Ehud Barak to Join Netanyahu’s Coalition Government
In news from Israel, Labor chair Ehud Barak has reportedly agreed to join Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government despite opposition from many within the Labor Party. Members of the Labor Party’s executive committee are expected to vote on the deal today. Barak had earlier pledged to stay in opposition if Labor won less than twenty seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. In last month’s election, Labor only won thirteen seats.
UN Official Accuses Israel Of War Crimes in Gaza
Meanwhile the United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Richard Falk, accused Israel Monday of committing war crimes in Gaza. Falk called for an independent inquiry to examine possible war crimes committed by both Israel and Hamas.
Richard Falk: “The overall ratio of deaths 1,434 on the Palestinian side, 13 on the Israeli side, is suggestive of the one-sidedness of the military encounter, and provides a basis for challenging the legality of initiating a military assault with modern weaponry against an essentially defenseless society.
Richard Falk also accused Israel of preventing Palestinian civilians from fleeing the military assault.
Richard Falk: “This indictment of Israeli tactics is strongly reinforced by a feature of the military operations that is unique in contemporary warfare: namely, coercively confining the Gazan civilian population to the combat zone during the Israeli military operations. This effectively denied to all Palestinians in Gaza the option of becoming refugees. Such a war policy should be treated as a distinct and new crime against humanity, and should be formally recognized as such, and explicitly prohibited."
Israel dismissed Falk's report saying it was part of a pattern of demonizing Israel by the United Nations. The UN’s special rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, also criticized Israel’s attack on Gaza and suggested Israeli officials could be tried outside of Israel if Israel does not investigate possible war crimes.
Olivier de Schutter: “We would like to emphasise that the primary responsibility of ensuring the respect of international humanitarian law, lies with the national justice system. Should the Israeli military or civilian justice system adequately and transparently investigate allegations of violations of the laws of war and if necessary prosecute those responsible, the IDF has no reason to fear that its officers will face indictments in foreign jurisdictions.”
On Monday, Israeli Army spokesperson Major Avital Leibovitch defended Israel’s actions and disputed a report that Israeli troops targeted Palestinian medical facilities.
Major Avital Leibovitch: “The IDF has decided to open a thorough investigation, investigation was not complete yet, and when it will be complete we will be more than happy to share the details with the public. We know that we can say today for a fact that the IDF soldiers were instructed to take very good care of the different medical facilities and medical vehicles in the area in Gaza.”
Parents of Tristan Anderson Call For Israel to Take Responsibility For Shooting
In other news from the region, the parents of the American peace activist Tristan Anderson flew to Israel yesterday to see their son who remains in critical condition in a medically induced coma. Israeli troops shot Anderson in the head with a high-velocity tear gas canister. Tristan’s mother, Nancy Anderson said: “We are scared and really still in shock. To shoot peaceful demonstrators is really horrifying to us. What we want to ask is that the Israeli government publicly take full responsibility for the shooting of our son.” The words of Nancy Anderson.
PLO Official Assassinated in Lebanon
In Lebanon, a high-ranking member of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was assassinated Monday in a roadside bombing in Lebanon that killed a total of five people. Kamal Medhat was the deputy head of the PLO in Lebanon.
U.S. Tried to Silence Binyam Mohamed With Plea Bargain
Newly released documents reveal U.S. government lawyers tried to get a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay to sign a deal saying he had never been tortured and that he would not speak to the media as a condition of his release. U.S. lawyers also wanted Binyam Mohamed to plead guilty to secure his freedom, even though he was never charged with a crime. Mohamed was released last month but did not sign such an agreement.
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