It is notorious that Israel has broken both the spirit and the letter of international law over many years. We all know the finding of the ICJ about the position of the Wall/barrier constructed on occupied land, severing Palestinian lands, towns and villages. Twice excessive military force has been used, once in Lebanon in 2006, and again in Gaza in 2008/9, killing and wounding large numbers of non-combatant civilians. For 2½ years Gaza has been tightly blockaded, with only just enough food, fuel and medical supplies allowed in to prevent starvation and epidemics. A nearly total ban on exports from Gaza is steadily fuelling anger and frustration; while a unilateral limit on sea fishing increases unemployment and malnutrition.
Less well-known are Israel’s illegal actions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. In the former, some 2000 Palestinian houses have been demolished between 1967 and 2010. Every effort is made to reduce the Palestinian population and to increase that of the Israelis. In the West Bank, 20% of the total area is covered by Closed Military Zones, which take up 95% of the Jordan Valley in Palestine. In 1967 the Valley’s Palestinian population was some 320,000. Today it is only 56,000. During that time 30 settlements, 9 outposts and many military bases have been introduced.
Throughout the period and still today, goods, particularly fruit and vegetables, produced in Israeli colonies are being sold in Europe and elsewhere as “made in Israel”. Israeli colonists exploit otherwise destitute Palestinians, whom they employ, by paying them less than half the minimum wage that applies in Israel. They also refuse employment contracts, pensions and sick-pay. They allow no trades unions. Carmel Agraxco is the major Israeli company involved in these abuses. Many British and European companies are complicit.
The aggressive behaviour of the colonists and of the Israeli Army, together with the daily humiliations in passing through check-points and turn-stiles (which I have been through myself), naturally cause anger among the Palestinian population. When, however, they retaliate, they are processed before Military Courts, so that 9000 or so are held in detention or imprisonment at any one time. Elected MPs and former ministers have served long sentences and some are still held. Their custody on Israeli soil is in itself a breach of the Geneva Convention. Impunity for colonists and military people is a further aggravation.
In view of such long-lasting disregard of UN Resolutions and International Law, it is hard to see how Israel expects to be treated as a normal state. The N/L Lord Dykes has rightly asked what can be done to secure compliance. The US should cease to guarantee loans to Israel. This had a salutary effect on the only brief occasion, when it was used. The EU should suspend its Association Agreement with Israel. Britain should cease all exports of arms and military equipment to Israel and call on other states to do the same. We should also urge the new Egyptian Government to open their frontier with Gaza to the supervised movement of people and goods.
@ Lord Hylton: This is the best speech on this matter I have read or heard to date. It is about time responsibility was seen to be considered by officials, at very least. And this is the start.
If Israel were cheek by jowl with a modern, free democratic multi party Egypt, would this change the play?
It high time every-one got their brains as well as their brawns around the historical, present-decade, and long-long-term Needs & Hows of this whole ‘Middle-East’ Matter, especially of Israel’s singular plight therein.
It is a strong fact, that real majorities as well as minorities of Arabs do want to destroy Israel, even as far as occupying Israel, throwing all Israelis out (into the Sea and even chopped-into-little pieces)or otherwise getting-rid-of or genociding them.
Not only must whole concepts and definitions of “legality” versus “illegality” be brought down to long-term global-thrival-&-survival reality-levels;
but the whole overarching and underpinning Human-Race’s, & Earth-Lifesupports’, predicament over Needs & Affordable-Hows and other ignored and otherwise bogged-down issues festering insidiously for want of plain and honest first-resort Method III cooperative problem solving, needs to be given Number One global importance and urgency to be implemented, learned & genericly-applied.
Consider for instance the global ‘problem’ of China’s long-long-term strategy of buying, at fair prices, other Countries’ resources and products (notably Brazil’s).
When challenged, their simple response (JSDM paraphrase) is
“historically the USA’s, European, and Britain’s worldwide imperialism did not pay fair prices for the raw materials, products, and labour they took from their empire countries, they outright stole them and shipped them away to their own homelands (to “Great”-Britain for instance).
Israel is a lone but historically and traditionally a peace-abiding race, in a very real sense fighting for its very life, trapped in a tiny tiny pocket of half-desertified land, between human-developmentally laggardly Arab monsters.
Lord Hylton’s ‘language’, in this “best speech on this matter” I think would make it difficult for truly impartial officials to even define “responsibility”, much less to make long-term ‘thrival’ as well as survival grounds and ‘road-maps’ for the Middle-East (at least).
1327W020311.JSDM.
@milesjsd: Israel’s ‘plight’ as you see it, was created by the Israeli’s. If you take over the land of another, in other words colonize, you invariably meet with resistance. If instead of compromise and seeking a solution toward those you have usurped, then you have only yourself to blame.