Occupy London Just now Israel must withdraw all settlers from the West Bank or potentially face a case at the international criminal court (ICC) for serious violations of international law, says a report by a United Nations agency that was immediately dismissed in Jerusalem as counterproductive and unfortunate.Israel refused to co-operate with UNHRC investigators over the report, barring them from access to the West Bank. Investigators conducted more than 50 interviews in Jordan with Palestinians about the impact of settlements, the confiscation of and damage to land, and violent attacks by settlers.The report concludes that the goal behind the terror and violence of the Israeli settlers is to expel the Palestinians from their lands in order to expand illegal settlements; this is a clearly a form of forced transfer, and a proof of Israels policy of ethnic cleansing, she said.Earlier this week, Israel became the first country to refuse to participate in a universal periodic review of the human rights records of the UNs 193 member states, conducted by the UNHRC.Palestinian and Israeli human rights group said Israels boycott of the review set a dangerous precedent … that could be followed by other states refusing to engage with the UN in order to avoid critical appraisals.The UNHRC rescheduled the review for later in the year in order to give Israel time to reconsider its stance.Israel also refused to co-operate with a UN investigation, headed by Richard Goldstone, into the three-week war in 2008-09, and it has refused entry to Israel to Richard Falk, the UNs special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, since his appointment in 2008.theguardian/world/2013/jan/31/israel-must-withdraw-settlers-icc
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 22:02:20 +0000
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