U.S. Urges Postponement of EU ban on Funding in Israel

Darrin Simmons
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 JERUSALEM, Israel-Since U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took office in February, it has been his mission to negotiate peace between Palestine and Israel.  Recently, Kerry has urged the European Union to stop their proposed ban on financial aid to Israeli organizations in Palestine.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton (photo courtesy of Voice of America)

The European Union’s decision to withhold was implemented in July, due to frustrations arising out of “continued expansion of illegal Jewish settlements in territory captured by Israeli forces in the 1967 Middle East War.”

One U.S. State Department official reported on the receptiveness of the European Union to Kerry’s petition saying, “There was strong support for his efforts and an openness to considering his requests.”

Angered Israeli rightists have claimed that the European Union’s ban on aid will hinder Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.  The guidelines of the ban make Israeli entities operating in the occupied territories in Palestine ineligible for EU grants, prizes, or loans, starting next year.

Palestinians have praised the proposed ban claiming it to be a “concrete step against settlement construction” which is feared to deny the viability of the Palestinian state.

Catherine Ashton, the European Union Foreign Policy Chief responded to Kerry’s requests saying, “We of course want to continue having a strong relationship with Israel.”

Ashton further went on to report that a team is headed to Israel on Monday to ensure smooth implementation of the new ban’s guidelines.  Discussions will be held covering the implementation process, but no renegotiation is scheduled to occur.

However, a dispute over the guidelines could jeopardize an 80-billion-euro ($107 billion) European research program known as Horizon 2020, which is a European Union Israeli project in its initial stages.

Another growing concern is the effects that the funding ban may have on individuals or companies based in Israel who might be operating in business settlements that will be rendered illegal by the international community.

Kerry is scheduled to meet with European Ministers to try and clear up the funding issues.  “He would tell them that it’s important for those parties who have an interest in a successful outcome (to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations) that they be supportive of this effort and that they find a way to embrace the negotiators and encourage them to move forward,” reported a U.S. official.

Kerry is also expected to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hopefully settle a six-decade-old Israeli-Palestinian dispute over borders, Palestinian refugees, and the future of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

For more information, please see the following:

Aljazeera-US urges EU to postpone Israel settlement ban-8 September 2013

Daily Times-EU to postpone funding ban in Israeli-occupied territories: Kerry– 8 September 2013

Reuters-Kerry urges EU to postpone funding ban in Israeli-occupied territories-7 September 2013

Voice of America-Kerry Urges EU to Postpone Funding Ban in Israeli-Occupied Territories– 7 September 2013

International Community Split on How to Deal with Syria

by Michael Yoakum
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that the number of countries ready for military intervention in Syria is now in the “double digits.”  Kerry spent the better part of last week trying to bolster support for intervention with G-20 countries and members of the Arab League.

Kerry, who has been adamant about the need for US involvement in Syria, said this will be a “Munich moment” for the world. (Photo courtesy of BBC News)

Kerry’s mission will likely be aided by 13 videos released Sunday by the Senate Select Commission on Intelligence which purport to depict the deaths of victims in the August 21 sarin gas attack in Damascus.  The videos, which are posted on the Senate committee’s website, show victims of the chemical assault convulsing and foaming at the mouth.

While the United States pushes for supporters in a military response, the international community remains divided on the issue.  German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported Sunday that German Intelligence has doubts about whether Bashar al-Assad gave permission for the August 21 chemical weapon attack.

In an interview with PBS reporter Charlie Rose, Assad told Rose that the United States has no evidence that he ordered a chemical weapon attack on Syrian civilians.  Assad refused to confirm whether he had stockpiled chemical weapons, however, he posited that if Syria did have them, they would be under “central control.”

Member nations of the Arab League agreed Sunday that Assad used chemical weapons and recognized that their use crossed an international “red line.”  So far, none of the League members have endorsed a US led airstrike against Syrian weapons depots.  Kerry said that Saudi Arabia has endorsed airstrikes in private but is reluctant to make a public statement on the issue.

As of Sunday, France alone has publicly backed the US call for punitive military action against Syria.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Obama and Kerry push case for Syria strikes, as gas attack video released – 8 September 2013

NBC News – Arab League agrees with Kerry on Assad chemical weapons use – but not military action – 8 September 2013

The Guardian – Assad tells Charlie Rose no evidence he is responsible for Syria chemical attack – 8 September 2013

BBC News – Kerry says support for action against Syria is growing – 7 September 2013

The New York Post – With the World Watching, Syria Amassed Nerve Gas – 7 September 2013

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence – Syrian Chemical Weapons Use Videos – (Warning: Contains graphic content)

Al-Shabab Bombs Local Mogadishu Restaurant, Killing 15

By: Danielle L. Gwozdz
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The Somali Islamist militant group, al-Shabab, bombed a local restaurant in the capital, Mogadishu, killing 15 people and wounding 23.  Al-Shabab set off a car bomb and a suicide bomber in the crowded restaurant on Saturday.

Somali security officials gather at scene of bombing (photo courtesy of The Washington Post)

The car bomb went off first outside the popular restaurant and then a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the restaurant immediately after the car bomb, Mohamed Yusuf, a spokesman for the Mogadishu authorities, told Reuters.

According to news reports, the explosions ripped off most of the restaurant’s roof. The restaurant is a popular spot for government employees, journalists, and students, and is located about a half mile from the presidential palace and National Theatre.

“They attack the restaurants because they hate to see people peacefully spending time together,” Mohamed Abdi, an Interior Ministry employee at the scene of the attack, told the Associated Press. “They are committed to obliterating any sign of peace. Because of such attacks, it’s very hard for the government to restore security in the near future.”

This wasn’t the first time this restaurant has been bombed. In September 2012, the restaurant was targeted by two suicide bombers that killed 14 people.

The restaurant is run by Somali businessman Ahmed Jama, who returned to the country in 2008 from the U.K. Mr. Jama told BBC News that “I won’t let this stop me. I will start the clean-up tomorrow.”

“My decision was to do something and as long as I live, I will continue – I’m a business guy with restaurants and I’m going to continue with that,” Mr. Jama told BBC.

Somalia’s al-Qaeda linked al-Shabab militia claimed responsibility for the attacks. It has continued to wage a deadly insurgency even after being pushed out of Mogadishu in 2011.

“Government officials, military forces, workers and their security always meet here,” an al-Shabab spokesman, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, told Reuters. “We had targeted it even before today, and we shall continue targeting it.”

Al-Shabab’s Somali-language Twitter feed read: “Successful operations carried out in Hamarweyne,” referring to the Mogadishu district where the attacks occurred. Al-Shabab’s Engligh-language Twitter account has been suspended.

Al-Shabab also claims to have killed “key officials” on its Twitter feed; although witnesses told Yahoo! that the casualties looked like ordinary civilians.

The UN secretary-general’s special envoy to Somalia, Nicholas Kay, said: “I am appalled by this act of savagery and condemn it in the strongest terms.”

“I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those killed and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”

Since the overthrow of President Siad Barre in 1991, Somalia has seen clan-based warlords, Islamist militants, and its neighbors all battling for control.

“The terrorist elements used to claim they target Somali government (officials) but such an attack is proof they have no sympathy for anyone, they kill innocent civilians at restaurants,” Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud told a press conference.

Shebab fighters, who have claimed responsibility for a string of recent attacks aimed at overthrowing the government, remain a potent force.

For further information, please visit:

BBC News – Somalia’s Al-Shabab says it bombed Mogadishu eatery – 7 September 2013
Reuters – Al Shabaab bombers strike Mogadishu restaurant, 15 dead – 8 September 2013
The Washington Post – Somali militants kill 15 in bombing at popular Mogadishu restaurant – 7 September 2013
Standard Media – At least 15 killed after blasts hit restaurant in Mogadishu, Somalia – 7 September 2013
The Peninsula – Twin blasts kill 18 in Somali capital – 8 September 2013
Yahoo! News – Shebab claim twin blasts in Somali capital that kill 18 – 7 September 2013

Dutch Court Rules Netherlands Responsible for Deaths of Three Muslim Men during the Srebrenica Massacre

By Ben Kopp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The highest Dutch court has declared that the Netherlands must pay compensation to the family of three Muslim men who were executed during the Srebrenica massacre.

 

Approximately 8000 Muslim men and boys were executed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. (Photo courtesy of CNN International)

On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran an area near a United Nations compound, which a Dutch battalion of U.N. peacekeepers (“Dutchbat”) controlled. Among the thousands who sought shelter at the compound, Dutchbat turned away three Muslim men after Bosnian Serb forces had been witnessed abusing and killing several Muslims outside the safe area of the compound.

In all, 8000 men and boys were killed and buried in mass graves. The atrocity has been called “the worst massacre on European soil since the Second World War.”

Hasan Nuhanovic and Rizo Mustafic, relatives of the three men, filed suit against the Dutch state, which accepts “political responsibility” for the mission’s failure and claims that responsibility for the massacre lays with the Bosnian Serbs. Pending appeal to Holland’s Supreme Court, the Hague appeals court ordered the Dutch to compensate the men’s relatives.

On 6 September 2013, the Dutch Supreme Court issued a final decision that ordered the Netherlands to compensate relatives of those men. In so doing, the decision confirms precedent stating that “countries providing troops to U.N. missions can be held responsible” for the troops’ conduct. Additionally, the decision enables other victims’ families to seek compensation from the Dutch.

The ruling stated that “Dutchbat decided not to evacuate them along with the battalion and instead sent them away from the compound. Outside the compound, they were murdered by the Bosnian-Serb army or related paramilitary groups.”

“People participating in U.N. missions are not always covered by the UN flag,” said Liesbeth Zegveld, the human rights lawyer who represented the Bosnian families. She added that the case is historic because countries can now be held criminally liable for their actions in U.N. missions, despite the U.N.’s immunity from prosecution.

“I was thinking about my family, they are dead for 18 years,” Nuhanovic said. “It does not change that, but maybe there is some justice. It should have happened years ago. In the future countries might act differently in peacekeeping missions and I hope the lives of other people in the future will be saved because this mistake was admitted.”

To preserve justice and human rights around the world, compensation policies should promote and encourage safeguards to protect innocent people who might otherwise be abused or even murdered. Absent the security of such fundamental safety, we will have fought for nothing.

For further information, please see:

Amnesty International – Netherlands Supreme Court Hands Down Historic Judgment over Srebrenica Genocide – September 6, 2013

BBC –Dutch State Liable for Three Srebrenica Deaths – September 6, 2013

CNN International – Netherlands Liable for Deaths of 3 Muslim Men in Bosnia, Court Says – September 6, 2013

Dutch News – Supreme Court Says NL is Responsible for 3 Srebrenica Deaths – September 6, 2013

The Guardian – Netherlands to Pay Compensation over Srebrenica Massacre – September 6, 2013

Reuters – Dutch State Blamed in Three Srebrenica Deaths: Supreme Court – September 6, 2013

Palestinians Express Frustration with Progress of Peace Talks with Israel

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Middle East

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian official told the Associated Press on Wednesday that the Palestinian Authority is frustrated with the progress made so far in its peace talks with Israel, which has proposed to maintain dozens of Jewish Settlement within the West Bank intact and allow the Jewish state to maintain its military bases in the Palestinian territory.

Police arrested fifteen demonstrators at al-Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem. (Photo courtesy of Al Jazeera)

The Palestinian official argued that “Israel is using the issue of security to take land. From the general discussions we had in the last couple of weeks, the Israelis have shown no intention to dismantle any settlement.” He argued that the current proposals indicated that Israel would seek to retain control over about 40% of the West Bank, much more than the 2008 proposal made under Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In those talks Israel offered a complete withdrawal from roughly 94% of the West Bank, and offered a “land swap” for the remaining 6%.

In a statement made for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which began Wednesday evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his hope that the ongoing peace talks will be successful. Netanyahu said, “We want a real, genuine and enduring peace and this must be anchored in recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and in our security. This is what ultimately is needed.”

However, Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, expressed frustration with the talks in an interview for the Voice of Palestine radio station. He said, “Until now, there are no signs of progress. The Israeli position has not changed. It’s the one that we know on the ground, through daily settlement expansion.” Rabbo said the United States must put pressure on Israel to end the expansion of settlements; he said that without this, “there will be no progress.”

The frustration felt by Palestinians over the progress of the talks so far has resulted in demonstrations in Jerusalem’s Old city, which have led to clashes with police.

On Wednesday, Israeli police arrested seven Palestinian demonstrators in Jerusalem’s Old City after the protesters allegedly threw stones at police officers. Israeli security forces had increased their presence in the area for Rosh Hashanah.

Micky Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said the clashes erupted after about 300 Palestinian demonstrators attempted to block worshipers from reaching the Temple Mount compound. The site is considered holy to both Jewish and Muslim worshipers. Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The compound is known to Muslims as the “Noble Sanctuary,” it is Islam’s third-holiest site. The demonstrators were masked and began to throw stones at visitors which prompted police forces to move in.

On Wednesday, the protesters sought refuge from security forces inside Al Aqsa Mosque. The security forces did not enter the mosque that day and no one was injured. However, on Friday Israeli police fired stun grenades to disperse Palestinian worshipers who allegedly threw rocks at police after Friday prayers at the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. According Rosenfeld, two Israeli policemen suffered minor injuries during the incident.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera –  Israeli Forces Surround Al-Aqsa Mosque – 6 September 2013

Al Jazeera –  Israeli Police Clash with Palestinians – 6 September 2013

Reuters – Israeli Police, Palestinians Clash At Jerusalem Holy Site – 6 September 2013

 Boston Harold – AP EXCLUSIVE: Israeli Proposal Detailed In Talks – 4 September 2013

Washington Post – AP EXCLUSIVE: Palestinian Says Israeli Peace Talk Offer Sees Settlements, Bases in West Bank – 4 September 2013