- Numerous previous articles explained Israel's extremism,
notably under Netanyahu exceeding the worst of Ariel Sharon. Both men,
of course, are war criminals by any standard. So are complicit Knesset
members - roguish, racist and hard-line, comprising a voting majority that
co-opt a weak-kneed opposition going along most often to get along.
-
- Access several relevant previous articles through these
links:
-
- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/04/alarming-racism-in-israel.html
-
- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/10/israeli-knessets-anti-democratic-agenda.html
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- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/12/israels-sham-democracy.html
-
- Turkish Prime Minister Tayyep Recep Erdogan agrees. On
January 13, Haaretz Service headlined, "Turkey PM: Netanyahu has worst
government in history of Israel," saying:
-
- Erdogan told Al Jazeera that close Israeli/Turkish ties
faltered following Cast Lead and "spiraled to an unprecedented low"
after Israeli commandos attacked a Turkish-flagged Freedom Flotilla ship
in international waters bound for Gaza last May. Nine Turkish citizens
aboard were murdered. Erdogan demanded an apology. Israel refused, the
Prime Minister telling Al Jazeera:
-
- "As long as Netanyahu does not change his policies,
he cannot expect us to change ours." He added that Turkey won't renew
any previously signed accords, and won't consider renewed relations until
Israel accedes to its demands. He also called Foreign Minister/Deputy Prime
Minister Avigdor Lieberman Israel's "greatest problem," a "despicable"
man Israel should "get rid" of. "It is up to them, not us.
If they don't, Israel's problems will only get worse."
-
- Erdogan also supports Hamas, saying:
-
- "Hamas is not a terrorist organization. They are
people defending their land. It is a movement that entered the elections
and won," adding that conflict resolution is impossible without them.
-
- Crimes of War and Against Humanity under Netanyahu
-
- A November Public Committee Against Torture in Israel
(PACTI) explains some, titled "When the Exception Becomes the Rule:
Incommunicado Detention of Palestinian Security Detainees." Many,
in fact, are uncharged or only accused of minor offenses because no seriously
incriminating evidence exists, yet they're held and brutalized anyway.
-
- Moreover, Israeli and international law recognize the
right of detainees "to meet and consult with an attorney," a
fundamental due process principle Israel flaunts. Yet its Basic Law: Human
Dignity and Liberty affirms it. So does IDF Order Regarding Security provisions
(No. 378) 5730, 1970.
-
- In addition, in Israeli legal discourse, incommunicado
detentions are considered draconian, causing great harm, including to rule
of law principles. It's intended only under emergency conditions or in
unique cases "in which (the) alleged harm and damage justifies the
prevention of this consultation." As a result, civilized societies
rarely use it. For Israel, it's standard practice against people too powerless
to resist.
-
- Decades of evidence "show that the right to meet
an attorney is systematically denied to Palestinian detainees....undergoing
interrogation by General Security Services (GSS)." Israeli military
code justifies it as a way to "benefit" interrogations and/or
the "security of the area."
-
- Israel won't disclose how many are affected. PACTI, however,
learned that minimally it's many hundreds or even thousands annually, especially
since October 2000, the onset of the second Intifada. As a result, denial
of attorney consultations are "routine practice," no matter how
illegal and unjustifiable. Israel pays rule of law principles no heed,
not now, not ever.
-
- Another article explained PACTI's earlier study on detainee
abuse during Cast Lead, accessed through the following link:
-
- http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2010/08/palestinian-detainee-abuse-during.html
-
- Its November one evaluated over 1,000 detainee cases,
concluding that:
-
- -- from 70% to 90% were held incommunicado during their
entire interrogation or a portion thereof;
-
- -- their duration ranged from 12.7 to 19.2 days, and
in 10% of cases over 30 days;
-
- -- affidavits from those held said they were subjected
to "systematic violence, torture and/or psychological ill-treatment"
to admit guilt;
-
- -- pressure was intense, resulting in fear, confusion
and uncertainty, hampering judgment and influencing behavior;
-
- -- "significant gaps were found between the justifications
given by the GSS for demanding" incommunicado detentions and "the
content of the final indictments," mentioning minor violations only
that most often are bogus or inconsequential;
-
- -- despite intervening for justice, PACTI's "involvement
(most often) was....completely ineffective;" unable to dissuade GSS
from acting lawlessly; and
-
- -- incommunicado detentions empower GSS at the expense
of rule of law justice. Palestinians get none no matter how much pressure
is applied on their behalf.
-
- These abuses won't end unless sustained international
and grassroots efforts force it. Israel is already shamed. Legal, political,
economic and cultural measures must take it to the next level, the way
South African apartheid was toppled, though what replaced it left poor
Blacks worse off than before, victimized by predatory capitalism.
-
- They, Palestinians, and all exploited people deserve
better, but wishing won't make it so. Bare-knuckled activism is needed,
restoring democratic values Israel won't tolerate, at the same time exposing
its lawlessness and status as a world class terror state, preying on vulnerable
Arabs on false national security grounds.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/
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