GENEVA, Apr. 2, 01 (CWNews.com/Fides) - Injustice in Israeli courts and serious cases of violence against helpless Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the occupied territories were among charges leveled by Pax Christi International in a report presented yesterday to the UN Human Rights Commission, meeting in Geneva. Pax Christi is demanding an international inquiry into the matter.
Julia Stuckey, Pax Christi permanent delegate to the UN Human Rights Commission said that since December 28, "Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have organized themselves better and intensified acts of violence against Palestinian civilians, fanning the spiral of violence. Also, Palestinians have committed acts of violence against the settlers."
But, Pax Christi reports, Israeli justice is not just: "On January 21 an Israeli settler found guilty of killing a 12-year-old Palestinian boy was given six months hard labor and told to pay $17,500 compensation. The same day a Palestinian youth who tried to stab an Israeli settler was given a six and a half year prison sentence."
Given the situation, Pax Christi called on the international community to "pressure Israel to stop discriminatory measures in the occupied territories and to respect international law concerning equality before the law." The report continued, "Israel must guarantee security for Palestinian civilians and their property in areas under its control. The international community must apply resolution 1322 taken by the UN Security Council, regarding the setting up of an independent international inquiry commission, and also establish an international monitoring force to protect the Palestinian people from blind use of force."
In the last few months, the report presented to the United Nations Human Rights Commission says, "Israeli settlers have killed at least seven Palestinians, shot and injured at least 39, and beaten at least 11, while there are 48 reports of stone-throwing, relating to at least 98 people attacked and injured more or less seriously, as well as 48 attacks on property, including the uprooting of olive trees; moreover the bodies of four Palestinians were found on farm property in mysterious circumstances."
Lastly the Pax Christi report states that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relative conventions have all been ratified, as well as conventions on civil and political rights, by the state of Israel.
Catholic World News Service - Daily News Briefs
2. april 2001