Sourani, “The repeated bombing of clearly marked civilian buildings, where civilians were sheltering, crosses several red lines in regard to international law.”

According to Richard Falk, Israel’s violations include collective punishment, targeting civilians, and disproportionate military response.  While UN figures state that only a quarter of the casualties have been civilians, Mezan Center for Human Rights said that 85 percent of those killed were noncombatants.  In particular, the center mentions that over 200 children have died since Operation Cast Lead began on December 27. 

The Mezan Center explains the difference between their figures and the UN’s figures is the UN’s reluctance to include men, other than the elderly or infirmed, as noncombatants.  The center notes that the vast majority of men killed are not “Hamas militants,” but rather they are teachers, students, shopkeepers, construction workers, laborers, students, as well as the civil policemen.  Under international law, police officers are considered noncombatants and are not legitimate targets 

For more information, please see:

Free Gaza – ‘Spirit of Humanity’ Leaves for Gaza – 12 January 2009

ISRIA – Iran Calls for Trial of Israeli Leaders for War Crimes in Gaza – 12 January 2009

Sun2Surf – Investigate, Prosecute Israelis for War Crimes, UN Urged – 12 January 2009

EasyBourse Actualités – Syrian Foreign Min Accuses Israel of Gaza ‘War Crimes’ – 11 January 2009

Times – Israel’s Bombardment of Gaza is Not Self-Defence – 11 January 2009

Wall Street Journal – George E. Bisharat: Israel Is Committing War Crimes – 10 January 2009

Anti-War.com – Israel May Face Charges for War Crimes – 8 January 2009

Alter.Net – Israel’s War Crimes – 7 January 2009

Foreign Policy Association – Palestinian Authority to File War Crimes Charges Against Israel – 7 January 2009

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia– On January 11, Saudi professor and human rights advocate Matrook al-Faleh, was released from a maximum security prison near Riyadh, after being held for eight months without being charged.

Al-Faleh’s detention was in violation of the Saudi criminal code, which states that no individual may be held for more than a six month period without being charged.  According to a report by Human Rights Watch, it is not clear why the Saudi government initially arrested and detained al-Faleh.  However, the report stated that al-Faleh’s detention occurred just two days after he publicly criticized the prison conditions at Buraida General Prison, where the government had unlawfully imprisoned two other human rights activists at the time.  Al-Faleh’s subsequent arrest and detention has been heavily criticized by both Saudi and international human rights organizations.

To focus public attention on the conditions of prisons and the 11 political detainees, including al-Faleh, held without charges, in November 2008, more than 70 people participated in a hunger strike, protesting the government’s unlawful detention of human rights advocates.  The participants declared their commitment to fast for two days by using Internet forums such as facebook to publicize the strike, and remained in their homes during the strike to avoid violating a Saudi law that prohibits unauthorized public assemblies.  According to Saudi human rights activist Mohammad al-Qahtani, as a result of the widespread support for the political detainees throughout Saudi Arabia following the hunger strike, several of the detainees have been released, and prison conditions have slightly improved.

Al-Faleh is a well-known advocate for reform in Saudi Arabia.  In 2004, he was imprisoned after organizing a petition demanding that Saudi Arabia become a constitutional monarchy and create an elected parliament.  Although initially sentenced to seven years in prison, he was freed in 2005 and was later pardoned by King Abdullah. 

 

For more information, please see:

The National –Saudi Political Activist Released from Prison  – 12 January 2009

AP –Saudi Authorities Release Activist Jailed in May  – 11 January 2008

CNN – After 8 Months, Saudi Professor Released from Prison  – 11 January 2009

International Herald Tribune –Saudi Reformer Freed After 8 Months in Jail  – 11 January 2009

Middle East Online –Jailed Saudi Democracy Activist Freed  – 11 January 2009

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza – On January 10, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israel of illegal use of phosphorus munitions.  In their statement, HRW said that on January 9 and 10, its researchers observed multiple air-bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over what appeared to be the Gaza City and the Jabaliya refugee camp.

In addition, Palestinian medics in Khan Younis said the Israelis fired phosphorus shells at Khouza, in southern Gaza, that killed a woman and caused at least 60 people to suffer gas inhalation and burns.  The hospital’s chief doctor, Dr. Yousef Abu Rish, said “These people were burned over their bodies in a way that can only be caused by white phosphorus.”

Israel categorically denied HRW’s accusation and Palestinian medics’ reports of recent casualties from white phosphorus, saying that all weapons use were legal.  In a statement issued yesterday, military spokesman’s office said: “We don’t specify operational details, nor the type of ammunition that we use, but any ammunition that is used by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is within the scope of international law.”

The 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons says that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination.  However, HRW believes that the use of white phosphorus in densely populated areas, such as Gaza, violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life. 

James Ross, the Legal and Policy Director at HRW, said “We are concerned over its use over a densely populated area…Our concern is that it is being air-fired, often at relatively low altitude. We are particularly concerned over how it can cause severe civilian harm.”  When fired into the air, the smoke can provide a useful smoke screen to mask large troop movements.  However, the incendiary effects spread over a wider area.  Thus, when used in a densely populated area, it could have a widespread devastating impact on civilians.

Munir Albarsh, the Head of Emergency Medicine at Gaza’s Ministry of Health, said that doctors were collecting tissue samples at hospitals across Gaza to send for phosphorus testing at international laboratories. He added that the ministry would demand an independent international investigation into Israel’s use of white phosphorus.

Without independent investigation, there is no way to know for certain whether Israel used white phosphorus in densely populated areas. HRW statement said that their researcher did observe Israel using white phosphorus as an “obscurant,” which is permissible under international law.  Additionally, even if the burns were caused by white phosphorus, it is not conclusive on whether its use was illegal under international law.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Israeli Army ‘Using White Phosphorus’ (Video) – 12 January 2009

Times – Gaza’s Burn Victims Add to Pressure on Army Over Phosphorus – 12 January 2009

Associated Press – Rights Group: Israel Uses Incendiary Bombs in Gaza – 11 January 2009

BBC – Israel Denies Banned Weapons Use – 11 January 2009

HRW – Israel: Stop Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza – 10 January 2009

International Middle East Media Center – Human Rights Watch: ‘Israel is Using White-Phosphorus Against Gaza – 10 January 2009

Reuters – FACTBOX – Key Facts About White-Phosphorus Weapons – 10 January 2009

Guardian – Airburst Shells ‘Are Danger to Civilians’ – 9 January 2009

By Lauren Mellinger
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 SANA’A, Yemen – In December 2008, Amnesty International released in Annual Report on the State of the World’s Human Rights, stating that human rights and the rule of law in Yemen have experienced a major setback over the course of 2008.

2008 experienced a rollback of civil and political and human rights, which negatively affected the economic and social standing of many Yemeni citizens.  The Amnesty International report made reference to several instances of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment carried out by the government against Yemeni citizens.  Such treatment included violence carried out by Yemeni security forces against citizens, cases of arbitrary and prolonged detentions without legally charging the individual, unfair trials, and several cases of forced disappearances, extrajudicial execution and threats of physical liquidation.   According to the report, in several cases, individuals were detained solely for requesting information regarding a relative who was in detention.  In addition, the report called for the Yemeni government to promote women’s rights in Yemen, and abolish all forms of discriminatory treatment against women.

While the Yemeni government denies that it permits the execution of delinquent minors, Amnesty International alleges otherwise, citing the execution of Adel Muhammed Said Al-Ma’mari, who was executed despite appeals by the international community as well as medical evidence that Al-Ma’mari was not yet 18 at the time he committed the crime and was sentenced by the court.  Currently, Radfan Razaz, another minor, is at risk of imminent execution.

In December 2008, human rights and media activists from Yemen participated in the third regional training course, with other Middle Eastern and North African states, to improve existing regional human rights networks and establish new coalitions and organizations that will serve to foster further inter-governmental cooperation, develop additional mechanisms to protect human rights defenders, and to cooperate in the preparation of both governmental and non-governmental reports.

For more information, please see:

Amnesty International – Amnesty International Report 2008: The State of the World’s Human Rights – December 2008

Yemen Observer – Conclusion of the Third Regional Training Course on Human Rights – 30 December 2008

Yemen News Agency – 3rd Regional Training for Human Rights and Media Activists Wraps Up – 26 December 2008

Yemen Post – Amnesty International: Human Rights in Yemen See Major Setbacks in 2008 – 22 December 2008

GAZA CITY, Gaza – On January 8, United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the main UN aid agency in Gaza, announced that it was suspending its operations after an Israeli strike killed two workers.  An Israel tank shell killed two Palestinians forklift drivers in a UN aid convoy. 

“UNRWA decided to suspend all its operations in the Gaza Strip because of the increasing hostile actions against its premises and personnel,” Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA’s Gaza-based spokesman, said.  The suspension would continue “until the Israeli authorities can guarantee our safety and security”, said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness.

“Our installations have been hit, our workers have been killed in spite of the fact that the Israeli authorities have the coordinates of our facilities and that all our movements are coordinated with the Israeli army.”

Elena Mancusi Materi, UNRWA’s spokeswoman in Geneva, said the suspension concerned all truck movement in Gaza.  However, “If someone comes to one of our food distribution centers, we will give that person food. If people come to our clinics with injuries, we will treat them.”

For the second straight day, Israel suspended its Gaza operations for three hours to allow humanitarian aid to enter the besieged territory.  The UN said that an aid convoy at the Erez crossing came under fire just prior to when the cease was to take place. 

The Israeli military has not commented on the claim, but stated that it was investigating the incident.

For more information, please see:

BBC – UN Suspends Gaza Aid Operations – 8 January 2009

Financial Times – UN Suspends Gaza Operations – 8 January 2009

Houston Chronicle – UN Halts Aid Shipments, Cites Israeli Attacks – 8 January 2009

Jerusalem Post – UN Halts Aid Shipments to Gaza After Truck Driver Shot Dead – 8 January 2009

Radio Netherlands – UN Relief Agency Forced to Halt Work in Gaza – 8 January 2009

Reuters – UN Agency Halts Gaza Operations Over Israeli Fire – 8 January 2009

Times – UN Aid Agency Suspends Work After Gaza Strike – 8 January 2009