Jewish settler jailed for life for killing Palestinians AFP Wed Sep 27, 2006 JERUSALEM - An Israeli court has sentenced a Jewish settler to four life sentences for killing four Palestinians in the West Bank last year as Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, a judicial source said. Asher Weissgan was also ordered to pay nearly one million shekels (233,026 dollars) in compensation, to be divided equally between the four families who each lost a relative when he went on a shooting rampage on August 17, 2005. His four life sentences came with an additional 12 years in prison, the judicial source said. Weissgan, from the settlement of Alon Shvut, was ferrying Palestinian workers to the Shilo industrial zone when he shot two people in his car after snatching a rifle from a security guard. Continuing his rampage, he opened fire on a group of Palestinian workers, killing one and seriously injuring two others before he was wrestled to the ground and arrested. One of those injured later died of his wounds. The attack was part of attempts by extreme-right Jewish groups and individuals to thwart Israel's withdrawal of troops and settlers from the Gaza Strip and four isolated West Bank settlements after 38 years of occupation. At the time, then prime minister Ariel Sharon condemned Weisgann's attack as a "Jewish act of terror". Two weeks earlier, another Jewish extremist killed four Israeli Arabs in the town of Shfaram in northern Israel before he was lynched by an angry crowd. Weissgan was found guilty of killing the four Palestinians on September 11. Comment: When an Israeli civilian kills Palestinians, it's called a "Jewish act of terror" by the former Israeli prime minister. But when the Israeli military pumps 17 rounds into a 13-year-old Palestinian schoolgirl or kills thousands of Lebanese civilians and blankets the country in cluster bombs, it's called "self-defense".

Flashback: Not guilty. The Israeli captain who put 17 bullets into a Palestinian schoolgirl Chris McGreal in Jerusalem Wednesday November 16, 2005 The Guardian - Officer ignored warnings that teenager was terrified - Defence says 'confirming the kill' standard practice An Israeli army officer who fired the entire magazine of his automatic rifle into a 13-year-old Palestinian girl and then said he would have done the same even if she had been three years old was acquitted on all charges by a military court yesterday. The soldier, who has only been identified as "Captain R", was charged with relatively minor offences for the killing of Iman al-Hams who was shot 17 times as she ventured near an Israeli army post near Rafah refugee camp in Gaza a year ago. The manner of Iman's killing, and the revelation of a tape recording in which the captain is warned that she was just a child who was "scared to death", made the shooting one of the most controversial since the Palestinian intifada erupted five years ago even though hundreds of other children have also died. After the verdict, Iman's father, Samir al-Hams, said the army never intended to hold the soldier accountable. "They did not charge him with Iman's murder, only with small offences, and now they say he is innocent of those even though he shot my daughter so many times," he said. "This was the cold-blooded murder of a girl. The soldier murdered her once and the court has murdered her again. What is the message? They are telling their soldiers to kill Palestinian children." The military court cleared the soldier of illegal use of his weapon, conduct unbecoming an officer and perverting the course of justice by asking soldiers under his command to alter their accounts of the incident. Capt R's lawyers argued that the "confirmation of the kill" after a suspect is shot was a standard Israeli military practice to eliminate terrorist threats. Following the verdict, Capt R burst into tears, turned to the public benches and said: "I told you I was innocent." The army's official account said that Iman was shot for crossing into a security zone carrying her schoolbag which soldiers feared might contain a bomb. It is still not known why the girl ventured into the area but witnesses described her as at least 100 yards from the military post which was in any case well protected. A recording of radio exchanges between Capt R and his troops obtained by Israeli television revealed that from the beginning soldiers identified Iman as a child. In the recording, a soldier in a watchtower radioed a colleague in the army post's operations room and describes Iman as "a little girl" who was "scared to death". After soldiers first opened fire, she dropped her schoolbag which was then hit by several bullets establishing that it did not contain explosive. At that point she was no longer carrying the bag and, the tape revealed, was heading away from the army post when she was shot. Although the military speculated that Iman might have been trying to "lure" the soldiers out of their base so they could be attacked by accomplices, Capt R made the decision to lead some of his troops into the open. Shortly afterwards he can be heard on the recording saying that he has shot the girl and, believing her dead, then "confirmed the kill". "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over," he said. Palestinian witnesses said they saw the captain shoot Iman twice in the head, walk away, turn back and fire a stream of bullets into her body. On the tape, Capt R then "clarifies" to the soldiers under his command why he killed Iman: "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the [security] zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed." At no point did the Israeli troops come under attack. The prosecution case was damaged when a soldier who initially said he had seen Capt R point his weapon at the girl's body and open fire later told the court he had fabricated the story. Capt R claimed that he had not fired the shots at the girl but near her. However, Dr Mohammed al-Hams, who inspected the child's body at Rafah hospital, counted numerous wounds. "She has at least 17 bullets in several parts of the body, all along the chest, hands, arms, legs," he told the Guardian shortly afterwards. "The bullets were large and shot from a close distance. The most serious injuries were to her head. She had three bullets in the head. One bullet was shot from the right side of the face beside the ear. It had a big impact on the whole face." The army's initial investigation concluded that the captain had "not acted unethically". But after some of the soldiers under his command went to the Israeli press to give a different version, the military police launched a separate investigation after which he was charged. Capt R claimed that the soldiers under his command were out to get him because they are Jewish and he is Druze. The transcript The following is a recording of a three-way conversation that took place between a soldier in a watchtower, an army operations room and Capt R, who shot the girl From the watchtower "It's a little girl. She's running defensively eastward." "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?" "A girl about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death." "I think that one of the positions took her out." "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over." From the operations room "Are we talking about a girl under the age of 10?" Watchtower "A girl about 10, she's behind the embankment, scared to death." A few minutes later, Iman is shot from one of the army posts Watchtower "I think that one of the positions took her out." Captain R "I and another soldier ... are going in a little nearer, forward, to confirm the kill ... Receive a situation report. We fired and killed her ... I also confirmed the kill. Over." Capt R then "clarifies" why he killed Iman "This is commander. Anything that's mobile, that moves in the zone, even if it's a three-year-old, needs to be killed. Over." Comment: How would you react if you were the parents of this little girl? Would you think that justice had been done? The girl was clearly no threat. She had been identified by the Israelis as a scared, little girl. The article suggests that the only danger for the Israelis was if she had been sent out to lure them into a trap, which means the way for the Israelis to remain out of danger would have been to stay put. Instead, they go out, are not fired upon, which shows that it was not a trap, and then the accused empties his weapon into her body. However, this hypothesis implies that the Palestinians are such savages that they would risk the life of a small child in such a ploy. Such are the unstated assumptions in much mainstream news reporting on the conflict. But her killer is "innocent". In Israel, he is innocent because the lives of the Palestinians are considered to be worth nothing. How would you react if this was your little girl, your little sister? How would you react if this was your neighbour? How would you react if every time your children went outside, you didn't know if they would come home alive or not? How would you react if you knew that no matter how many of your children, or your friends' children, or your village's children were cruelly murdered, there was nothing you could do about it, that there was no justice. And what solace is justice when you have lost a child, when you know the conditions for the cold-blooded killing of other children are still in place and would remain in place even if one or two Israeli soldiers were punished? The conditions of the Palestinians will not change as long as Israel remains an occupier state, a killer state that can feed off of the Palestinians with impunity, while the Palestinians have no home, no land, and are kept imprisoned in continually shrinking reservations.

Medics: Girl killed, seven hurt in IAF Gaza strike Haaretz 27/09/2006 Israel Air Force air strikes on a house in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah early Wednesday killed a 14-year-old girl and wounded seven other people, hospital officials said. There were no major injuries in the initial strike, which leveled the house. However, as children gathered to look at the rubble, a second airstrike hit the house, killing a 14-year-old girl and wounded seven other children, hospital officials said.

Israeli Army Invades Hebron, takes prisoners and occupies a home IMEMC 27/09/2006 The Israeli army took prisoner seven residents of the city of Hebron and the nearby Ithna village. Local sources reported that troops stormed the village of Ithna near Hebron and searched and ransacked several homes before arresting seven. Also on Wednesday, the Israeli army took over a house in the West Bank city of Hebron and turned it into a military post.

IDF: Troops can shoot Lebanese stone-throwers if lives threatened Haaretz September 27, 2006 Israel Defense Forces soldiers have been instructed to shoot Lebanese stone-throwers along the border if they feel their lives are in danger, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said on Wednesday. Comment: Does the idea that the lives of members of a fully armed military could be placed in danger by young boys throwing stones seem a little implausible to you? Then again, this IS the IDF, the murderers of children, we are talking about.

Gaza Strip to remain without full electrical power for a year By Gideon Levy, Haaretz Correspondent, and the Associated Press Last update - 11:03 27/09/2006 It could take between eight to 14 months to fix a Gaza Strip power plant destroyed in an Israel Air Force strike in late June, and to restore full electrical power to the region. Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem has accused the Israel Defense Forces of war crimes for bombing the plant, which has left many areas of the Gaza Strip without full electricitical power the last three months. Electricity in many areas is cut off for half of the day, severely hampering hospitals, the water supply and sewage systems, B'Tselem said in a report. An IAF aircraft struck the power plant on June 28. The attack came at the start of a major IDF offensive in Gaza following the abduction of an IDF soldier and the killing of two others by Palestinian militants linked to Hamas. "B'Tselem determines that the bombing of the power plant was illegal and defined as a war crimes in International Humanitarian Law, as the attack was aimed at a purely civilian object," according to the report. "There was no apparent military basis for the action and it seems that its intention was to satisfy a desire for revenge." Israel could have, instead of taking such drastic military action, cut off the electric supply to Gaza through the Israel Electric Corporation although this would have been illegal as well, the group said. B'Tselem demanded that the government open an investigation into the bombing of the plant.

UN blasts Israel for plight of Palestinians Haaretz 27/09/2006 "I hope that my portrayal of hardships experienced by such people will trouble the consciences of those accustomed to turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the suffering of the Palestinian people," Dugard told the UN Human Rights Council... Comment: Eh... we don't mean to spoil the party here but, the people who are not only turning a blind eye and deaf ear to the suffering of the Palestinian people but are also creating their suffering DO NOT HAVE a conscience!

Hi-tech firm boycotts Israel over 'war crimes' Ynet 27/09/2006 U2U manager Wim Yotrasprot wrote in a statement to Avner obtained by Ynet that "I appreciate your interest in my company, but after the devastating and inhumane war crimes Israel perpetrated in Lebanon, and because of the apartheid regime it rules on Palestine, U2U does not wish to tie itself with Israeli products."

Lebanon: We need missiles against Israeli aircraft Ynet 26/09/2006 Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr said that the Lebanese army was in need of antiaircraft missiles and antitank missiles in order to defend his country "against the Israeli aggressiveness."

U.S. Double standards: Israeli-Americans rewarded, Palestinian-Americans punished IMEMC & Agencies 25 September 2006 Despite stipulations in the U.S. Constitution that there is to be no discrimination against Americans based on their country of origin, the very real double standard in U.S. policy towards Palestinian-Americans vs. Israeli-Americans has caused some groups to raise concerns about the constitutionality of the current regime's policies. Americans of Palestinian origin have long been discriminated against by Israel, whose official policy is: "once a Palestinian, always a Palestinian", refusing to allow Americans who were born in Palestine to use their American passports. Even the children of Palestinian-Americans, born in the U.S., are required to carry a 'Palestinian ID' which prevents entry into Israel proper, and restricts movement throughout the Palestinian territories. Israeli-Americans, on the other hand, have special privileges allotted to them by the U.S. government. Most recently, the U.S. government agreed to allow Israeli dirver's licenses to be valid in the U.S., a privilege that no other country is allowed. American citizens are allowed to donate money to the Israeli military, and to serve in the Israeli military -- illegal under the U.S. constitution, but overlooked in this case due to the 'special relationship' between the U.S. and Israel. And Israelis living in Israel, even those living in settlements on occupied Palestinian land, deemed illegal under international law, are able to obtain U.S. citizenship quite easily, if one of their grandparents lived in the U.S. for five years or more. The program, called Expeditious Naturalization, allows children under the age of 18 to obtain citizenship directly, without having to apply for an immigrant visa or a green card and then additionally, having to reside in the U.S. for five years before applying for naturalization. The process includes a mandatory trip to the U.S. to physically pick up a certificate of citizenship, but many Israelis say it's well worth the hassle. "Once you're there, it's just in and out," said Yaron, who went to America over the summer with her 10-month-old daughter. According to the law, details of which are available on the U.S. State Department website, children born in Israel can become American citizens if they prove that their U.S. citizen parent or grandparent lived in the U.S. for at least five years, at least two of which were over the age of 14. An exception for single mothers allows them to pass on citizenship to their children after having lived just one year in the U.S. Israelis who obtain U.S. citizenship through this 'expeditious' process are than able to receive tax credits for their children from the U.S. government, even without contributing a cent to the U.S. economy. "People come to us to find out about the law for several reasons, but when they hear about the tax credit, which could be a lot of money, it provides motivation [to go through the process]," says David London, executive director of Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI). "For a family with four children, for instance, it could be up to $4,000." All of this is allowed even while the Israeli-American citizen remains in Israel, even if they are living on illegally-occupied Palestinian land. On the other side of the Wall are Palestinian-Americans, who, if they try to live in Palestine, are refused residency by the occupying Israeli government. Since 2000, no requests for 'family unification' (residency in Palestine for the foreign spouse of a Palestinian) have been processed by the occupying Israeli military force, leading to a backlog of 250,000 requests from families left in the lurch. Palestinians have a saying that Israel "does everything they can to make us leave, and everything they can to keep us from coming back in." A number of discriminatory Israeli policies and practices have proved that saying true -- most recently, a policy of 'entry denial' for foreign nationals that has resulted in an average of 10-15 Americans a day being denied entry into Israel since June. Those denied are predominately Americans of Palestinian origin. The U.S. government, for its part, has been extremely supportive of the discriminatory Israeli policies, allowing American citizens of Palestinian origin to be refused entry, beaten, abused and even killed (as was the case of Rachel Corrie, killed in 2003 by Israeli forces) without challenging the Israeli government at all. Instead, the U.S. government has rewarded the Israeli government with an increase in aid money and loan guarantees each year, as well as expediting arms shipments of U.S.-made weaponry to be used against the occupied Palestinian population. Israel is by far the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, despite the fact that the average Israeli per-capita income parallels that of the U.S., making Israel one of the most prosperous states on earth. Palestine, on the other hand, occupied by the Israeli military for the last 39 years, has one of the lowest average incomes on earth.

US trying to block democracy in Palestine Sept 25 IRNA Chairman of the Political Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council Abdullah Abdullah said he expected the national unity government in Palestine to be formed "within days rather than weeks." "I am optimistic that it will soon work out. Of course, we know that there are restrictions on us. We are not in a normal situation. We have to be flexible in a way that does not compromise our national rights," Abdullah Abdullah told IRNA in Brussels in an exclusive interview. A former deputy foreign minister in the Palestinian Authority and ex-Palestinian ambassador to Greece, Abdullah Abdullah was in Brussels to attend a conference on the Middle East organized last week by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament. "We cannot be subjected to punitive measures only for our decision and the way we practice democracy. We are practicing democracy because it is good for our people, not because of the demand of the US. They are trying to block our march to democracy," said Abdullah Abdullah, who belongs to the Fatah faction. The US, he said, is not promoting democracy but aggressiveness. Turning to Lebanon, he said the outcome of the war will bear its stamp on conflict resolution in the region. The Lebanon war has "proved that no power can stamp out the will of the people to be free from occupation or aggression," he stressed. He described relations between Iran and Palestine as "good." "Of course it should be better. There are ways of making it better. We have a national cause. That national cause transcends the single-party politics or single ideology. It is in our interest that relations between Palestine and all countries, especially Iran, be strong." Commenting on Iran's peaceful nuclear program, the Palestinian legislator said: "We oppose any movement that tries to deprive any country of the use of nuclear energy for its development, for use in any non-military activity." He also denounced the double standards on nuclear issues. "Why is it acceptable for Israel to have an arsenal of nuclear weapons when Israel has not even signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (and) doesn't allow inspection of its nuclear installations?" he asked. "So why the double standards? Should it be permissible for Israel and not for anybody else especially when the other parties are open to inspections?" he further asked IRNA. Abdullah Abdullah noted that even the Israeli press has warned of the threat to the region and the environment arising out of Israel's nuclear installations because of their advancing age.

Gal-On asks Peretz to look into use of cluster bombs in Lebanon By Meron Rapoport, Haaretz Correspondent and DPA MK Zahava Gal-On (Meretz-Yahad) asked Defense Minister Amir Peretz on Wednesday to look into the decision to use cluster bombs in Lebanon. Gal-On made the request after soldiers told her they had fired the bombs during the war, and following reports in Haaretz. Haaretz reported about two weeks ago that the commander of a Multiple Launch Rocket System unit said his unit had fired about 600 cluster rockets and that the Israel Defense Forces had fired a total of about 1,800 cluster rockets, containing approximately 1.2 million bomblets. Advertisement The bomblets, each of which has the strength of a hand grenade, do not all explode when they hit the ground. Cluster bombs are not prohibited by international law but many experts say they should not be used in civilian surroundings. The United Nations estimates there are approximately one million unexploded bombs in Lebanon. In her letter to Peretz, Gal-On asked why the bombs were used although it was known that they would turn into mine fields in southern Lebanon. She also asked why Israel is not cooperating with the UN in assisting civilians in areas where cluster bombs were fired to locate the bombs. A 12-year old boy was killed and three other children wounded Wednesday by the explosion of an Israeli cluster bomb in southern Lebanon. The children were playing in a field when they accidentally touched a bomblet which blew up. So far, 15 civilians have been killed by Israeli cluster bombs since the war ended, and almost 90 have been wounded.

Fugitive: Interpol arrests Jacob Alexander www.chinaview.cn 2006-09-28 16:59:00 BEIJING, Sept. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- Securities fraud fugitive Jacob "Kobi'' Alexander, former Comverse Technology Inc. chief executive officer, was arrested Wednesday in Namibia. Alexander, 54, former Israeli intelligence officer turned high-technology entrepreneur, will be brought before a court in Windhoek within 48 hours, and the U.S. will seek his extradition, the Justice Department said. Federal prosecutors charged Alexander on Aug. 9 with backdating stock options to boost the compensation of executives at New York-based Comverse, the world's largest maker of voicemail software. "Alexander's alleged role in options backdating victimized Comverse shareholders and deceived prospective investors,'' Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf said in a statement. "The fraud affected the company's bottom line by misstating earnings.'' After Alexander was charged and fled the U.S. the FBI put his face on its Most Wanted list and Interpol initiated a global "red notice,'' asking police to arrest the former CEO. Prosecutors said today that Alexander isn't a U.S. citizen as the FBI stated in a press release after he was first charged. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Mauskopf, said the former CEO, a citizen of Israel, is also a permanent resident of the U.S. Alexander wired 57 million U.S, dollars to Israel in July from an account at Citigroup Inc.'s Smith Barney Unit, the U.S. government said, calling the transfer an effort to "launder the proceeds of the fraud.'' His assets in two Citigroup Smith Barney accounts were frozen July 31. A 32-count indictment unsealed Wednesday by Garaufis in Brooklyn federal court charged Alexander with crimes relating to an alleged "slush fund'' and the backdating of stock options from 1998 to 2006. He is charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, making false filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. If found guilty of the charges, Alexander may be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison, according to Mauskopf's statement. Alexander's attorney, Robert Morvillo, said he hasn't been in touch with his client since the government notified him of the arrest. He wouldn't say when he last had contact with Alexander. The wizard of Israel's technology boom, Alexander was arrested by Interpol and local police on a Namibian warrant issued at the request of the U.S., said Ray Castillo, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Namibia. Namibia amended its laws governing extradition effective Wednesday to allow the rendering of fugitives to the U.S., according to a letter from Mauskopf's office filed in Brooklyn federal court.