Egyptian soldier killed in clash at Gaza border: BBC
An Egyptian soldier has been killed and at least eight Palestinians hurt in clashes at the Egypt-Gaza border.
Egyptian security officials said the soldier was hit by Palestinian gunfire from across the border, during protests over a delayed aid convoy.
International activists have been trying to take 200 aid trucks into the blockaded Gaza Strip, but Egypt has refused some of the vehicles access.
Dozens of activists were hurt during protests over the convoy on Tuesday.
The violence broke out as hundreds of Palestinians began throwing stones across the border at Egyptian security forces, who fired back at the protesters.
The Islamic movement Hamas, which controls Gaza, had called the demonstration over the convoy.
But Hamas police later fired into the air to disperse the crowd, witnesses said.
The Egyptian soldier was apparently killed by gunfire from the Gazan side.
Egypt and Israel impose a strict blockade on the Gaza Strip, which Israel says is aimed at weakening Hamas.
The activists said 60 people were hurt in the clashes
The Viva Palestina aid convoy, carrying items ranging from heart monitors to clothing and dental equipment, is aiming to break the blockade.
A spokeswoman for the group of about 500 international activists said the Egyptians had gone back on an agreement to allow their 200 aid trucks to enter.
Alice Howard said Egypt had said that dozens of the trucks would have to enter via an Israeli-controlled checkpoint – which Viva Palestina believed meant the goods would never reach their destination.
She said she understood the reason was because of the nature of some of the goods.
Items other than basic foodstuffs and medicines, such as medical machinery, are subject to a stringent approvals procedure, usually negotiated by established international aid organisations with the Israeli authorities.
Port protest
Some of the activists staged a sit-in at the port of Al-Arish, where the trucks are currently waiting, which was broken up by some 2,000 Egyptian riot police, Ms Howard said.
Many of those injured were “quite severely beaten, with head injuries”, she said. A few were taken to hospital, but returned to the convoy on Wednesday morning.
Several Egyptian security forces were also reported to have been injured.
Television footage showed Egyptian riot police hitting the activists with batons. Some of the activists responded by throwing stones.
UK MP George Galloway, with the convoy, said: “It is completely unconscionable that 25% of our convoy should go to Israel and never arrive in Gaza.”
The clashes follow an earlier row with the Egyptian authorities over what route the convoy should take to reach Egypt in the first place.
A demonstration has also been held in the Syrian capital, Damascus, against Egypt’s treatment of the aid convoy.
A few hundred people took part in the protest organised by Hamas and other factions in Syria.
Israeli officials delay UK visit over fears of arrest: BBC
Israel says it has postponed a visit to the United Kingdom by military officials amid fears of arrest.
Israeli officials complained that the UK government has failed to give it a complete guarantee that its officials will not be arrested on British soil.
They also said the current situation threatens relations with Britain.
In December former foreign minister Tzipi Livni cancelled a visit to London, after a British judge issued an arrest warrant.
“These officials were invited by Great Britain, but they will stay in Israel as long as we do not have a 100% guarantee that they will not become objects of criminal lawsuits in that country,” said Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
Mr Ayalon said he will discuss the matter with Britain’s Attorney General, Baroness Scotland of Asthal, who is in Israel on a private visit.
Diplomatic row
Late last year a UK court issued a warrant for Tzipi Livni, sparking a diplomatic row. Ms Livni was foreign minister during Israel’s Gaza campaign last winter. It was the first time a UK court had issued a warrant for the arrest of a former Israeli minister.
The warrant was revoked after Ms Livni cancelled her trip, but Israeli officials reacted angrily.
Ms Livni said the court had been “abused” by the Palestinian plaintiffs who requested the warrant. “What needs to be put on trial here is the abuse of the British legal system,” she told the BBC.
Under British law, courts are allowed to issue warrants for alleged war crime suspects around the world. But Mr Ayalon said that the law is “often misused”.
“It initially targeted Nazi criminals, but terrorist organisations like Hamas are today using it to take democracies hostage. We have to put an end to this absurdity” he added.
The British government says it is looking into whether the law can be changed, to avoid further diplomatic embarrassment.
But a spokesman for the Palestinian government, speaking to BBC Jerusalem correspondent Tim Franks said it was important to follow new, “creative” ways of using international law against Israel.
Pro-Palestinian campaigners in the UK have tried several times to have Israeli officials arrested under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
This allows domestic courts in countries around the world to try war crimes suspects, even if the crime took place outside the country and the suspect is not a citizen.
Israel denies claims by human rights groups and the UN investigator Richard Goldstone that its forces committed war crimes during the operation, which it said was aimed at ending Palestinian rocket fire at its southern towns.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas has also been accused of committing war crimes during the conflict.
Clash in Egypt over Gaza aid effort: Al Jazeera online
Egypt barred some of the vehicles in the aid convoy from passing through the Rafah crossing [Reuters]
At least 55 people have been injured in clashes between Egyptian police and pro-Palestinian activists who were trying to deliver aid into the Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses say.
Some 520 activists broke down the gate at the port in al-Arish late on Tuesday in protest against an Egyptian decision to ship some of the goods through Israel, medical workers and protesters said.
The protests were sparked by an Egyptian decision to allow 139 vehicles to enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing, about 45km from the port in al-Arish, but requiring a remaining 59 vehicles to pass via Israel.
Around 40 members of the convoy had minor injuries while over a dozen policemen were hurt in the clashes with protesters, who also blocked the two entrances to the Sinai port with vehicles, medical workers said.
The Viva Palestina convoy, led by George Galloway, the British MP, had already been delayed by more than a week, after he and a delegation of Turkish MPs failed to persuade the Egyptians to change their mind.
Disputed route
The convoy of nearly 200 vehicles arrived in al-Arish on Monday after a dispute with Cairo on the route.
But the arrival came after a bitter dispute between its organisers and the government, which banned the convoy from entering Egypt’s Sinai from Jordan by ferry, forcing it to drive north to the Syrian port of Lattakia.
The convoy with 210 lorries full of medicine and other supplies set out from the UK nearly a month ago.
Israel and Egypt have severely restricted travel to and from the Gaza Strip since Hamas seized power there in June 2007, after winning Palestinian legislative elections in 2006.
The blockade currrently allows only very basic supplies into Gaza.
The siege has severely restricted essential supplies and placed Gazans in a dire situation, made worse by Israel’s military assault last winter that reduced much of the territory to ruins.
Hamas has accused Egypt of reinforcing the siege imposed.
Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the group, told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that Egypt’s moves to ban the Gaza aid convoy from reaching the enclave and to build an underground steel wall are deliberate policies that reinforce its participation in the siege.
He said that such practices are unjustifiable and frustrating for Palestinian expectations from the Egyptian side.
In other Gaza-related news, a Palestinian fighter was reportedly killed and four others wounded in an Israeli air attack on Tuesday in the city of Khan Younis, according to a security source.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said Israel had launched the raid against fighters “planning to fire rockets at southern Israel”.
The armed wing of a group called the Popular Resistance Committee said its members had been targeted by the attack.
Emanuel: U.S. fed up with Israel, Palestinians: Ha’aretz
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel recently told the Israeli consul in Los Angeles that the Obama administration is fed up with both Israel and the Palestinians, Army Radio reported on Wednesday.
Emanuel met with Jacob Dayan, consul general of Israel in Los Angeles, about two weeks ago, after which Dayan briefed the Foreign Ministry.
Emanuel told Dayan the U.S. is sick of the Israelis, who adopt suitable ideas months too late, when they are no longer effective, according to Army Radio.
The U.S. is also sick of the Palestinians who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, Emanuel reportedly said.
Emanuel added that if there is no progress in the peace process, the Obama administration will reduce its involvement in the conflict, because, as he reportedly said, the U.S. has other matters to deal with.
Emanuel reportedly said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly acknowledged the two-state solution too late, and that the freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank came only after months of U.S. pressure.
The report added that both sides reportedly rejected the peace plan proposed by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but that if there is progress in peace talks, Obama might visit Israel and the region
Israel must stop boycotting International Criminal Court: Haaretz Editorial
Former Supreme Court president Aharon Barak has recommended that Israel join the International Criminal Court at The Hague that tries those indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Barak, who spoke on Monday at a legal conference in Jerusalem, says that Israel will benefit from its participation in the court despite the risk that IDF soldiers and officers, and even Israeli politicians, may be brought to trial.
Israel was one of the countries behind the ICC initiative, but changed its stance at the last minute, once settlements in the territories were included in the list of serious crimes under the court’s jurisdiction. At the end of 2000, following an intense debate in the government, Israel signed the Rome Statute from which the International Criminal Court was established, but said it would not ratify its signature because of concerns that the institution would be used for political ends. Since then, Israel has stuck by its refusal to join the ICC and be answerable to its judgments.
Barak said that “Israel is part of the international community, and it must conduct itself in accordance with the interpretation that is common in international law.” As president of the Supreme Court, Barak changed an entrenched approach that rejected court involvement in security considerations. In a ruling on the issue of the route of the separation fence, he established the formula of “reason and proportionality” in the exercise of security authority in the territories. His approach also guided the current court president, Justice Dorit Beinisch, in last week’s ruling regarding the use of Route 443 by Palestinians.
Since the ICC began its work at The Hague, international law has received increased attention in Israel. Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip a year ago raised serious allegations against Israel for violating the rules of war and even carrying out crimes against humanity. Israel responded that the IDF is “the most moral army in the world,” and that international law must take into consideration the exigencies of the war against terrorism, but refused to cooperate with the Goldstone Commission and denounced its report.
A country that believes in the morality of its actions and those of its soldiers should not behave like a permanent suspect and boycott institutions of international law. On the contrary: It must fight within those institutions for its positions and justice. Joining the International Criminal Court at The Hague will place Israel on the side of the enlightened nations, and will contribute to restraining forceful and harmful actions. Barak’s recommendation deserves to be adopted.
Egypt cop killed in Gaza scuffle over blocked aid: Ha’aretz
An Egyptian border guard was killed and at least a dozen Palestinians wounded in a shooting scuffle along the Gaza Strip border.
One official said Wednesday that the border guard was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper while Gazan youths hurled stones across the border at the Egyptian security forces.
Egyptian forces opened fire on Palestinians who were pelting them with rocks from the other side of the border over frustration that an aid convoy had been delayed.
Gaza’s Hamas rulers called for the protest earlier over the delay of an international aid convoy at the nearby Egyptian port city of El-Arish, but soon lost control of the situation as hundreds of youths began hurling rocks across the border at the guards.
Hamas police fired shots to disperse the crowd and shots were also heard from the Egyptian side the border. Palestinian health official Moawiya Hassanein said the injuries were from gunfire and tear gas.
The incident follows a late night clash between international pro-Gaza activists and Egyptian security clashed at the nearby Mediterranean port of El-Arish when Egypt refused to allow part of the convoy to enter its territory and move on to Gaza.
More than 50 activists and over a dozen members of the security forces injured. Activists briefly seized some policemen as well.
The clashes add to the embarrassment of Egypt, which has come under fire from Arab and Muslim groups for cooperating with Israel in its 28-month blockade of the impoverished territory. The blockade was imposed after Hamas violently seized control of the territory from the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
More than 500 international activists accompanied the convoy organized by the British-based group Viva Palestina, bringing tons of humanitarian supplies, as well as vehicles, to Gaza. The group includes British, American, Jordanian and Turkish activists and lawmakers.
The scuffles at the port broke out late Tuesday at al-Arish port building when authorities told the organizers that out of the nearly 200 vehicles, some 59 can’t enter Gaza through Egypt, but must go through Israeli terminals.
A security official said the vehicles in question are carrying pickup trucks, sedans, generators and other equipment, which are not allowed to pass through the Egyptian crossing at Rafah and had to go via Israel. Only medical aid and passengers are allowed through, the official said.
British MP George Galloway told Sky News television that the activists were negotiating with authorities and refusing to leave behind their vehicles.
“We refused this because it’s a breach of the agreement which we reached,” he said. “It is completely unconscionable.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said the rules were clear from the start, and accused the activists of coordinating with Hamas to create problems. He said the private automobiles are not considered humanitarian goods, and must enter from Israel.
“We didn’t mislead anyone. They have their interests … and they want to make up problems and clash with Egypt,” he told The Associated Press.
“We are activists. We condemn the Israeli siege to start with. We will only enter through an Egyptian-Palestinian crossing,” said Wael al-Sakka, a Jordanian activist.
Alice Howard, a spokeswoman for the group, said organizers were negotiating with an Egyptian security official, who said he would come back with answers.
But instead, 2,000 riot police returned, spraying the activists with water cannons, and hurling rocks.
Television reports showed images of both riot police and activists hurling stones at each other and said clashes began when angry protesters attempted to leave the port area and were driven back by riot police.
Howard, speaking from London, said more than 50 activists were injured in the scuffle, including to the head and neck. The group’s Web site showed images of injured activists.
An Egyptian security official said the activists used two trucks to block the port gates, burned tires, and briefly detained a police officer and four of his men. They were later released, some with broken ribs.
The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Al-Sakka, the Jordanian activist, said the police charged a peaceful sit-in at the gates of the port. He said the group was not allowed to get out of the port building, denying government claims they have took control of the premise.
The Egyptians were too high-strung. The police is the reason for the tension, al-Sakka said.
He said six activists were detained, including Americans and British citizens.
The security official said five were detained, but didn’t identify them. U.S. embassy officials did not immediately have information on the arrests.
Now the Brazilian president Lula is a nice enough guy, but here he is caught with his pants down, buying arms from a military regime, to spy on his own people… Bravo!
Brazil under fire for spending $350 million on Israeli drones: Ha’aretz
The anticipated use of Israeli-made drones by Brazilian police Tuesday drew criticism from a prominent ruling party politician and social activists, who said they would increase cooperation with Palestinian movements to protest the “importation of Israeli oppression”.
The sale of Israeli drones to Brazil “confirms that Israel draws indirect benefits from the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories,” Valter Pomar, secretary of international relations for the leftist Workers Party (PT), told Haaretz.
Pomar said he disagreed with the “democratically-reached” decision to equip Brazilian police with drones used as part of what he termed “Israel’s illegal and illegitimate actions.”
“It is symptomatic that Brazil imports tactics and equipment from Israel, an ultra-militarized country which keeps an entire population under military occupation,” said Mauricio Campos, a spokesman for the Network of Communities and Movements against Violence.
He added that the network – a prominent grassroots organization which sprang up six years ago in Rio’s poor favelas, or shantytowns – will discuss the pending sale on Thursday, during a general meeting. “Without doubt, we will make our voices heard over this,” Campos told Haaretz.
His group has organized various events to protest Israel’s policies and what the network called “genocidal attacks” on Palestinians.
The discussion on Thursday of the drone sale was scheduled after Brazilian media reported last week that Rio’s state police force is considering buying six Israeli Skylark I unmanned aerial vehicles to combat rampant crime.
In November, during President Shimon Peres’ state visit to Brazil, Israel and Brazil sealed a $350 million deal for the supply of 14 Israeli Heron UAVs to several Brazilian law enforcement agencies.
That deal was completed weeks after a drug gang from a Rio favela shot down a police helicopter with a short range rocket.
Some more bad news for Zionism, I am afraid…
Europe remains unwilling to walk in Israel’s shoes: Ha’aretz
The arrest order issued in Britain against Kadima chairwoman Tzipi Livni is nothing but one of many symptoms of a deep and long-running problem that is unlikely to be solved as long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues.
The apology by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (whose own government would be well advised to deal with the issue, of which it has long been aware) and his government’s plan to tackle the problem through legislation, will not solve our troubles with the European Union.
The root of the problems lies in the fundamental disagreements between Israel and the EU regarding the manner in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be resolved and our conduct vis-a-vis the Palestinians. The conclusions of the EU council of foreign ministers on the peace process, adopted last month in Brussels, and the harsh criticism of Israel voiced by the EU’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, are only the most recent examples of the deep gap that has existed for years between us and Europe.
The disagreements do not stem mainly from economic considerations and interests, although their role in shaping the positions of certain EU members should not be discounted. The reasons are deeper and are linked to the lesson taken by European states from the profound trauma of World War II. The preference for multilateral frameworks, the adherence to the principles of international law, the rejection of the use of force to change political realities, the sanctification of human rights as an absolute value (that is sometimes applied in a manner that leaves behind a sense of double standards) and empathy toward those who are perceived as being weak – all these are part of the principles by which the EU states conduct themselves.
The conduct of Israel, as a state that calls itself democratic, is not perceived by the EU countries as conforming to those principles. European politicians (if we permit ourselves to speak in generalities), not to mention the public, are generally unwilling to walk in the shoes of Israel, which operates as a democracy under threat, and to demonstrate understanding for the motivations behind its conduct. And any small understanding is not reflected in the media.
The threat of terror, which has become an inseparable part of Israel’s quotidian reality, and Israel’s responses – which are covered obsessively – bumps up against a European reality that with the exception of a few instance has not experienced the horrors of terror.
It follows from this that Israel’s responses to terror, which result in unintended harm to civilians, are not only met by a lack of understanding but represent a focus of harsh criticism.
One of the by-products of this criticism is the beginning of an open discussion among some European elites of the nature of Israel’s democracy as well as the extent of its legitimacy as a Jewish state, which is of great concern.
For years the EU has expressed its dissatisfaction with Israel’s political and military conduct with a policy of reward and punishment. When there are unilateral withdrawals and an active peace process, Israel receives a prize; the absence of a peace process and disproportionate military actions lead to punishments.
This pattern, which changes in accordance with the existence of the peace process or lack thereof, is based on a fundamental and mutual lack of trust.
After observing the situation for many years it is hard to escape the conclusion that Israel and the Europeans are conducting not a dialogue, but rather two monologues. A solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could lay the foundations for a new stage in our relations with Europe. Until that happens we must get used to reality, the expressions of which we have been witness to in recent weeks.
The right wing settlers now start the routine which worked so well with Rabin, and ended with his murder. People who are used to murder Palestinians all the time, will not be behaving differently with Jews either, if they thought it will serve their ends. It is the Dr. Frankenstein dillema – you build such successful monster, that it ends up turning against you! The settlers have been well trained by the regime, and now there are asked to behave nicely… who is riding the tiger now?… It does makea change, when it is not the ususal Palestinian victims which are being discussed, but Israeli ministers – let them start feeling what it is like to live next to those murderers they have installed illegally in Occupied Palestine!
Barak gets death threat over West Bank settlement freeze: Ha’aretz
Defense Minister Ehud Barak has received a death threat, apparently from far-rightists who oppose his involvement in implementing the 10-month freeze in West Bank settlement construction, Channel 10 news reported on Tuesday.
“If you think of destroying the settlements, you are mistaken, and I will kill you,” read part of the letter, which has been transferred to the Shin Bet Security Service for investigation, according to Channel 10.
“I will harm you or your children, be careful,” the letter continued. “If not now, then when you are no longer a minister and have no security around you.”
Channel 2 news reported last week that security had been increased for Barak due to fears over threats from right-wing extremists. The threats to Barak come after similar threats were made against Police Commissioner David Cohen.
National Union MK Michael Ben Ari on Tuesday dismissed the death threats as political spin.
“One week ago we heard about the police commissioner being threatened, after which we heard about the public security minister receiving threats and today it’s Barak,” said Ben Ari.
“The next stage will be that Barak’s Filipino housekeeper will receive a [threatening] letter. We are talking about spin from seasoned spokesmen who are leaking biased information. It’s a joke,” he said.
Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin last week said that extremists will try to sow chaos in order to prevent the settlement freeze from being enforced.
He cited the recent arson attack on a mosque in the Palestinian village of Yasuf as an example of the type of provocations the settlers would resort to, in order to interfere with security forces’ activities.
The Shin Bet on Sunday said it was investigating the source of a number of threats made against Police Commissioner David Cohen in recent days.
Police believe that the threatening letters were sent to Cohen by angry right-wing activists, in response to his recent declaration that security forces were intent on stopping any attempts to disrupt enforcement of the West Bank settlement freeze.
“You have been marked for death,” said a letter sent to Cohen. “Your day of judgment is near.”