-Caveat Lector- posted 12:15 p.m. ET/9:15 a.m. PT December 31, 2002 http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/sept11/dailyUpdate.html Daily Update
An online roundup of a post-Sept. 11 world. By Tom Regan | csmonitor.com Israel: Holocaust survivors protest IDF actions Al Qaeda: Owners of its own shipping fleet? Iraq: Annan says currently no basis for attack Holocaust survivors protest IDF treatment of Palestinians Ha'aretz reports that a group of Holocaust survivors, calling itself the "Forum of Holocaust survivors and descendants to halt the deterioration of Israeli humanism" has begun a petition to protest the way Israeli defense forces are treating Palestinians. The petition reads "Israeli society is descending into a quagmire of violence, brutality, disrespect for human rights, and contempt for human life" and that "domination of another people against its will contradicts the lessons of the Holocaust, morally, humanely, and politically." "Palestinian terror is a despicable crime," says the petition by Zvi Gil, the forum coordinator, and journalist Raoul Teitelbaum, immediately following that obvious statement with "we cannot clear our conscience in light of the mass, arbitrary destruction of civilians' homes, uprooted olive trees, and orchards shaved to the ground. We cannot accept the extensive disruptions of daily life and abuse, for its own sake or not, at the checkpoints." News of the petition comes as Israeli human rights group B'Teselem released a new report yet again accusing Israeli troops of beating Palestinians and continuing to use Palestinians as human shields, even though the Israeli Supreme Court has granted an injunction against the practice and the IDF has repeatedly promised to stop. Meanwhile, Palestinians officials accused IDF troops of beating a Palestinian teenager to death on Monday. Witnesses allege the youth was working at a gas station in south Hebron when an Israeli jeep patrol arrived. Soldiers pulled the youth into their jeep and drove off. The witnesses allege the soldiers returned 15 minutes later, driving through the gas station, pushing the youth's body out without stopping. Israeli officials say they are investigating the incident. The Boston Globe reports that such incidents are some of the 1,200 cases of Palestinian civilian deaths at the hands of Israeli soldiers in more than two years of fighting, according to Palestinian and international human rights monitoring groups. Human rights activists and military specialists says the deaths are "the result of a military that has not properly investigated civilian deaths and has created an atmosphere in which soldiers are not held accountable." IDF figures estimate that 479 Israeli civilians have been killed, mostly through suicide bombings and roadside shootings since the start of the second intifada in late 2000. "So many civilians killed. There was an intent to kill civilians on one side, and there has been a disregard for civilian life on the other," said Lior Yavne, a senior investigator for the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. "They are not comparable in terms of intent, but they are definitely comparable in terms of the number of civilians killed and the families who grieve their deaths." The Globe also quotes senior Israeli military officials, who say one reason for the rising toll of civilians deaths may be pure fatigue and stress. "They also express concern that in an effort to keep Israel from calling up more reservists the IDF has put too much pressure on its army, leaving troops exhausted and more prone to making poor battlefield decisions." Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that the Israeli Supreme Court Monday rejected a claim by eight reserve soldiers that they should not be forced to serve in the West Bank or Gaza because Israel's army is committing war crimes. "Yesterday there was opposition to serving in Lebanon. Today the opposition is to serving [in the West Bank] and tomorrow there will be opposition to evacuating settlement outposts," the judges said. "The people's army is liable to turn into an army in which every unit acts according to its own particular conscience." A<:>E<:>R ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Forwarded as information only; everything sent has to stand on its own merits, not on my recommendation. Dissenting ideas are the health of the American system. 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