Israel Bombs Palestine after Missing Israeli Teenagers were Found Dead

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Managing Editor

 

Ramallah, Palestine – Just hours after the bodies of three young Israeli settlers were found dead in the West Bank the Israel military launched air-strikes into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The missing settlers, Eyal Yifrah, aged 19, Gilad Shaar, aged 16, and Naftali Fraenkel, a 16-year-old with dual Israeli-American citizenship, disappeared about two weeks ago while they were hitchhiking home from their religious seminary in Kfar Etzion, an illegal settlement in the West Bank. The Israeli army said the bodies were found near Hebron in the Occupied West Bank. “The bodies are currently going through forensic identification. The families of the abducted teens have been notified,” a military spokesperson said.

Palestinians throw stones, as smoke rises from tires they have set on fire, during clashes with Israeli police Shuafat, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem, on July 2, 2014 after a young Palestinian boy was found murdered in a Jerusalem forest. (Photo courtesy of Reuters)

The disappearance of the three young Israeli men promoted the largest military operations by the Israeli government in the occupied West bank since the end of the Second Intifada. The disappearances of these three young men sparked a massive man-hunt led by the Israel government. In the weeks since the boys went missing more than 400 Palestinians were arrested, thousands of Palestine homes were raided and five people were killed by Israeli gunfire.

The Israeli military launched dozens of air strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight on Monday, only hours after the bodies of three missing Israeli settlers were found. Israeli claimed the strikes were a response to recent and ongoing rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel Proper. However, the attacks came just after Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who blames Hamas for the kidnapping and murder of the Israeli boys, vowed the militant Islamist group Hamas would “pay a heavy price.” The attacks struck 34 locations in the Gaza Strip. The air strikes came as troops on the West Bank killed an 18 year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in Jenin. Israeli authorities claim the teenager was a member of Hamas who threw an explosive device at Israeli soldiers.

Nitzan Alon, commander of the Israeli military said in a statement that “the mission is not over”: “The army, alongside the general security service and the police will continue, for as long as necessary to find the kidnappers, the terrorist from Hamas. We will not rest and not stop until that mission is complete.” Some Israeli politicians have called for harsher steps to be taken against Hamas, some even calling for targeted assassinations. “I don’t know how many leaders of Hamas will remain alive after tonight,” said deputy foreign minister Tzachi Hanegbi.

On Wednesday the body of a young Palestine boy was found in a Jerusalem forest, just days after the discovery of the three young Israel teenagers. The killing raised suspicions that the Arab youth was murdered in a revenge killing carried out by a group of Israelis to avenge the death of the three abducted Jewish teenagers. Residents in Shuafat, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem, said that they had seen a teenager forced into a vehicle outside a supermarket on Tuesday night. They identified the boy as Mohammed Abu Khudair, aged 16.

Following the strikes The United Nations Human Rights office called on all Israelis and Palestinians to exercise “maximum restraint” as the tension across Israel and occupied Palestinian territory escalated as a result of this tragic incident.

“We reiterate our call for strict adherence to international law by all relevant actors to avoid further loss of life, injuries and negative impact on human rights,” The United Nations Human Rights spokesperson, Ravina Shamdasani, said in Geneva. “We urge all parties to refrain from punishing individuals for offences they have not personally committed or by imposing collective penalties.”

For more information please see:

Reuters – Palestinian Teen Killed In Possible Revenge Attack – 2 June 2014

Al Jazeera – Israel Bombs Gaza after Settlers Found Killed – 1 June 2014

The Guardian – Israeli Jets Pound Gaza As Netanyahu Blames Hamas for Teenagers’ Deaths – 1 June 2014

Al Jazeera – Bodies of Missing Settlers Found in West Bank – 30 June 2014

Deadly Bomb Hits Nigeria Market

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Senior Desk Operator, Africa

ABUJA, Nigeria – At least 18 people have been killed in an explosion at a market in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria, a medical worker told BBC news.

Several cars were destroyed in the explosion (photo courtesy of AP)

 

The explosives were reportedly hidden in a vehicle carrying charcoal.

It is believed that Boko Haram has carried out the attack, though no group has stepped forward and claimed this violent bombing. Maiduguri is the center of Boko Haram’s violent campaign.

This same group is the one linked to the 200 schoolgirls kidnapped.

“A van loaded with charcoal and IED (improvised explosive device) exploded at Monday Market in Maiduguri this morning. The location has been cordoned,” the defense headquarters stated on its Twitter account.

The vehicle exploded into a huge fireball, AFP further added.

About 55 people were injured due to the explosion.

One resident, Babagana Hausari, told BBC that “I heard a very loud explosion right from my house and rushed to the place.”

He further added, “When I got there I saw many people lying after they were hit by explosives.”

One student who rushed to the scene said “I saw police and troops picking out victims.”

Several vehicles were damaged due to the bombing, including the driver of the vehicle carrying the charcoal and the bomb.

After the accident, Nigeria’s military stated it raided a Boko Haram intelligence unit thought to be linked to the abduction of the schoolgirls.

The Boko Haram cell leader was arrested.

The cell leader has not commented on the allegations of the bombing.

This year alone, more than 2,000 people have been killed in attacks blamed on the Boko Haram militants.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Deadly bomb hits Maiduguri – 1 July 2014
Tert.am – Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Deadly bomb hits Maiduguri – 1 July 2014
The Sun – Boko Haram crisis: Deadly bomb hits Maiduguri – 1 July 2014
NewsBreakNigeria – Nigeria’s Boko Haram crisis: Deadly bomb hits Maiduguri – BBC News – 1 July 2014

 

Pending Expansion of Magnitsky Act Increases Pressure on Russia

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a new Global Magnitsky Bill (S. 1933) that strengthens and expands an earlier legislation targeting Russia.

Sergei Magnitsky’s grave in Moscow. Circumstances surrounding his death in 2009 led to the US passing the Magnitsky Act. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

In December 2012, the Magnitsky Act passed, allowing targeting of individuals in Russia who were related to the case of Sergei Magnitsky. Mr. Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer working for the Hermitage Fund who investigated into and testified against top police officials in Russia for embezzling $230 million in taxes. Mr. Magnitsky was later arrested and sent to prison without trial, and he died nearly a year into his time in prison due to poor health in questionable circumstances.

A few months after passing the Magnitsky Act, 18 names were released in connection with Mr. Magnitsky’s death. On May 20, 2014, the US Treasury Department sanctioned another 12 Russian individuals pursuant to the Act due to their involvement in the detention, abuse or death of Mr. Magnitsky.

On June 24, 2014, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to globally expand the provisions of the Russia-centered Act. The new bill, the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, would bar human rights violators from all around the world from entering into the United States. Further, it would prohibit these violators from using U.S. financial institutions. U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (Democrat-Maryland) and John McCain (Republican-Arizona) drafted the bill.

Now that the bill has passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee vote, it will go to the Senate floor to be voted on. Should it pass that vote, the House of Representatives will hold a vote on the bill. Finally, the bill would go to President Obama to sign before enactment.

This bill, if enacted, would be another weapon for the United States in the fight against human rights violations, but now expanded globally rather than just for the narrow issue concerning the Magnitsky death. This global expansion could also have a profound effect on Russia, as Russia already has 30 names on the list solely from the Magnitsky death. This increased financial pressure on Russia could prove to be an effective tool in negotiations between Russia and the United States or even Europe. Given the problems in Ukraine and disputes between Russia and the West, this bill would serve to further increase pressure on Russia to cooperate and negotiate with the West to come to peace along the eastern European border.

For more information, please see:

EU Reporter – Global Magnitsky human rights and anti-corruption bill approved by US Senate Foreign Relations Committee 1 July 2014

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty – Global Version Of Magnitsky Act Adopted In Senate Committee 24 June 2014

Lexology – US sanctions 12 Russian individuals under Magnitsky Act 30 May 2014

The Washington Post – The man behind the Magnitsky Act explains why now is the time to go after the Russian elite’s assets 3 March 2014

ICC Declines Full Investigation into Suspected N. Korean War Crimes

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

SEOUL, South Korea – The International Criminal Court (ICC) declined to initiate a full investigation into two North Korean attacks against South Korea in 2010. The ICC typically deals with cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Although North Korea is not a member of the ICC, attacks on a member country, such as South Korea can give rise to jurisdiction over the possible war crimes.

The first attack was the sinking of the South Korean corvette, Cheonan, in the West Sea of Korea on March 23, 2010. North Korea officially denied any involvement with the incident, but South Korea and international inquiries revealed that a North Korean torpedo struck the corvette. 46 sailors died at the scene.

A monument for the 46 deceased navy sailors of the corvette, Cheonan (Reuters)

The second attack occurred approximately 8 months later at Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea. North Korea launched artillery attacks on the island causing the death of two South Korean soldiers and two civilians.

The ICC initiated a preliminary probe of the two incidents, but prosecutor Fatou Bensouda concluded that there was not enough evidence to initiate a full-blown investigation. The first attack on the Cheonan corvette was “directed at a lawful military target and would not otherwise meet the definition of the war crime of perfidy as defined in the Rome Statute,” the prosecutor said. Of the artillery attack, he said that while it did kill civilians there was not enough information establishing a “reasonable basis to believe that the attack was intentionally directed against civilian objects or that the civilian impact was expected to be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage.” According to the Prosecutor’s office, North Korea has not cooperated with the ICC to provide relevant information and evidence.

However, it is still questionable whether the attack did not target civilians. During the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, 230 shells were fired by North Korea and about 30 of them hit on residential areas. About 50 landed on the sea. The wide range of attack did not seem to be focused on only military bases and facilities.

Even though the ICC will not initiate a full investigation, it will resume the examination if there is new information or evidence presented. The decision “in no way should be construed as condoning in any way” North Korea’s violent attacks, the prosecutor said.

Besides the two attacks, the United Nations and ICC have recently considered the possibility of prosecuting North Korea for crimes against humanity. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights reported that North Korea should be referred to the ICC for the alleged crimes. The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a resolution demanding the Security Council take action against North Korea. Moreover, U.N. Human Rights Investigators reported that the ICC would find merit in prosecuting the humanity crimes in North Korea. One U.N. report, which accused North Korea, compared the crimes with Nazism.

South and North Korea signed an armistice agreement in 1953, but have no effective peace treaty. The two countries technically remain at war.

 

For more information, please see:

International Criminal Court – The Prosecutor’s Report – June 2014

Channel NewsAsia – ICC declines to open N Korea war crimes probe – 23 June 2014

Jurist – ICC prosecutor finds no grounds to investigate North Korea war crime allegations – 25 June 2014

Voice of America – ICC: No N. Korea War Crimes Probe – 24 June 2014

Reuters – International court says will not investigate 2010 attacks on South Korea – 23 June 2014

Fiji’s Military Dictator Announces Democratic Elections

by Max Bartels

Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania 

Savu, Fiji 

Fiji has been under the control of a military dictator since Rear Admiral Bainimarma seized power during a military coup in 2006. The island nation of Fiji has had a troubled political past with four military coups in the past decade. The international community has since put pressure on Fiji in order to push it toward democracy. Fiji is heavily reliant on tourism as a source of income and a stimulus for their economy. Both Australia and New Zealand introduced travel bans on Fiji in order to motivate political change in the country. The United Kingdom suspended Fiji’s Commonwealth Status, denying it the benefits of association with Great Britain.

IW #6 Fiji Elections
Bainimarma addresses the U.N ahead of the September elections
(Photo curtesy of news.com.au)

In March Bainimarma announced that he would be stepping down as dictator and stating that he will run for re-election as a civilian and a member of Fiji’s “First Party”, which he now supports. Bainimarma claims that his coup in 2006 was necessary to ensure the restoration of democracy and to purge the rampant corruption that plagued the previous Fijian government. He says that he now looks to implement his plan for a better Fiji by holding open elections. In the wake of these statements the international community has reacted positively, praising Bainamarma for his decision. The government’s of Australia and New Zealand have lifted the travel bans on the island nation. The United Kingdom has also said they will reinstate commonwealth status if elections are successful.

However, there are still many issues with the upcoming elections, while Bainimarma announces they will be free and democratic there are some troubling events that have happened behind the scenes. Fiji has a history of restraining human rights and free speech; after recent constitutional change the military government heavily restricted these freedoms. There were incidents last year where protesters protesting the new constitution were arrested for failure to have a permit. There are many other stories of the regime arresting human rights defenders, journalists and trade union leaders. Critics in the press are skeptical of the upcoming elections and say that Bainimarma’s actions have no real teeth and will not effect change.

Despite the many instances of limiting the freedoms of the Fijian people, Bainimarma is extremely popular amongst the voters. He has implemented policies such as free education, free transportation for children and price controls on staple foods, all of which have made the military leader popular amongst the lower socioeconomic classes. In addition to these policies he has greatly improved the infrastructure of the islands making him popular amongst the rural population as well. It remains to be seen whether the elections will affect change in Fiji but Bainimarma has stated his intentions, his campaign is popular and the election in September will show whether he is sincere or not.

 For more information, please see: 

Human Rights Watch — Rights Abuses Continue in Fiji — 9 April 2014

ABC Australia News Network — Fiji Welcomes Lifting of Travel Bans by Australia, NZ — March 31 2014

ABC Australia News Network — Frank Bainimarma Appears to have Widespread Support Ahead of Elections — 28 May 2014

The Telegraph — Fiji’s Military Dictator Swaps Uniform for Suit — 6 March 2014