PHR Statement on Escalating Violence Engulfing Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
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In response to continued reports of excessive force being used in the Occupied Palestinian Territories resulting in injuries and deaths, and reported attacks on and denials of access to health care, Physicians for Human Rights has issued the following statement: Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is deeply alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating situation engulfing Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, causing death and destruction. The current crisis, which began when Palestinian families were threatened with imminent forcible removal from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah by Israeli police and military, further escalated to include indiscriminate and excessive use of force and interference with the delivery of emergency medical care to injured Palestinian civilians.
WHEN ISRAELI TROOPS stormed the Aqsa mosque compound last week during Ramadan prayers, much of the world vicariously experienced the raid as it took place. Raw video footage of soldiers storming through screaming crowds with stun grenades exploding as congregants ran for safety was transmitted globally at the speed of information.
The provocative attack on a site considered holy to billions of people triggered an almost immediate reaction, not just among international media and online, but at the diplomatic level as well. Within a day of the incident, U.S. lawmakers, European states, and even Arab governments that have good relations with Israel were publicly condemning the assault and demanding de-escalation. These actors were themselves reacting to the pressure coming, or expected, from their own populations, much of whom had livestreamed the events or seen clips of the social media videos.
Italy, four other European powers urge Israel not to expand its settlements 06 maggio 2021 | 23.11
Photo: Kobi Wolf for The Washington Post.
France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain on Thursday called on Israel to cancel its decision to build more new settlements in the West Bank, warning the move would imperil prospects for peace with the Palestinians. We urge the Government of Israel to reverse its decision to advance the construction of 540 settlement units in the Har Homa E area of the occupied West Bank, and to cease its policy of settlement expansion across the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the statement said. Settlements are illegal under international law, and threaten prospects for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the statement continued.
In Wake of HRW Apartheid Report, Israeli Propagandists Launch Global PR Offensive
Much of the online anger at the Human Rights Watch report was actually manufactured by an Israeli government-sponsored app, Act.IL, which organized supporters of the Jewish state to act in sync to create an artificial groundswell of opposition to it.
By Alan MACLEOD
A recently released bombshell Human Rights Watch (HRW) report has made waves around the world. For the first time, the New York-based non-governmental organization has categorized Israel as an apartheid state guilty of “crimes against humanity.”
The 213-page study goes into detail about a range of racist laws and policies carried out by successive administrations, concluding that there is an “overarching Israeli government policy to maintain the domination by Jewish Israelis over Palestinians and grave abuses committed against Palestinians living in the occupied territory, including East Jerusalem.”