131 Palestinians who did not participate in the hostilities killed by Israel's security forces in 2007
B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights investigative task force, today (December 31, 2007) released its year-end report. According to B'Tselem data, the number of Israelis and Palestinians killed in clashes in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip dropped. However, there has been deterioration in many other measures of the human rights situation in the Occupied Territories . The primary one is the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which has declined to an all time low, following Israel 's siege on the area.
Other highlights include:
• In 2007, there was an increase of 13 percent in the number of Palestinians held in administrative detention without trial, which averaged 830 people.
• 66 staffed checkpoints and 459 physical roadblocks on average controlled movement inside the West Bank . There was little improvement in Palestinians' freedom of movement, despite the promised easing of restrictions.
• Israeli settlement population grew by 4.5% (compared with 1.5% population growth inside Israel ), a more moderate increase than the previous year.
• Israel continues the freeze policy on family unification, denying tens of thousands of Palestinians the right to a family life. However, in what was termed a one-time gesture, Israel approved family unification for some 3,500 Palestinian families.
• The number of houses demolished in East Jerusalem rose by 38 percent, to 69 homes.
• Palestinians continue to face severe discrimination in the allocation of water in the West Bank , causing serious hardship in the summer.
• The number of Palestinians killed in intra-Palestinian clashes was the highest throughout the Intifada.
According to B'Tselem, two themes clearly emerge from examination of the spectrum of human rights concerns in 2007. The first is the use of security justifications for virtually every Israeli action in the Occupied Territories . There is no doubt that Israel faces serious security threats, and is entitled and even obligated to do its utmost to protect its population. However, far too often, Israel fails to appropriately balance its security needs with equally important values, including protecting the rights of Palestinians under its control. In addition, Israeli authorities often exploit security threats in order to advance prohibited political interests, such as perpetuating settlements and effectively annexing them to Israel.
The second theme arising from the report is the lack of accountability of Israeli security forces, in all matters relating to human rights. This can be seen clearly in the reluctance of the state to thoroughly investigate violations and to prosecute those responsible for them. The lack of accountability can also be seen in the denial of most Palestinians' right to compensation when they are injured through no fault of their own by Israeli forces.
Detailed statistics: The right to life
A comparison between 2007 and 2006 reveals a decrease in Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and a decrease in those cases that raise the suspicion of arbitrary killing. However, the figures for 2007 still give cause for concern.
* In 2007 (up to 29 December), Israeli security forces killed 373 Palestinians (290 in Gaza , 83 in the West Bank ), 53 among them minors. By comparison, in 2006, 657 Palestinians were killed, including 140 minors: 523 in Gaza , 134 in the West Bank . In 2007, about 35 percent of those killed were civilians who were not taking part in the hostilities when killed. This is a reduction in comparison with the number of casualties who did not participate in the hostilities in 2006, which was 54 percent, (348 persons).
*Palestinians killed seven Israeli civilians (three in a suicide attack in Eilat, two in Sderot by Qassam attacks, and two by gunfire in the West Bank ). This is the lowest number of Israeli civilian casualties since the beginning of the Intifada. Palestinians also killed six Israeli security forces. In 2006, Palestinians killed 17 Israeli civilians.
* In intra-Palestinian fighting, at least 344 persons were killed, almost all in the Gaza Strip in the first six months of the year. At least 73 of the dead, among them 22 minors, were not taking part in the fighting.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Winning the Hearts and Minds of the People
* Will Collective Punishment Motivate Identification With Or Rejection of Hamas By the People?
* Israeli and Palestinian Fighters-Turned-Peace-Activists Speak Out
The United Nations is accusing Israel of collectively punishing the Palestinian population in Gaza by cutting off fuel supplies as part of a blockade of the Gaza Strip. In the midst of the deepening crisis, we (Democracy Now) speak with Israeli and Palestinian peace activists Yonatan Shapira and Bassam Aramin. They are from a group called Combatants for Peace that is made up of former fighters from both Israel and the Occupied Territories. Shapira is a former captain in the Israeli Air Force and Black Hawk pilot squadron. Aramin was an armed member of Fatah and spent seven years in an Israeli prison. His ten-year-old daughter Abir was shot dead by an Israeli soldier last year.
Listen/Watch/Read
Friday, January 11, 2008
Straits of Hormuz or Tonkin Gulf?
Each new day brings a clearer insight into what the Bush Administration may be up to now in trying to pick a fight with Iran. The first version of the tale was that a squad of Iranian patrol boats threatened a US flotilla, consisting of a cruiser, a destroyer, and a frigate, in the international waters of the Persian Gulf. There was a film clip which was alleged to have caught the action as it was happening and an accompanying sound track which revealed the Iranians' nefarious threats and intentions.
The Iranians denied that the events as described ever took place. Who are you supposed to believe? Iran of the "axis of evil" fame, or the US, of "great Satan" fame?
The next day, the US Navy admitted that the four and a half minute video tape was an edited outtake from a recording of over thirty minutes duration, during which all the vessels involved maneuvered adroitly in each other's presence. The Navy also admitted that the sound track was edited so as to impose the spoken words on the video, not necessarily coinciding with the events shown on the tape. And, finally, the Navy also acknowledged that the audio portion of the recording could not actually be determined to have come from the Iranian patrol boats, but might have originated anywhere in the vicinity including other ships in the region or even land based radio broadcasts.
And, just when Bush thought he had what he needed for a new preemptive war!
In the future, who are you going to believe? The Iranian government or your own lying eyes?
The Iranians denied that the events as described ever took place. Who are you supposed to believe? Iran of the "axis of evil" fame, or the US, of "great Satan" fame?
The next day, the US Navy admitted that the four and a half minute video tape was an edited outtake from a recording of over thirty minutes duration, during which all the vessels involved maneuvered adroitly in each other's presence. The Navy also admitted that the sound track was edited so as to impose the spoken words on the video, not necessarily coinciding with the events shown on the tape. And, finally, the Navy also acknowledged that the audio portion of the recording could not actually be determined to have come from the Iranian patrol boats, but might have originated anywhere in the vicinity including other ships in the region or even land based radio broadcasts.
And, just when Bush thought he had what he needed for a new preemptive war!
In the future, who are you going to believe? The Iranian government or your own lying eyes?
Hey there! You with the stars in your eyes!
Some of you may be wondering what's with the astronomy and astrophysics I post once in a while. The answer is a mix of issues. First, little gives me more of a spiritual rush than contemplating the wonders of the cosmos, the work of the Creator. Second, I believe it may help to keep empiricists and positivists honest, that is, when they realize how little we understand the universe in which we live and yet how nonchalantly they accept it, they might acknowledge that we mystics also have a justifiable claim to some portion of the whole truth.
Star Nursery
The Centaurus A. galaxy (the Milky Way's nearest neighbor) is host to this enormous black hole, which is spewing a continuous jet of matter, believed to be the substance from which new stars are eventually born. I am awed by this kind of information and the accompanying photo only adds to that amazement. How about you?
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Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Gassing the Bears
For the Bushes and Cheneys of this world, 25,000 polar bears is a small price to pay for higher petroleum and natural gas production and profits. This is just one more example of why we cannot depend on our legislators to safeguard our wildlife. Many (most?) such decisions are made on executive authority of the President or his agencies. The choice of which candidate gets elected in '08 keeps gaining in gravity. Be sure to check the credentials of your favorite on such crucial environmental and ecological concerns.
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The clock is ticking for America's polar bears. Global warming has placed the species in such peril that the Interior Department is on the brink of deciding whether or not to list it as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. A decision was due January 9, but on Monday the Department of Fish and Wildlife 
Monday, January 7, 2008
The "Surge" Refers to the Cost, Not the Benefits
Jeannette Rankin
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