naomiglover

The ICJ, The Goldstone Report The Red Cross, HRW, Amnesty International, B'Tselem and several other organizations have concluded that Israel has violated international law. If you don't think they know what they're talking about, who does?

The serious incidents that took place on 31 May between Israeli forces and activists on a flotilla heading for Gaza once again put the spotlight on the acute hardship faced by the population in the Gaza Strip. As the ICRC has stressed repeatedly, the dire situation in Gaza cannot be resolved by providing humanitarian aid. The closure imposed on the Gaza Strip is about to enter its fourth year, choking off any real possibility of economic development. Gazans continue to suffer from unemployment, poverty and warfare, while the quality of Gaza's health care system has reached an all-time low. The whole of Gaza's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. The closure therefore constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law. International Committee of the Red Cross

I understand international law quite well. I understand that Israel is a signatory to it. I also understand that Israel's constitution is not violated if it follows international law. What do you understand? Israel is signatory to international law. The set of guidelines that they follow must follow international law. There is no way around it. I have never questioned whether Hamas should or shouldn't follow international law. Of course they should. This means allowing the Red Cross to visit Shalit. Both the state of Shalit and the rocket attacks were covered in the Goldstone Report. It was concluded that Hamas has violated international law on both accounts. Also in the Goldstone Report, it was concluded that Israel has violated international law in many instances. For some reason, you agree with Goldstone when it comes to its conclusion of Hamas' violations, but when it comes to Israel, it's a different story. Suddenly, Richard Goldstone becomes the enemy. Tell me why you drip with such hypocrisy? Why do you treat Israel like it is above international law and why do you justify their constant violations of international law?

What part of "I believe all parties should follow international law which does not make me a hypocrite. No one should be above international law." did you not understand?

How is it out of context? I made up the quote and she didn't say: I have reached the conclusion that we must use these tactics in courts worldwide, just like the Nazis – with all distinctions – used the courts to spread their message."

I will repeat, as I have before with no hopes of you acknowledging my stance. I believe all parties should follow international law which does not make me a hypocrite. No one should be above international law. Tell me when you believe the same thing. Then you can shake off the hypocrite label you've put on yourself.

The Jewishness is part of my culture which goes beyond religion and belief in some higher spiritual being. I am an atheist.

Where is the evidence for the arrest? Keep failing, dishonest creature. Israel's blockade and problems with Hamas does not trump international law. What if Hamas announces that Shalit will not receive visitation because of the illegal blockade and other such illegal actions by Israel. Then will you state that Israel has shot itself in the foot? Of course, not. Because you're a hypocrite. No. This is a "you are a hypocrite" argument. You are a hypocrite.

Okay. So they were demolished illegally. Of course, just like Israel, you don't recognize international law.

Why do you need to ask this question when you already know the answer?

Hello dishonest creature. The hotel that will be demolished has nothing to do with the demolition plans I have posted about in this thread and many other demolitions that have taken place. Are you pretending that all the Palestinian homes that have been demolished or are going to be demolished have been bought by Jewish American tycoons?

Lets look at your lies: Lie #1 In many cases, such as the arrest of the children above, no evidence is given for their arrests. Where is this police work you speak of? Lie #2 Red Cross urges Israel to allow Palestinian prisoners family visits The Israeli closure also effectively prevented Gazans from visiting family members jailed in Israel, which holds about 11,000 Palestinian prisoners, about 700 of them from the Gaza Strip. Haaretz Hypocrisy #231231223 What about all the Palestinians who have been kidnapped from Palestinian territories, who remain in prisons without charge? What about the ones who have been in and are in Camp 1391? We both agree with Red Cross and international law that Shalit should get visitation. Unfortunately, your hypocrisy comes in when you stay quiet when the Red Cross and international law require that Palestinians also receive fair and just treatment.

Then there is Camp 1391 which is compared to prison holes used by South American dictators. No access to lawyers or the Red Cross. Much like what Shalit is going through: According to accounts of former captives, the detainees are led into the facility blindfolded, and kept in cells (most are 2 m × 2 m) with no natural light. Two smaller cells (1.25 m × 1.25 m) with heavy steel doors and black or red walls, and almost no light, are used for solitary confinement. Some of the cells do not have adequate toilet facilities and the guards control the running water.[5] Mustafa Dirani, a Hamas commander [7] who was captured by the Israelis in May 1994 and released in 2004 as part of a prisoner swap [8], has filed a suit in Tel Aviv's district court claiming he was sexually abused in the camp.[5] It has been acknowledged by the government of Israel that "within the framework of a military police investigation the suspicion arose that an interrogator who questioned the complainant threatened to perform a sexual act on the complainant". [3] Inmates are not allowed visits at the facility from the Red Cross, nor is any other independent organization permitted to inspect the site.[6] The prisoners are not told where they are, nor are their families or lawyers.[5] In 2003, in response to a lawsuit, Israeli government lawyers said that while the location was secret, Palestinians who are incarcerated there have their rights safeguarded, and can meet with lawyers and Red Cross at an off-site location.[1] In May 2009, the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) questioned Israeli officials about the facility and expressed skepticism about this claim. The CAT stated that "Israeli security secretly detains and interrogates prisoners in an unknown location called 'Camp 1391' without granting access to the committee, the International Red Cross (ICRC), or the lawyers or relatives of the prisoners"[9], questioned why interrogations at Camp 1391 were not recorded, and stated that "600 complaints of alleged ill-treatment or torture were brought between 2001 and 2006, but none had been followed up".[10] Israeli officials stated that Camp 1391 "is no longer used since 2006 to detain or interrogate suspects", but the Israeli Supreme Court has refused to allow an inquiry of the alleged abuses. Wiki

Your Post to Lie ratio continues to get closer, Dancer. I began to scream; Salwa began to cry and shouted at me: 'Mother, don't let them take me!' But the soldiers shut me into an inside room and kidnapped her." Only two months later did Siham finally see her daughter again, in the Damoun Prison near Haifa. There, she discovered that her 16-year-old cousin Sara had also been arrested. Both girls were being held in administrative detention, or detention without trial. Good thing they got to see their daughter, who has not been charged, after 2 months. Since then, four months have gone by. Last week, the girls' detentions were extended by another three months. But the Salah family still does not even know why their daughter was arrested, and all their efforts to find out have been in vain. 4 more months of imprisonment without charges and trial. This is one of many examples, Dancer. Why do you so blatantly lie all the time? Do you not have any integrity? Altogether, some 600 Palestinians are in administrative detention in Israel, including about 15 minors who do not even know why they are being detained. Haaretz

Hollywood stars snub film festival Both Meg Ryan and Dustin Hoffman have canceled their trip to Jerusalem for the annual Jerusalem Film Festival. Their decision to cancel came after Israel's attack on the humanitarian ships. According to Cinematheque associate director Yigal Molad Hayo, while neither gave the political climate as a direct reason for canceling their participation in the festival, “it became quite clear that this was the reason,” he said. JP

The UN has turned into a very large organization that tries to do many things. Some of the agencies are without a doubt useless. However, there are some agencies and institutions within the UN who are helpful and create progress in the world. I think the biggest problem with the UN and its lack of progress in some cases, like in Congo, Rwanda and the Occupied Territories, is the massive size of its members and the veto power a select few countries have. The system has failed in some of the cases and a change is needed. What that change should be, I don't know. Perhaps, take away the veto power and cut down the planet into several regions so that each council is in charge of determining how to interpret the law for the issues in their region. Another option could be to allow the international criminal court to see how international law would be applied to disputed issues. Of course, I'm not sure if that would work either. At the end of it all, personally, I rather have the occasionally flawed UN than not have it at all.

Izzy Asper, at one point, owned close to half of the media in Canada. This is the same person who called himself a devout Zionist and who took action to have pro-Israeli news pieces in his papers. The only way to deny that Izzy Asper had significant influence on the content of the media in Canada, is if you lie like Dancer and pretend it never happened.

Security? I don't get it. How is removing the settlements going to make Israel less secure? If anything, it will increase their security by removing the settlements and Israeli only roads that cut the West Bank into tiny areas, that have little access to each other, creating an open air prison.

The Arab league has proposed the Arab Peace Initiative since 2002 and re-endorsed it since then. The proposal calls for Israel to leave the occupied territory based on the 1967 border and also calls for a "just settlement" for the Palestinian refugees. This means that they are willing to negotiate on where the refugees can go, which could be in the Palestinian territory and/or compensation for not being able to return to their original land. See above and perhaps you will be able to make more informed comments in the future.

That's the exact title from YNet News, Shady.

Why do you need to guess when in the topic title, it specifically mentions 'PR war'?

That's interesting. In the articles I have read, there was never a mention of 'not recognizing Israel'. I figured, accepting the 1967 border means that they accept Israel's border. But it looks like that's what the other Hamas leader has said. I guess Hamas and Likud are in the same boat. Neither are willing to recognize each other as states. I guess, at least Hamas is willing to accept the internationally recognized border.

That is if you have trouble reading. I have posted more than a link. I have also posted in the title description that she is referring to the Israeli PR war.

So that's the excuse? What about when Arafat and the PLO recognized it? That was over 20 years ago and well before Hamas came to power. Although they have not changed their charter, Hamas has already, on numerous occasions, has said that they're willing to accept it. The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his government was willing to accept a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. Clare Short, who served in the cabinet of former British prime minister Tony Blair, asked Haniyeh to repeat his offer. He said the Hamas government had agreed to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians' national rights. Haaretz Where does Likud, the current government stand on a Palestinian State? Likud party voted to restate its opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state CNN

"I thought about it, about our 'hasbara', and nothing is working because our story is complicated and the world is used to a sound bite," she explained. "I have reached the conclusion that we must use these tactics in courts worldwide, just like the Nazis – with all distinctions – used the courts to spread their message." YNet