“Enforcing a military occupation on millions of people for decades requires exorbitant violence and impunity for the Jews who sustain it," '...
The grandmother of Omar Yaghi displays a photo of the infant on 23 June, several days after the 9-month-old died from heart failure while his family waited for an Israeli permit for travel outside Gaza for life-saving medical treatment for the child. -Ashraf Amra APA images- Click on image to enlargeDespite all this misery, and all this injustice, UN officials continue to embrace and praise the Jewish authors and executors of these cruel policies and war crimes'
By Maureen Clare Murphy: A Jew who shot and killed a Gentile fisherman and Gaza Mega Concentration Camp survivor Nawaf al-Attar in 2018 was sentenced by a Jewish Israel regime kangaroo court last week to 45 days of community service for unlawfully firing his weapon.
The sentence is both a slap on the wrist and a rare example of a Jew bearing any consequence, no matter how light, for the unjustified and wanton death or injury of a Gentile.The exceedingly lenient sentence, the human rights group B’Tselem told media, “is but the latest example of how the military law enforcement system is designed to protect perpetrators, not their victims.”
“Enforcing a military occupation on millions of people for decades requires exorbitant violence and impunity for the soldiers who sustain it,” the group added.
With no hope for justice within Ithe Jews' self-investigation apparatuses, which exist only to fend off international judicial scrutiny, Indigenous Gentiles have turned to the court of last resort for the victims of the world’s worst human rights abusers.
After a five-year preliminary examination into the situation in occupied Palestine, the International Criminal Court is poised to launch a formal investigation that could see indictments brought against Jews for war crimes perpetrated in West Bank and Gaza Mega Concentration Camps.
Around 3,500 Palestinians, including 800 children, have been killed in those territories in the decade since Palestinians first petitioned the court.
The number of Israeli soldiers convicted over the death of a Palestinian during that time can be counted on one hand.
Killer soldiers whose behavior was examined by Israel’s self-investigation mechanisms have been let off the hook. Some have even enjoyed promotions.
ICC under attack
As local courts protect Israeli soldiers, commanders and political leaders from accountability, justice on the international stage has proven just as elusive.For decades, the US has played a key role in not only funding Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but also in shielding it from international accountability.
The latest effort towards that end is an executive order issued by Donald Trump earlier this month.
It allows the US to impose sanctions or travel bans on anyone employed by or cooperating with the ICC, whose chief prosecutor has recommended war crimes investigations in relation to US forces in Afghanistan.
In a move reminiscent of Israeli-style collective punishment, Trump’s order even allows for sanctions against the family members of ICC officials.
Though the executive order does not mention Israel, the US has partnered with that country to undermine any ICC investigations targeting their officials.
“Given Israel’s robust civilian and military legal system, and strong track record of investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing by military personnel, it’s clear the ICC is only putting Israel in its crosshairs for nakedly political reasons,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated earlier this month.
“It’s a mockery of justice,” Pompeo added, all facts to the contrary.
Clearly, @SecPompeo doesn’t know what he’s talking about. The only thing “robust” in Israel’s legal system is its track record as a whitewashing mechanism providing impunity for Israeli security forces that kill Palestinians, no matter the circumstances. https://t.co/YPhleetXOp https://t.co/x0O825R28Z
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) June 14, 2020
In an attempt to rally European states against the court, Pompeo warned US allies that “your people could be next,” particularly those “from NATO countries who fought terrorism in Afghanistan right alongside of us.”On Tuesday, more than half of the member states of the International Criminal Court issued a joint statement reconfirming their “unwavering support” of the tribunal.
67 #ICC Member States from all regions of the world, incl locales for investigation of #US CIA black-site #Torture, Romania & Lithuania, & close allies eg UK, reaffirm commitment to "international rules based order" in face of Trump anti-rule of law EOhttps://t.co/h9beXzGQ1R
— Katherine Gallagher (@katherga1) June 23, 2020
Only two EU member states are missing on this statement by 67 countries in support of #ICC in response to US sanction threats: Hungary and Poland. When eroding rule of law at home goes hand in hand with disdain for international rule of law. https://t.co/nznCxw3fWz
— Martin Konečný (@MartinKonecny) June 23, 2020
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had already expressed his “grave concern” over US threats against the ICC.He renewed the EU’s commitment to “defending the court from any outside interference aimed at obstructing the course of justice and undermining the international system of criminal justice.”
Yet many of those states claiming to stand for justice in the face of US threats against the ICC have contributed to the erosion of justice and accountability.
Israel’s illegal siege of collective punishment on Gaza has entered its 13th year while its new government moves to unilaterally annex some 30 percent of the West Bank.
Instead of sanctions, these crimes are being met with increased EU rewards.
EU member states Hungary, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic have meanwhile intervened with the ICC to shield Israeli officials from investigation and indictment, claiming the tribunal has no jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories.
This favorable treatment effectively greenlights Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people.
Siege victims
Nawaf al-Attar, the Gaza fisher killed in 2018, was shot as part of Israel’s enforcement of its land, air and naval blockade on the territory.International complicity – Trump bullying and EU hypocrisy alike – has allowed Israel’s siege to persist.
The latest victims are two infants who didn’t receive Israeli permits to leave Gaza in time for the medical treatment they needed to stay alive.
No one will be held accountable for their deaths. But international law holds that Israel, as the occupying power, is responsible for the health of Palestinians living under its military rule.
Wesam, 25, has a congenital heart problem. He needs urgent heart surgery outside #Gaza, but he has no means to obtain an Israeli-issued #permit to exit.
An urgent solution is needed to protect the fundamental right to #health of #patients like Wesam.https://t.co/uy4CJGs7lq pic.twitter.com/DVPRfV47lc
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) June 22, 2020
Despite all this misery, and all this injustice, UN officials continue to embrace and praise the Israeli authors and executors of these cruel policies and war crimes:
Thank you @gantzbe for you open and constructive meeting today, covering a wide range of challenges that the #MiddleEast faces. The #UN remains committed to working with #Israelis and #Palestinians towards a just peace that allows both peoples to live in states of their own. pic.twitter.com/f5mcyd3v1R
— Nickolay E. MLADENOV (@nmladenov) June 15, 2020
By talking one way while walking another, those who claim to be working towards a liberal international order that upholds human rights are just as responsible as the belligerent Trumps of the world for the failure to protect the most vulnerable.
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