Points of Light has Points to Hamas

Posted on July 28, 2014July 28, 2014 by Denise Simon

President George H.W. Bush created a foundation called Points of Light Foundation designed as a charity to support volunteers in several countries. President #41 has very little to do with the foundation since its founding, but it is a non-partisan organization.

Then in 2007, the POL was headed by Michelle Nunn, a democrat who is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia. Michelle’s father, Sam Nunn has been very involved in another lobby group Globe Zero which has a charter to eliminate all global nuclear weapons. A factoid is that the present Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was also a board member of Globe Zero.

Back to Michelle Nunn, it seems a document was leaked somehow regarding her actions while the Chairman of Points of Light today. Why is this important? Well it seems POL under her chairmanship gave money to Islamic factions that moved money to Hamas.

COME GEORGIA, KNOW YOUR CANDIDATES AND TELL ANOTHER VOTER

Yes….wow is right. For a full summary of this matter of Michelle Nunn go here and the whole 144 page document is included.

Did Dem Senate Candidate Michelle Nunn Help Fund Hamas?

by Daniel Greenfield

‘In 2007 it was being run by Michelle Nunn, a political princess whose father was the Dem Senator from Georgia, and whose daughter now wants to inherit his seat.

Back at Points of Light, Michelle Nunn had transformed Points of Light into a generic social justice enterprise feeding money to a network of allied left-wing groups. Nunn got a $300,000 salary and even groups linked to terrorists got paid… as Eliana Johnson reports.

According to the IRS Form 990s that Points of Light filed in 2008 and 2011, the organization gave a grant of over $33,000 to Islamic Relief USA, a charity that says it strives to alleviate “hunger, illiteracy, and diseases worldwide.” Islamic Relief USA is part of a global network of charities that operate under the umbrella of Islamic Relief Worldwide. Islamic Relief USA says on its website that it is a legally separate entity from its parent organization, but that they share “a common vision, mission, and family identity.”

Islamic Relief Worldwide has ties to Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. In June, Israel banned the charity from operating in the country because, according to Israeli officials, it was funneling cash to Hamas. In 2006, Israelis arrested Islamic Relief Worldwide’s Gaza coordinator, Ayaz Ali. They said he was working to “transfer funds and assistance to various Hamas institutions and organizations.” Ali admitted to cooperating with local Hamas operatives while working in Jordan and, on his computer, Israeli officials found photographs of “swastikas superimposed on IDF symbols,” and of Nazi officials, Osama bin Laden, and al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Islamic Relief USA highlighted the work of Islamic Relief Worldwide in Palestine in its 2012 annual report, in which it talks generally about the work of Islamic Relief charities in the region without drawing a distinction between the branches. The organization has raised eyebrows before. According to a 2012 report, its bank account was closed by UBS and it was “under constant scrutiny by other banks due to nervousness about counterterrorist regulations.” The group’s terror ties extend beyond Hamas, according to a former Israeli intelligence official. He says that Islamic Relief Worldwide’s country director in Palestine, Muneed Abugazaleh, met in April 2012 with Dr. Omar Shalah, a leader of the terror group Islamic Jihad and of the Riyad al-Saleheen Charitable Society, which is affiliated with the group. He is also the brother of Ramadan Shalah, the leader of Islamic Jihad.

Aside from the terrorism issue, what does any of this have to do with POL’s original mission of volunteerism?

Islamic Relief USA is largely oriented toward Muslim conflict zones. It’s raising money currently for Syria and Gaza. Considering that Gaza is run by Hamas, some serious questions need to be asked.’

Ryan Mauro has some more details on the interconnections.

Although IRUSA says it is a “legally separate and independent” affiliate of IRW, the two share leadership and resources. IRUSA transferred $4.8 million, $5.9 million and $9.4 million to IRW in 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively. IRUSA’s December 31, 2010 financial report states, “The majority of IRUSA’s programs are administered through grants with [IRW],” with a total of nearly $22 million that year alone.

Which essentially means that if you’re funding IRUSA, you’re funding a group linked extensively to terrorists. And not just Hamas.

Just in case you need more on Hamas, his is a video by the son of the founder of Hamas speaking out against Hamas, he is now a Christian. http://t.co/CzM7pHiAgD

Additionally in the document, Michelle Nunn also is coordinating activity to fight back against eh SCOTUS ruling on Citizens United, you know the case that Barack Obama pushed back hard on in his State of the Union Address. It is also at the core of the IRS targeting program.

The United Nations is a Marxist SpyHive

Posted on July 23, 2014July 23, 2014 by Denise Simon

DISGUSTING, UNITED STATES MUST SUSPEND DUES IMMEDIATELY

http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/(httpPages)/3A2E7F28C6F779E7C1257D1E005C8F02?OpenDocument

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ESTABLISHES INDEPENDENT, INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY FOR THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY

23 July 2014

The Human Rights Council this afternoon concluded its Special Session on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, after adopting a resolution in which it decided to establish an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

In the resolution, adopted by a vote of 29 States in favour, 1 against and 17 abstentions, the Council strongly condemned the failure of Israel, the occupying Power, to end its prolonged occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; and condemned in the strongest terms the widespread, systematic and gross violations of international human rights and fundamental freedoms arising from the Israeli military operations carried out in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 13 June 2014 that may amount to international crimes, directly resulting in the killing of more than 650 Palestinians, most of them civilians and more than 170 of whom were children, the injury of more than 4,000 people and the wanton destruction of homes, vital infrastructure and public properties.

The Council further condemned all violence against civilians wherever it occurred, including the killing of two Israeli civilians as a result of rocket fire. It called for an immediate cessation of Israeli military assaults throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and an end to attacks against all civilians, including Israeli civilians. The Council demanded that Israel immediately and fully end its illegal closure of the occupied Gaza Strip and called upon the international community to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance and services to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

In the resolution, the Council decided to urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014, and to report to the Council at its twenty-eighth session.
It also recommended that the Government of Switzerland, in its capacity as depositary of the Fourth Geneva Convention, promptly reconvene the conference of High Contracting Parties to the Convention.

In the general debate, speakers continued to call for the immediate halt of Israeli operations against civilians and civilian targets in Gaza. Some spoke in support of Israel’s right to defend its population against terrorist attacks, and condemned reprehensible acts, including indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and other armed groups. Others called attention to the fact that children were bearing the brunt of the escalating violence. Israel’s attempts to warn Palestinian civilians to flee areas where terrorist military installations were noted by some speakers, while others said this meant nothing as the inhabitants of Gaza had no place to flee. Many speakers supported the establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry, and some called for a meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Speaking during this afternoon’s debate were representatives of Syria, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Malaysia, Canada, Tunisia, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Iceland Holy See, Sudan, Thailand, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Bahrain, Uruguay, Iran, Switzerland, Malta, Australia, United Nations Children’s Fund, New Zealand, Spain, Niger, Bolivia, Oman, Sri Lanka, African Union, Denmark, Lebanon, Mauritius, Portugal, Norway, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chad, Iraq, Guinea, Djibouti and Angola.

The Independent Human Rights Commission of Palestine spoke and the following non-governmental organizations took the floor: Independent Human Rights Commission of Palestine, Action Contre la Faim International, Norwegian Refugee Council, BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugees Rights, Maarij Foundation for Peace and Development, International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights,
Union of Arab Jurists, World Jewish Congress, Defence for Children International,
Human Rights Watch, Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations B’nai B’rith, Save the Children International, International Federation for Human Rights Leagues, UN Watch,
Caritas International, International Commission of Jurists, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, European Union of Jewish Students, Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l’homme, General Arab Women Federation, International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, Amnesty International, Amuta for NGO Responsibility and Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights.

Pakistan introduced the resolution on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Israel and Palestine took the floor as concerned countries. The United States, Italy on behalf of the European Union, Brazil and Peru spoke in explanations of the vote before the vote. Gabon, Chile and Japan spoke in explanation of the vote after the vote.

This was the twenty-first Special Session of the Human Rights Council. A summary of the first part of the meeting can be found here. Documentation relating to the Special Session, including the resolution, is available on the Human Rights Council webpage. The twenty-seventh regular session of the Human Rights Council will take place from 8 to 26 September 2014.

General Debate

Syria said that extremist gangs of settlers had been allowed to abduct a Palestinian child and burn him alive, which had led to further massacres of the innocent, particularly women and children. Israel had continuously shown utter disregard for international law. The international community had to ensure that such crimes did not go unpunished. Syria supported the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation stated that the murderous and blind attacks of the Israeli army had led to hundreds of civilian deaths, flouting international law and gravely violating human rights. The Council should set up an independent investigative commission to look into those severe breaches of international law. No country, no matter how powerful it was, should be allowed to massacre civilians with impunity.

Malaysia condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing barbaric and military aggression by Israel on Gaza. Israel’s so-called self-defence had in fact killed thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians over the years. Israel had to be held fully accountable, and no room should be left for its disrespect of the United Nations Charter. Israel should fully halt its military assault on Gaza and end its illegal occupation of the Gaza Strip.

Canada said the Council should call for calm and an end to the hostilities, not establish a new mechanism. Canada supported Israel’s right to defend its population against terrorist attacks, and condemned reprehensible acts by Hamas and other armed groups. The Council should not embolden them by agreeing a resolution that did not even condemn such acts.

Tunisia condemned in the strongest possible terms the barbaric terrorist attacks by Israel in Gaza, and asked the Council to demand that the Israelis responsible were brought before the International Criminal Court. Tunisia quoted testimonies from various world leaders that Israel was a terrorist State acting like the Nazis, committing war crimes and establishing apartheid.

Jordan said Israel was acting in blatant violation of international human rights law. Some 100,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced. The targeting of civilians, no matter which side they were on, forced the Council to fulfil its reason for existence. The Council should establish a commission of inquiry and call for a meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Libya strongly condemned the barbaric invasion by the Israeli occupying power, which had led to the deaths of more than 600 Palestinians, many of them children. The disastrous situation could not be justified by self-defence, but was rather a collective punishment of the Palestinian people, in contravention of international law. An independent commission of inquiry ought to be sent to Palestine as soon as possible.

Mauritania condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli aggression, which was an affront to human conscience and constituted collective punishment and genocide. Israel’s actions would have negative repercussions on the situation in the entire region. Israel, as the occupying power, was blatantly responsible for the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in the occupied territories.

Iceland said that, once again, it was Palestinian civilians, innocent women and children, who suffered most. Iceland strongly condemned the violations of international humanitarian law by both sides, and called on Israel to cease all military operations in Gaza without delay. Attacks on Israel also had to stop without delay. Iceland commended the Secretary-General for going to the region and providing his good offices.

Holy See said the voice of reason seemed submerged by the blast of arms. The perpetration of injustices and the violation of human rights, especially the right to life and to live in peace and security, sowed fresh seeds of hatred and resentment. In his pilgrimage to the Holy Land Pope Francois demanded that the present unacceptable situation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict be brought to an end.

Sudan said with 650 dead, thousands wounded and many thousands more displaced, the violations committed by Israel represented a policy of racial and ethnic cleansing, a massacre and genocide at a time when mankind had rejected the racist law of the jungle and moved into a time of human dignity. The Council must recognize that Israel was an occupying power supported by a superpower that could do whatever it wanted.

Thailand said the right to life should be protected at all times and in all circumstances, even in the course of hostilities. Thailand supported the Security Council call for the immediate cessation of hostilities, including allowing unfettered access to provide humanitarian access to innocent civilians in a timely and sustained manner. Violence only perpetuated a vicious cycle of violence and greater insecurity in the region.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea condemned, in the strongest terms, Israel’s reckless military actions, which had caused bloodshed again in Palestine. Israel’s brutal killings of over 600 defenceless Palestinians through indiscriminate military attacks on peaceful residential areas were particularly denounced. Israel should immediately stop all illegal military actions against Palestine.

Ecuador believed in peaceful coexistence of peoples, and recognized the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to enjoy security and well-being. Unlimited humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip had to be guaranteed. Israel, as the occupying power, had to respect the human rights of the Palestinians, and to abide by its human rights obligations, in accordance with the treaties it had ratified.

Bahrain stated that the barbaric aggression by the Israeli occupying forces was a blatant violation of all international laws and customs. Israel’s aggression was completely unacceptable, as it completely disregarded the 2012 ceasefire agreement. Palestinian territories should be placed under international protection until Israel evacuated all the occupied lands. Israel was called upon to comply with international law.

Uruguay said the political issues underlying the conflict did not fall strictly within the remit of the Council, as other areas of the United Nations dealt with them, but it was clear that the Council could not remain silent given the escalating violence and loss of life in Gaza. Uruguay condemned any hostilities against civilians, and said the violence must end and international humanitarian law must prevail.

Iran said the brutal use of force by Israel against the Palestinian people, including in residential areas, hospitals and schools, added to the long list of violations by Israel over the past 60 years, in systematic and flagrant breach of international law. The international community must not repeat previous mistakes; it must take some responsibly for the situation. The Council must also identify the Israeli officials who had perpetrated war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Switzerland recalled that reprisals against civilians and indiscriminate attacks were prohibited by international law, and said it supported the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to investigate all human rights allegations. It called on all parties concerned to agree to a ceasefire, paving the way to the lifting of the blockade and lasting improvement to the security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people.

Malta said that there had been international calls to end attacks by Hamas and retaliatory actions by Israel. Schools and hospitals in Gaza had been targeted, which meant that children bore the brunt of the ongoing hostilities. Israeli children were also living in the shadow of rockets, while far too many Palestinian children had died or lost family members. There were clear European Union parameters for future negotiations, which Malta supported.

Australia was deeply concerned about the growing number of casualties on both sides, including many Palestinian civilians. The draft resolution was unbalanced, did not mention Hamas’ role in the current situation, and Australia could not support it in its current form. Australia supported Israel’s right to defend itself, but, in doing so, it should take all necessary steps to prevent civilian casualties.

United Nations Children’s Fund called attention to the fact that children were bearing the brunt of the escalating violence. As of 22 July, 146 children had been killed. Protection was needed to ensure the safety of shelters and refuges, and for families trying to relocate to safer areas. Eighty-five schools had been damaged since the beginning of the emergency. More than 72,000 were currently in need of emergency psycho-social support, and the number was expected to rise.

New Zealand called for an end to a conflict that could and should have been avoided, saying the tragic events of the past two weeks had led to an appalling degree of human suffering and its ongoing repercussions. Parties on both sides continued to fall short of their obligations to protect civilians. It was vital that a meaningful and permanent two-State solution be found, including a sustainable end to the blockade of Gaza. The pattern of conflict had gone on too long and the cost to innocent civilians was too high.

Spain said while Israel had the right to protect its population it also had a duty to protect civilians and respect the principles of proportionality and international law. The main priority was to achieve a ceasefire, said Spain, but the need to achieve a negotiated two-State solution – a stable Palestine and a secure Israel – could only be achieved through talking, and Spain urged both sides to return to the negotiating table.

Niger said the seriousness of the events in Gaza had left the international community indifferent, although Israel was responsible for huge violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. The United Nations Secretary-General was urged to continue his efforts to achieve a ceasefire and bring the parties back to the negotiating table, in recognition of the Palestinians’ right to live in their own land.

Bolivia said that hundreds of Palestinian civilians were victims of the Israeli aggression. The international community should provide for the urgent convening of a dialogue between Palestine and Israel. Israel’s violations of human rights were grave and systematic, and should be investigated in the context of international law. Palestine could count on the support of Bolivia.

Oman stated that it did not seek confrontation, but instead condemned all kinds of violence, which had escalated to the degree that a child had been torched alive. Practices described by the High Commissioner in the morning were tantamount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. An independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the 1967 borders, had to be established.

Sri Lanka was deeply concerned at the recent escalation of violence in Gaza, resulting in the tragic loss of civilian lives and extensive damage of property. Sri Lanka was convinced that dialogue remained the only feasible option. All parties were called upon to exercise the utmost restraint in a bid to halt the violence. The Egyptian ceasefire initiative would be a meaningful starting point in that regard.

African Union said a recent declaration issued by the African Union, in a spirit of solidarity between Africa and Palestine, deplored the recent violence in the Gaza Strip. Both parties were called upon to end the aggression with a view to removing all the blockades against Gaza and work on establishing a climate for negotiations. Africa wanted peace, nothing less, for the people of the region.

Denmark regretted that once again the civilian populations were bearing the brunt of the hostilities during the confrontation between Hamas and Israel. It strongly condemned the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas and other militant groups, and condemned the loss of hundreds of civilian lives. Denmark supported calls for a swift and impartial international investigation into the civilian deaths on both sides.

Lebanon asked why the Council had waited for yet more destruction and death in Gaza before convening this Special Session. The media showed images of children dying indiscriminately in their beds, elderly people and women being killed for no other reason than being inhabitants of Gaza, and bombs raining down on the city. If those were they not sufficient reasons to hold the session, when should the Council meet?

Mauritius expressed grave concern at the latest developments in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and strongly condemned the killing of civilians, among them children and the elderly and the destruction of the civilian infrastructure. Mauritius appealed to the international community to spare no effort in preventing the escalation of the conflict. Mauritius also condemned Israel’s illegal colonial settlement campaign.

Portugal was appalled by the continuing escalation of violence in Gaza which had resulted in the loss of hundreds of civilian lives. While Israel had the right to defend its civilian population from attacks from militant groups, the response had to be proportionate and respect international humanitarian law. Portugal called for the full implementation of the Security Council resolution 1860 on opening the crossings.

Norway condemned the rocket attacks against Israeli civilians, but being the stronger part and operating in very densely populated areas strengthened Israel’s responsibility. Norway supported the efforts and leadership by Egypt to facilitate a ceasefire, which had to be followed up by measures that could substantially improve the living conditions in Gaza.

Afghanistan strongly condemned Israel’s assaults on Gaza and the rising numbers of civilian lives lost, and urged the occupying power, international community and United Nations to exert every possible effort to secure a ceasefire. Afghanistan had announced an assistance package in humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza and urged the international community to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

Bangladesh said the massacres of civilians in Gaza, particularly of children and women, were appalling and had shocked the world’s conscience. There was no legal, political or moral justification for such actions, which were illegal and in continuous breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Bangladesh supported Palestine’s call to establish a commission of inquiry.

Chad called upon Israel to immediately cease its air raids and land offensive which mainly targeted civilians, schools and hospitals. Chad also called upon the Palestinians to end their attacks against Israel, including the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip. Chad called on all parties to show restraint and achieve a ceasefire, as well as to lift the blockade on Gaza.

Iraq paid tribute to the proud Arab people of Palestine who remained steadfast in face of one of the most brutal attacks by Israel. The Arab world would never fail to stand with the Palestinian people and would continue to support the two-State solution. Israel continued to enjoy seeming immunity for its crimes; Palestinians had the right to defend themselves against such blatant aggression.

Guinea congratulated the High Commissioner for her powerful statement. The indiscriminate use of force by Israel in one of the most populated areas in the world was unacceptable, and had further worsened the already dire situation in the Gaza Strip. The blockade against Gaza had to come to an end. Guinea totally supported the Palestinian people in their legitimate aspirations to have an independent State.

Djibouti was seriously concerned by the grave situation, which was, unfortunately, not a new scenario. In violation of international human rights law, Israel had ignored the principles of proportionality and had targeted Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Perpetrators of any such heinous crimes had to be held accountable. Djibouti supported Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire and called upon parties to cooperate.

Angola said it was deeply outraged and appalled by the unacceptable situation prevailing in Gaza, which it considered to be excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate and in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Angola joined the calls of the international community for an immediate ceasefire in order to deliver assistance to the victims of the conflict.

Independent Human Rights Commission of Palestine said Israel’s disproportionate and indiscriminate actions had killed 650 Palestinians, injured more than 4,000 and displaced over 150,000 from their homes. There was no safe haven in Gaza. The bombardment came from land, air and sea. An immediate investigation should be carried out by an independent and impartial fact-finding mission and impunity should be ended.

Action Contre la Faim International said in the past week it had successfully delivered aid to thousands of recipients in Gaza, but the intensity of hostilities had seriously impeded the provision of emergency humanitarian aid. It was extremely concerned about the viability of helping people recover from yet another crisis amidst restrictions that drastically limited Gaza’s economic and social development.

Norwegian Refugee Council said that 44 per cent of the Gaza Strip had been declared a no-go area, making Gaza even more of an open-air prison than before. In Gaza, the internally displaced persons could not find safety as they were not allowed to leave, and no place in Gaza was safe. Returning to the status quo ante was not enough.

Al-Haq stated that what they were witnessing in the Gaza Strip was a manifestation of Israel’s prolonged and belligerent occupation of Palestine. The current situation was an embodiment of the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable for war crimes in the occupied territory. The status quo was not sustainable.

BADIL Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugees Rights said that 76 per cent of the Palestinians killed by Israel were civilians. Testimonies from the ground described attacks by Israel as indiscriminate and disproportionate and directly aimed at civilians. In the past seven years, the Council had failed to act decisively to ensure that Israel abided by international law.

Maarij Foundation for Peace and Development said the Council was today considering a catastrophic situation which was a result of Israel’s reaction to the kidnapping of three Israeli citizens; this was collective punishment against the citizens of the Gaza Strip. More than 83 per cent of victims were civilians, killed in an area where there was no option to flee death as the aggression of Israel was all encompassing.

International Institute for Peace, Justice and Human Rights said the Special Session took place three weeks after the execution, torture and murder of a Palestinian teenager in East Jerusalem, and three weeks of Israeli aggression against Gaza. The Institute condemned the attacks against the Palestinian people, their hospitals, and their schools, and made several recommendations for a fact-finding mission.

Union of Arab Jurists said despite calls from the United Nations and other international bodies, Israel’s aggression in the occupied Palestinian territories continued. Israel considered itself to be above United Nations resolutions and above the law. Those countries which supported Israel equated the victim and the aggressor, knowing full well of the inalienable right to self-determination and legitimate resistance.

World Jewish Congress said that by firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli civilians, Hamas had launched an armed attack against a United Nations Member State. Hamas was the violator of human rights, as it used children as human shields and violated the sanctity of mosques, hospitals and schools. The Council should reject the resolution and sanction Hamas for its wanton violation of human rights.

Defence for Children International said that thus far more children had been killed by Israeli fire than Palestinian militants. Eighty-five schools had been damaged by shelling by Israeli forces. International law was clear in stating that civilians, including children, should never be targeted. An immediate ceasefire, which should also end the blockade on the Gaza Strip, was called for.

Human Rights Watch had documented eight airstrikes on civilian targets before the ground offensive had begun on 17 July. Neither the Israeli nor Palestinian authorities had taken the necessary steps to prosecute violators, who existed on both sides. The Council should mandate the Office of the High Commissioner to form a fact-finding mission, which should establish accountability and issue recommendations to the United Nations and the parties.

Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations; B’nai B’rith said Hamas had fired some 1,700 rockets at Israel, and it used its own people as human shields. Israel made attempts to warn Palestinian civilians to flee areas where terrorist military installations were, by sending text and telephone messages. The Coordinating Board said they were here today for peace.

Save the Children International said the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip was unprecedented. One out of every five people killed by the recent strikes was a child. Around 80,000 children had experienced death or injury in their families, or lost a home. Children were being denied access to healthcare and schooling. Save the Children International called for the protection of school facilities and respect for their integrity.

International Federation for Human Rights Leagues said since the launch of ‘Operation Protective Edge’ on 7 July Israel had killed at least 650 people in the occupied Gaza Strip. At the same time, thousands of rockets had been fired at Israel from within the Gaza Strip causing the death of two Israeli civilians. The imbalance of power could not be overlooked. Israel and Palestine should ratify the Rome Statute to help ensure accountability.

UN Watch said that the draft resolution denied Israel’s right to self-defence. If in the past year, the Council had not cried out when thousands had been killed in street protests in Turkey, Egypt, Libya and Afghanistan, why did it hold a Special Session on Israel now? The Assad regime in Syria had killed 1,800 Palestinians, yet the Council had remained silent over that.

Caritas International expressed deep concern about the renewed tension in the Holy Land and the grave violations reported in the Gaza Strip. During the special prayers for peace in Israel and Palestine, convened in the Vatican on 8 June, Pope Francis had asked for courage, strength and tenacity to say no to conflict. Caritas called on both parties to the conflict to agree to an immediate ceasefire to enable humanitarian relief.

International Commission of Jurists called for an immediate end to the Palestinian military operations in Gaza and the unconditional withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza. All of Gaza’s crossings had to be opened to allow for unrestricted humanitarian access. There had been attacks by both parties which constituted crimes under international law and their perpetrators had to be held criminally accountable.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies said as an occupying power Israel had obligations under international humanitarian law, as compelled by the Fourth Geneva Convention, under which it was also bound to refrain from collective punishment. The practice to warn civilians to leave their houses before the shelling starts should not be seen as an act of morality; with the current blockade on Gaza the civilians had nowhere to go.

CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation said it was appalled by the nightmare of rocket bombings of civilians, including children and soldiers alike, during the third war in Gaza in less than six years. Above all, CIVICUS was appalled that Israel, after its Holocaust history, had turned from a victim into a victimizer. Authorities in Gaza must recognize that they would lose support if they used Palestinians cynically as human shields.

European Union of Jewish Students said an entire nation, towns, villages and cities, was under brutal and relentless attack from over 2,000 rockets and long-range missiles fired from Gaza across the holy land. Israelis were forced to run for shelter, day and night, when air-raid sirens went off. The world should salute the terrorized and embattled nation of Israel which was showing such strength of spirit in resisting such massive aggression.

Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l’homme was concerned by the systematic violations of international humanitarian law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel, as the occupying power, had to protect civilians during its offensive security operations against Hamas. Both parties were invited to declare an unconditional ceasefire in order to save human lives.

General Arab Women Federation said that it was the Israeli Prime Minister’s public call for revenge along with his openly declared goal to destroy the newly formed Palestinian unity Government that had set off the recent avalanche of violence. Israel’s policy against the Palestinians in Gaza violated the fundamental rules of international law, and such atrocities had to be prosecuted as crimes against humanity.

International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists believed that the draft resolution was contrary to the Council’s mandate and did great injustice to Israel. It made no reference to violations of humanitarian law perpetrated by terror organizations. Hamas had declared on several occasions that any Israeli was a legitimate target to its attacks. The Council should condemn Hamas and its terrorist methods.

Amnesty International regretted that once more the Council was intervening after the catastrophe, and said the United Nations must find ways to intervene in crises sooner. The Council was recommended to build on the analysis and findings of the Goldstone report and back measures to find accountability for victims.

Amuta for NGO Responsibility regretted the rockets being fired at Israel’s main airport, an artery for the nation, which had led to its partial shut-down and many major airlines suspending their flights to Israel. The representative said that cement given to Gaza to help Palestinians build hospitals and schools was instead used to build kilometres of ‘tunnels of terror’ to murder Israeli civilians.

Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights said the failure of the international community to ensure the protection of civilians had led them to this dark day, this Special Session. It urged the Council to take swift action to protect the civilians and to prosecute actions that amounted to war crimes. The international community’s disgrace was the result of world leaders putting political gain ahead of the responsibility laid out in the United Nations Charter.

Action on the Draft Resolution

In a resolution (A/HRC/S-21/L.1) on ensuring respect for international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, adopted by a vote of 29 States in favour, 1 against and 17 abstentions, the Council strongly condemns the failure of Israel, the occupying Power, to end its prolonged occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; and condemns in the strongest terms the widespread, systematic and gross violations of international human rights and fundamental freedoms arising from the Israeli military operations carried out in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 13 June 2014 that may amount to international crimes, directly resulting in the killing of more than 650 Palestinians, most of them civilians and more than 170 of whom are children, the injury of more than 4,000 people and the wanton destruction of homes, vital infrastructure and public properties. The Council condemns all violence against civilians wherever it occurs, including the killing of two Israeli civilians as a result of rocket fire; calls for an immediate cessation of Israeli military assaults throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and an end to attacks against all civilians, including Israeli civilians; demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately and fully end its illegal closure of the occupied Gaza Strip; calls upon the international community to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance and services to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip; and expresses deep concern at the condition of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails and detention centres. The Council also recommends that the Government of Switzerland, in its capacity as depositary of the Fourth Geneva Convention, promptly reconvene the conference of High Contracting Parties to the Convention; and decides to urgently dispatch an independent, international commission of inquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip, in the context of the military operations conducted since 13 June 2014, and to report to the Council at its twenty-eighth session.

The result of the vote was as follows:

In favour (29): Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Viet Nam.

Against (1): United States of America.

Abstentions (17): Austria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Gabon, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Montenegro, Republic of Korea, Romania, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and United Kingdom.

Pakistan, speaking on the behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, presenting the draft resolution, said that barbaric acts of violence by Israel were deplorable and had led to the suffering of innocent Palestinian civilians. The draft resolution underlined the importance of providing humanitarian assistance, and called for the immediate protection of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories. The draft resolution also asked for an immediate dispatch of an independent commission of inquiry into human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Pakistan hoped that the resolution would be adopted by consensus.

The President said that there were six additional co-sponsors of the resolution.

Israel, speaking as a concerned country, asked again why the Council believed that naming and shaming of Israel would achieve anything. Israel had shown its utmost restraint and agreed to a number of ceasefire arrangements, but then had no choice but to start the current operation. Israel had no interest to be in Gaza, from which it had withdrawn in 2005. Israel’s attacks in Gaza targeted exclusively Hamas military targets and did what it could to avoid any collateral damage. A special commission of inquiry had been established by Israel to look into possible violations of human rights, well beyond the requirements of international law. Hamas was the aggressor, the one committing war crimes – the Council should open its eyes to the truth.

Palestine thanked the States which had supported the convening of the current Special Session, and all those who had supported the draft resolution as presented. There was a flagrant violation of human rights occurring in Palestine, which the occupying power seemed to have forgotten. The current operation was the fifth such attack against Gaza. Palestine was always prepared to find a solution, but the occupying power and those who supported it were asking Palestine to accept the occupation, which would never be accepted. Palestine was hoping for minimal justice for killed civilians, including numerous exterminated families. A commission of inquiry should identify those responsible so that they could be brought to justice. Twenty five Palestinians had been killed for every Israeli. The occupying power needed to protect civilians, which was not currently the case. Palestine would like to see an end to the bloodletting immediately. Palestine asked for all States to support the draft resolution and come to its aid.

United States, speaking in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said it remained gravely concerned about the recent violence which had impacted Palestinian and Israeli civilians, and was working intensively to achieve an end to the hostilities. The resolution today would not help achieve that goal. It was destructive, not constructive. The United States was deeply troubled by the resolution and would vote against it. Once again the Council had failed to address the situation in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories with any semblance of balance. The resolution did not mention rockets fired from Gaza, or the tunnels made by terrorists. It would create another one-sided mechanism targeting Israel; the commission of inquiry it called for would be a needless, duplicative effort, the fourth such body established since 2006. The resolution was a political and biased instrument. The Council already had a standing agenda item focused solely on Israel, and a Special Rapporteur with a wide mandate. Furthermore, the resolution took steps outside of Council’s mandate by attempting to convene a meeting of Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention. The United States called for a vote and urged States not to vote for the resolution.

Italy, speaking on behalf of the European Union in an explanation of the vote before the vote, appreciated efforts by the sponsors of the draft resolution to consult with all members of the Council. The European Union was convinced that the most effective way to react was to use the existing mechanisms, such as through a swift deployment of a mission by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was regrettable that the European Union’s suggestions had not been taken aboard by the resolution’s sponsors. The final draft text continued to be unbalanced and prejudged the findings of the commission of inquiry even before it was formed. It also did not condemn the firing of rockets into Israel, which was why the European Union would abstain. It would have been a far better outcome if there had been a united position of the Council on the issue.

Brazil, speaking in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said it would vote in favour of the draft resolution. The gravity of the situation, in particular the alarming number of casualties, warranted a timely and strong response by the international community. There were some elements in the draft which did not fully reflect Brazil’s position; Brazil would have preferred a resolution reflecting in a more balanced manner the developments on the ground. The Council had an important role to play in investigating violations of the human rights and international humanitarian law. Brazil stood ready to contribute to all international efforts to reach a peaceful solution.

Peru, speaking in an explanation of the vote before the vote, said it energetically condemned Israel’s incursions into the Gaza Strip as well as the launching of rockets by Hamas into Israeli territory. It would vote in favour of the resolution.

Gabon, in an explanation of the vote after the vote, said that it attached high importance to the resolution of disputes through dialogue and negotiations. Gabon strongly urged all the parties to cease hostilities and commence talks as soon as possible. An immediate ceasefire was needed to allow for the salvation of the civilians, especially children, the elderly and the disabled.

Chile, in an explanation of the vote after the vote, said that violence was causing suffering of civilians. Chile supported the intervention of the good offices of Egypt. Chile would have also liked to see inclusion of condemnation of Hamas rockets in the adopted resolution.

Japan, in an explanation of the vote after the vote, appreciated the readiness of Palestine and some co-sponsors to include some changes in the draft resolution. The Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister was in the region at the moment, trying to help resolve the conflict. The necessity of the establishment of a new commission of inquiry should have been further considered, and the approach which could lead to further prosecutions at the International Criminal Court was questionable. That was why Japan had abstained in the vote.

For use of the information media; not an official record

This is what Israel had to say in Geneva. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kWwc-GgaiIk

Text of the Ambassador is here.

Netanyahu Continues to Prove the Reality

Posted on July 22, 2014July 22, 2014 by Denise Simon

First, a must watch video here.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Tuesday, 22 July 2014), at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, made the following remarks at his meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:

“Mr. Secretary, I appreciate the fact that you came here and that you took time to see what we’ve just shown you. I think it’s clear that Israel is doing what any country would do if terrorists rained down rockets on its cities and towns – hundreds of rockets, day after day, week after week. In addition, as I’ve shown you, Hamas has dug terrorist tunnels under hospitals, mosques, schools, homes, to penetrate our territory, to kidnap and kill Israelis.

Now, in the face of such wanton terrorism, no country could sit idly by. It would exercise its right, inherent and legitimate right of self-defense as we are doing, and act decisively to end the threat to its citizens. This is what Israel is doing. We did not seek this escalation, Mr. Secretary. We accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal. I don’t need to remind you it was a proposal that was supported by the UN, by the Arab League, by the United States, by Europe. Hamas rejected it. We accepted the humanitarian ceasefire proposal that the UN proposed afterward. Hamas rejected that. We accepted the ceasefire proposal of the Red Cross in Shejaia. Hamas rejected that, twice. I think the international community must take a clear stand; it must hold Hamas accountable for consistently rejecting the ceasefire proposals and for starting and prolonging this conflict. The international community must hold Hamas accountable for its increasing and indiscriminate attacks on Israeli civilians. And the international community must hold Hamas accountable for using Palestinian civilians as human shields deliberately putting them in harm’s way, deliberately keeping them in harm’s way.

Mr. Secretary, we have made every effort and will continue to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. We are targeting Hamas terrorist targets. We’ve just shown you these targets, embedded in civilian areas, embedded in mosques, embedded in hospitals, embedded in agricultural schools. Hamas is embedded in there in order to sustain civilian casualties, because they know that we will have to protect our citizens; that we have to act against their targets. So they are committing a double war crime: both targeting our civilians and hiding behind their civilians. And they want, I repeat: They want more civilian casualties, whereas we want no civilian casualties at all, and we’re taking the utmost pain to minimize that. I think the people of Gaza, and that’s become absolutely clear to the world, are the victims of the brutal Hamas regime. They are holding them hostage and they are hiding behind them.

You know, Mr. Secretary, the international community has pressed us to give cement to Gaza to build schools, hospitals, homes. And now we see what has happened to those deliveries of cement. They have been used to dig tunnels next to a kindergarten, not to build a kindergarten but to build a tunnel that penetrates our territory so that Hamas can blow up our kindergartens and murder our children. They’ve used for a long time our willingness to try to keep civilians at a minimum. They’ve been using them to keep on firing at us. We have even opened up a field hospital, Mr. Secretary, to help Hamas civilians, and Hamas is preventing civilians of Gaza from going to our hospital. I believe that you understand this. I believe that you understand that it is the right of every state to defend itself. And Israel will continue to do what it needs to do to defend its people.

Mr. Secretary, this is not only our right; this is our duty.”

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon Meets with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (Communicated by the Defense Ministry International Media Advisor)

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, today (Tuesday, 22 July 2014), made the following remarks at the start of his meeting with UN Secretary General Ban

Ki-moon:

“Welcome Secretary General. You’re most welcome in our country Israel. We very much appreciate your sincere intentions to put an end to the violence in the region.

As you know, we are engaged now in the 15th day of Operation Protective Edge which was actually initiated by Hamas, its provocations of rocket launches on our civilians and it has been deteriorated and now we are trying to stop it by all means – to stop the violence. Unfortunately we have here in the Gaza Strip a terror entity led by Hamas with other terror factions, violating international law and order and international law, by using rockets and all kinds of terror targeting deliberately our civilians and using their own civilians as human shield. This is a challenge for us, myself as the Defense Minister and the Israel Defense Forces how to confront and stop this kind of terror.

We do our utmost to avoid civilian casualties, but it is almost impossible in this populated area in Gaza which is used by Hamas as a launching pad for rockets and of course as a base for the terror offensive.

We will show you later on all kinds of tools used by Hamas; how they launch rockets from schools, mosques, neighborhoods and so forth, and the way that they use now underground tunnels trying to attack our civilians and communities around the Gaza Strip, which is a relatively new challenge, which we have to stop as well.

I hope in this visit you will have a better understanding of the challenges ahead of us. Israel is a democracy and a member of the United Nations and we look forward to the international support in the way that we believe that this threat should be confronted. We are ready and determined to continue this operation until we stop this wave of violence against our civilians.

Thank you.”

___________

So what else has the media missed as the reality on the ground? Well the Palestinians cut the power supply to Israeli settlements.

As Hamas continues to launch missiles into Israel, Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement expresses its support for the murder of Israelis by posting a video praising nine female terrorists, among them eight suicide bombers.

The nine murderers whom Fatah chose to glorify killed 75 and wounded over 350 people in total. They were:

Dalal Mughrabi, bus hijacker (37 killed)

Hanadi Jaradat, suicide bomber (21 killed)

Andalib Takatka, suicide bomber (6 killed)

Hiba Daraghmeh, suicide bomber (3 killed)

Ayyat Al-Akhras, suicide bomber (2 killed)

Zainab Abu Salem, suicide bomber (2 killed)

Wafa Idris, suicide bomber (1 killed)

Mirfat Mas’oud suicide bomber (1 wounded)

Darin Abu Aisheh, suicide bomber (3 wounded)

The background of these people are:

Dalal Mughrabi – led the most lethal terror attack in Israel’s history, known as the Coastal Road massacre, in 1978, when she and other Fatah terrorists hijacked a bus on Israel’s Coastal Highway, killing 37 civilians, 12 of them children, and wounding over 70.

Ayyat Al-Akhras – The youngest female Palestinian suicide bomber (aged 17). Belonging to Fatah, she blew herself up near a Jerusalem supermarket on March 29, 2002, killing 2 and wounding 28. Israel transferred the terrorist’s body to the PA on Feb. 2, 2014.

Wafa Idris – The first Palestinian female suicide bomber. Belonging to Fatah, she blew herself up on Jaffa Road in central Jerusalem on Jan. 27, 2002, killing 1 and wounding over 100. As a volunteer for the Palestinian Red Crescent she was able to bypass Israeli security and enter Jerusalem in a Palestinian ambulance.

Darin Abu Aisheh – Female suicide bomber from Fatah who blew herself up at the Makkabim checkpoint between Modiin and Jerusalem on Feb. 27, 2002 after she was asked to get out her car for inspection, wounding 3 police officers.

Andalib Takatka – Female suicide bomber from Fatah who blew herself up on Jaffa Road in Jerusalem on April 12, 2002, killing 6 and wounding more than 80.

Zainab Abu Salem – Female suicide bomber from Fatah who blew herself up at the French Hill junction in Jerusalem on Sept. 22, 2004, killing 2 Israeli border policemen and wounding approximately 30.

Hiba Daraghmeh – Female suicide bomber from the Islamic Jihad who blew herself up at the Amakim shopping mall in Afula on May 19, 2003, killing 3.

Hanadi Jaradat – Female suicide bomber from the Islamic Jihad who blew herself up at the Maksim restaurant in Haifa on Oct. 4, 2003, killing 21 people and wounding over 50.

Mirfat Mas’oud – Female suicide bomber from the Islamic Jihad who blew herself up near Israeli soldiers in Beit Hanoun on Nov. 6, 2006, wounding 1 soldier.

Hamas, the Manipulation Mission

Posted on July 19, 2014July 19, 2014 by Denise Simon

Hamas Interior Ministry To Social Media Activists: Always Call The Dead ‘Innocent Civilians’; Don’t Post Photos Of Rockets Being Fired From Civilian Population Centers

Courtesy of MEMRI

In light of the recent round of fighting in Gaza, the Hamas interior ministry has issued guidelines to Gaza Strip social media users for reporting events and discussing them with outsiders.

The ministry’s guidelines, which it is calling the “Be Aware – Social Media Activist Awareness Campaign,” were issued via an instructional video posted on its official website and via posters published on its Twitter and Facebook pages. Both the video and the posters were also posted on the ministry’s social media accounts and forums.[1]

The guidelines are aimed at ensuring preservation of the line of Hamas and other Palestinian organizations; preventing the leaking of information that would be of military value to Israel; bolstering Hamas’s propaganda efforts outside the Gaza Strip, in both the Arab world and the West; and preventing damage to Hamas’s image. Hamas particularly seeks to cement the perceptions that its actions are a response to Israeli aggression and that all Gaza casualties are “innocent civilians,” and to ensure that there is no evidence of rockets being fired from Gaza population centers.

The Hamas interior ministry website included the following text along with its instructional video: “The Information Department of the Ministry of the Interior and National Security has instructed activists on social media websites, particularly Facebook, to correct some of the commonly used terms as they cover the aggression taking place in the Gaza Strip. The following Information Department video calls on all activists to use the proper terminology, in order to play their part in strengthening the home front and in properly conveying information worldwide.”[2]

“Be Aware – Social Media Activist Awareness Campaign” instructional video posted on official Hamas interior ministry Facebook page

Message to Facebook activists on Hamas interior ministry website

Following are excerpts from the guidelines:

“Anyone killed or martyred is to be called a civilian from Gaza or Palestine, before we talk about his status in jihad or his military rank. Don’t forget to always add ‘innocent civilian’ or ‘innocent citizen’ in your description of those killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza.

“Begin [your reports of] news of resistance actions with the phrase ‘In response to the cruel Israeli attack,’ and conclude with the phrase ‘This many people have been martyred since Israel launched its aggression against Gaza.’ Be sure to always perpetuate the principle of ‘the role of the occupation is attack, and we in Palestine are fulfilling [the role of] the reaction.’

“Beware of spreading rumors from Israeli spokesmen, particularly those that harm the home front. Be wary regarding accepting the occupation’s version [of events]. You must always cast doubts on this [version], disprove it, and treat it as false.

“Avoid publishing pictures of rockets fired into Israel from [Gaza] city centers. This [would] provide a pretext for attacking residential areas in the Gaza Strip. Do not publish or share photos or video clips showing rocket launching sites or the movement of resistance [forces] in Gaza.

“To the administrators of news pages on Facebook: Do not publish close-ups of masked men with heavy weapons, so that your page will not be shut down [by Facebook] on the claim that you are inciting violence. In your coverage, be sure that you say: ‘The locally manufactured shells fired by the resistance are a natural response to the Israeli occupation that deliberately fires rockets against civilians in the West Bank and Gaza’…”

Additionally, the interior ministry prepared a series of suggestions specifically for Palestinian activists who speak to Westerners via social media. The ministry emphasizes that conversations with them should be conducted differently from conversations with other Arabs. It stated:

“When speaking to the West, you must use political, rational, and persuasive discourse, and avoid emotional discourse aimed at begging for sympathy. There are elements with a conscience in the world; you must maintain contact with them and activate them for the benefit of Palestine. Their role is to shame the occupation and expose its violations.
“Avoid entering into a political argument with a Westerner aimed at convincing him that the Holocaust is a lie and deceit; instead, equate it with Israel’s crimes against Palestinian civilians.
“The narrative of life vs. the narrative of blood: [When speaking] to an Arab friend, start with the number of martyrs. [But when speaking] to a Western friend, start with the number of wounded and dead. Be sure to humanize the Palestinian suffering. Try to paint a picture of the suffering of the civilians in Gaza and the West Bank during the occupation’s operations and its bombings of cities and villages.
“Do not publish photos of military commanders. Do not mention their names in public, and do not praise their achievements in conversations with foreign friends!”

Posters on the Hamas interior ministry Facebook page

Endnotes:

[1] Facebook.com/moigovps, July 9, 2014.

[2] Moi.gov.ps, July 11, 2014. The video was also uploaded to the ministry’s YouTube channel, Youtube.com/channel/UCR_ij9aO3tu4kdAV4mdEYPg.

Clinton, Gaza, Palestinians, Islam and an Airport

Posted on July 18, 2014July 18, 2014 by Denise Simon

At this moment in time, Israel has been forced into an operation to stop rockets, weapons smuggling via tunnels and to finally establish some quiet where those inside Israel don’t have to seek shelter from rocket fire several times a day.

The lasting phrase ‘Pray for Peace, Prepare for War’ has been a daily objective by Israel as the hostilities from four sides must stop. Israel has since really never enjoyed the full scope of the promise in a signed agreement that included President Bill Clinton.

Let us go back and remember what Bill Clinton did and said and how shallow and fleeting it later became.

Remarks to the Palestine National Council and Other Palestinian Organizations in Gaza City
December 14, 1998

Thank you. Mr. Speaker—Mr. Za’anoun, Chairman Arafat, Mrs. Arafat; members of the Palestinian National Council, the Palestinian Central Council, the Palestinian Executive Committee, Palestinian Council heads of ministries; leaders of business and religion; to all members of the Palestinian community; and to my fellow Americans who come here from many walks of life, Arab-American, Jewish-American: This is a remarkable day. Today the eyes of the world are on you.

I am profoundly honored to be the first American President to address the Palestinian people in a city governed by Palestinians.

I have listened carefully to all that has been said. I have watched carefully the reactions of all of you to what has been said. I know that the Palestinian people stand at a crossroads: behind you a history of dispossession and dispersal, before you the opportunity to shape a new Palestinian future on your own land.

I know the way is often difficult and frustrating, but you have come to this point through a commitment to peace and negotiations. You reaffirmed that commitment today. I believe it is the only way to fulfill the aspirations of your people. And I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Chairman Arafat for the cause of peace, to come here as a friend of peace and a friend of your future, and to witness you raising your hands, standing up tall, standing up not only against what you believe is wrong but for what you believe is right in the future.

I was sitting here thinking that this moment would have been inconceivable a decade ago: no Palestinian Authority; no elections in Gaza and the West Bank; no relations between the United States and Palestinians; no Israeli troop redeployments from the West Bank and Gaza; no Palestinians in charge in Gaza, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Tulkarem, Jenin, Nablus, Jericho, and so many other places; there was no Gaza International Airport.

Today I had the privilege of cutting the ribbon on the international airport. Hillary and I, along with Chairman and Mrs. Arafat, celebrated a place that will become a magnet for planes from throughout the Middle East and beyond, bringing you a future in which Palestinians can travel directly to the far corners of the world; a future in which it is easier and cheaper to bring materials, technology, and expertise in and out of Gaza; a future in which tourists and traders can flock here, to this beautiful place on the Mediterranean; a future, in short, in which the Palestinian people are connected to the world.

I am told that just a few months ago, at a time of profound pessimism in the peace process, your largest exporter of fruit and flowers was prepared to plow under a field of roses, convinced the airport would never open. But Israelis and Palestinians came to agreement at Wye River, the airport has opened, and now I am told that company plans to export roses and carnations to Europe and throughout the Gulf, a true flowering of Palestinian promise.

I come here today to talk about that promise, to ask you to rededicate yourselves to it, to ask you to think for a moment about how we can get beyond the present state of things where every step forward is like, as we say in America, pulling teeth. Where there is still, in spite of the agreement at Wye—achieved because we don’t need much sleep, and we worked so hard, and Mr. Netanyahu worked with us, and we made this agreement. But I want to talk to you about how we can get beyond this moment, where there is still so much mistrust and misunderstanding and quite a few missteps.

You did a good thing today in raising your hands. You know why? It has nothing to do with the government in Israel. You will touch the people of Israel.

I want the people of Israel to know that for many Palestinians, 5 years after Oslo, the benefits of this process remain remote; that for too many Palestinians lives are hard, jobs are scarce, prospects are uncertain, and personal grief is great. I know that tremendous pain remains as a result of losses suffered from violence, the separation of families, the restrictions on the movement of people and goods. I understand your concerns about settlement activity, land confiscation, and home demolitions. I understand your concerns and theirs about unilateral statements that could prejudge the outcome of final status negotiations. I understand, in short, that there’s still a good deal of misunderstanding 5 years after the beginning of this remarkable process.

It takes time to change things and still more time for change to benefit everyone. It takes determination and courage to make peace and sometimes even more to persevere for peace. But slowly but surely, the peace agreements are turning into concrete progress: the transfer of territories, the Gaza industrial estate, and the airport. These changes will make a difference in many Palestinian lives.

I thank you—I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your leadership for peace and your perseverance, for enduring all the criticism from all sides, for being willing to change course, and for being strong enough to stay with what is right. You have done a remarkable thing for your people.

America is determined to do what we can to bring tangible benefits of peace. I am proud that the roads we traveled on to get here were paved, in part, with our assistance, as were hundreds of miles of roads that knit together towns and villages throughout the West Bank and Gaza.

Two weeks ago in Washington, we joined with other nations to pledge hundreds of millions of dollars toward your development, including health care and clean water, education for your children, rule of law projects that nurture democracy. Today I am pleased to announce we will also fund the training of Palestinian health care providers and airport administrators, increase our support to Palestinian refugees. And next year I will ask the Congress for another several hundred million dollars to support the development of the Palestinian people.

But make no mistake about it, all this was made possible because of what you did, because 5 years ago you made a choice for peace, and because through all the tough times since, when in your own mind you had a hundred good reasons to walk away, you didn’t. Because you still harbor the wisdom that led to the Oslo accords, that led to the signing in Washington in September of ’93, you still can raise your hand and stand and lift your voice for peace.

Mr. Chairman, you said some profound words today in embracing the idea that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace as neighbors. Again I say, you have led the way, and we would not be here without you.

I say to all of you, I can come here and work; I can bring you to America, and we can work; but in the end, this is up to you—you and the Israelis—for you have to live with the consequences of what you do. I can help because I believe it is my job to do so; I believe it is my duty to do so; because America has Palestinian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, other Arab-Americans who desperately want us to be helpful. But in the end, you have to decide what the understanding will be, and you have to decide whether we can get beyond the present moment where there is still, for all the progress we have made, so much mistrust. And the people who are listening to us today in Israel, they have to make the same decisions.

Peace must mean many things: legitimate rights for Palestinians—[applause]—thank you— legitimate rights for Palestinians, real security for Israel. But it must begin with something even more basic: mutual recognition, seeing people who are different, with whom there have been profound differences, as people.

I’ve had two profoundly emotional experiences in the last less than 24 hours. I was with Chairman Arafat, and four little children came to see me whose fathers are in Israeli prisons. Last night, I met some little children whose fathers had been killed in conflict with Palestinians, at the dinner that Prime Minister Netanyahu had for me. Those children brought tears to my eyes. We have to find a way for both sets of children to get their lives back and to go forward.

Palestinians must recognize the right of Israel and its people to live safe and secure lives today, tomorrow, and forever. Israel must recognize the right of Palestinians to aspire to live free today, tomorrow, and forever.

And I ask you to remember these experiences I had with these two groups of children. If I had met them in reverse order, I would not have known which ones were Israeli and which Palestinian. If they had all been lined up in a row and I had seen their tears, I could not tell whose father was dead and whose father was in prison or what the story of their lives were, making up the grief that they bore. We must acknowledge that neither side has a monopoly on pain or virtue.

At the end of America’s Civil War, in my home State, a man was elected Governor who had fought with President Lincoln’s forces, even though most of the people in my home State fought with the secessionist forces. And he made his inaugural speech after 4 years of unbelievable bloodshed in America, in which he had been on the winning side but in the minority in our home. And everyone wondered what kind of leader he would be. His first sentence was, “We have all done wrong.” I say that because I think the beginning of mutual respect, after so much pain, is to recognize not only the positive characteristics of people on both sides but the fact that there has been a lot—a lot—of hurt and harm.

The fulfillment of one side’s aspirations must not come at the expense of the other. We must believe that everyone can win in the new Middle East. It does not hurt Israelis to hear Palestinians peacefully and pridefully asserting their identity, as we saw today. That is not a bad thing. And it does not hurt Palestinians to acknowledge the profound desire of Israelis to live without fear. It is in this spirit that I ask you to consider where we go from here.

I thank you for your rejection fully, finally, and forever of the passages in the Palestinian Charter calling for the destruction of Israel, for they were the ideological underpinnings of a struggle renounced at Oslo. By revoking them once and for all, you have sent, I say again, a powerful message not to the Government but to the people of Israel. You will touch people on the street there. You will reach their hearts there.

I know how profoundly important this is to Israelis. I have been there four times as President. I have spent a lot of time with people other than the political leaders, Israeli schoolchildren who heard about you only as someone who thought they should be driven into the sea. They did not know what their parents or grandparents did that you thought was so bad; they were just children, too. Is it surprising that all this has led to the hardening of hearts on both sides, that they refused to acknowledge your existence as a people and that led to a terrible reaction by you?

By turning this page on the past, you are taking the lead in writing a new story for the future. And you have issued a challenge to the Government and the leaders of Israel to walk down that path with you. I thank you for doing that. The children of all the Middle East thank you.

But declaring a change of heart still won’t be enough. Let’s be realistic here. First of all, there are real differences. And secondly, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, as we used to say at home. An American poet has written, “Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart.” Palestinians and Israelis in their pasts both share a history of oppression and dispossession; both have felt their hearts turn to stone for living too long in fear and seeing loved ones die too young. You are two great people of strong talent and soaring ambition, sharing such a small piece of sacred land.

The time has come to sanctify your holy ground with genuine forgiveness and reconciliation. Every influential Palestinian, from teacher to journalist, from politician to community leader, must make this a mission to banish from the minds of children glorifying suicide bombers, to end the practice of speaking peace in one place and preaching hatred in another, to teach schoolchildren the value of peace and the waste of war, to break the cycle of violence. Our great American prophet Martin Luther King once said, “The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.”

I believe you have gained more in 5 years of peace than in 45 years of war. I believe that what we are doing today, working together for security, will lead to further gains and changes in the heart. I believe that our work against terrorism, if you stand strong, will be rewarded, for that must become a fact of the past. It must never be a part of your future.

Let me say this as clearly as I can: No matter how sharp a grievance or how deep a hurt, there is no justification for killing innocents.

Mr. Chairman, you said at the White House that no Israeli mother should have to worry if her son or daughter is late coming home. Your words touched many people. You said much the same thing today. We must invest those words with the weight of reality in the minds of every person in Israel and every Palestinian.

I feel this all the more strongly because the act of a few can falsify the image of the many. How many times have we seen it? How many times has it happened to us? We both know it is profoundly wrong to equate Palestinians, in particular, and Islam, in general, with terrorism or to see a fundamental conflict between Islam and the West. For the vast majority of the more than one billion Muslims in the world, tolerance is an article of faith and terrorism a travesty of faith.

I know that in my own country, where Islam is one of the fastest growing religions, we share the same devotion to family and hard work and community. When it comes to relations between the United States and Palestinians, we have come far to overcome our misperceptions of each other. Americans have come to appreciate the strength of your identity and the depth of your aspirations. And we have learned to listen to your grievances as well.

I hope you have begun to see America as your friend. I have tried to speak plainly to you about the need to reach out to the people of Israel, to understand the pain of their children, to understand the history of their fear and mistrust, their yearning, gnawing desire for security, because that is the only way friends can speak and the only way we can move forward.

I took the same liberty yesterday in Israel. I talked there about the need to see one’s own mistakes, not just those of others; to recognize the steps others have taken for peace, not just one’s own; to break out of the politics of absolutes; to treat one’s neighbors with respect and dignity. I talked about the profound courage of both peoples and their leaders which must continue in order for a secure, just, and lasting peace to occur: the courage of Israelis to continue turning over territory for peace and security; the courage of Palestinians to take action against all those who resort to and support violence and terrorism; the courage of Israelis to guarantee safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza and allow for greater trade and development; the courage of Palestinians to confiscate illegal weapons of war and terror; the courage of Israelis to curtail closures and curfews that remain a daily hardship; the courage of Palestinians to resolve all differences at the negotiating table; the courage of both peoples to abandon the rhetoric of hate that still poisons public discourse and limits the vision of your children; and the courage to move ahead to final status negotiations together, without either side taking unilateral steps or making unilateral statements that could prejudice the outcome, whether governing refugee settlements, borders, Jerusalem, or any other issues encompassed by the Oslo accord.

Now, it will take good faith, mutual respect, and compromise to forge a final agreement. I think there will be more breakdowns, frankly, but I think there will be more breakthroughs, as well. There will be more challenges to peace from its enemies. And so I ask you today never to lose sight of how far you have come. With Chairman Arafat’s leadership, already you have accomplished what many said was impossible. The seemingly intractable problems of the past can clearly find practical solutions in the future. But it requires a consistent commitment and a genuine willingness to change heart.

As we approach this new century, think of this, think of all the conflicts in the 20th century that many people thought were permanent that have been healed or are healing: two great World Wars between the French and the Germans—they’re best friends; the Americans and the Russians, the whole cold war—now we have a constructive partnership; the Irish Catholics and Protestants; the Chinese and the Japanese; the black and white South Africans; the Serbs, the Croats, and the Muslims in Bosnia—all have turned from conflict to cooperation. Yes, there is still some distrust; yes, there’s still some difficulty; but they are walking down the right road together. And when they see each other’s children, increasingly they only see children, together. When they see the children crying, they realize the pain is real, whatever the child’s story. In each case there was a vision of greater peace and prosperity and security.

In Biblical times, Jews and Arabs lived side by side. They contributed to the flowering of Alexandria. During the Golden Age of Spain, Jews, Muslims, and Christians came together in an era of remarkable tolerance and learning. A third of the population laid down its tools on Friday, a third on Saturday, a third on Sunday. They were scholars and scientists, poets, musicians, merchants, and statesmen setting an example of peaceful coexistence that we can make a model for the future. There is no guarantee of success or failure today, but the challenge of this generation of Palestinians is to wage an historic and heroic struggle for peace.

Again I say this is an historic day. I thank you for coming. I thank you for raising your hands. I thank you for standing up. I thank you for your voices. I thank you for clapping every time I said what you were really doing was reaching deep into the heart of the people of Israel.

Chairman Arafat said he and Mrs. Arafat are taking Hillary and Chelsea and me—we’re going to Bethlehem tomorrow. For a Christian family to light the Christmas tree in Bethlehem is a great honor. It is an interesting thing to contemplate that in this small place, the home of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, the embodiment of my faith was born a Jew and is still recognized by Muslims as a prophet. He said a lot of very interesting things, but in the end, He was known as the Prince of Peace. And we celebrate at Christmastime the birth of the Prince of Peace. One reason He is known as the Prince of Peace is He knew something about what it takes to make peace. And one of the wisest things He ever said was, “We will be judged by the same standard by which we judge, but mercy triumphs over judgment.”

In this Christmas season, in this Hanukkah season, on the edge of Ramadan, this is a time for mercy and vision and looking at all of our children together. You have reaffirmed the fact that you now intend to share this piece of land, without war, with your neighbors, forever. They have heard you. They have heard you.

Now, you and they must now determine what kind of peace you will have. Will it be grudging and mean-spirited and confining, or will it be generous and open? Will you begin to judge each other in the way you would like to be judged? Will you begin to see each other’s children in the way you see your own? Will they feel your pain, and will you understand theirs?

Surely to goodness, after 5 years of this peace process and decades of suffering and after you have come here today and done what you have done, we can say, “Enough of this gnashing of teeth. Let us join hands and proudly go forward together.”

Thank you very much.

Note: Rocket attacks on Israel history here.

Israel bombed the airport in 2001 due to 2nd Intifada.

NOTE: The President spoke at 5:30 p.m. in the Main Hall at the Shawwa Center. In his remarks, he referred to Speaker Salim Za’anoun of the Palestine National Council; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority, and his wife Shua; and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel.