15 aug 2018
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Human rights activist John Turnbull describes how Israel’s navy hijacked a peaceful vessel in international waters, and kidnapped its passengers and crew.
Dimitri Lascaris is a lawyer, journalist, and activist. After working in the New York and Paris offices of a major Wall Street law firm, Dimitri became a class action lawyer in Canada. His practice focused on shareholder rights, environmental wrongs, and human rights. In 2012, Canadian Lawyer Magazine named him one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada, and in 2013, Canadian Business Magazine named him one of the 50 most influential persons in Canadian business. |
Dimitri ran as a Green Party candidate in Canada’s 2015 federal election and has served as the Justice Critic in the Green Party of Canada’s shadow cabinet.
TRNN Video & Transcript:
DIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dmitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network from Montreal, Canada.
For the past few months, The Real News has been covering the voyage of the Freedom Flotilla from Scandinavia to Gaza. Matters came to a head in late July when Al Awda, the lead vessel of the flotilla, was hijacked in international waters by Israel’s navy. Its passengers were then forced to enter Israel and were incarcerated there. The second vessel in the flotilla, the Freedom, was hijacked by Israel’s navy a few days later. Freedom was captained by Canadian human rights activist John Turnbull. The Real News spoke to John by satellite phone a few days before Israel’s seizure of the vessel. And last week, John was finally released from an Israeli prison after the seizure and was permitted to leave the country. He joins us today from Paris, France. Thanks very much for joining us, John.
JOHN TURNBULL: You’re very welcome, Dimitri. Good to be here.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: John, why don’t we start with the moment at which the vessel the Freedom was first contacted by Israeli forces, and then talk to us, please, about the seizure of the vessel. How did that unfold?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, we are a sailboat, a fairly heavy, reasonably large sailboat, 72 feet long. We were waiting for nightfall, expecting to be contacted, and in fact hoping that they might let us go until sunrise the next day. But that was not to happen. Around 7:00 we received a VHF call. It was fairly standard call asking for identity. But when the questions got a little farther than our simple identity, which is convention, I objected. That I didn’t understand the nature of the call, or the intent behind it.
At that point, the Israeli navy read two statements- in fact, I think it might have been a recording of a statement- basically saying we were entering a military zone and our vessel could be confiscated. And then a few moments later there was a sort of second degree, but similar, message. We began at that point, and now it’s about 8:00, to notice lights surrounding us on all the cardinal and intermediate points of the compass. Those lights came closer. A little bit like seeing the eyes of wolves in the forest, if that’s happened to you.
And around 9:00, shortly after 9:00 local time- I have to be careful here, because on the ship we were on UTC time, we were approached by two very large, powerful, diesel inflatable landing craft, essentially, that came out from our quarters, from our stern, and pinched the boat between them. At that point a woman aboard one of the boats using a bullhorn announced her name, and told us that we were ladies and gentlemen, and that they were the Israeli navy, and they came in peace. Which I think is a lovely phrase, especially when it’s accompanied by about 20 to 25 soldiers, all armed with machine guns across their backs. No lifejackets, that surprised me a little.
They came aboard the boats. And very quickly, of course, we put our hands up to indicate that we were not going to resist them. It would have been very dangerous on that particular boat. And a fellow came back who seemed to know a little bit about sailboats, and he asked me to steer a particular course. And I said, no, I don’t work for the Israeli navy. And so he began to steer the boat in.
We steered the boat under [inaudible], the boat under sails for several minutes. Had some problems with the boat, obviously it’s a complex boat, and eventually took it under tow. We were towed into Ashdod. And if I can take a moment to describe the image; I think it’ll stick in my mind forever. As we began to approach the coast close enough to see it and to pick out lights, especially at a second level of buildings, we saw a string of lights representing Ashdod, demarcating Ashdod. And then perhaps a mile or three south of Ashdod, the lights, the string of lights stopped and there was nothing but darkness. And we were then looking at this dark shoreline which, under cover of darkness, of course, hid about 2 million prisoners in Gaza. It was quite a moment for me. I knew this intellectually but to feel it in my heart was quite different.
By this time the sun was coming up. It was 6:30, 6:00 in the morning. We were put ashore at a big ugly old dock. We were all taken to shore. We all made the statement that we did not wish to be there. And we were processed through a series of temporary tents by, I’d say-. Well, there were 12 of us. There were probably 120 border control people, people taking pictures. Young folks in uniform. All milling about, all making a tremendous racket. And we were checked. Searched, of course. Checked by a doctor. Asked to sign papers. Refused. Our passports were photographed, etc. And then there were a couple of further body searches. Nothing really invasive. Nothing grim about that. We were finally put into a van, what the French would call a kind of [inaudible], a kind of metal box that you couldn’t see out of, and we were taken off to prison, which I guess is a few miles north of Ashdod.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: What were conditions like in prison, and how long were you held there?
JOHN TURNBULL: We were held five and a half, six days. Conditions were, I suppose, like any prison in a modern, wealthy country. Not nice, pretty noisy. Concrete floors, steel doors banging, prison guards yelling at each other for no reason at all, apparently. A little bit tatty. This is- and I don’t mean to give it a, you know, a travel adviser rating, but it was a little rough. It’s a deportation prison. And this, of course, is the irony of the Israeli deportation laws. We did not want to be there, but the prison is normally there for people who do want to stay in Israel, and they’re being put out. It had a courtyard with an old office chair in it, and it had a kind of quaint, lived-in quality, which was kind of nice.
We slept in steel bunks on thin mattresses, just like prisoners do, and we were given a breakfast of fresh cucumbers. I have to say, they were very good. And that’s about what we had. That and a bit of hummus for the following five days.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Right. And the documents you were presented, were they in the English language, or in Hebrew?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, they were in English, at least the first document. And this was a point of some confusion. The first document essentially said that we would waive, that we were being asked whether we wanted to waive our right to stay in the country for 72 hours, because someone- normally someone deported from Israel now has a right to stay in the country for 72 hours to arrange his or her affairs, get paid, et cetera. Of, course we were in the opposite situation. We were not particularly interested in staying there. However, we were interested in making as much fuss as possible for the judges and other officials involved.
So a couple of us eventually signed the paper. It had no effect on our time of leaving. It was confusing, whenever we decided, whenever one of us decided it was time to sign the paper, the paper suddenly disappeared. So it was a whole lot of nonsense that amounted to very little, in legal terms.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And your-. Was the vessel seized in international waters?
JOHN TURNBULL: We were seized at 37 miles from the port of Gaza, which is international waters. That is just to say it’s outside the 12 mile, 12 nautical mile limit from the shoreline. No question this was international waters. We were on a bearing of roughly 120 degrees. So people who have a chart in front of them can imagine where we were.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And finally, John, how would you assess- you’re a Canadian citizen. How would you assess the Canadian government’s reaction to all of this? Specifically, in your view, has it done enough to ensure that the rights of the passengers and crew of the flotilla were respected, and that Israel be held accountable for any violations of those rights?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, the second part of your question first. No, I don’t believe enough has been done. And of course, I’m more concerned about the rights of Palestinians. You know, a guy like me who has a five-year prison experience, that’s a story. That’s, you know, that’s dinner conversation. The story here, of course, is that Palestinians suffer this and much, much worse for their entire lives. And for me, you get in, you get out.
The Canadian government, I have to say, the bureaucracy, I think they did a perfect bureaucratic job. They got in there two days after we were captured. They advised me, they began to set up routes to France or to Toronto. As it turned out, it was France. They did their jobs beautifully. At another level of that embassy and that consul, of course, there’s the complete acceptance and support, enthusiastic support, for what has recently been shown to be, even since I was let out, what has shown to be an attempt have slow genocide of an entire people. And this is an ally of Canada. I would never have imagined in my youth living in a country, Canada, with a reputation for human rights, now forming close relations, close and profitable relations, a country that as a matter of policy is poisoning, for example, a million children in Gaza, or is holding prisoner two million people who cannot get out without the permission of their jailkeepers.
So the fact that I’m out of custody, that’s, that’s not the story. The fact is there are six and a half million Palestinians who remain in the custody of the Israeli government.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: When you refer to the poisoning of the children, I assume you’re talking about the fact that virtually all of the water is contaminated; something the range of 95 percent.
JOHN TURNBULL: Yes. And since I got out, I believe one of the treatment plants, or the treatment plant, has been bombed again, if you can imagine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Well, John, we thank you for your time, and welcome you back to freedom. And really appreciate all the time you’ve taken to keep us abreast during the course of this voyage at The Real News of the development of the entire expedition. Thank you very much, John.
JOHN TURNBULL: Thank you, Dimitri. And thanks to The Real News.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting from Montreal, Canada.
07/13/18 Freedom Flotilla Activist Divina Levrini: ‘Gaza needs to be remembered.’
TRNN Video & Transcript:
DIMITRI LASCARIS: This is Dmitri Lascaris, reporting for The Real News Network from Montreal, Canada.
For the past few months, The Real News has been covering the voyage of the Freedom Flotilla from Scandinavia to Gaza. Matters came to a head in late July when Al Awda, the lead vessel of the flotilla, was hijacked in international waters by Israel’s navy. Its passengers were then forced to enter Israel and were incarcerated there. The second vessel in the flotilla, the Freedom, was hijacked by Israel’s navy a few days later. Freedom was captained by Canadian human rights activist John Turnbull. The Real News spoke to John by satellite phone a few days before Israel’s seizure of the vessel. And last week, John was finally released from an Israeli prison after the seizure and was permitted to leave the country. He joins us today from Paris, France. Thanks very much for joining us, John.
JOHN TURNBULL: You’re very welcome, Dimitri. Good to be here.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: John, why don’t we start with the moment at which the vessel the Freedom was first contacted by Israeli forces, and then talk to us, please, about the seizure of the vessel. How did that unfold?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, we are a sailboat, a fairly heavy, reasonably large sailboat, 72 feet long. We were waiting for nightfall, expecting to be contacted, and in fact hoping that they might let us go until sunrise the next day. But that was not to happen. Around 7:00 we received a VHF call. It was fairly standard call asking for identity. But when the questions got a little farther than our simple identity, which is convention, I objected. That I didn’t understand the nature of the call, or the intent behind it.
At that point, the Israeli navy read two statements- in fact, I think it might have been a recording of a statement- basically saying we were entering a military zone and our vessel could be confiscated. And then a few moments later there was a sort of second degree, but similar, message. We began at that point, and now it’s about 8:00, to notice lights surrounding us on all the cardinal and intermediate points of the compass. Those lights came closer. A little bit like seeing the eyes of wolves in the forest, if that’s happened to you.
And around 9:00, shortly after 9:00 local time- I have to be careful here, because on the ship we were on UTC time, we were approached by two very large, powerful, diesel inflatable landing craft, essentially, that came out from our quarters, from our stern, and pinched the boat between them. At that point a woman aboard one of the boats using a bullhorn announced her name, and told us that we were ladies and gentlemen, and that they were the Israeli navy, and they came in peace. Which I think is a lovely phrase, especially when it’s accompanied by about 20 to 25 soldiers, all armed with machine guns across their backs. No lifejackets, that surprised me a little.
They came aboard the boats. And very quickly, of course, we put our hands up to indicate that we were not going to resist them. It would have been very dangerous on that particular boat. And a fellow came back who seemed to know a little bit about sailboats, and he asked me to steer a particular course. And I said, no, I don’t work for the Israeli navy. And so he began to steer the boat in.
We steered the boat under [inaudible], the boat under sails for several minutes. Had some problems with the boat, obviously it’s a complex boat, and eventually took it under tow. We were towed into Ashdod. And if I can take a moment to describe the image; I think it’ll stick in my mind forever. As we began to approach the coast close enough to see it and to pick out lights, especially at a second level of buildings, we saw a string of lights representing Ashdod, demarcating Ashdod. And then perhaps a mile or three south of Ashdod, the lights, the string of lights stopped and there was nothing but darkness. And we were then looking at this dark shoreline which, under cover of darkness, of course, hid about 2 million prisoners in Gaza. It was quite a moment for me. I knew this intellectually but to feel it in my heart was quite different.
By this time the sun was coming up. It was 6:30, 6:00 in the morning. We were put ashore at a big ugly old dock. We were all taken to shore. We all made the statement that we did not wish to be there. And we were processed through a series of temporary tents by, I’d say-. Well, there were 12 of us. There were probably 120 border control people, people taking pictures. Young folks in uniform. All milling about, all making a tremendous racket. And we were checked. Searched, of course. Checked by a doctor. Asked to sign papers. Refused. Our passports were photographed, etc. And then there were a couple of further body searches. Nothing really invasive. Nothing grim about that. We were finally put into a van, what the French would call a kind of [inaudible], a kind of metal box that you couldn’t see out of, and we were taken off to prison, which I guess is a few miles north of Ashdod.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: What were conditions like in prison, and how long were you held there?
JOHN TURNBULL: We were held five and a half, six days. Conditions were, I suppose, like any prison in a modern, wealthy country. Not nice, pretty noisy. Concrete floors, steel doors banging, prison guards yelling at each other for no reason at all, apparently. A little bit tatty. This is- and I don’t mean to give it a, you know, a travel adviser rating, but it was a little rough. It’s a deportation prison. And this, of course, is the irony of the Israeli deportation laws. We did not want to be there, but the prison is normally there for people who do want to stay in Israel, and they’re being put out. It had a courtyard with an old office chair in it, and it had a kind of quaint, lived-in quality, which was kind of nice.
We slept in steel bunks on thin mattresses, just like prisoners do, and we were given a breakfast of fresh cucumbers. I have to say, they were very good. And that’s about what we had. That and a bit of hummus for the following five days.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Right. And the documents you were presented, were they in the English language, or in Hebrew?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, they were in English, at least the first document. And this was a point of some confusion. The first document essentially said that we would waive, that we were being asked whether we wanted to waive our right to stay in the country for 72 hours, because someone- normally someone deported from Israel now has a right to stay in the country for 72 hours to arrange his or her affairs, get paid, et cetera. Of, course we were in the opposite situation. We were not particularly interested in staying there. However, we were interested in making as much fuss as possible for the judges and other officials involved.
So a couple of us eventually signed the paper. It had no effect on our time of leaving. It was confusing, whenever we decided, whenever one of us decided it was time to sign the paper, the paper suddenly disappeared. So it was a whole lot of nonsense that amounted to very little, in legal terms.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And your-. Was the vessel seized in international waters?
JOHN TURNBULL: We were seized at 37 miles from the port of Gaza, which is international waters. That is just to say it’s outside the 12 mile, 12 nautical mile limit from the shoreline. No question this was international waters. We were on a bearing of roughly 120 degrees. So people who have a chart in front of them can imagine where we were.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And finally, John, how would you assess- you’re a Canadian citizen. How would you assess the Canadian government’s reaction to all of this? Specifically, in your view, has it done enough to ensure that the rights of the passengers and crew of the flotilla were respected, and that Israel be held accountable for any violations of those rights?
JOHN TURNBULL: Well, the second part of your question first. No, I don’t believe enough has been done. And of course, I’m more concerned about the rights of Palestinians. You know, a guy like me who has a five-year prison experience, that’s a story. That’s, you know, that’s dinner conversation. The story here, of course, is that Palestinians suffer this and much, much worse for their entire lives. And for me, you get in, you get out.
The Canadian government, I have to say, the bureaucracy, I think they did a perfect bureaucratic job. They got in there two days after we were captured. They advised me, they began to set up routes to France or to Toronto. As it turned out, it was France. They did their jobs beautifully. At another level of that embassy and that consul, of course, there’s the complete acceptance and support, enthusiastic support, for what has recently been shown to be, even since I was let out, what has shown to be an attempt have slow genocide of an entire people. And this is an ally of Canada. I would never have imagined in my youth living in a country, Canada, with a reputation for human rights, now forming close relations, close and profitable relations, a country that as a matter of policy is poisoning, for example, a million children in Gaza, or is holding prisoner two million people who cannot get out without the permission of their jailkeepers.
So the fact that I’m out of custody, that’s, that’s not the story. The fact is there are six and a half million Palestinians who remain in the custody of the Israeli government.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: When you refer to the poisoning of the children, I assume you’re talking about the fact that virtually all of the water is contaminated; something the range of 95 percent.
JOHN TURNBULL: Yes. And since I got out, I believe one of the treatment plants, or the treatment plant, has been bombed again, if you can imagine.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: Well, John, we thank you for your time, and welcome you back to freedom. And really appreciate all the time you’ve taken to keep us abreast during the course of this voyage at The Real News of the development of the entire expedition. Thank you very much, John.
JOHN TURNBULL: Thank you, Dimitri. And thanks to The Real News.
DIMITRI LASCARIS: And this is Dimitri Lascaris, reporting from Montreal, Canada.
07/13/18 Freedom Flotilla Activist Divina Levrini: ‘Gaza needs to be remembered.’
7 aug 2018
Members of the High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel announced on Tuesday the launch of their own struggle against the controversial Nationality Law, demanding its cancellation.
The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel turned to the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, demanding them to immediately intervene and support the cancellation of the law.
Muhammad Barakeh, head of the High Follow-Up Committee, said in a statement "we're saying these things not on behalf of a party or a movement in the Arab population, but on behalf of the Arab public in general."
Barakeh stressed that "we demand the unconditional cancellation of the law."
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel also filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice against the Nationality Law, calling it a bid to progress "ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies."
Adalah said that the law "has distinct apartheid characteristics" and denies "civil and national rights of Palestinians in their homeland."
On Saturday, tens of thousands opposing the law had demonstrated against it in Tel Aviv, calling for its annullement to ensure equality for Israel's non-Jewish minorities.
The law, which was passed by the Israeli Knesset in July, enshrines the status of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and includes legally preserving Israel's "democratic" character, its state symbols (national anthem, flag, icon), Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Hebrew as the official language and the right of return for Diaspora Jewry.
Meanwhile, the Arabic language will receive a "special status" as Israel's second official language. The law, however, would not require making state services accessible in Arabic.
Critics of the law raised concerns that it will permit the exclusion of various populations, based on nationality or religion, and allow the illegal establishment of Jewish settlements and communities only.
Meanwhile, supporters believe it ensures the Jewish character of the state for generations to come.
The High Follow-up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel turned to the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, demanding them to immediately intervene and support the cancellation of the law.
Muhammad Barakeh, head of the High Follow-Up Committee, said in a statement "we're saying these things not on behalf of a party or a movement in the Arab population, but on behalf of the Arab public in general."
Barakeh stressed that "we demand the unconditional cancellation of the law."
Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel also filed a petition to the Israeli High Court of Justice against the Nationality Law, calling it a bid to progress "ethnic superiority by promoting racist policies."
Adalah said that the law "has distinct apartheid characteristics" and denies "civil and national rights of Palestinians in their homeland."
On Saturday, tens of thousands opposing the law had demonstrated against it in Tel Aviv, calling for its annullement to ensure equality for Israel's non-Jewish minorities.
The law, which was passed by the Israeli Knesset in July, enshrines the status of the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and includes legally preserving Israel's "democratic" character, its state symbols (national anthem, flag, icon), Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Hebrew as the official language and the right of return for Diaspora Jewry.
Meanwhile, the Arabic language will receive a "special status" as Israel's second official language. The law, however, would not require making state services accessible in Arabic.
Critics of the law raised concerns that it will permit the exclusion of various populations, based on nationality or religion, and allow the illegal establishment of Jewish settlements and communities only.
Meanwhile, supporters believe it ensures the Jewish character of the state for generations to come.
22 june 2018
The Palestinian Authority’s Information Ministry sent a letter to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) complaining about the preliminary Israeli Knesset proposal, which passed the first reading, forbidding journalists, and ordinary residents, from filming and documenting Israeli invasions and military activities in occupied Palestine.
The new bill passed the first reading in a 45-42 vote and aims at outlawing filming the soldiers with what is described as “the intent to demoralize them, or harming Israel’s security.”
The new law allows the army to abduct and imprison those “who violate the law” up to five years, “if the documentation harmed the soldiers’ fighting spirit.”
It also calls for imprisoning the Palestinians for ten years if “they filmed the soldiers with the intent to harm Israel’s security.”
The Information Ministry sent a letter to Philippe Leruth, the elected head of the IFJ, and members of its executive committee, calling on them to intervene.
It said that the new Israeli law is not only racist, but also targets every Palestinian, and every journalist, who documents Israel’s invasions, criminalizes Palestinian journalists, and prevents them from performing their duties, in direct violation of all related International Laws and regulations, especially the Freedom of the Press.
The Ministry added that the law also violates UN Security Council Resolution #2222, which provides protection to the journalists, and stated that Israel is giving its soldiers a free hand in assaulting and arresting the journalists just for performing their duties, and targets the residents who have the right to document the invasions.
“This also gives the army more opportunities to commit massacres and terrorist attacks against the Palestinians,” it said, “This law was drafted first after Israeli soldiers, stationed in fortified posts across the border fence with Gaza, were filmed cheering and celebrating the shooting a Palestinian child with sniper fire.”
BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activists, in addition to local journalists and social media activists, are documenting the invasions, serious violations. They are documenting crimes committed by the Israeli army with direct support from the political leadership in Tel Aviv.
Several political analysts in Palestine, and Palestinian solidarity activists, said that the new Israeli law is yet another proof that Israel fears the truth, especially since its army has been caught on video so many times, committing serious violations and crimes against unarmed Palestinian protesters, and the civilian population.
They added that this law, which violates every related international law and agreement, would have been described as a form of dictatorship if it was enacted by other countries.
In its letter, the Information Ministry said:
Palestinian Journalists are facing ongoing Israeli aggression, and are paying a high price due to these violations, resulting in the recent deaths of two journalists, Yasser Mortaja and Ahmad Abu Hussein, who were killed by the army in Gaza, this past April.
After Israel released the Elor Azaria, the 19-year-old Israeli soldier who executed the seriously wounded Palestinian, Abdul-Fattah Sharif, and was pardoned and released just nine months after committing his crime, in which he was only sentenced to 18 months in prison, and after Israel arrested and interrogated the Palestinian journalist, Imad Abu Shamsiyya, who was also subject to constant violations for documenting this crime, Tel Aviv now wants to criminalize, and imprison the journalists for performing their duties, for exposing the violations.
Israeli soldiers also carried out 106 violations against Palestinian journalists this year alone, and four violations against media outlets, in addition to six attacks targeting Palestinians who work for media agencies.
The new draft law, which was presented by Member of Knesset Robert Ilatov of “Israel Our Home Party,” with full the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is meant to prevent the media, and the people, from documenting the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, and grants the army a green light for more violations.
This law also threatens foreign media agencies and journalists, and is meant to terrorize them, to force them to refrain from documenting the army’s violations in occupied Palestine.
This law requires all of us to act, all around the world, and requires immediate intervention from the IFJ to protect the sanctity of the media and its freedoms, as stated by all related International Laws and regulations.
It is worth mentioning that Ilatov attacked the BDS Movement (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions), considering it hostile to the army and stating that the soldiers “are sent to the front lines of BDS groups,” in an attempt to label the nonviolent BDS activists as “combatants.”
Ilatov also said that the Israel “will not allow the BDS Movement and its supporters to slander Israel and dehumanize its soldiers.”
The new bill passed the first reading in a 45-42 vote and aims at outlawing filming the soldiers with what is described as “the intent to demoralize them, or harming Israel’s security.”
The new law allows the army to abduct and imprison those “who violate the law” up to five years, “if the documentation harmed the soldiers’ fighting spirit.”
It also calls for imprisoning the Palestinians for ten years if “they filmed the soldiers with the intent to harm Israel’s security.”
The Information Ministry sent a letter to Philippe Leruth, the elected head of the IFJ, and members of its executive committee, calling on them to intervene.
It said that the new Israeli law is not only racist, but also targets every Palestinian, and every journalist, who documents Israel’s invasions, criminalizes Palestinian journalists, and prevents them from performing their duties, in direct violation of all related International Laws and regulations, especially the Freedom of the Press.
The Ministry added that the law also violates UN Security Council Resolution #2222, which provides protection to the journalists, and stated that Israel is giving its soldiers a free hand in assaulting and arresting the journalists just for performing their duties, and targets the residents who have the right to document the invasions.
“This also gives the army more opportunities to commit massacres and terrorist attacks against the Palestinians,” it said, “This law was drafted first after Israeli soldiers, stationed in fortified posts across the border fence with Gaza, were filmed cheering and celebrating the shooting a Palestinian child with sniper fire.”
BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activists, in addition to local journalists and social media activists, are documenting the invasions, serious violations. They are documenting crimes committed by the Israeli army with direct support from the political leadership in Tel Aviv.
Several political analysts in Palestine, and Palestinian solidarity activists, said that the new Israeli law is yet another proof that Israel fears the truth, especially since its army has been caught on video so many times, committing serious violations and crimes against unarmed Palestinian protesters, and the civilian population.
They added that this law, which violates every related international law and agreement, would have been described as a form of dictatorship if it was enacted by other countries.
In its letter, the Information Ministry said:
Palestinian Journalists are facing ongoing Israeli aggression, and are paying a high price due to these violations, resulting in the recent deaths of two journalists, Yasser Mortaja and Ahmad Abu Hussein, who were killed by the army in Gaza, this past April.
After Israel released the Elor Azaria, the 19-year-old Israeli soldier who executed the seriously wounded Palestinian, Abdul-Fattah Sharif, and was pardoned and released just nine months after committing his crime, in which he was only sentenced to 18 months in prison, and after Israel arrested and interrogated the Palestinian journalist, Imad Abu Shamsiyya, who was also subject to constant violations for documenting this crime, Tel Aviv now wants to criminalize, and imprison the journalists for performing their duties, for exposing the violations.
Israeli soldiers also carried out 106 violations against Palestinian journalists this year alone, and four violations against media outlets, in addition to six attacks targeting Palestinians who work for media agencies.
The new draft law, which was presented by Member of Knesset Robert Ilatov of “Israel Our Home Party,” with full the backing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is meant to prevent the media, and the people, from documenting the ongoing Israeli crimes against the Palestinians, and grants the army a green light for more violations.
This law also threatens foreign media agencies and journalists, and is meant to terrorize them, to force them to refrain from documenting the army’s violations in occupied Palestine.
This law requires all of us to act, all around the world, and requires immediate intervention from the IFJ to protect the sanctity of the media and its freedoms, as stated by all related International Laws and regulations.
It is worth mentioning that Ilatov attacked the BDS Movement (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions), considering it hostile to the army and stating that the soldiers “are sent to the front lines of BDS groups,” in an attempt to label the nonviolent BDS activists as “combatants.”
Ilatov also said that the Israel “will not allow the BDS Movement and its supporters to slander Israel and dehumanize its soldiers.”
25 may 2018
Israel and Palestine Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Omar Shakir, was given leave to remain in the country, yesterday, after the Jerusalem District Court blocked his deportation order.
Two weeks ago, Israel’s Ministry of Interior had ordered Shakir to leave Israel or be forcibly expelled on 24th May. The reason for this decision had been Shakir’s alleged support of the BDS campaign; he denied these claims and insists he has instead been targeted for his criticism of the Israeli government.
According to the PNN, yesterday’s last-minute reversal allows Shakir to stay until 2ndJuly, when a court hearing is scheduled to determine whether he can work long-term in the region. The Ministry of Interior’s order was frozen by Jerusalem District Court on the grounds that it had been based on ‘old facts’.
HRW announced the court’s verdict shortly after they had organised a press conference in Jerusalem, which was set to update journalists on the legal proceedings filed by Shakir and HRW to block his deportation order. In light of yesterday’s announcement, the news conference, due to be held today, shortly before Shakir left the country, has been cancelled.
This month has seen a crackdown on human rights officials by Israel. As well as Shakir’s mistreatment, The Mossawa Center’s director Jafar Farah was arrested last week in Haifa and his knee was broken by Israeli police during his incarceration.
By allowing Shakir to remain, Israel might hope to stem the tide of international criticism over its recent handling of human rights officials.
Two weeks ago, Israel’s Ministry of Interior had ordered Shakir to leave Israel or be forcibly expelled on 24th May. The reason for this decision had been Shakir’s alleged support of the BDS campaign; he denied these claims and insists he has instead been targeted for his criticism of the Israeli government.
According to the PNN, yesterday’s last-minute reversal allows Shakir to stay until 2ndJuly, when a court hearing is scheduled to determine whether he can work long-term in the region. The Ministry of Interior’s order was frozen by Jerusalem District Court on the grounds that it had been based on ‘old facts’.
HRW announced the court’s verdict shortly after they had organised a press conference in Jerusalem, which was set to update journalists on the legal proceedings filed by Shakir and HRW to block his deportation order. In light of yesterday’s announcement, the news conference, due to be held today, shortly before Shakir left the country, has been cancelled.
This month has seen a crackdown on human rights officials by Israel. As well as Shakir’s mistreatment, The Mossawa Center’s director Jafar Farah was arrested last week in Haifa and his knee was broken by Israeli police during his incarceration.
By allowing Shakir to remain, Israel might hope to stem the tide of international criticism over its recent handling of human rights officials.
23 may 2018
Israeli Minister of Energy Yuval Steinitz, on Wednesday, slammed the European union for demanding a probe into last week’s police violence against pro-Palestinian protesters in Haifa.
On Tuesday, the EU issued a statement calling on Israel to probe police conduct during an Arab-Israel protest in Haifa, last week.
“It is important to hold a quick investigation into the events last week that led to the serious injury of Mossawa Director Jafar Farah, and the Israeli government has made it clear that it supports this,” the EU said in a statement.
In response, Steinitz said on Wednesday that the EU “can go straight to Hell”, saying that “this is the height of gall and hypocrisy … this is the same European Union which is now kissing-up to Iran and helping that country deal with US sanctions.”
Yuval proceeded to mention other incidents as an excuse for Israeli police brutality:
“Iran is executing and torturing homosexuals, trampling women’s rights, supporting terrorism and the Assad regime which is dropping chemical weapons on its own people. Now they’re [the EU] is going to pick on us? We, a law-abiding country, when the case of Jafar Farah is already being examined by the Police Investigation Department? That just shows how nasty the European Union can be.”
On Tuesday, the EU issued a statement calling on Israel to probe police conduct during an Arab-Israel protest in Haifa, last week.
“It is important to hold a quick investigation into the events last week that led to the serious injury of Mossawa Director Jafar Farah, and the Israeli government has made it clear that it supports this,” the EU said in a statement.
In response, Steinitz said on Wednesday that the EU “can go straight to Hell”, saying that “this is the height of gall and hypocrisy … this is the same European Union which is now kissing-up to Iran and helping that country deal with US sanctions.”
Yuval proceeded to mention other incidents as an excuse for Israeli police brutality:
“Iran is executing and torturing homosexuals, trampling women’s rights, supporting terrorism and the Assad regime which is dropping chemical weapons on its own people. Now they’re [the EU] is going to pick on us? We, a law-abiding country, when the case of Jafar Farah is already being examined by the Police Investigation Department? That just shows how nasty the European Union can be.”
22 may 2018
The European Union External Action (EUEA) service spokesperson Maja Kocijancic called Tuesday on Israel to launch an investigation into last week’s demonstration in Haifa.
In a statement, the EUEA asked Israel to "conduct a swift investigation into circumstances surrounding last week’s events in Haifa which appeared to result in serious injury of Jafar Farah, Director of the NGO Mossawa, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel."
"The EU will continue to work to create an atmosphere for civil society activity in Europe, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and around the world," the EU statement continued.
“Support for human rights defenders is an integral part of the European Union’s policy on human rights. Human rights defenders represent natural and indispensable allies in the promotion of human rights in their respective countries,” the statement reads.
Kocijancic also called on Israeli authorities not to kick out a senior Human Rights Watch official, warning Israel not to “join a very short list of countries” that have expelled human rights activists.
“The European Union expects the Israeli authorities to reverse their decision, as otherwise Israel would join a very short list of countries which have barred entry to, or expelled, Human Rights Watch staff,” Kocijancic said.
Last week, left-wing activists accused Israeli police of badly beating an Arab-Israeli NGO worker after arresting him at a Haifa demonstration against Israeli actions in Gaza.
The rights worker was one of 21 protesters arrested during the demonstration after being brutally suppressed by Israeli forces.
In a statement, the EUEA asked Israel to "conduct a swift investigation into circumstances surrounding last week’s events in Haifa which appeared to result in serious injury of Jafar Farah, Director of the NGO Mossawa, the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens in Israel."
"The EU will continue to work to create an atmosphere for civil society activity in Europe, Israel, the occupied Palestinian territories and around the world," the EU statement continued.
“Support for human rights defenders is an integral part of the European Union’s policy on human rights. Human rights defenders represent natural and indispensable allies in the promotion of human rights in their respective countries,” the statement reads.
Kocijancic also called on Israeli authorities not to kick out a senior Human Rights Watch official, warning Israel not to “join a very short list of countries” that have expelled human rights activists.
“The European Union expects the Israeli authorities to reverse their decision, as otherwise Israel would join a very short list of countries which have barred entry to, or expelled, Human Rights Watch staff,” Kocijancic said.
Last week, left-wing activists accused Israeli police of badly beating an Arab-Israeli NGO worker after arresting him at a Haifa demonstration against Israeli actions in Gaza.
The rights worker was one of 21 protesters arrested during the demonstration after being brutally suppressed by Israeli forces.
