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How Human Rights Watch lost its way in Lebanon

Jonathan Cook 7 September 2006


The measure of a human rights organisation is to be found not just in the strides it takes to seek justice for the oppressed and victimised but also in the compromises it makes to keep itself out of trouble. Because of the business that human rights defenders are in, they must be held to a standard higher than we demand of others. To its credit, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has risked much opprobrium for taking Israel to task for systematically breaking international law during its assault on Lebanon. That has culminated in a predictable campaign of harassment by pro-Israel organisations in the US that have accused its researchers of libelling Israel and being anti-Semitic. But name-calling, however distasteful, cannot justify HRW distorting its findings to placate the Israel lobby. But that seems to be just what is happening. 

Israel's move to lift its blockade of Lebanon will speed up the Lebanese recovery: Annan

6 September 2006


Welcoming Israel’s decision to lift its blockade of Lebanon tomorrow, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the move will speed up Lebanese reconstruction efforts after the month of conflict and added he would continue to explore all avenues to ensure full implementation of the Security Council resolution that ended the fighting. “I am pleased that the Israeli Government has agreed to lift its blockade of Lebanon, effective 6pm Beirut local time tomorrow, Thursday, 7 September 2006,” Mr. Annan said in a statement issued in Spain, where he is on the last leg of his shuttle diplomacy aimed at shoring up support for the cessation of hostilities. 

Architects' Petition to the Organizers of the Venice Biennale

3 September 2006


We are writing to express our dismay and concern that the Venice Biennale has agreed to host the Israeli contribution to the exhibition on the Architecture of Commemoration. The whole contribution, funded by the Israeli Government, totally excludes the Palestinians who are the target and real victims of the seemingly unending series of wars being memorialised, and awards Israel the sole position of victim and victor. The contributor Dan Daor says that the message of memorial structures is that “there are no heroes - all there is, is the eternity of Israel, all of the country is on the front, and all of us are victims.” 

Letter to the Organizers of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale

3 September 2006


We the undersigned groups and organizations request that the Venice Biennale cancel the country exhibition of Israel entitled “LIFE SAVER - Typology of Commemoration in Israel - Architecture and Society” for the following reasons: The Israeli participation is supported by the Israeli state, a state that continues against all International laws and UN resolutions to occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip; to deny the right of return for Palestinian refugees; and to wage a daily war against Palestinian children, men and women, their homes and livelihoods. 

The Right to Entry to the Occupied Palestinian Territory

6 September 2006


The Palestinian people have lived under Israeli military occupation for over 39 years. Their occupation is not only one of the longest standing in contemporary world history, but has also been distinguished by an incredible amount of repressive creativity. Israel has employed an everincreasing array of means and ways to oppress Palestinian’s basic human rights while maintaining a level of discrimination that, if applied anywhere else in the world, would shock the world into action. The most recent addition to Israel’s “Matrix of Controls” is to deny Palestinians and foreign nationals that do not hold an Israeliissued Palestinian I.D. entry into, or residence in, Palestine. 

Gaza: Four killed and 27 injured in two extra-judicial executions in two hours

6 September 2006


On Tuesday evening, 5 September 2006, Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) committed two extra-judicial executions in Rafah in two hours, which killed four members of the ‘Izziddin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, and wounded 27 civilian bystanders, including five children. According to preliminary investigations conducted by PCHR, at approximately 21:20, an IOF droned fired a missile at a civilian car (a grey Mitsubishi) that was traveling near al-Istiqama Mosque in Saddam Street in the densely-populated al-Junaina neighborhood. 

'Quiet transfer' in East Jerusalem nears completion

Elodie Guego 6 September 2006


Israel is close to implementing a long-term plan to transform the demographic structure of annexed East Jerusalem. Policies to revoke the residency permits of Palestinian Jerusalemites and to Judaise the city have been described as ethnic cleansing. After victory in the 1967 Six Day war, Israel annexed East Jerusalem - that part of the city that had been under Jordanian rule since the end of the British Mandate in 1948 - together with an additional 64 square kilometres which had been part of the West Bank. Jerusalem thus became Israel’s largest city and was declared to be its ‘united and eternal capital’. 

My Palestinian husband and I cannot live together in the West Bank

Maria Pedevilla Vienna, Austria 6 September 2006


Two security people just took me and brought me to a car. I asked a couple of times what was going on, but still no one told me. After asking the fourth or fifth time, “Where are you bringing me?” their answer was, “Back to Jordan” I was denied entry into the country and I was deported back to Jordan. The Israelis did not give us a reason why we were denied entry but swiftly ushered my friend and me into a car that would take us back to the Jordanian border. Our passports were stamped with “entery [sic] denied” and therefore useless for any further travel. Furthermore, due to this event, my fiance and I were prevented from marrying as planned. 

Palestinians in Gaza largely cut off from outside world

6 September 2006


Israel’s continued closure of the Gaza Strip’s only international border crossing is isolating Gaza’s 1.4 million residents. As Gaza’s only international border crossing, Rafah is the only route for ordinary Palestinians to cross from Gaza to Egypt to go back to their jobs and universities across the world - and to get back in to see their families. All other crossings into Israel have been closed since the start of a second intifada in 2000. Many stuck in Gaza face losing their jobs if they cannot travel when they planned to. Palestinians unable to cross into Egypt risk losing money spent on airline tickets from Cairo to countries in the Gulf and elsewhere. 

Lebanon health facilities have suffered considerable damage

6 September 2006


A newly-published assessment of health facilities in Lebanon shows that a quarter of those examined are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern. At the same time, demands on the health system are growing given the numbers of people injured during the conflict, and people returning to their communities requiring health care. The assessment, by the Lebanon Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, looked at more than 400 health facilities in Lebanon in the areas most affected by the conflict.