Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Goldstone Report

Showing posts with label Goldstone Report. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Goldstone report inaccuracies, part 14

One of the most-exaggerated events of the Gaza war was the accusation that Israel had bombed an UNRWA school, killing some 46 people according to some reports.As time went on, it became clear that the school itself was not hit except from shrapnel, and that the numbers claimed to have been killed were vastly exaggerated.The Goldstone report, however, claims that 24 were killed near the school - in multiple paragraphs:41. The Mission examined the...

Goldstone report inaccuracies, part 13

In two separate but virtually identical paragraphs, the Goldstone Commission report says: 1582. Insofar that movement and access restrictions, the settlements and their infrastructure, demographic policies with regards to Jerusalem and Area C, and the separation of Gaza from the West Bank prevent a viable, contiguous and sovereign Palestinian State from being created, they are in violation of the jus cogens right to self-determination.1744. Insofar...

The Goldstone report talks about the bombing of the al-Maqadmah mosque on January 3rd:820. The al-Maqadmah mosque is situated near the north-west outskirts of Jabaliyah camp, close to Beit Lahia. It is located less than 100 metres from the Kamal Idwan hospital, in the al-Alami housing project. At least 15 people were killed and around 40 injured – many seriously – when the...

Goldstone report inaccuracies, part 11

While we have already looked at some of Goldstone's inaccuracies concerning the civilian status of Gaza police, the report makes more specific mention of the police killed at the areas they visited in Gaza, mainly the Arafat police compound and the Al-Abbas police station.435. From the facts available to it, the Mission finds that the deliberate killing of 99 members of the police at the police headquarters and three police stations during the first...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 10 (updated)

723. The Mission considers, however, that the testimonies of the witnesses strongly suggestthat already before daybreak on 4 January 2009 the Israeli armed forces were in full control ofthe al-Samouni neighbourhood. The Israeli soldiers had taken up position on the roofs of thehouses in the area. According to several witnesses, the soldiers on the street spoke to residentswho had ventured out of their houses.410 In some cases (for instance, at the...

Must read: Richard Landes fisking Goldstone's NYT piece

Professor Richard Landes does a superlative job fisking Judge Richard Goldstone's op-ed in the New York Times today. And while I have been spending what time I have on the minutae of the large Goldstone Report, Landes' post goes to the very heart of the topic, and shows exactly what is problematic about the entire enterprise. It casts great doubt on Goldstone's honesty, at least with regards to this topic. It is a must-read, as are the links Landes...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 9: Gaza Police

The Goldstone report spends a lot of space (paragraphs 414-421) trying to justify its contention that the Hamas police force was a civilian force, and that Israel was not justified in attacking it. I believe that this analysis is flawed and that the conflicting evidence is weighted with a clear bias towards declaring the policemen to be civilian.410. In order to shed some light on where the truth might lie between these two conflicting descriptions...

Goldstone Commission problems, part 8

This is not an inaccuracy per se, but it is more than troubling.One of the major sources that the Goldstone Commission heavily relied on in testimonies was TAWTHEQ. TAWTHEQ is quoted in the context of the Gaza war more often than HRW and seems to be mentioned in the report body about as often as PCHR (although PCHR is mentioned more in footnotes.) In other words, it seems that Goldstone put a lot of emphasis on TAWTHEQ's direct testimony to the Commission.Who...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 7

493. The reports received by the Mission suggest that it is likely that the Palestinian armedgroups did not at all times adequately distinguish themselves from the civilian population amongwhom the hostilities were being conducted. Their failure to distinguish themselves from thecivilian population by distinctive signs is not a violation of international law in itself, but wouldhave denied them some of the legal privileges afforded to combatants....

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 6

495. Although the situations investigated by the Mission did not establish the use of mosquesfor military purposes or to shield military activities, the Mission cannot exclude that this mighthave occurred in other cases. As far as hospitals and United Nations facilities are concerned, theMission found that it could not exclude that Palestinian armed groups engaged in combatactivities in the vicinity of these protected sites. The Mission wishes to...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 5

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 4

273. The legal framework applicable to situations of occupation includes provisions containedin the Hague Regulations (especially articles 42–56), the Fourth Geneva Convention (especiallyarticles 47–78) and Additional Protocol I, and customary international law. The successive stepsin the development of that legal framework represent attempts by the international community toprotect human beings better from the effects of war while giving due account...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 3

264. On 22 December 2008, a 24-hour ceasefire was declared at Egypt’s request. Three rockets and one mortar were launched from Gaza that day. Israel opened the border to allow a limited amount of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.149 265. By 23 December 2008, rocket and mortar fire was again increasing significantly; 30 rockets and 30 mortars were fired into Israel on 24 December 2008. 150 The Israeli armed forces continued to conduct air...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 2

227. The first incident relevant to the ceasefire reportedly took place on 23 June 2008, when a 67-year-old Palestinian civilian was injured when the Israeli military stationed at the border north-west of Beit Lahia opened fire on a group of Palestinians trying to collect fire wood near the border. Also on 23 June, two mortar shells were reportedly fired from central Gaza. One landed near the Nahal Oz crossing and the other in the Negev desert; no...

Goldstone report inaccuracies part 1

The Goldstone Report on Gaza just came out. I will be listing inaccuracies as I find them; it is a huge report and I am skipping around to areas I am interested in. 209. Since 1967, about 750,000 Palestinians have been detained at some point by the Government of Israel, according to Palestinian human rights organizations. As I demonstrated here, these numbers are completely made up by a Palestinian Arab group called Addameer. The figures are absurd...