JERUSALEM, Israel – On March 6, a gunman infiltrated the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, a Jewish seminary, in Western Jerusalem and opened fire.  A witness stated that he heard both single and automatic gunfire, which lasted for about ten minutes.  Eli Dein, the director of Israel’s rescue service, said “there are at least seven killed and 10 people wounded.”  Paramedics said that some of them are in serious-to-critical condition.

Yitzhak Dadon, a student, stated that he waited on the roof of a nearby building and was armed with a rifle.  Dadon said that the gunman “came out of the library spraying automatic fire” and when “the terrorist came to the entrance and I shot him twice in the head.”

Initially there was some confusion surrounding the facts of the incident.  Jerusalem police commander Aharon Franco corrected initial reports claiming that there were two gunmen.  Shmuel Ben Ruby, a police spokesman, stated that it appeared that the gunman was wearing an explosives vest.  However, the vest was a belt was holding extra ammunition.

Yedioth News reports that the Galilee Freedom Brigades, an Israeli-Arab group, claimed responsibility for the attack.  Israeli media reports that the gunman was a resident of East Jerusalem.

In addition, after hearing news of the attack, Gazan residents fired rifles in celebration.  Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, called the operation “heroic” and stated that it was “a natural reaction to the Zionist massacre.”

For more information, please see:
The Associated Press – Jerusalem Seminary Attacked, 7 Dead – 6 March 2008

BBC – Gunmen Kill Eight at Israel School – 6 March 2008

Reuters – Palestinian Gunmen Kill 8 in Jerusalem Jewish School – 6 March 2008

Yedioth News – 8 Killed in Jerusalem Terror Attack – 6 March 2008

By Ben Turner
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD-Iraq—Two former high ranking Shiite government officials charged with the kidnapping and killing of scores of Sunnis were released on March 3 for lack of evidence.

Former Deputy Health Minister, Hakim al-Zamili, and the ministry’s former Head of Security, Brig-Gen Hamid al-Shammari, were accused of orchestrating the death squads that killed Sunni Arabs.  They were charged on five counts of murder and five counts of kidnapping.

The two men denied that they allowed the death squads to use ambulances and hospitals to carry out the attacks.

The fact that the case had been brought against these officials was originally viewed as a step forward for Iraq’s judicial system, but problems arose soon after it began.  The trial court sent the case back to the investigative court three times, asked for more information, and delayed the case when witnesses failed to appear.

American officials then produced evidence that one of the judges on the panel had promised to find the defendants not guilty.  He was replaced by a senior judge.  Witnesses that did appear later contradicted their testimony.  One witness testified against al-Zamili in October before recanting his testimony on March 3.  The witness said he had “misspoken” in his earlier testimony because he was weak from fasting for Ramadan.

On March 3, two days into the trial, the prosecutor asked the court to dismiss the charges against al-Zamili and al-Shammari for lack of evidence.  The court dismissed the charges, leaving U.S. officials stunned and raised concerns about Iraqi officials’ willingness to act against sectarian violence.  The independence of the Iraqi judiciary was also questioned.

Families of the victims were outraged by the decision.

“It’s a travesty, an absolute travesty of justice,” said Ali al-Safaar.   Al-Safaar’s father, a deputy health minister, was kidnapped from his home after preparing a report on corruption that identified Zamili. “How can 13 murder cases and kidnappings and corruption be dealt with in two days?”

Zamili and al-Shammari are followers of the anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has recently won praise from U.S. officials for ordering his militia to abstain from violence.

Saleem Abdullah, a member of Parliament and a spokesman for Tawafiq, the main Sunni bloc, questioned whether the U.S. did not push the Iraqi government for a fair trial for fear of angering al-Sadr.

“Maybe because Sadr recently froze the Mahdi Army, they are trying not to criticize or provoke him,” Abdullah said, referring to Sadr’s recent decision to extend a cease-fire for six more months.

For more information, please see:
BBC – Iraq Drops ‘Death Squad’ Charges – 4 March 2008

New York Times – Charges Are Dropped Against 2 Shiite Ex-Officials Accused in Sectarian Killings – 4 March 2008

Times – Iraqi ‘Death Squad Chiefs’ freed – 4 March 2008

UPI – Iraq Drops Sunni Death Case For Shiites – 4 March 2008

Washington Post – Case Is Dropped Against Shiites In Sunni Deaths – 4 March 2008

Reuters – Terrorism Charges Dropped Against Ex-Iraqi Officials – 3 March 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

JERUSALEM, Israel – On March 3, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) withdrew its ground troops from Gaza.  However, Israeli soldiers remained close to Gazan border and a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying there would be a two-day interval in the combat during the visit of the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice.  While Hamas claimed victory over Israel, Prime Minister Olmert stated that the operation in Gaza was not over and that Israel remains “in the midst of a combat action.”

On March 4, the US Secretary of State will visit the region to encourage peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas.  However, on March 2, Abbas stated that he withdrew from the talks in protest to the Israeli operations in Gaza.  Abbas’s statements on March 3 seem to suggest that he is willing to mediate cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas.

The withdrawal marked the end of a six day operation, beginning on February 27.  According to B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, the operation resulted in the deaths of 106 Palestinians and 3 Israelis.  The Israeli chief of staff’s states that 90 percent of Palestinians killed were militants.  However, B’Tselem reports that 54 Palestinians killed did not take part in the hostilities.  Of those 54 Palestinians, B’Tselem states that 25 were minors.  Of the Israeli deaths, one was a civilian, killed by a rocket in Sderot, and two were soldiers.

Both B’Tselem and Amnesty International raised concerns that the Israeli military “used excessive and disproportionate force” and that it failed to discriminate between combatants and civilians.  Malcolm Smart, director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, stated that the strikes went “beyond lawful measures which Israeli forces may take in response to rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups.”  B’Tselem wrote if the strikes used indiscriminate and disproportionate force, they “may constitute a breach of the laws of war.”

Following the withdrawal of Israel’s ground troops, Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with a team of legal experts to discuss the legality of alternative methods to respond to the Palestinian rocket fire.  The meeting included Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann, Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz, IDF Military Advocate General Brig.-Gen. Avichai Mandelblit, Deputy Attorney-General Shai Nitzan and the members of the Defense Ministry’s Legal Adviser’s office.

One issue that Israel faces when responding the rocket threat from Gaza is that many times the rockets are fired from civilian homes or heavily residential areas.  According to Yedioth News, it is Israel’s policy not to target Gaza’s densely populated areas and this policy is a weak point in stopping the barrage of rockets.  The purpose of the Barak’s meeting was to pose several different options in addressing the rocket threat and to hear the expert’s opinion on their legality.

Some options that were suggested include:

• Use of artillery fire targeting rocket launching cells in densely populated areas.  However, artillery fire was used in the past and its practice greatly decreased following several incidences where civilians were killed.
• A series of alerts aimed at areas used for rocket fire to warn civilians to evacuate the area.  Only after the warnings are issued may live fire be used to target buildings where rockets are launched.
• Simply destroying, usually by bulldozer, buildings used by militants groups to launch rockets.
• Power cuts to Gaza and the restriction of fuel supply.

Barak stated that while its methods may be limited by legal constraints, Israel must find a way to respond to the rocket strikes.

There are differing views as to who bears the responsibility for the civilian causalities.  Israel’s Foreign Ministry placed the blame on Hamas.  It claimed that “the deliberate placing of military targets in the heart of civilian areas is a serious violation of humanitarian law, and those who chose to locate such targets in these areas must bear responsibility for the injury to civilians which the decision engenders.”

However, others argue that despite the fact that the enemy may violate the laws of armed conflict and target civilians this does not mean that Israel is no longer obligated to refrain from causing deliberate or disproportional harm to civilians.  Amnesty International stated that no party should attack civilians; however, “unlawful attacks by one side cannot justify violations by the other.”

For more information, please see:
The Guardian – Olmert Warns of More Fighting Soon as Israel Pulls Troops out of Gaza – 4 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Barak Seeks Legal Okay to Move Gazan Civilians from Homes – 4 March 2008

Ha’aretz – Rights Group: Close to Half of Palestinians Fatalities in IDF Operation were Civilians – 4 March 2008

Wall Street Journal – Israeli Troops Withdraw from Gaza as Leaders Face Difficult Decisions -4 March 2008

Amnesty International – Children and Civilian Bystanders in Gaza Death Toll – 3 March 2008

Jerusalem Post – Barak Checks Legality of Options Against Rocket Fire – 3 March 2008

Yedioth News – Defense, Legal Experts Debate Legality of Strikes in Populated Areas – 3 March 2008

By Laura Zuber
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Middle East

YEREVAN, Armenia – On March 1, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency.  This declaration followed clashes between state police and protesters in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital.  The Armenian Health Ministry reported that the violence left eight individuals dead and 131 people, including 57 police officers, injured.

Protesters began to gather in the capital on February 20, to demonstrate against what they claim to be “rigged” elections.  The February 19 presidential elections resulted in Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian winning a 53% majority to the opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian’s 21.5%.  For ten days, protesters engaged in peaceful demonstrations, which consisted of mostly marches and slogan chanting.  By March 1, over 15,000 people had gathered in Yerevan to protest the election results.

The opposition and protesters claim that the government rigged the election in favor of Sarkisian, a close ally of Kocharyan, the current president.  While most media report that election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) claimed that the elections were “mostly democratic,” the New York Times writes otherwise.

According to the New York Times, OSCE observers concluded that 16% of the count was “bad” or “very bad.”  They state that in one recount, a Western observer opened an envelope supposedly containing ballots for Sarkisian; however, the top ballot was marked for Ter-Petrosian.  Also, there are claims that votes were bought and that television coverage, which is mostly state run, was “embarrassingly skewed.”

On March 1, protesters and state police clashed in the capital; resulting in President Kocharyan declaring a state of emergency.  The source of the violence is disputed.  According to Reuters, Kocharyan accused demonstrators of firing weapons and grenades and planning a coup.  However, the opposition states that weapons were planted near the demonstrators’ camp, that the police used force to disperse the opposition supporters, and that the violence escalated after a protester was killed by the police.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, both expressed concern over the lethal force used by the state’s police and military against the demonstrators.  HRW called for an immediate investigation of whether lethal force was used in accordance to international law.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials limits the use of lethal force to the minimum extent necessary.  This means that lethal force may be used only when less extreme means are insufficient to protect lives.

The state of emergency is in effect until March 20.  During this period all public gatherings are banned and a media blackout is imposed.

For more information, please see:
ArmenPress – Parliament Confirms State of Emergency, Health Authorities Confirm Death of 8 People Killed in Clashes – 2 March 2008

BBC – Eight Killed in Armenia Protests – 2 March 2008

Human Rights Watch – Armenia: Civilians Die as Police Suppress Demonstrations and Riots – 2 March 2008

The Independent – Riots over Vote Force State of Emergency in Armenia – 2 March 2008

International Herald Tribune – Armenia Clamps Down after Post-Election Violence – 2 March 2008

New York Times – Protesters and Police Clash as Armenia Unrest Grows – 2 March 2008

Reuters – Eight Killed in Armenia Protests, OSCE Sent – 2 March 2008

UN News Centre – Deadly Post-Election Protests in Armenia Concern UN Human Rights Chief – 2 March 2008

GAZA CITY, Gaza – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called on Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip to halt the violence that has escalated over the past few days. Troops killed at least 96 people over four days, with more than 60 people dead on Saturday alone – one third of those killed estimated to be children.

Addressing an emergency session of the Security Council in New York on Sunday, Ban condemned Israel’s “excessive” use of force and called Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel “acts of terrorism.” Ban said: “While recognizing Israel’s right to defend itself, I condemn the disproportionate and excessive use of force that has killed and injured so many civilians, including children.” Ban also condemned Palestinian rocket attacks that triggered one of the bloodiest days in Gaza since Israel withdrew in 2005. “I condemn Palestinian rocket attacks and call for the immediate cessation of such acts of terrorism,” he said.

Although members of the Security Council are currently discussing a draft resolution regarding the conflict in Gaza, its completion will likely take more than a few days. Libyan delegation representing the Palestinians has put forward a draft, but it is expected to be rejected because the resolution condemns Israel’s killing of civilians without mentioning the Palestinian rocket fire. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week to try to revive peace talks.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – UN chief deplores Gaza assault – 2 March 2008

BBC News – UN chief condemns Gaza violence – 2 March 2008

Voice of America – UN Security Council condemns violence in Gaza – 2 March 2008