WANTEDFORWARCRIMES
The decision of the Belgian Supreme Court that Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon can stand trial under that country’s “universal jurisdiction” law for war crimes, once he is no longer in office, has caused a storm of outrage in Israel. The case was brought by survivors of the 1982 massacre of thousands of unarmed Palestinian refugees in Israeli-occupied Beirut, carried out by Israeli-armed and trained gangs, under Israeli army protection, and in which Sharon is deeply and personally implicated. EI’s Ali Abunimah responds to the arguments of those who say Belgium has no right to do this, and who seek continued impunity for war criminals. Read more about Putting Sharon on Trial: Why Belgium is doing the right thing
Following my last military reserve duty, I was kicked out of my unit, the educational corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There was a surrealistic dimension to the whole experience. I had driven a few hours to a base located near the Egyptian border after having been asked to lecture about “leadership” to 60 soldiers from the Givati infantry brigade who were about to begin an officers’ training course. These young men are the military’s future commanders, its elite. Neve Gordon, writing in In These Times notes that, “When the end justifies the means, then everything is permitted.” Read more about Israel's Slippery Moral Slope
EI’s Ali Abunimah provides a detailed analysis of Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations Security Council, and the holes in the American case for an attack on Iraq, that “you could sail a U.S. Navy battlegroup through.” Read more about Focus on Iraq: Powell's UN speech dissected
Surely the most remarkable thing about last week’s election in Israel was the fact that, even as Israeli citizens were enjoying their right to vote, their army was enforcing a lockdown that kept over 3 million Palestinians confined to their homes for three days, writes Saree Makdisi for EI. Read more about While Israel Voted...
Until European intellectuals take on board the racist basis of the Jewish State, their support for the struggle of the Palestinians will always ring hollow, writes Joseph Massad in this contribution to EI. Read more about Sartre, European intellectuals and Zionism
Twelve Palestinian factions, including the Palestinian Authority, Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas are meeting in Cairo. Egypt wants the talks to produce a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire in the conflict with Israel. Regular EI contributor Hasan Abu Nimah assesses what, if anything, these talks may produce. Read more about The Palestinian Dialogue in Cairo
UN chief weapons inspectors for Iraq gave a much anticipated report to the UN Security Council on 27 January. Did the statements by Hans Blix and Muhammad ElBaradei move the Middle East closer or further from war? EI regular contributer Hasan Abu Nimah and EI founder Ali Abunimah analyze the statements, point out inconsistencies, and explain where things stand. Read more about UN Report on Iraq: a call to war or a door to peace?
Israel is asking the United States for $8bn (£5bn) in loan guarantees — and has sent to Washington Amos Yaron, one of the former army officers implicated in the 1982 Sabra and Chatila massacre of Palestinian civilians to persuade the Bush administration to grant the money. Robert Fisk writes in The Independent.Read more about Israeli at US loan talks is implicated in massacre
By the way the media portrayed it, you would have thought that Illinois Gov. George Ryan walked into their living rooms wearing a belt full of dynamite when he pardoned four convicted murderers and commuted all sentences on Illinois’ death row to life imprisonment. Charity Crouse writes about disturbing parallels with the Israeli judicial system. Read more about No one wins the blame the victim game
“Ironically, the neo-conservatives and Likudniks of George W. Bush’s regime who want to bring “democracy” to the Arab-Islamic world — by force if necessary — can realize their plans only by first dismantling democracy in the United States of America. They can’t pull off their neo-con artist sleight-of-hand unless they successfully shut down public debate and strangle participatory grassroots politics at home and abroad.” EI’s Laurie King-Irani examines the historical links between US and Israeli plans for regime change in the Middle East. Read more about Democracy's role in preventing the neo-con artists' dangerous sleight-of-hand
