[E-rundbrief] Info 803 - Waffen fuer Israel

[Matthias Reichl]

E-Rundbrief - Info 803 - Amira Hass (ISRAEL): New Amnesty report calls 
for freeze on arms sales to Israel.

Bad Ischl, 25.2.2009

Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit

www.begegnungszentrum.at

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Amira Hass summarizes Amnesty International's report that as many as 20
countries, led by the United States, have sold Israel weapons and
armaments which may have been used to commit war crimes during Israel's 22
day assault on Gaza.  In an unusually blunt statement, Amnesty
International's Middle East director, Malcolm Smart, unequivocally
declared, "The Obama administration should immediately suspend U.S.
  military aid to Israel."  This is one more indication that Israel is
  losing its standing in the international community (outside the United
  States), although its political elite and its American camp followers
  still publicly dismiss all such criticism as anti-Semitism. --Joel Beinin

  Ha-Aretz, Feb. 23, 2009
  http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1066231.html

  New Amnesty report calls for freeze on arms sales to Israel

By Amira Hass

More than 20 countries sold Israel weapons and munitions whose use during
Operation Cast Lead could constitute war crimes and might pose serious
infractions of international law, according to a report to be released by
Amnesty International on Monday.

The United States is at the top of the list of arms exporters to Israel,
but France, Romania, Bosnia and Serbia are listed as well. Amnesty's
report, entitled, "Fueling Conflict: Foreign Arms supplies to
Israel/Gaza," details arms sales to Israel between 2004 and 2007, and
publishes some of the organization's findings on the use of such weapons
against civilians and civilian targets.

"Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, disproportionate
attacks and indiscriminate attacks are war crimes," the report states,
describing such attacks during the war in Gaza. The organization
recommends that all arms sales to Israel be frozen until "there is no
longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used for serious
violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses."

The report further noted that Hamas and other Palestinian groups also used
weapons indiscriminately against civilians. Although Amnesty cannot
determine the direct supplier of non-homemade weapons (which are
manufactured in Iran and Russia), it also calls for a moratorium on
weapons sales and shipments to the Palestinians. The report also mentions
that the types and quantity of weapons in Hamas' hands are much smaller
than those in Israel's possession.

"Even before the three-week conflict, those who armed the two sides will
have been aware of the pattern of repeated misuse of weapons by the
parties. They must take some responsibility for the violations perpetrated
with the weapons they have supplied and should immediately cease further
transfers," the report states."

Since 2001, the Unites States has been Israel's main supplier of
conventional weapons, the report states. The figures Amnesty obtained show
that from 2004 to 2007, the total value of U.S.-supplied arms to Israel
stood at some $8.3 billion.

The report also notes that since 2002, Israel has received military and
security aid to the tune of $21 billion, of which $19 billion was direct
military aid. "Put simply, Israel's military intervention in the Gaza
Strip has been equipped to a large extent by U.S.-supplied weapons,
munitions and military equipment paid for with U.S. taxpayers' money."

A 10-year agreement, in force until 2017, stipulates that the United
States will supply Israel with military aid totaling $30 billion.

"The Obama administration should immediately suspend U.S. military aid to
Israel," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East director, said
ahead of the report's release.

Between 2004 to 2007, France exported military equipment to Israel to the
tune of 59 million Euros. Romania exported equipment worth approximately
20 million Euros, while Britain provided the equivalent of some 10 million
pounds sterling's worth. Serbia sold Israel approximately $15 million
worth of weapons and munitions, whereas Germany provided some $1.5 million
in military aid.

The report also mentions civilian targets, including The American School
in Beit Lahia, Gaza, destroyed by F-16 aircraft. Amnesty's report further
states that three ambulance crew-members and a boy who showed them the way
to a group of injured were killed on January 4 by an Israeli guided
missile that was manufactured jointly by Hellfire Systems and Lockheed
Martin/Boeing as part of a U.S. military contract.

The Amnesty representative in the Gaza Strip also found extensive evidence
of the use of U.S.-made phosphorus bombs against civilian targets and
densely populated areas.

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Jewish Peace News archive and blog: http://jewishpeacenews.blogspot.com

-- 

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
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