CALL ON THE UNITED NATIONS TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNAL FOR ISRAELI WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 14 Jan 2009
Mairead Maguire – Nobel Peace Laureate
Rally at Belfast City Hall, 9/Jan/09
Dear Friends,
Thank you all for coming here today to support the people of Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire. I join you in sending my deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and injured by the Israeli massacre in Gaza, and to all those Israeli families who have lost loved ones in this needless military campaign.
The military campaign initiated on 27th December 2008 by Israel against the people of Gaza has to date taken the lives of 763 people and over 3,080 injured – including 650 children and 270 women. To comparatively illustrate the extent of the losses and suffering, if attacks had targeted the USA at the same rate, 800,000 people would have been killed and injured.
For 15 days now Israel has shelled and bombed by land, sea and air the civilian population and have rejected international efforts to obtain a cease-fire, with full support from Washington.
This week, in his statement to the Special Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Gaza, Prof. Richard Falk, UN Special Raporteur for the Palestinian Territories, spoke about Israel’s use of tactics and weaponry that violate international law.
He said that “Targets viewed as unlawful under international humanitarian law include the Islamic University, schools, mosques, and medical facilities and personnel – including ambulances.” Among weapons that are legally dubious under IHL: phosphorous gas in shells and missiles, that burn flesh to the bone; Dense Inert Metal Explosives (so-called DIME), which cut victims to pieces and raise risk of cancer for survivors; depleted uranium associated with deep-penetrating so-called ‘bunker buster’ bombs used against Gaza tunnels, possibly causing radiation sickness for anyone exposed – over a period of centuries.
Also in many situations of war civilians seek to escape from harm and flee to a safe place. In the case of Gaza this is not an option. The population of Gaza is imprisoned by the Israeli occupation on a stretch of land 25 miles long by 7 miles across, for 1.5 million people, 50 percent of whom under the age of 18. They have nowhere to run.
Prior to this Israeli military aggression Gaza was under a ‘blockade’ for 18 months. This Israeli policy of collective punishment of the people of Gaza (for voting for Hamas), and supported by the USA, the UK and by most of the international community, breaks the Geneva Conventions, being war crimes and a crimes against humanity.
I visited Gaza in October, 2008 going in from Cyprus on the Free Gaza boat, in an attempt to break the siege. This was the second boat to reach Gaza in over 40 years. People could not get out of Gaza because the borders were closed. Their airport had been bombed along with the electricity plant, resulting in shortage of electric power.
75 percent of the people lacked clean water, and experienced shortages of medicines, food and basic materials to repair their bombed infrastructure. A Gazan said,‘We are chocking to death with this siege’. 70 percent of the children were malnourished and one man asked us to bring back next time some milk for his children, as he could not get any.
Our delegation was received by the Hamas Prime Minister, Haniyah, and invited to address the Hamas Parliament. The following day the Prime Minister released all the Fatah prisoners. We were also invited to address a historic meeting at the School of the Holy Family, where over 100 politicians representing all political parties, including Fatah and Hamas, pledged to work for palestinian national unity and agreed to send their leaders to attend the National Unity Conference in Cairo in early November.
Sadly the following week, on 4th November, the Israelis broke the ceasefire by bombing Gaza and killing six people. Hamas kept the ceasefire for five months but after the Israelis broke it, they began sending crude quassam rockets (no match for M.16’s and the military forces of the 4th most militarized country in the world) into several south Israeli towns, where in the past four Jewish people had been killed.
These actions are illegal as they target civilians, and they should be stopped, as nonviolent means of civil resistance must be used by Palestinians as has been the method used by many other Palestinians in their campaign for human rights and an end to occupation.
I hope that both Israelis and Palestinians will reject the use of bombs and bullets and will establish a serious dialogue. Israel and the American government must talk to Hamas, recognizing their electoral mandate from the Palestinian people.
We support the campaign for the UN to establish an International Criminal Tribunal for Israel to hold accountable those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. We also support the call for the UN to suspend Israeli membership until it upholds the UN Resolutions.
The European Union’s decision to upgrade relations with Israel must be reversed because we cannot award a country that commits crimes against humanity with impunity.
Support boycott, divestment and disinvestment campaigns against Israel and follow the example and the nonviolent methods to dismantle the South African Apartheid state in order to end the Israeli occupation and Apartheid system.
Both the USA and Israel must speak to Hamas, that have an electoral mandate from the Palestinian people, as it is only through dialogue and negotiations that a just and peaceful solution can be found.
There are many nonviolent actions that we can undertake to help the Palestinian and Israeli peace activists in their long and dangerous struggle for justice and peace. I have great hope for justice and peace in Palestine/Israel because I have met so many people there working together and non-violently for a political solution to a political problem. With their courage and resilience peace will come to the Middle East.
www.peacepeople.com
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 14 Jan 2009.
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