Deze fantastische documantaire over een belangrijk strijder voor de Palestijnse zaak is nu dankzij Al-Jazeera nu eindelijk on-line te bekijken!

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Every where I turned this week I was being bombarded with the headline… HAMAS CRACKSDOWN IN GAZA… surely it couldn’t be the same Gaza I was living in, nor the Hamas officials I was speaking to?

Article after article in western media from the New York times to British papers talked about how Hamas had begun a crackdown on individual freedoms in Gaza. Hamas forces female lawyers to wear veils read headlines! I was astonished and began to immediately investigate…

And in typical fashion… what I learned was a bit more complex than what the Western media portrayed.

So lets walk through the steps and the terminology… first, the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Gaza (yes, under the control of the deposed Hamas controlled government) has launched a public virtues campaign. The aim? To warn people against smoking or watching too much satellite television… and for shopkeepers suggesting to them how to display women’s clothing. Now, you may wonder what place a program like this has in an already conservative society but nonetheless it does exist. But is this any different from similar programs in the West where missionaries commonly come door to door promoting a church or warning of certain vices? Granted, western governments dont have Ministries of Religious Affairs, like Gaza, but that has to do more with the role of religion in societies, particularly conservative ones like Gaza. But its important to emphasize, this program does not have the support of the wider Hamas-controlled Cabinet. In fact, the campaigners have no legal power or authority to enforce anything they promote. They simply educate and persuade whoever wants to listen.

Its a bit of a stretch to take one program at one ministry that does not have the support of the broader government as an example to paint a broad stroke claiming “Hamas cracks down on individual freedoms”, no? In fact, the powerful Minister of Interior has repeatedly told Al Jazeera that he would personally follow any case where individuals complained that their freedoms were being restricted.

Earlier this week, the Chief Justice of the High Judicial Council in Gaza revived and decided to enforce a law already in place in the Palestinian legal from 1930. The law calls on Palestinian lawyers, both male and females to wear appropriate court attire. For female lawyers that meant also covering their hair. The move drew strong criticism from civil society and human rights organization. Again Hamas was branded as forcing women to wear veils! And again, thats not true. In fact, Deposed Prime Minister Ismail’s Haniyeh’s Hamas controlled Government has once again rejected to flat out endorse the move. In an unusual move, the deposed Prime Minister has ordered the Minister of Justice to review the legality of the Judge’s decision. Not to mention, the judge is not actually making the law, he is simply reviving it by saying it will be enforced.

The Hamas cabinet issued a statement saying it would safeguard the individual rights of all people. Doesnt really fit the bill of the Western media’s headlines that “Hamas is cracking down” does it?

Having said that, human rights organizations and civil society are concerned that such attempts could be the beginning of an alarming trend that may soon be more difficult to reverse or even criticize. And that is why many here are watching closely, not just to see what happens to the society, but also what happens to Hamas, which acknowledges that within the movement there are always discussions about what role the movement and the government should play in promoting virtues. But to draw conclusions that Hamas is moving in the direction of a Taliban-style control of Gaza is misleading and inaccurate.

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Documentary maker Iara Lee smuggles out video despite Israeli attempt to confiscate all recordings.

Israeli Attack on the Mavi Marmara, May 31st 2010 // 15 min. from Cultures of Resistance on Vimeo. Warning: contains graphic scenes

New footage has emerged of the Israeli assault on a convoy of aid ships headed to Gaza in which nine activists were killed.

The high quality film was reportedly recorded by New York-based documentary maker Iara Lee aboard the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish ship that bore the brunt of the Israeli attacks.

Israel attempted to confiscate all footage recorded by participants in the Gaza Freedom flotilla – including taking away mobile phones – but Lee managed to smuggle one hour of film out of the country by hiding it in her underwear, it was reported.

The 15 minutes of film posted online shows the moments leading up to and during the Israeli commandos’ assault on the Mavi Marmara.

At one stage the captain of the boat can be heard over the public address system, saying: “Do not show resistance … They are using live ammunition … Be calm, be very calm.” Gunshots can be heard.

The film includes footage of an Israeli inflatable boat carrying commandos, and troops can also be seen rappelling from a helicopter on to the Mavi Marmara. While they do so, two men on the Marmara can be seen using catapults aimed at the soldiers, who are high above them, although the projectiles they are firing cannot be ascertained.

At one point a passenger on the boat says to the camera: “[The activists] hold two soldiers down here, bleeding and wounded.” One soldier can be seen being carried down the stairs of the vessel. In an interview with Democracy Now, Lee said the soldiers were injured in the commotion. “They got treatment by our passengers,” she said.

A number of passengers are shown in the video receiving medical treatment for wounds, including one man being resuscitated. He does not appear to respond. At the end of the footage a woman can be heard shouting: “We have no guns here, we are civilians taking care of injured people. Don’t use violence, we need help.”

Lee described the attack as terrifying. “[The Israelis] came to kill,” she said. “They wanted to take over the ship.”

More than 600 pro-Palestinian activists were detained by Israel in the 31 May raids on the aid convoy. There was global condemnation of the assault but Israel claimed its troops acted in self-defence after coming under attack from members of an “extremist” Turkish group. It announced on Monday it would conduct an internal investigation into the incident, defying pressure for a thorough international inquiry.

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The Palestinian prime minister has sharply criticised a new Israeli military order that could allow the army to expel tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

Salam Fayyad condemned the order on Tuesday, saying the threat to expel Palestinians lacking proper identification from the West Bank is “in every way illegal”.

“The military order that seeks to deport Palestinians and/or subject them to prosecution on the grounds of being without proper residency - this is something that in every way is illegal,” including under international law, he said.

“It’s something that definitely has to be rescinded. I mention it as an example of the latest form of adversity that is associated with (the) occupation regime.”

Palestinian ‘infiltrators’

The new legislation, signed off six months ago and due to be implemented on Tuesday, amends an existing order from 1969 to prevent infiltration into the country.

The military policy now stipulates that all Palestinians in the occupied West Banknot carrying what Israel deems a valid identity card can be classified as “infiltrators”, and as such, could face deportation or up to seven years in prison.

The Israeli military order does not specify what would be accepted as valid identification.

Rights groups have also criticised the order, saying it has sparked fear of arrest amongst Palestinians.

Sari Bashi, the executive director of the Gisha Legal Centre for Freedom of Movement, an Israeli civil liberties group in Tel Aviv, said the order gives a green light to Israeli soldiers to arrest Palestinians.

“This is part of a series of steps implemented by Israel to empty the West Bank of Palestinians, especially by removing them to Gaza,” she told Al Jazeera.

“There are tens of thousands of people at risk, who pose no security threat whatsoever - they’re just trying to lead their lives.

“Turning them into criminals - making it criminal for them to be present in their own home - is tearing away at the fabric of life in the West Bank.”

“There is no protection here - the opposite, for the first time the military is declaring it a crime for a Palestinian resident to be present in one part of the Palestinian territory.”

‘Safeguarding’ Palestinians

But Israel has defended the policy.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for the Israeli government, denied that the amended measure was aimed at expelling Palestinians, and said it would safeguard their rights.

“What we’ve done here is we’ve strengthened the rights of people who face such deportation by creating … an independent judicial oversight mechanism, which makes sure there are checks and balances and that the legal rights of people are protected,” he told Al Jazeera.

Under the old order, those served with deportation orders could be deported the same day, whereas the new amendments provide a 72-hour appeal period, he said.

The controversial aspect of the measure, however, arises from the vague language now used to define an infiltrator, as reported by Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on Sunday.

“The order’s language is both general and ambiguous, stipulating that the term infiltrator will also be applied to Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, citizens of countries with which Israel has friendly ties [such as the United States] and Israeli citizens, whether Arab or Jewish,” Haaretz said.

“All this depends on the judgement of Israel defence forces commanders in the field.”

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Israel is denying Palestinians access to even the basic minimum of clean, safe water, Amnesty International says.

In a report, the human rights group says Israeli water restrictions discriminate against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Israel says the report is flawed and the Palestinians get more water than was agreed under the 1990s peace deal.

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Jeruzalem - Israëlische soldaten zouden in januari vrijwel zonder schietinstructies aan het grondoffensief tegen het Hamas-bestuur in de Gazastrook zijn begonnen. Commandanten stelden in voorbesprekingen zelden het onderscheid tussen burgers en strijders aan de orde. Dat hebben 29 veteranen van de Gaza-oorlog verteld aan het Israëlische oud-soldatencollectief Breaking the Silence.

Door Alex Burghoorn

Hun geanonimiseerde relaas verschijnt vandaag in een 112 pagina’s tellend rapport, waarin de Volkskrant inzage heeft gehad. De gefilmde interviews zijn onderaan dit artikel te bekijken.

‘Schiet op alles wat beweegt’

De ruime schietinstructies (‘rules of engagement’) zijn het refrein in de getuigenissen. Of hun ervaringen representatief zijn voor alle soldaten die aan het offensief hebben deelgenomen, is moeilijk vast te stellen. Wel sluiten hun verhalen aan bij eerdere uitspraken van de chef-staf van het Israëlische leger, Gabi Ashkenazi. Al tijdens de oorlog zei hij het leger met grote vuurkracht de eigen soldaten wilde beschermen.

In getuigenis 9 vertelt een reservist dat zijn commandant de troepen voorhield te schieten ‘als je denkt dat het nodig is’. Het betekende: ‘Als je bang bent of je ziet iemand, schiet. () Niemand zei echt ‘schiet zonder je ergens iets van aan te trekken’ of ‘schiet op alles wat beweegt’. Maar ons werd niet opgedragen alleen te schieten als er een reële dreiging bestond.’

De getuigenissen komen in grote lijnen overeen met getuigenissen van Palestijnen over het optreden van het Israëlische leger.

De 22-daagse Gaza-oorlog kenmerkte zich door een hevige aanval van Israël op de Palestijnse kustenclave en door raketbeschietingen op Israëlische steden door Hamas-strijders. Volgens internationale mensenrechtenorganisaties zijn daarbij meer dan 1300 Palestijnen (merendeels burgers) en 13 Israëli’s (merendeels soldaten) omgekomen.

Fosformunitie

Opvallend in het verslag van Breaking the Silence zijn de getuigenissen over het gebruik van fosformunitie, die volgens een VN-verdrag uit 1980 niet boven dichtbevolkte gebieden mag worden gebruikt. Fosforgranaten zijn bedoeld om rookgordijnen op te trekken die grondtroepen aan het zicht onttrekken, maar in stedelijk gebied kunnen de uiterst brandbare fosfordeeltjes de burgerbevolking treffen.

In getuigenis 27 zegt een soldaat dat fosformunitie is gebruikt om een huis tot ontploffing te brengen waarin volgens de inlichtingendienst explosieven en boobytraps waren aangebracht. Eerst ‘werd een granaat geschoten, maar dat bracht weinig teweeg’, zegt hij. ‘Toen heeft de artillerie besloten het huis onder vuur te nemen en zij gebruikten daar fosfor voor.’

Ook spreken de soldaten over incidenten waar Palestijnse burgers bij omkwamen, over het inzetten Palestijnen als menselijk schild bij het betreden van huizen, en over de soms willekeurige verwoesting van huizen.

Leger: getuigenissen niet geloofwaardig

Het Israëlische leger heeft naar eigen zeggen ‘alles bij elkaar tien soldaten’ van het strijdtoneel weggestuurd vanwege ‘immoreel gedrag’. ‘We ontkennen niet dat er fouten zijn gemaakt, maar dat zijn geïsoleerde gevallen die niet de aard van het Israëlische leger weerspiegelen’, zei legerwoordvoerster Avital Leibovich in reactie op het rapport. Het leger acht echter de verzamelde getuigenissen ‘niet geloofwaardig’, omdat ‘ze anoniem zijn en geen details, namen of plaatsen bevatten’. Zelf heeft het leger volgens Leibovich ‘tientallen onderzoeken’ lopen naar mogelijke overtredingen van schietinstructies.

Het referentiepunt voor het Israëlische optreden in Gaza was de oorlog met Hezbollah in Libanon in 2006, zegt Breaking the Silence-oprichter Yehuda Shaul. ‘Het leger moest weer vertrouwen in zichzelf krijgen, en de samenleving weer vertrouwen in het leger. Na Libanon was een overwinning nodig. Het leger had daar tijd voor nodig, en het was daarom zaak dat er zo weinig mogelijk soldaten zouden sneuvelen.’

Breaking the Silence probeert sinds de tweede intifada een maatschappelijk debat aan te zwengelen over het optreden van het leger in de bezette Palestijnse gebieden.

Bekijk een aantal getuigenissen op beeld:

(Windows Media Player)

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BEIJING, July 28 — Israeli Jewish settlers and right-wing activists paraded in Jerusalem Monday, protesting against the U.S. government’s Middle East policy.

Some 1,000 protesters rallied outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house and asked Netanyahu to refuse America’s request and continue the Jewish settlements construction.

Since U.S. President Barack Obama took office, his administration has repeatedly demanded Israel to halt all the Jewish settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and stop activities in East Jerusalem.

Netanyahu has said that he would not build any new settlements in West Bank, but construction must be permitted inside the existing settlements to accommodate what he calls “natural growth” in their population. He has also refused to stop the activity in East Jerusalem, saying the settlement issue should be separated from the East Jerusalem issue.

However, Israeli newspapers reported recently that Netanyahu would make concessions on the settlement issue, including temporarily stopping the settlement construction and destroying some 20 illegal outposts in West Bank, which displeases many Israelis.

Monday night, the protesters, carrying torches, marched to the U.S. Consulate in West Jerusalem.

Some held up signs reading “Yes to Israeli Independence! No to American Demands,” and called the U.S. Special Middle-East envoy George Mitchell to “Go home.”

Soundbite: protesters “Mitchell, go home! Obama, no, you can’t!”

A latest survey found that only 38 percent of Israelis think Obama is friendly to Israel, compared with the result of a 2007 poll showing 73 percent of Israelis have favorable views on Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush.

This is the second mass protest of Israeli outside the U.S. Consulate.

Bron