By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt – Since Israel pulled out its ground forces on March 3, there has been a significant decrease of violence in Gaza.  The Israeli Defense Force has not conducted an air strike in Gaza since late March 7.  Also, Hamas claims that they have launched no rockets during the same period.  Palestinian and Egyptian officials credit this decrease in violence to ongoing talks between two militant groups in Gaza, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, and Israel.

Various leaders of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad have been meeting in Cairo with Egyptian mediators.  Also, There are reports that US and Israeli officials have been talking with Egyptian mediators.  The New York Times reported Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defense official, met with Egyptian officials in Cairo on March 9.

Palestinian officials, from both Hamas and Fatah, indicated that the talks will result in a ceasefire.  Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, said “with the developments in Egypt, I think there is an agreement in principle on that and a deal might be reached in the coming few days.”

Ismail Haniyeh, the former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, stated that Hamas “will help the Egyptian leadership to reach a reciprocal and simultaneous truce that will at the same time lead to the lifting of the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people.”

Despite comments from Palestinians and Egyptian officials, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert insisted “there is no deal, there are no negotiations, either direct or indirect.”  Olmert credits the relative peace to a lull in rocket attacks aimed at Israel; “if the Qassams stop landing … Israel will have no reason to fight the terror organizations there… We will have no reason to retaliate.”

It is reported that the Hamas and Islamic Jihad have three main demands.  First, the groups want the siege on Gaza lifted, which means an end to the blockade and military operations in Gaza.  Second, they want the Rafah border crossing into Egypt re-opened.  Third, they want guarantees that Israel will not target their leaders.

The main Israeli demands are that barrage of rockets attacks against Israel ends and that militants do not use the ceasefire as an opportunity to smuggle weapons into Gaza.

In related news, on March 9, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert approved construction for 750 housing units in East Jerusalem.  Contrary to the views of the international community, Israel draws a distinction between settlements in the East Jerusalem and the West Bank.  Since Israel holds that Jerusalem is the unified capital of Israel, it does not view settlements in East Jerusalem as violating international law.

However, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon called on Israel to halt any plans for construction and stated that “any settlement expansion is contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and to international law.”  Also, while US officials did not directly speak out against the decision, a US State Department spokesman said that the decision was “not helpful to the process” of achieving peace.

Al Jazeera suggests that the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, a key coalition partner, pressured Olmert to make the decision by threatening to quit the government unless the construction was approved.  On March 6, eight Israelis were killed when a Palestinian gunman infiltrated the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in West Jerusalem.  The school is a strong supporter of settlement expansion.  During the funerals following the attack, many religious leaders spoke out against Olmert and the ongoing peace talks with Abbas.  Olmert’s decision may be in reaction to the March 6 attack and the domestic political tensions it created.

For more information, please see:
New York Times – Talks, but no Truce, Accompany Lull in Gaza Violence – 11 March 2008

AFP – Israel, Hamas Hold Fire in Gaza – 10 March 2008

Al Jazeera – Hamas and Israel in Truce Mediation – 10 March 2008

Associated Press – US: Israeli Housing Move Unhelpful – 10 March 2008

CNN – UN Blasts Israel for West Bank Housing Expansion Plan – 10 March 2008

Reuters – Uneasy Lull Between Israeli Army and Gaza Militants – 10 March 2008

UN News Centre – As Israel Approves New Settlement Housing, UN’s Ban Ki-moon Calls for Halt – 10 March 2008

Al Jazeera – Olmert Backs Settlement Expansion – 9 March 2008

BAGDHAD, Iraq – On March 6, US-based Women for Women international released a report, which said that since the US-led invasion, the state of Iraqi women has become a “national crisis.”  The report interviewed 1500 Iraqi women. Two-thirds of the women interviewed said violence against them had increased since the U.S. led invasion.

The same organization released a similar report in 2004.  At that time, despite the fact that most women interviewed felt their families were not receiving their basic needs, over ninety percent were optimistic about the future.  The 2007 report found that only twenty-seven percent continued to be optimistic about the future of Iraq.

Women for Women’s CEO, Zainab Salbi, said “It has been five years since the American invasion of Iraq and while the mistakes made there continue to accumulate still no-one has stopped to listen to what this critical mass of the population, women, have to say about solving the problems.”

For more information, please see:
Reuters – IRAQ: Minister Leads Call to End Violence Against Women – 10 March 2008

Tehran Times – ‘National Crisis’ for Iraqi Women – 9 March 2008

CNN – ‘National Crisis’ for Iraqi Women – 6 March 2008

GENEVA, Switzerland – For the second time in two months, the UN Security Council was unable to agree on a statement condemning violence and unrest in the Middle East.  On March 6, the US prepared a statement, which carries less weight than a formal resolution, condemning a day of violence that included an attack at a seminary in Jerusalem.

Libya opposed the statement, believing that it should be more balanced and that it should also condemn Israel’s recent operation in Gaza.  Libya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Dabbashi, said the attack on the school was no different than Israeli military offensives against militants in Gaza.  He said that “when we have to condemn the killing of the Israeli civilians, we also have to look at what’s happening in Gaza.”

Israel stated that no comparison could be made between the two events.  Dan Gillerman, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nation, said that the attack on the seminary was not an act of retaliation, but rather “these people have been terrorizing Israel for years, have been carrying out suicide bombings and indiscriminate attacks for years.”

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, Arye Merkel, echoed Gillerman’s statement, by saying that there’s a major difference between the attack on the seminary and Israel’s operation in Gaza. He said, “We attack terrorists and unfortunately in a situation of war it happens that some civilians are also hurt. They attacked civilians only.  Today it was a school, the other day it was a hospital, and then another school.”

For more information, please see:
The Associate Press – Libya Blocks UN from Condemning Violence – 7 March 2008

CNN – Libya Blocks UN Condemnation of Jerusalem Seminary Attack – 7 March 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq –  As a result of the sectarian violence in Iraq, the U.S. has made efforts to promote Sunni-run security forces.  During the spring of 2007, the U.S. government recruited more than 80,000 former Sunni resistance fighters to form a new group, the Sahwa.  The group is also known as “The Awakening Council.”

Sahwa was formed to battle al Qaeda in Iraq.  Sahwa works with U.S. and Iraqi forces to increase security across Iraq.

The motives for joining Sahwa vary.  Many joined as a rejection of al Qaeda’s extremism.  For many Sunnis, having a counterweight to the Shia controlled Iraqi government is also motivation.  And the $300 monthly salary also serves as a great incentive.

The Sunni dominated groups form a counterbalance to the primarily Shiite run Iraqi government.  The relationship between Sahwa and the Iraqi government is delicate and many disagreements arise.

Sahwa forces have accused the police chief of Diyala province Ghanim al-Qureyshi of allowing Shia militiamen and death squads to operate with impunity against Sunnis.

Tensions rose in early February when men dressed in Iraqi security personnel uniforms kidnapped two women.  Their naked bodies were found later.

After the incident with the two women, Sahwa gave Qureyshi a deadline to apologize and to arrest those responsible.  When the deadline passed without an apology, Sahwa stopped working and held demonstrations protesting Qureyshi.

“We hereby declare suspension of all co-operation with U.S. military, Iraqi security forces and the local government,” Abu Abdullah, spokesman for the Awakening Council in Diyala province announced after the deadline passed.

Hundreds of Sahwa members closed their offices and held demonstrations in Baquba, a city 40 kilometers northeast of Baghdad.  The Iraqi government then promised to investigate the incident with the two women and the Sahwa went back to work.

Shortly thereafter, Sahwa again stopped work in protest, accusing the government security forces of further attacks against Sunnis.  Sahwa then cut all ties with the government and U.S. forces and left their security posts.

But on March 1, the government met most of Sahwa’s demands and Sahwa members returned to their posts.  The Iraqi government’s accommodating stance in regards to Sahwa forces underscores the group’s growing influence in Iraq.

The group’s increased influence in security roles has almost made them a third security force in the country, alongside the Iraqi army and the police.  As their influence continues to grow, the tensions between Sahwa and the Iraqi government have become more pronounced.

General Mahdi Subeih from the interior ministry told the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper in London that “the rebellion by some of the members of the Awakening Councils and the confrontations that erupted between them and the security forces reveal the depth of the chasm between the two sides.”

For more information, please see:
Middle East Online – Iraq: Did the Surge Work? – 7 March 2008

Uruknet.info – IRAQ: Sahwa Forces Challenge Govt, and Win – 5 March 2008

Middle East Times – Top US Military Official Visits Iraq Rebel Stronghold – 3 March 2008

The Independent – The Turkish Invasion Could Destroy a Unified Iraq – 27 February 2008

Christian Science Monitor – Rift threatens U.S. antidote to Al Qaeda in Iraq – 13 February 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

LONDON, United Kingdom – On March 6, a coalition of eight UK humanitarian and human rights groups released a report detailing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.   Amnesty International Oxfam, CARE International UK, and other groups prepared the report, titled “The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion.”  The groups claimed that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is the worst since 1967, when the Israel occupation began.

The report criticizes Israel’s blockade as collective punishment and therefore illegal under international law.  Also, it states that the recent blockade has resulted in higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and threatens Gaza’s internal infrastructure.

According to the report, over 80 percent of 1.5 million Gaza residents rely on humanitarian aid and nearly 1.1 million are dependent on food aid.  In addition, nearly 40 percent of Gazans are unemployed and by the end of the year, unemployment will reach 50 percent.  In the past six months 3,500 of the 3,900 factories in Gaza have closed, which resulted in the loss of 75,000 of the 110,000 jobs in the private sector.

The increase in poverty and unemployment are just two problems highlighted in the  report.  Other concerns include: hospital power outages; inability to deliver humanitarian aid, including cooking fuel and food; failing water and sewage treatment systems; failing schools; and restriction of movement.

While the report recognizes that “Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens,” it claims that Israel’s blockade has been ineffective in securing its country and imposes collective punishment on the 1.5 million Palestinians who live in Gaza.  Amnesty UK Director Kate Allen stated that “punishing the entire Gazan population by denying them these basic human rights is utterly indefensible.”

Also, the groups argue that the Israeli blockade and the international embargo against Gaza is detrimental to the peace process.  The report quotes Karen Konig Abu Zayd, the head of the UN Relief Works Agency, as saying that “hungry, unhealthy, angry communities do not make good partners for peace.”

The Chief Executive of CARE International UK, Geoffrey Dennis, said “unless the blockade ends now, it will be impossible to pull Gaza back from the brink of this disaster and any hopes for peace in the region will be dashed.”

In addition, the report urges “UK government and EU to abandon the failing policy of non-engagement and begin political dialogue with all Palestinian parties,” including Hamas.  Daleep Mukarji of Chistian Aid stated that “Gaza cannot become a partner for peace unless Israel, Fatah and the Quartet engage with Hamas and give the people of Gaza a future.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded to the report by saying that it was misdirected.  Instead of placing the blame on Israel, Major Peter Lerner, an Israeli spokesman, stated that “the main responsibility for events in Gaza… is the Hamas organization, to which all complaints should be addressed.”

Ha’aretz reports that NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog, “called on human rights groups to end what it called their political use of international law.”  NGO Monitor claims that an Amnesty press release made “unsubstantiated accusations” that the Israeli military acted “with reckless disregard for civilian life.”

Gerald Steinberg, the Executive Director of NGO Monitor, said: “NGOs and human rights groups must end their irresponsible and immoral use of legal rhetoric.  False claims of disproportionate force and collective punishment by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch make a mockery of international law.”

For the report, please see:
The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion

For more information, please see:
BBC – Gaza Situation “Worst Since 1967” – 6 March 2008

The Daily Star – British Aid Groups Sound Alarm for Gaza, Urge Engagement with Hamas – 6 March 2008

The Guardian – Sanctions Causing Gaza to Implode, Say Rights Groups – 6 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Rights Groups: Gaza Humanitarian Situation Worst Since 1967 – 6 March 2008

Telegraph – Human Crisis in Gaza “is Worst for 40 Years” – 6 March 2008

Yedioth – Amnesty: Situation in Gaza Worst Since 1967 – 6 March 2008