Israel accused of war crimes (UK Parliament)

Highlights from a UK Parliament debate in which MPs variously accused Israel of war crimes, disproportionate violence, ruining peace negotiations by building illegal settlements, running the worlds largest outdoor prison, collective punishment, and attacking water supplies, hospitals, supply centres and all manner of other civilian targets.

Highlights from a UK parliamentary debate in which MPs variously accused Israel of war crimes, disproportionate violence, ruining peace negotiations by building illegal settlements, running the worlds largest outdoor prison, collective punishment, and attacking water supplies, hospitals, supply centres and all manner of other civilian targets. I have edited out the contributions of Foreign Secretary, William Hague, because nearly all of them displayed a shameful lack of compassion for the sufferings of the Palestinian people (Hague is a prominent member of an organisation called the “Conservative Friends of Israel” and is well aware of the funding that involvement brings to his party and his own political campaigns)
The debate took place on the 14th of July 2014

http://www.intifada-palestine.com/

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UK watchdog to probe G4S Israeli contract

G4S, the global security company, came under further pressure on Monday when a UK government-funded watchdog agreed to investigate its activities in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

G4S supplies and services screening and security equipment to military checkpoints, prisons and detention centres in the West Bank and Israel.

By Gill Plimmer

In a statement the National Contact Point, a government body, said that it had “accepted issues for further examination”, though it stressed that no conclusions had yet been reached.

The National Contact Point sits within the Department for Business and is responsible for ensuring the OECD’s standards for the behaviour of multinationals are fulfilled.

It is expected to examine whether the supplying and servicing of equipment in the checkpoints infringes on the human rights of Palestinians. It will also examine the use of screening equipment in prisons and detention centres in Israel and the West Bank.

The investigation shines a spotlight on the murky area of what constitutes ethical practice for multinationals. G4S has been under pressure from pro-Palestinian protesters over its work for the Israeli authorities for several years and is expected to face protests outside its annual general meeting on Thursday.

The investigation follows a formal complaint to the NCP by Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, a charity that has criticised G4S’s work in the region. The NCP, which has carried out investigations elsewhere into the mining company Xstrata and BT, will conduct a process of mediation between the campaign group and G4S.

G4S, which employs 6,000 people in Israel, said it “takes very seriously our obligations to ensure that our activities do not contribute to human rights abuses. We have provided evidence which clearly demonstrates that the company is acting appropriately in the context of international laws and voluntary human rights guidelines including those set out by the OECD”.

G4S said it would support the NCP’s process but cited the watchdog’s “clear acknowledgment that the company carries out extensive due diligence and ongoing review of the potential human rights risks of its business”.

The group has already said it will not seek to renew the West Bank contracts when they end in 2015. It argues that its staff simply fix and install security equipment such as CCTV and are not directly involved in the management of the prisons or checkpoints.

But the arguments have failed to satisfy the pro-Palestinian campaign groups, which want the company to exit all its contracts for the Israeli government.

Last year another campaign group, War on Want, wrote to Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, urging him to sell his stake in G4S because of its involvement in Israel.

His charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, had bought 3.2 per cent of G4S through his investment group Cascade last June for £110m but reduced his stake to below 3 per cent last week. The Gates foundation declined to comment on the reasons behind the sale.

Tareq Shrourou, director of Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights, welcomed the “acknowledgment that there are serious issues raised by our complaint”.

“We hope that the process will contribute to a positive transformation of the human rights situation for Palestinians adversely impacted by the company’s activities.”

The Israeli embassy in London said that the Israeli NCP was co-operating with the UK NCP and would continue to follow the proceedings.

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BICOM suppresses critical voices in UK to Israel’s favour

Press Tv - The British main stream media, which give Israeli regime’s authorities every podium they need to express their biased attitudes of world issues, are mainly dedicated and partly funded by pro-Israeli lobby groups inside the UK political circles.

BICOM, the Britain Israel Communication and Research Centre, is one of those bodies established by the Labour Friends of Israel, a powerful pro-Israeli lobby group inside the Labour party, which is dedicated to promote support for Israel in the UK. 

BICOM runs the News desk for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Sky News, the Financial Times (FT), and newspapers such as the Guardian, the Daily Telegraph, the Mirror and various news organizations, which are official Israeli propaganda outlet inside the UK. 

Last year, an email, sent by Lorna Fitzsimons, the director of BICOM, “dedicated to creating a more supportive environment for Israel in Britain”, was leaked to alternative media and left the body red faced. It said: “Throughout the weekend, Bicom staff were in contact with a whole host of BBC and Sky news desks and journalists, ensuring that the most objectively favourable line was taken, and offering talking heads, relevant to the stories unfolding.” 

The pro-Israeli apparatus usually organizes social media delegation of UK bloggers to the Israeli occupied Palestinian territories and links them with key figures inside the Zionist entity, as well as senior figures in the Palestinian Authority. They are taught how to distort facts on the ground and publish the news in the best interest of Israeli regime. 

BICOM is well-known for taking British politicians and other influential figures on propaganda tours to occupied Palestine to meet Israeli figures. For an instance, BICOM paid for Adam Werritty, the disgraced advisor of former UK defence minister Liam Fox in 2009 to attend an Israeli conference to speak about Iran. 

BICOM, which is also well-known for having anti-Iran sabotage plans high on its agenda, collaborated earlier this year with the state-controlled British Office of Communication (Ofcom) to block the alternative English-language channel Press TV in the UK, and therefore eliminate a critical voice that had managed to attract a big audience inside Britain. 

BICOM, meanwhile, organizes counter demonstrations in the UK to overshadow the protests by supporters of the Palestinian call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against companies complicit in Israeli apartheid, occupation and militarism. 

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Israel Ignores International Law With Gaza Bombing, Enjoys U.S, UK Support

The latest attacks by Israel against Gaza have been condemned as a violation of international law. However the US and UK have given their unwavering support to the new strikes on Gaza.

US President Barack Obama “reiterated US support for Israel's right to self-defense in light of rocket attacks from Gaza” in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

Meanwhile UK Foreign Secretary William Hague also stepped forward in Israel’s defense, claiming that Hamas “bears principle responsibility” for the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Israel has now reportedly hit over 200 “targets” in Gaza, killing 13 and injuring over 120 people.

The unwavering support by the US and the UK is astounding, considering Israel has yet to comply with to any of the resolutions passed (see list) by the United Nations in relation to the Middle East conflict

Hamas and the Palestinians have to share some of the responsibility. Ever since Israel was accused of breaking the 10 year truce in 2006, when an explosion killed eight Palestinian civilians, Hamas have launched a number of rocket strikes into Israel. However their retaliations and attacks are severely outweighed and outmuscled by Israel’s military power.

In addition to the frequent air strikes and shelling, Israel has kept Gaza under blockade since 2010 which is seen as an infringement of the right of the people in Gaza to a decent living, work, health and education.

UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk explained that since the 1967 war, an estimated 750,000 Palestinians, including 23,000 women and 25,000 children, had gone through detention in Israeli jails. This constitutes approximately 20 per cent of the total Palestinian population in the occupied territory or 40 per cent of the Palestinian male population.

In 2008 Israel launched a 3 week offensive against Gaza, which resulted in 1,417 deaths, of them 926 civilians. Israel’s death toll was 9.

Egypt withdrew its ambassador following Israel’s announcement that it would intensify the military campaign and called an emergency UN meeting to discuss the escalating conflict. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr warned that further aggression from Israel could have “negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region.”

The Palestinian envoy to the UN slammed Israeli aggression during the meeting, decrying it as "vulgarly and publicly boasting about its willful killing of Palestinians.” Following Wednesday’s offensive that killed Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari.

US Ambassador Susan Rice supported Israel saying there is no justification “for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel."

The meeting was adjourned without any conclusion, although the general message was to de-escalate the conflict in order to avert any more civilian casualties.

At least 15 Palestinians have been reported dead so far, among them two children, according to Palestinian authorities.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern at the situation and voiced expectation that "Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed."

The White House released a transcript of President Obama’s communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night. Obama stressed Israel’s right to defend itself and has decried rocket fire from Gaza into the country.

"The President urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. The two agreed that Hamas needs to stop its attacks on Israel to allow the situation to de-escalate," the White House statement said. Netanyahu’s office said that he “deeply appreciated” the President’s support.

The US justifies its unwavering support of Israel in its terrorist classification of Hamas. RT correspondent Gayane Chichikyan highlighted what is seen as the US’s double standard policy in its classification of terrorism, stressing they were not so quick to brand opposition attacks in Syria as “terrorism”, in spite the fact the UN condemns them as such.

“There seem to be different interpretations of the term ‘terrorism’ in Washington,” said Chichikyan.

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JFN loss of half UK charity revenue good news for Palestinians & People of Humanity

The JNF is involved in Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes in the Naqab desert

 (Wikipedia)

A little over one week ago, the Jewish Chronicle led with a huge story about the UK branch of the Jewish National Fund: “JNF loses half its revenue,” the front page story said. Oddly enough, the story seems not to be available on the JC website. Pro-Palestinians activists have been sharing the story online via social networks.

The story will come as great news for the Stop the JNF campaign, whose progress I reported on in an EI feature published earlier this year.

The JC story says (emphasis mine):

According to its newly-published accounts, income from donations, legacies and investments fell from around £5.1 million in 2010 to just over £2.4 million last year.

The collapse in its income contrasts with the leading British Israel charity, the UJIA, which has experienced a far more modest 13 per cent fall in comparative income over the same period, from £14.3 million to £12.4 million.

It is four years since JNF UK’s chairman Samuel Hayek took over from Gail Seal as part of a deal to end a costly legal conflict with its Israeli associate Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL).

The dramatic fall in its revenues has been blamed on a perceived politicisationof the charity by Mr Hayek.

At the end of 2007, JNF UK posted an income of more than £8 million, but that yield has slid in successive years. In 2011, donations fell from nearly £2.6 million in 2010 to just over £1.5 million last year, and legacies from nearly £2.5 million to £832,000.

The article’s emphasis on the the larger United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) and its reliance elsewhere on an anonymous “senior communal figure” who claims that “the community no longer the sees the JNF, under its current leadership, as a credible receptacle for its charitable support for Israel” may indicate a certain agenda. In other words, it may well have been a UJIA PR rep who was behind this story (the Zionist Federation’s infamous oddball Jonathan Hoffman claims as much in a JC-hosted blog post).

JNF involved in Israeli ethnic cleansing

Regardless of whether intra-Zionist factional rivalry has a significant role to play, the figures don’t lie. Because the JNF is registered as a charity in the UK, the newly-published accounts mentioned in the JC article can be viewed on the Charity Commission’s website.

That the JNF has lost half of its revenue from charitable donations will come as welcome news to the JNF’s victims in Palestine. Only last week Budour Hassan reported exclusively for EI that JNF officials, accompanied Israeli forces, had served four house demolition orders on Palestinian bedouin citizens in the Naqab desert (aka Negev).

The JNF is widely implicatied in Israeli acts of ethnic cleansing, including in the multiple demolition of the “unrecognized” Naqab village of al-Araqib. It has quasi-governmental status in Israel, and describes itself on its website as “the caretaker of the land of Israel, on behalf of its owners — Jewish people everywhere”.

After Israel was established in 1948, the JNF purchased expropriated Palestinian land from the state, and since then has played a key role in an exclusionary land regime that systematically discriminates against Palestinians.

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Murder Of UK Muslims Goes Unpunished

Birmingham Crown Court has acquitted eight men who were allegedly involved in the killing of three British Muslims during the country’s unprecedented unrest last year.

Press TV – Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir were killed during last year’s unrest after they were hit by a car in Winson Green, Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city.

The three Muslim men were protecting public property and local businesses against the looters when they were killed. Tariq Jahan, Haroon’s father, won national praise after he brought calm in the community and called for peace.

“The law and the justice system has let us down. Our community stood against looters but we are not being treated as equals. Our sense of disappointment over this verdict cannot be stated in words. We needed justice desperately and we were promised that but we cannot trust the criminal justice system anymore”, said Haroon’s father.

Hundreds of Muslims in Birmingham gathered outside a police headquarters and called for a review of the criminal trial that saw eight men acquitted of murdering the three Muslims.

“We’re not giving up this fight for the boys. I believe that we will get some sort of justice. We’re going to fight but we’re going to fight the legal way, I don’t want anybody to do anything silly or naïve”, added Haroon’s father.

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Israeli officials may have less to fear coming to UK but uncomfortable questions remain

(GETTY IMAGES)

• By Ben White
• 
  

Despite a change in the universal jurisdiction legislation last year, Israeli officials and military officers are still not visiting Britain for fear of arrest on war crimes charges, it has been revealed. As reported in the Israeli newspaperHa’aretz, Israel’s Maj. Gen. (res.) Doron Almog (pictured, right) cancelled a scheduled speaking engagement in London next month, “on the advice of the Israeli government”.

In 2005, Almog dramatically escaped arrest on war crimes charges by staying on his plane at Heathrow following a tip-off that police were waiting for him. Currently, he is in charge of “implementing the relocation” of Bedouin citizens in the Negev.

In September 2011, following pressure by the Israeli government and pro-Israel groups in the UK, the law wasamended so that “the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions will be required before an arrest warrant can be issued”. Though it was Israel demanding the change, Amnesty International stressed before and after that such a change would “hamper victims’ attempts to bring private prosecutions through the British courts against perpetrators of torture and war crimes”.

The Ha’aretz article adds some interesting – and disturbing – details to what was already known, or suspected, about both the change in law as well as the circumstances of former-Israeli FM Tzipi Livni’s visit shortly after the bill’s passing.

A “senior Israeli official” speaking to the paper anonymously, claimed that “the [British] government promised it would be changed so that only the Attorney General, who is a political figure we can trust, would authorize universal jurisdiction arrests” (my emphasis). However, the contentious amendment eventually assigned this responsibility to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The paper also notes that “Britain’s ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, contacted Almog and Livni personally after the law was amended to tell them they could now visit Britain without risking arrest” (and at least in Livni’s case, on the same day as the amendment).

However, what transpired when the then-Israeli FM answered Foreign Secretary William Hague’s invitation proved what Almog now says (and what Livni worried about in an interview even while in London) – that the changes could not entirely protect an individual with a case to answer.

As I wrote at the time, “Livni only avoided a warrant due to a legal assessment by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) that she was on a ‘Special Mission’.” In other words, the new law was not actually tested. The Ha’aretz report supports this version of events, noting that “the visit was still defined as official, in order to guarantee her protection under diplomatic immunity” (my emphasis).

Uncomfortable questions remain. What was a UK ambassador doing, personally contacting two individuals suspected of war crimes to assure them they would be safe from arrest in Britain? In addition, does the decision to go public about Almog and Israeli disquiet with the status quo presage a new round of pressure on the British government for a further weakening of our universal jurisdiction legislation?

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UK's Clegg says Israeli settlements 'vandalism'

LONDON (AP) — Britain's deputy prime minister accused Israel on Monday of carrying out "deliberate vandalism" by continuing to build settlements on land the Palestinians hope will form part of afuture state.

In an escalation of Britain's previous condemnations of Israeli construction, Nick Clegg warned that continued settlement building is jeopardizing prospects for a peace deal.

"Once you've placed physical facts on the ground that makes it impossible to deliver something that everyone has for years agreed is the ultimate destination. ... It is an act of deliberate vandalism to the basic premise on which negotiations have taken place for years and years and years," Clegg said, referring to settlement construction.

Clegg was speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who also was holding talks in London with Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague — both of whom have previously expressed concern about settlements.

"The continued existence of illegal settlements risks making facts on the ground such that a two-state solution becomes unviable," Clegg said.

He said that continued construction would "do nothing to safeguard the security of Israel itself, or of Israeli citizens."

"This is exactly what we wanted to hear officially from the government of the United Kingdom," Abbas told reporters, speaking through a translator.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Clegg's choice of language would do little to help attempts to restart peace talks. "It would be much better to contribute to peace by encouraging the fragile revival of Israeli-Palestinian talks rather than engaging in gratuitous bashing," Palmor said.

Cameron, who met later with Abbas at his official Downing Street residence, warned that time is "running out for the two-state solution unless we can push forward now."

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks stalled in 2009 over the issue of Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, areas that Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war. It is territory the Palestinians envision as part of their future state.

Negotiators from the two sides began meeting again in Jordan on Jan.3 in the hope of restarting substantive talks, but disagreements have already surfaced over a deadline for progress on initial discussions.

"We are optimistic about those negotiations and at the same time we hope that there will be something tangible as a result of these negotiations," Abbas said. "Of course, time is of the essence — there must be speed, we must be fast in achieving those things because the settlements and the whole thing will go on."

The Palestinians insist they won't continue talks unless Israel stops building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Israel has said the issue of settlements will be solved once there are agreed-upon borders.

"Settlements have to stop in order for us to be able to continue our negotiations, to come to some sort of solution, and a solution which will encompass the vision of the Palestinian state to come in the future," Abbas said.

In December, European members of the U.N. Security Council said that Israel's acceleration of construction work had sent "a devastating message" and called for an immediate halt.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office has previously insisted the country is exercising "great restraint" in construction.

___

Associated Press writer Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this Blog!

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Concerns over arms sales to Israel in the Uk Parliament

In March 2010 the CAEC confirmed that the supply of arms to Israel and the use of these arms against Palestinians in the OPTs were in direct contravention of the UK government's policy.

This week in the UK parliament, Foreign Secretary William Hague confirmed that Britain is supporting a proposal to the Quartet by Germany and France which would base peace negotiations on the 1967 borders, land swaps, a just settlement for refugees and Jerusalem as a shared capital. William Hague was answering a question from Labour MP Andy Slaughter on proposals to recognise Palestine as a state within the 1967 borders. However, the Foreign Secretary said that the UK would not be recognising Palestine as a state at the moment, but is advocating a return to negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. However, Mr Hague's comments come at a time of rising tension between the two parties and ignore the fact that many of his comments refer to final status issues which should not be used to form the basis for negotiations. Additionally, numerous political commentators have started to say recently that the two-state solution proffered in negotiations may no longer be a viable reality.

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Police repress convergence on UK weapons factory

Bridget Chappell

Police cordoned off activists and outnumbered them three to one. (Tom Wills)

As Israeli warplanes flew over Gaza on 13 October, activists converged on Brighton, United Kingdom for the annual mass action against the local EDO/ITT factory that produces components used in weapons by the Israeli Air Force, amongst others, to devastating effect.

Faces clad, dozens of protesters attempted to break through police lines. Outnumbered by police three to one, the activists were chased down, detained and arrested. The surreal background symphony continued: photographers' flashes, stubborn traffic attempting to worm its way through police lines, the chants of "Free Palestine!" and the unmistakable sound of a police chopper circling overhead.

The campaign against EDO/ITT is now in its sixth year and this was the fifth convergence of its kind. The British police's heavy-handed crackdown on the action should perhaps be no surprise given the success of past Smash EDO convergences and the ongoing weekly protests against the factory. The repression began in the early hours of the morning as dozens of activists sleeping in an accommodation center in Stanmer Park, located twenty minutes from the planned protest site, awoke to find the building surrounded by 27 riot police vans. Those trapped inside were only permitted to leave inside a police cordon -- a mobile means of detention. Protesters who were able to reach the planned convergence space, a park close to the EDO/ITT factory, quickly met with an overwhelming force of riot police on foot and horseback.

Undeterred, protesters, numbering around 300, splintered off into smaller groups as the day quickly developed into an elaborate, and wholly unequal game of pursuit between activists and police. Sights such as a group of protesters, pursued by police, taking off into the woods carrying a large papier-mache airplane and inflatable hammers underlined the tragicomic nature of the demonstration. Two Israeli activists taking part in the action held an impromptu talk about the realities of day-to-day life for Palestinians under Israeli occupation to those held captive alongside them in a police cordon.

The day finally drew to a close late that afternoon with 53 arrests. Despite the overwhelming police presence at the protest site, the activists responded with spontaneous actions. This included successful rallies outside both Barclays Bank and the Royal Bank of Scotland (where protesters even glued themselves to the building), both known investors in the ITT corporation. Spirits were mixed as events wound down; factory production had been shut down for the day, but police repression saw the streets controlled and hopes of a successful siege of the factory were dashed. In spite of the massive police presence, the protest's message resonated throughout the streets of Brighton: no war machine, not in my backyard.

Brighton's long, loud and colorful history of activism against the war machine and those who profit from it continues to manifest itself in a slew of campaigns. New projects include a successful community guerrilla gardening takeover of the urban space earmarked for the opening of a supermarket giant Tesco store -- known for stocking Israeli products produced in settlements in the occupied West Bank and Golan Heights. Activists have also initiated a "No Borders" campaign against the establishment of a new incinerator in the area slated to be run by the French multinational Veolia, which has been involved in the illegal Jerusalem light rail project. Established in 2006, the Brighton Jordan Valley Solidarity group continues to see many local activists travel to the Palestinian town of Tubas in the occupied West Bank each year as part of a strong ongoing solidarity campaign and unofficial partnering of the two cities.

The Smash EDO campaign embodies the growth of the new anti-militarist movement in the UK in recent years that hits back against the government's thinly-veiled complicity with, and profiteering from, illegal occupations in Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Activists with the campaign also say its a response to the mainstream anti-war movement's politicking and well-behaved protest marches. The Smash EDO campaign relates to the successful campaign in the UK and Ireland against Raytheon, which culminated in the 2006 destruction of the American defense contractor's offices in Derry, Northern Ireland during Israel's 2006 invasion of Lebanon.

The underlying momentum of the movement is founded in the belief that war crimes can and must be stopped, but not through the petitioning of arms traders or political hand-wringing. Speaking about EDO/ITT, Smash EDO spokeswoman Chloe Marsh says that "since the campaign started they [EDO/ITT] have closed down around 25 percent of the business from their main site plus sold off one other location which was also targeted by direct action activists. They might just be a small part of the war machine, but they are one that exists in our local community, making them a 'doable' target. Every bomb that is dropped, every bullet that is fired in the name of this war of terror has to be made somewhere -- and wherever that is it can be resisted."

"We will be there until they're not," says Marsh. "In other words, the ultimate goal is the factory's closure." Considering the odds that the campaign continues to stack against the weapons manufacturer, this not only seems a tangible victory, but highlights the universal wisdom in "think globally, act locally."

Bridget Chappell is an Australian activist and writer who worked with the International Solidarity Movement in Palestine from August 2009 through May 2010.

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Brighton MP declares support for acquitted Gaza campaigners

Green Party's Caroline Lucas 'delighted' over activists cleared of damaging arms factory in protest against Israeli war crimes

Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion. Photograph: Chris Ison/PA

Britain's Green MP today declared her support for seven acquitted campaigners who caused £180,000 damage to an arms factory, backing their direct action.

Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion, said she was "absolutely delighted" that the activists had been cleared, after successfully arguing they were seeking to stop Israeli war crimes.

The three-week trial at Hove crown court ended today when the final two activists, accused of causing the damage to the Brighton factory, were acquitted. The jury had found the other five not guilty on Wednesday.

The seven, who called themselves "decommissioners", had argued during the trial that they had a "lawful excuse" to smash up the factory, because it was manufacturing military equipment for the Israeli military, which was illegally killing Palestinian civilians, including children.

Outside the courthouse, Lucas said :"I am absolutely delighted the jury has recognised that the actions of the decommissioners were a legitimate response to the atrocities being committed in Gaza. I do not advocate non-violent direct action lightly. However, in this situation it is clear the decommissioners had exhausted all democratic avenues and, crucially, that their actions were driven by the responsibility to prevent further suffering in Gaza."

She added: "I do think that there is a time when [non-violent direct action] is legitimate and I think that this was such a time."

The seven had admitted breaking in and destroying parts of the factory in January last year, in response to the Israeli military offensive against Gaza, known as Operation Cast Lead, but claimed they had a lawful excuse.

Chris Osmond, 30, from Brighton and Elijah Smith, 42, from Bristol, were acquitted of conspiracy to cause criminal damage on the directions of Judge George Bathurst-Norman.

Osmond said: "During Operation Cast Lead 1,400 people were killed, 350 of which were children. The international community appeared to be completely helpless. The UN could not even protect its own compounds. The only light at the end of the tunnel for the people of Palestine is if ordinary people like us take direct action on their behalf."

Lydia Dagostino, the defendants' lawyer, said: "This result shows the jury agreed with the defendants that in this situation there was really no other course but direct action."

The others acquitted are Simon Levin, 35, of Brighton, Tom Woodhead, 25, Ornella Saibene, 50, Bob Nicholls, 52, and Harvey Tadman, 44, all of Bristol.

Other peace and climate change activists have deployed the "lawful excuse" defence to get acquitted after using direct action against the targets of their campaigns.

Activists have been campaigning to close down the factory, owned by the EDO MBM arms firm, for six years.

Sussex police said that, while they respected the decision of the court, 20 people had been convicted following four demonstrations against the US-owned firm over the past two years.

Chief superintendent Graham Bartlett, Brighton and Hove city commander, said: "Sussex police want to facilitate peaceful protests to ensure the safety of both participants and members of the community and to minimise disruption to the city."

The activists had broken into the factory in the middle of the night, after recording video statements justifying their actions and distributing them to the public.

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Victory in Court for peace activists who smashed up Zionist supported factory in the UK

These peace activists in England smashed up a factory that was making weapons to be used by the Zionist military in Palestine. They were acquitted by a jury under UK law that allows people to damage property in order to stop commission of a greater crime.

"We Are The Accusers, Not The Accused"

Palestine Monitor

On 16th January 2009 seven U.K. peace activists broke into the premises of EDO MBM, suppliers of weapons components and in the words of one of them, Elijah Smith ’set out to smash it up to the best of our abilities’.

It was an entirely accountable action which was always intended to end in a trial and each decommissioner had pre-recorded a video in which they stated the reasons for their participation –to help dismantle the war machine from the factory floor.

Once inside the building, they barricaded themselves in and set to work. Equipment used to make weapon components were trashed and computers, filing cabinets and office furnishings were thrown out of the windows. Once they were done they calmly waited for the police to arrest them. Two activists who supported them outside the factory gates were also on trial. All of the defendants have argued that what they did was not only morally necessary but crucially that it was legal. U.K law allows the commission of damage of property to prevent greater crimes.

Two of the accused, Simon Levin and Chris Osmond have extensive experience of working in Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement. Chris Osmond told the court that ’the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Gaza at that time meant it was imperative to act’. He cited the words of Rachel Corrie, the U.S activist who was killed by an IDF bulldozer in Rafah, as an inspiration. The court heard a passage of Corrie’s diary ’I’m witnessing this chronic insidious genocide and I’m really scared, this has to stop, I think it is a good idea idea for all of us to drop everything and devote our lives to making this stop’.

During the trial the court heard not only from the defendants themselves but from Sharyn Lock, who was an international human rights volunteer in Gaza during Cast Lead. She was inside Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City when it was attacked with white phosphorus. She concluded her evidence by saying that she had no doubt that those who armed the Israeli Air Force ’had the blood of children on their hands’. The jury saw footage of the air attacks on the UNWRA compounds where civilians were sheltering and have been given an edited version of the Goldstone report.

Recently elected member of Parliament for Brighton Pavilion, Caroline Lucas also gave evidence supporting the decommssioners, saying that the democratic process ’had been exhausted’ as far as the factory was concerned.

On January the 17th 2009 the bombs had already fallen relentlessly on Gaza for three weeks. Massive, passionate demonstrations and pickets had been held in many cities around the country and the world in protest against Israel’s war crimes, but to no avail. A growing sense of helplessness was grabbing hold of the movement as the Palestinian body count stood at over 1400 and counting. 300 of the dead were children. It was against this background that the “citizen’s decommissioning” of EDO MBM/ITT took place.

EDO/ITT is an arms manufacturer, based in Brighton since 1946. They were acquired along with the rest of EDO Corporation by the multinational arms conglomerate ITT in December 2007. Their primary business is the manufacture of weapons systems such as bomb release mechanisms and bomb racks. This includes crucially the manufacture of the VER-2 Zero Retention Force Arming Unit for the Israeli Air Force’s F16 war planes.

Over the years, EDO have consistently denied supplying Israel, and despite over fifty court cases campaigners were not able to properly expose the links between the factory and the IAF. However the serious nature of the charges against the seven (the factory sustained nearly £200,000 of damage and may not have recommenced production for weeks) means that for the first time courts took the argument that EDOs business is fundamentally illegal very seriously.

Paul Hills, the Managing Director of EDO MBM, spent his five days on the witness stand last week being confronted with all the evidence gathered by campaigners over the years –evidence which exposes a complex network of collaboration between British, American and Israeli arms companies and the way in which their deals are clouded in secrecy. The Decommissioners were able to present Mr Hills, for the first time, with a dossier of evidence showing how EDO MBM use a front company in the U.S.A to indirectly supply components for the F 16 to Israel. Under U.K law the supply of weapons components that might be used in the Occupied Territories is actually a crime.

After hearing Hills’ explanations of his company’s business practices, Judge George Bathurst-Norman said that, despite Hill’s denials of dealing with Israel, it was clear that their was enough evidence to justify a genuinely held belief they did. He also offered the opinion that End User Certificates required for arms export licences were “ not worth the paper they are written on” as they can be easily manipulated.

There is a history of juries in British courts finding anti-war activists not guilty when they attack machinery used in war crimes. In 1996 four women from Trident Ploughshares decommissioned a Hawk jet that was about to be shipped to Indonesia – they were found not guilty. In 2008 the Raytheon 9, who damaged a factory in Derry supplying weapons to Israel during the 2006 Lebanon war, were acquitted by a jury and only two weeks ago a group of nine women carrying out a similar action at Raytheon during the Gaza attacks were also found not guilty by an unanimous jury.

On Friday, the jury found Simon Levin, Tom Woodhead, Ornella Saibene, Bob Nicholls, Harvey Tadman, Elijah Smith and Chris Osmond not guilty of “Conspiracy to Cause Criminal damage” by unanimous verdict in Hove Crown Court.

Chris Osmond said “This action was taken because of EDO MBMs illegal supply of weapons to the Israeli military. We brought the suffering of ordinary Palestinians into a British courtroom and confronted with the evidence they took the brave decision to find that our actions were justified.”

The decommissioners’ stance made it clear to companies like EDO that they can no longer count on not being held to account for their actions. There are now a growing number of people in the international community who are willing to risk their own liberty to stand up for the people of Gaza and to challenge Israel’s war crimes through whatever means possible.

Article written by Chloe Marsh

For more information see www.smashedo.org.uk

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UK's Nick Clegg falls in with the Zionists

Stuart Littlewood explains why the hope that UK Liberal Democratic Party leader Nick Clegg’s presence in the governing coalition would have a moderating effect on the rabid Conservative Zionists is misplaced. Following a recent exchange with Clegg, he concludes that the junior coalition partner has fallen in with the Tory Zionists.Britain more interested in saving Israelis from garden shed rockets than British citizens from Israeli pirates

Nick Clegg is British deputy prime minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.

A month ago, while reports were coming in that Israeli gunboats had "intercepted" the Free Gaza flotilla 90 miles out to sea and told the humanitarian workers they would be boarded and towed to an Israeli port, I emailed Clegg: "Where is the Royal Navy when it's needed to protect life and limb of the 30-odd British nationals?"

Ministers received advanced warning of Israel's threats to stop the flotilla "by any means". What was needed was firm intervention. Just for a change the British people wanted their government to do them proud on the international stage and protect those brave souls on their peaceful mission to bring relief to Palestinians whose lives have been made a living hell by the bully-boys of the Middle East.

They were, after all, only doing the right thing, doing what the West's cowardly governments wet their pants at the very thought of doing.

Back in December, when the parties were warming up for the general election, Clegg wrote in the Guardian:

...And what has the British government and the international community done to lift the blockade? Next to nothing. Tough-sounding declarations are issued at regular intervals but little real pressure is applied. It is a scandal that the international community has sat on its hands in the face of this unfolding crisis.

No doubt the febrile sensitivities of the Middle East have deterred governments, caught between recriminations from both sides. No doubt diplomats have warned that exerting pressure on Israel and Egypt may complicate the peace process.

But surely the consequences of not lifting the blockade are far more grave?

He certainly talked the talk. Would he walk the walk if given the chance?

Well, he now has the chance, and his reply has just arrived.

The government was very clear in its disapproval of the Israeli actions which ended in such heavy and tragic loss of life.

We have underlined the need for a full, credible, impartial and independent investigation into the events of 31 May. We have made clear that we want to see a process that ensures full accountability and commands the confidence of the international community, including international participation.

Israel's announcement of an inquiry headed by former Supreme Court judge Yaakov Tirkel is an important step forward. We welcome the appointment of [co-founder of Friends of Israel Initiative, an international group of Israeli agents of influence] Lord Trimble as an international observer. Clearly it is very important that this is a truly independent inquiry and a thorough investigation that the international community can respect.

These events have captured the world’s attention, but they should not be viewed in isolation. They arose from the unacceptable and unsustainable blockade of Gaza, which is a cause of public concern here in the United Kingdom and around the world. It has long been the view of the Government that restrictions on Gaza should be lifted – a view confirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which called for the sustained delivery of humanitarian aid and called on states to alleviate the humanitarian and economic situation persisting there.

It is essential that there is unfettered access – not only to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, but to enable the reconstruction of homes and livelihoods and permit trade to take place. The Palestinian economy, whether in Gaza or the West Bank, is an essential part of a viable state of Palestine which we hope will one day exist alongside Israel in peace and security.

A solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict is firmly in the national interests of the UK, as well as those in the region. We want the new generation of Palestinians to grow up in hope, not despair... We want the next generation of Israelis to live free from the fear of rocket fire... Whilst we cannot deliver this for either side ourselves, as friends to both Israelis and Palestinians we will seek to buttress the diplomatic initiative of President Obama’s administration and the proximity talks...

So no, he won't walk the walk.

“It is pointless calling for the blockade to be lifted. You have to smash it – with warships ‘exercising’ nearby. Israel’s promise to ‘ease’ it is purely cosmetic.”

It is pointless calling for the blockade to be lifted. You have to smash it – with warships “exercising” nearby. Israel’s promise to "ease" it is purely cosmetic. I hear that incoming goods have risen by a miserable 7 or 8 per cent while the block on exports remains. That's all the West's feeble hand-wringing has achieved.

Clegg's choice of words is revealing: "the interception by Israeli forces". It was nothing less than a dead-of-night military assault with guns blazing and a pre-planned execution of civilians on a wanted list. His whole reply might as well have been scripted by Tel Aviv. It probably was, because it turns out to be word for word the same as the communication sent to other complainants by Israel's great friend now doubling as Britain’s under-secretary of state in charge of Middle East affairs, Alistair Burt.

Clegg can call for "a full, credible, impartial and independent investigation" until he's blue in the face, but he won't get one. He welcomes the appointment of Trimble to this farce. Why? Trimble is a founding member of a new international "Friends of Israel Initiative".

The context for Israel's crimes on the high seas is, of course, the racist regime’s belief that it can act with impunity. It never gets rapped for lawless conduct thanks to the abject failure of the international community – especially Britain, whose mandated responsibility Palestine once was – to enforce international and maritime law and the numerous UN resolutions (not just 1860).

UN Security Council Resolution 1860 (the US abstained on Israel's orders, according to Ehud Olmert) calls for the sustained reopening of crossing points on the basis of the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access. There is still no sign of Israeli compliance.

“British governments have spent the last 93 years betraying the Palestinian people, and continue to do so while slavishly supporting the Israeli regime in its programme of occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment.”

Clegg claims that "we" are friends to both Israelis and Palestinians. Bollox. British governments have spent the last 93 years betraying the Palestinian people, and continue to do so while slavishly supporting the Israeli regime in its programme of occupation, oppression, ethnic cleansing and collective punishment. Our last government and now this coalition won't even acknowledge the Palestinians' right of self-determination or their democratic choice of government. Britain, to its shame, is complicit in those crimes.

To make matters worse, Labour and Conservative leaders are anxious to change our laws of universal jurisdiction to provide a safe haven for Israel's killers while denying visas to Palestinian footballers.

And please, Mr Clegg, spare us this endless nonsense about rockets. At least as many state-of-the art US-supplied Israeli missiles were launched into Gaza, usually from US-supplied F-16s, as garden-shed whizz-bangs were lobbed into Israel. And Israeli air-strikes and armoured incursions continue on a daily basis. Furthermore, no rockets come out of the West Bank, yet the West Bank continues to be occupied, sealed and under severe movement restrictions. Clearly, this is not about rockets or even about Hamas, which has already agreed to recognize Israel within its pre-1967 borders in accordance with the international community's position.

It’s a well-known fact that America is a dishonest broker, so aligning Britain with the puppet Obama's diplomatic "initiative" simply hands Israel even more time to establish irreversible facts on the ground.

But the British public are wising up. They are beginning to know the score. Prime Minister Cameron is a self-declared Zionist. Foreign Secretary Hague has been a Friend of Israel since the age of 15. Under-Secretary of State Burt is not just a Friend of Israel but an OFFICER of the Conservative Friends of Israel organization.

The Knesset’s stooges roost happily in Westminster.

And Cameron has just put his name to a G8 leaders' statement calling for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit but not the freeing of thousands of Palestinians abducted and rotting in Israeli jails.

Burt, in his letter, talks of our pledge of GBP 26.8 million for humanitarian aid and early recovery activities in Gaza. Is that supposed to purge our negligence? The Palestinians wouldn't need millions of pounds of British taxpayers' money year after year if they were left in peace. All this aid simply subsidizes and reinforces the Israeli occupation at our (the public's) expense.

Now that Clegg is in a position to actually kick government ass, I hoped the Liberal Democrats would have a moderating effect on the rabid Conservative Zionists who devote so much of their energies to the service of Israel.

Instead, Nick and his party appear to have fallen in with them.

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Anti-democratic Zionist Jews in Canada, the U.S. and U.K.

Dr. Mohamed Bakr

This week witnessed three different scenes in three different democracies. These scenes may look from the outset to be not related but all three point to the same problem in Western "Democracies". So, what are these scenes?Scene1, Canada:

Last week, the sixth Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) took place. In this week, in many Universities over the world, events are held to inform people of the suffering of the Palestinian people under the Israeli occupation.

The IAW this year is more important than in any other year because it is held after the Goldstone committee report was released. This committee, which was headed by a Zionist Jewish judge, found ample evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel during its attack on Gaza, also known as operation Cast Lead.

This year’s IAW was faced though with a tough organized campaign from different levels of government and media.

The Ontario Legislature issued a statement condemning the IAW.

The government of Mr. Harper, who has been consistent in its loyalty to Israel, has issued also a statement condemning the event.

Mr. Ignatieff, who in 2003 condemned the Israeli illegal settlements and equated them to the apartheid regime in South Africa, also flipped and condemned the IAW!

The IAW was turned into an auction in which each politician is trying to show that he is more loyal to Israel and to its Jewish Zionist lobby in Canada than the others.

Not a single one of them dared to attend the events of the IAW and see that there was no hate directed against anyone. No one of them dared to mention the Goldstone report.

No one of them dared to mention the so many reports by Israeli and international rights groups condemning gruesome Israeli crimes. No one of them even dared to remember the freedom of the Canadian people who elected them to criticize any rogue foreign state!

Scene 2, England:

The government of the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown moved this week to change the law so that Israeli war criminals are not prosecuted during their visits to the UK.

Several months ago, the ex. Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni was about to be arrested in London based on a judge order for her role in the war crimes in Gaza.

It is widely believed that the British government helped smuggle Livni out of the country even though they were fully aware of the judge order!

Since then the Israeli government demanded that the British law be changed so that human rights groups cannot annoy the Israeli war criminals when they travel abroad.

A group of over 70 British intellectuals, many of whom are Jews, published a letter over a month ago condemning any attempt to change the British law based on orders from a foreign state accused of war crimes.

Despite the public resistance, the changes are implemented with complete disregard to the country’s sovereignty or reputation.

Almost a year ago, Spain also changed its law based on Israeli requests so that Israeli war criminals are not prosecuted when visiting this country!

Scene 3, US:

The US Congress issued a resolution this week recognizing what is referred to as the Armenian Genocide during the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

For many years, the Congress refused to issue such a resolution because the pro-Israel lobby was against it.

At the time, Turkey was a close ally of Israel outside the Arab world.

However, since the operation Cast Lead, the Turkish criticism of the Israeli crimes against the Palestinian population was increasing. This resulted in several verbal exchanges between the officials in both countries.

Turkey also canceled joint military training with the IDF. Many Turkish TV programs now show scenes of brutality against the Palestinian population.

Since this started to happen, many predicted that the US congress will issue this resolution based on directions from the pro-Israel lobby.

Of course, this resolution will cause serious damage for the relationship between the US and one of its main allies. It is definitely harmful to US interests in the Middle East.

This, however, did not seem to stop the congress from acting in this way. Turkey and Armenia are starting steps towards a historical reconciliation between them and such a resolution will only complicate matters.

The problem with these three stories is the same.

Representatives who are supposed to defend freedom of speech, national sovereignty, and national interests, seem to work against all three!

They are more interested in showing unconditional submission to the Zionist Jewish lobby that is linked to a foreign state. So, how come a democratic system ends up failing its people so miserably?

The reality is that there is no true democracy in all three countries.

The people who invented the idea of democracy believed that representatives elected by the people will work for the people’s interests.

What they missed is that in order to reach the people you need media. Also, in order to have election campaigns you need money.

This meant that lobbies that have strong media influence and have access to strong financial resources are able to manipulate and even threaten politicians.

These lobbies effectively make politicians work for their interests rather than the interests of the people who elected them.

So, what is the way out of this trap that literally voids the concept of democracy in the West?

Any hope for having a truly democratic system that defends the global human values of human rights and freedom depends on stopping mighty lobbies from corrupting the political game.

All politicians should have access to free unbiased media and to the same financial resources regardless of any political positions that may take.

This separation between capital and politics is our only hope in having a true democracy in the West.

Only then, Canadian politicians will not be afraid to do the right thing and side with the oppressed Palestinian people in their struggle against oppression and apartheid. Will we ever see this day?

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UK imposes embargo on arms exports to Israel

Saed Bannoura - IMEMC News

After a review on arms exports to Israel by the British government, the British Foreign Office has announced a partial arms embargo against Israel due to Israeli violations of British-Israeli security agreements. The review involved 182 arms export licenses from Britain to Israel, 5 of which were cancelled due to violations of signed agreements.

The British government said Sunday that Israel had violated signed agreements during its 3-week long invasion of the Gaza Strip beginning in late December and ending January 19th. As a result, the British government will not be re-supplying parts or equipment for the Sa’ar 4.5 gunships it had sold to the Israeli military.

Several British Parliamentarians had called for an arms embargo both during and after the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and the international human rights organization Amnesty International issued a report in February detailing the use of weapons exported by the UK to Israel in Israel’s attack. The report focused on the Hermes 450 drones, supplied by the UK, and the Israeli military’s use of these drones in targeted assassinations in Gaza.

But the decision to cancel 5 of the 182 licenses issued by the UK to Israel did not include any mention of the drones.

In its statement, the British Foreign Ministry said, "Future decisions will take into account what has happened in the recent conflict. We do not grant export licenses where there is a clear risk that arms will be used for external aggression or internal repression." But the statement also added, "We do not believe that the current situation in the Middle East would be improved by imposing an arms embargo on Israel. Israel has the right to defend itself and faces real security threats."

Critics, including the Al Haq human rights organization, which sued the British government based on the February Amnesty International report, say the embargo is a good start, but does not go far enough.

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