Russell Tribunal Finds Israel Guilty Of Apartheid, Prosecution

[freepalestine]

Russell Tribunal Finds Israel Guilty Of Apartheid, Prosecution

Wednesday November 09, 2011 10:10 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies



http://imemc.org/attachments/nov2011/russelltribunal.jpg




The Russell Tribunal on Palestine has ruled that Israel is guilty of Apartheid and Prosecution crimes, as its panel of jurists ruled that the Israeli actions against the Palestinians breach the prohibition of apartheid under International Law.


The tribunal held extensive talks for two days, listened to testimonies from expert witnesses, and unanimously determined that that the Israeli violations are defined under international law as apartheid, stating that “Israel subjects the Palestinians to institutionalized regime of domination, mounting to apartheid”.

They jurists also stated that Israel practices “inhumane acts” against the Palestinians, and implements an institutionalized regime of domination.

They also looked into Israel’s targeted killing policy, Israel’s excessive use of force against peaceful protestors, in addition to its torture and ill-treatment of Palestinians.

They stated said that the Israeli violations against the Palestinian in the occupied territories also extend to its violations against them wherever they reside, including those who are Palestinian citizens of Israel.

The Tribunal further stated that Israel is also involved in another crime against humanity; a crime of prosecution.

This includes systematic attacks, collective punishment (such as Israel’s siege on Gaza), targeting civilians during Israeli invasions and assaults, destruction of Palestinian homes and structures, the Annexation Wall in the West Bank, and the forced eviction and demolition of “unrecognized” Bedouin villages in the Negev(al Naqab).


The Tribunal itself is considered a court of people, and has no legal status, but it’s composed of persons with high expertise, and enjoys international respect. It is hoping to pass a message to the public and inform them about the reality of the situation in occupied Palestine, in addition to exerting pressure on world leaders and decision makers, who have failed to act until now, urging them to take strong stances against Israel’s violations.

It called on Israel to stop all of its acts of apartheid, to end the prosecution of the Palestinian people in addition to offering assurances that Tel Aviv will not repeat these violations.



The Tribunal further issued a call to the international community to fulfill its obligations and duties in order to ensure an end to Israel’s policies of apartheid and prosecution of the Palestinian people.

As for the jurists’ recommendations, they called on the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate crimes committed by Israel, called on Palestine to comply with the Rome Statute of the International court, meaning that Palestine has the standing to bring a case against Israel to the International Criminal Court.

They also called on the United Nations General Assembly to hold a special session to investigate Israel’s apartheid policies against the Palestinian people, including the role of all organizations, individuals and corporations who assist Israel’s apartheid policies.




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Wikipedia;

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).

It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on 17 July 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002. As of 13 October 2011, 119 states are party to the statute.[2] Among other things, the statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction and structure.

Under the Rome Statute, the ICC can only investigate and prosecute the core international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression) in situations where states are unable or unwilling to do so themselves.

Thus, the majority of international crimes continue to go unpunished unless and until domestic systems can properly deal with them. Therefore, permanent solutions to impunity must be found at the domestic level.


http://imemc.org/article/62472

[the Left™]

Its really sad to think about to be honest. The separation barrier as it were in the West Bank actually ghettoizes the population by making water, natural resources, schooling, medical facilities, and infrastructure unavailable in the West Bank, let alone between the West Bank and Israel. Likewise, humanitarian aid to Gaza vis-a-vis the freedom flotilla is usually blockaded under U.N. charter 51(I believe) which argues any action can be made in the name of self-defense if it threatens the domestic security of a population. So basically what you have it a de-facto annexation of territory in the West Bank and a compartmentalized and brutalized Gaza population on either side of a country that exists because of a piece of paper imperial britain issued in the early 1900's. :(

[Robocommie]

The West Bank is increasingly turning into a fortified no-man's land. The settlements are more like medieval fortresses - they occupy hills and other high ground, with walls all around them, the buildings all face outwards so they can see the surrounding landscape. Everyone who lives there is armed to the teeth and form a militia in addition to the IDF garrisons. Furthermore, at night, floodlights are turned on to face the surrounding area to illuminate everything within hundreds of yards, and making it impossible to see INTO the settlements from the outside. It's very clear what purpose they serve, and what message they send constantly. Any Arab approaching the settlements can, will, and have been shot on sight.

For me, with my interest in medieval history, it's extremely reminiscent of medieval Wales and the enormous castles that King Edward II built to solidify his control over the Welsh clans.

Even outside the settlements, the West Bank is broken up by high concrete walls - taller and more imposing than the Berlin Wall ever was - that actually isolates entire communities from within the West Bank. The rest of the territory is broken up by miles and miles of chain link fencing with barbed wire running along the top, and each and every road and highway has routine checkpoints with soldiers and guard towers. There are roads on which only Israeli citizens can travel.

[freepalestine]

Message from Cape Town: Israel applies apartheid to Palestinians
Published today (updated) 18/11/2011 19:17


http://www.maannews.net/images/345x230/154748_345x230.jpg
The Russell Tribunal on Palestine hearing in Cape Town in November 2011
(MaanImages/Hanan Chehata, HO)


By Frank Barat and Victor Kattan


The Russell Tribunal on Palestine, an international citizen-based tribunal of conscience, has found that "Israel subjects the Palestinian people to an institutionalized regime of domination amounting to apartheid as defined under international law."

The Tribunal met in November at the District Six Museum in Cape Town, which commemorates the destruction and forced relocation of Cape Town’s multi-cultural District Six community by the apartheid government.

The convening of the tribunal in a country where apartheid was established and dismantled is significant. There is already a feeling in South Africa that Israel’s discrimination against the Palestinian people amounts to apartheid.

As Nelson Mandela once said: "We cannot feel free until the Palestinians are free."

The jury included concentration camp survivor Stephane Hessel, and member of the African National Congress Ronnie Kasrils, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, former US Congresswoman and Pulitzer prize-winning author.

They called 25 expert witnesses to present testimony, including people who experienced apartheid in South Africa, and others who live in Israel and Palestine.

Many had traveled to South Africa from all over the world, including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, although Israel prevented some Palestinian witnesses from traveling.

The Israeli government was invited to present its case before the tribunal but it chose not to exercise this right and provided no answer to correspondence from the tribunal.

During the second day of the tribunal's Cape Town session, Israeli lawmaker in the Kadima party Otniel Schneller called for the Israeli parliament's Ethics Committee to revoke the Israeli citizenship of Haneen Zoabi, a Palestinian member of Israel’s Knesset who testified before the tribunal.

Under the 1973 Apartheid Convention it is a crime to persecute individuals who oppose apartheid.

The tribunal found that Israel’s system of discrimination is manifested in varying intensity and forms against different categories of Palestinians depending on their location.


"Palestinian citizens of Israel, while entitled to vote, are not part of the Jewish nation as defined by Israeli law and are therefore excluded from the benefits of Jewish nationality and subject to systematic discrimination across the broad spectrum of recognized human rights," its findings note.

In the West Bank, Palestinians "are subject to a particularly aggravated form of apartheid," the tribunal found.

"Palestinians are subject to military law enforced by military courts that fall far short of international fair trial standards; Israeli Jews living in illegal settlements are subject to Israeli civil law and a civil court system. The result is a vastly different procedure and sentence for the same crime, committed in the same jurisdiction, by members of a different group."

The tribunal called on states "to exert sufficient pressure on Israel, including the imposition of sanctions, the severing of diplomatic relations collectively through international organizations, or in the absence of consensus, individually by breaking bilateral relations with Israel."

It also called on global civil society "to replicate the spirit of solidarity that contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa, including by making national parliaments aware of the findings of this Tribunal and supporting the campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions."

Another recommendation calls for "the UN General Assembly to reconstitute the UN Special Committee against Apartheid, and to convene a special session to consider the question of apartheid against the Palestinian people."

It suggested that it "compile a list of individuals, organizations, banks, companies, corporations, charities, and any other private or public bodies which assist Israel’s apartheid regime with a view to taking appropriate measures."


Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq said the tribunal's findings "represent an important step towards mobilizing public opinion and putting pressure on decision makers with regard to Israeli practices against the Palestinian people in breach of the prohibition on apartheid."

It is to be hoped that the Russell Tribunal on Palestine has now made the case against Israeli apartheid even stronger and that civil society will use its findings with great effect in the coming months.

It is after all, down to us, the people, to make things change and to struggle, together for a just peace for all, regardless of ethnicity, religion, nationality, or political views.

The quest for global justice is a universal one.




Victor Kattan is the program director of Al Shabaka, the Palestinian policy network. Frank Barat is a human rights activist and coordinator of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=437594