Jerusalem car 'attack' kills baby at rail station Police say the driver was a Palestinian from East Jerusalem. He was shot by officers as he tried to run away and later died of his injuries in hospital. Officials say they are treating it as a "terrorist attack" and that the suspect had previously served time in an Israeli prison "for terrorism".
Three Two Tango: Territorial Control and Selective Violence in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza
Ravi Bhavnani, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA;
Dan Miodownik, Departments of Political Science & International Relations, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel;
Hyun Jin Choi, Department of Political Science, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA.
Abstract
This article extends the formal logic of Stathis Kalyvas’ theory of selective violence to account for three political actors with asymmetric capabilities. In contrast to Kalyvas’ theory, the authors’ computer simulation suggests that (1) selective violence by the stronger actor will be concentrated in areas where weaker actors exercise control; (2) the relative level of selective violence used by weaker actors will be lower because of a reduced capacity to induce civilian collaboration; and (3) areas of parity among the three actors will exhibit low levels of selective violence perpetrated primarily by the strongest actor.
Results from a logistic regression, using empirical data on Israel and two rival Palestinian factions from 2006 to 2008, are consistent with these predictions: Israel was more likely to use selective violence in areas largely controlled by Palestinian factions; zones of incomplete Israeli control were not prone to selective violence; and zones of mixed control witnessed moderate levels of selective violence, mainly by Israel. Nonetheless, Palestinian violence remained consistent with Kalyvas’ predictions.
Secretary's Remarks: Attacks on Afghan School Children
The United States is deeply concerned by the recent poisonings of Afghan school children in Kabul. While details of these attacks are still being verified, Afghan schools, teachers, and students, particularly girls, are regularly targeted by anti-government elements seeking to destabilize Afghanistan and undermine progress. We condemn such attacks and are working with the Afghan government to address this important issue and prevent further incidents from occurring.
...We urge the international community to continue their support for the Government of Afghanistan in combating repression and violence against girls seeking an education, and in bringing to justice those responsible for these appalling attacks.
Our deepest sympathies are with the families of the victims, and we assure the government and all the people of Afghanistan that the United States will stand by you as you continue working to bring peace and stability to your country.
Assistant Secretary of State Phillip Crowley said the US was aware that "external events" could have an impact on the Washington peace summit. "We also are cognizant that there may well be actors in the region who are deliberately making these kinds of attacks in order to try to sabotage the process," he said.
UPDATE
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me express our deepest sympathy to the families who have lost their loved ones. This kind of savage brutality has no place in any country, under any circumstances. The forces of terror and destruction cannot be allowed to continue. It is one of the reasons why the prime minister is here today: to engage in direct negotiations with those Palestinians who themselves have rejected a path of violence in favor of a path of peace. We have to not only stand against the kind of horrific murders we saw today on behalf of the four who were lost and, as the prime minister said, the seven orphans who have been brutally deprived of their parents, but on behalf of all people -- Israelis, Palestinians, everyone who knows that there is no answer when violence begets violence. And I thank the prime minister for his leadership in seeking a different future for the children of Israel. And we pledge to do all we can, always, to protect and defend the State of Israel and to provide security to the Israeli people. That is one of the paramount objectives that Israel has that the United States supports in these negotiations.
Thus it was that, happy and good-hearted, I reached the blinding lights and concrete blocks of the Ein Yael checkpoint. A soldier armed with a machine gun stretched out an arm and ordered me to stop. Obeying, I stopped. We stood there, face to face, a face no longer young (mine ) opposite a very young face, helmet opposite helmet, bicycle opposite concrete block.
"Where are you from?" he asked. "In what sense, where am I from?" I replied with a philosophical question. "Where do you live?" he asked. "In Jerusalem," I replied without trying to be smart again. "Well done," he said and saluted, really saluted.
He didn't know that the woman he was saluting is a serial smuggler of female human beings whom he knows as "people illegally present," a smuggler against whom a complaint is pending with the police, a smuggler who the evening before was asked on a well-regarded television program if she checks the underpants of the women she smuggles, in case they have hidden a bomb there.
And since the soldier at the checkpoint saluted me and sent me on my way, it now occurs to me to ask the many people of little insight among my Israeli compatriots: Who, then, will protect you, you who foolishly place your trust in checkpoints, who will protect you from offenders like me who do not poke around in the underpants of their Palestinian friends but bring them here to socialize with us and be guests in our cities and thus, among other goals, look for different ways to ensure us at long last a life of security and peace?
From:
Date: 2010/2/1
Subject: IDF SPOX: Two Israeli Arabs Charged for Planning Terror Attacks
Two Israeli Arabs Charged for Planning Terror Attacks
Merad Namar and Merad Camal were arrested in January as suspects to have planned terror attacks in Israel...During the search of their belongings, the police found a portable memory card with detailed plans for terror attacks in central Israeli targets...Merad Namar (25) from Sur Baher and Merad Camal (25) from Wadi al-Joz, who both held Israeli IDs, were arrested after they had raised the suspicion of civilians...Investigations by the Israel Security Agency show that the suspects were recruited by Hamas commanders abroad...Throughout the past few months, Namar and Camal held additional meetings with foreign agents in Saudi-Arabia, Jordan and Turkey. In addition to that, they were scheduled to receive weaponry and explosive devices from their commanders...
People of Palestine have the right to freely determine their own political and economic system, including the right to resist forcible deprivation of their right to self-determination and the right to live, in peace and freedom, in their own State.
Is there any such right in international law? How far does the "right to resist..." go?...this is one of the few cases where Goldstone uses the word "Palestine" in the context of an already existing entity.
There may be some ill defined "right to self determination" but how such a right is exercised is debatable (See e.g., Judge Koojimans decision in the Wall case). Moreover, a so-called "right to resist" is a fabrication invented by Richard Falk in the 60s and there certainly is no "right to resist" by directing attacks against Israeli civilians.
Reaffirming the legitimacy of the struggle of the oppressed people of South Africa for the elimination of apartheid and for the establishment of a society in which all the people of South Africa as a whole, irrespective of race, colour or creed, will enjoy equal and full political and other rights and participate freely in the determination of their destiny,
Also reaffirming the legitimacy of the struggle of all peoples under colonial and foreign domination, particularly the Palestinian people, for the exercise of their inalienable right to self-determination and national independence, which will enable them to decide freely on their own future,
...Recalling its resolution 44/147 of 15 December 1989,
1. Reiterates that, by virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right, freely and without external interference, to determine their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and that every State has the duty to respect that right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter;...
“One has an undoubted right to resist an unlawful arrest, and courts will uphold the right of resistance in proper cases.”
United States Supreme Court, United States v. Di Re, 1948.
Professors Richard Falk and Ted Honderich have referred in the past to a right to violence – Honderich has gone further, suggesting that on the basis of present realities, the Palestinians are entitled to their terror.
How come the Israeli ‘right to defend’ (right to occupy and kill innocents) is respected and supported by U.S. but Palestinians ‘right to resist’ and fight back the occupation is a crime? What a hypocrisies and double standard.
(UN Charter art. 51) The right to resist finds application within the framework of the right of legitimate defense because "a state which forcibly subjugates a people to colonial or alien domination is committing an unlawful act as defined by international law, and the subject people, in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense, may fight to defend and attain its right to self-determination."
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order to maintain or restore international peace and security.
...the source of violence around the world occurs where there is no democratic outlet for dissent or credible protection for persecuted peoples and minorities. A dangerous political and human rights lacuna has been created in the international legal system. This lacuna consists of the international communities failure to address the position of stateless nations, peoples, and persecuted minorities, and those involved in the collective fight for democratic reform against authoritarian regimes. Instead, member states within the United Nations have preferred to reinforce the virtual inviolability of the system of state sovereignty, save in the exceptional circumstances where the Security Council authorises use of force under Chapter Seven. This lacuna has led to numerous internal conflicts which could have been avoided had certain avenues of international political and legal redress been available. The failure to provide avenues of redress has led numerous groups to turn to more violent methods.
...Ted Honderich describes terrorism as small-scale violence, driven by a political aim, that violates national or international law and is prima facie morally wrong. He thereby counts a good deal of resistance activity and guerilla warfare as terrorist, even when directed against military personnel, while excluding the large-scale military actions of governments. Of course, he may define the word as he chooses, but given its common currency and negative connotation, ‘terrorism’ has become the term of art for classifying illegitimate political violence...
...Honderich argues that the ‘right thing’ in 1947-48 was the establishment of a Jewish national state in Palestine. However, to secure a Jewish state required a ‘decisive Jewish majority’ among the citizens, and at the time this entailed ‘transferring’ a large segment of the Palestinian Arab majority to areas outside those claimed for a Jewish state. During the 1948-49 war, this was achieved through massacre, fear-induced flight, and forced exodus, resulting in the removal of three-quarters of a million Palestinian Arabs from their homes and lands.3 Accordingly, by Honderich’s logic, since the only means of establishing a Jewish national state was through terrorism, then ‘the founding of Israel in Palestine and the terrorism for it was right in what is arguably the most fundamental sense.’ The same blessing is to be withheld from what Honderich calls ‘neo-Zionism’— the endeavor to extend the Jewish state throughout Palestine. However, since the Palestinians also have a right to a state of their own in the remainder of Palestine, then they have a right to resist neo-Zionism, and since the only means to do so is through the use of terrorism against Israelis, then Palestinians have a right to engage in terrorism...
...Viewed in its proper light, the Principle of Self-Determination derives from the same root as the doctrine of popular sovereignty, conferring upon the inhabitants of politically-defined regions the right to be self-governing, regardless of their national, ethnic, or cultural complexion. The massive violation of this fundamentally democratic principle is the chief moral failure that has shaped the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If we are serious about ‘keeping people out of bad lives,’ as Honderich urges, then there is plenty of reason to resist nationalism, and if terrorism can only be justified because it is the means for creating nation-states then Honderich's argument fails. But an argument is one thing; its conclusion is quite another. Despite his reasoning, perhaps a distinct justification can be given for Palestinian terrorism.
See the documentation of this Zionist campaign of ethnic cleansing in Khalidi 1971, Flapan 1987, Morris 1987, 1999, 2001, and Pappe 2006. In his diaries, Theodore Herzl advocated discrete expropriation of Arab property and removal of the poor Arabs from the land (Patai 1960, vol. I, p. 88). Subsequent Zionist leaders such as David Ben-Gurion and Vladimir Jabotinsky explicitly favored forced transfer of the Arabs from Palestine to make way for the establishment of a Jewish state (Flapan 1987, 103; Gorny 1987, 270; Morris 1999, 659, and 2001, 42-44; Segev 1999, 407).
...the undeniable fact is that the Israeli political leadership remains determined to expand the Jewish state beyond the 1949 armistice lines, with or without Palestinian resistance. The Israeli settlements are integral to this expansion, for not only are they portrayed as irreversible facts on the ground, they are instrumental to the argument that the only way to end hostilities is by separating the two communities by either transferring the Palestinians out of the area or isolating them within increasingly infeasible disconnected ‘bantustans’ (Reinhart 2003. chps V, IX). It is ludicrous to think that these settlements in occupied territory are driven by a desire for security; if anything, they multiply Israel’s security concerns. Not only must the Israeli government continue to expend large amounts of money in protecting their inhabitants, but Palestinian outrage and frustration will only intensify with every dunum confiscated and every Israeli house built. Unless there is a collective decision on the part of Palestinians to concede defeat and evacuate their ancestral homeland, these emotions will seek outlets. Recourse to terrorism is one way of checking the Zionist ambitions which otherwise would very likely proceed unopposed and beneath the radar of world opinion and concern.
...view, on Zionism and neo-Zionism and Palestinian resistance to or self-defence [actually, "arguing that support for the Palestinians includes acknowledging their right to terrorism"] against neo-Zionism, is in fact easily the majority view in the world, however quiet people are about it, however reluctant to express it.
3236 (XXIX). Question of Palestine
The General Assembly,
Having considered the question of Palestine,
Having heard the statement of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people,1/
Having also heard other statements made during the debate,
Deeply concerned that no just solution to the problem of Palestine has yet been achieved and recognizing that the problem of Palestine continues to endanger international peace and security,
Recognizing that the Palestinian people is entitled to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
Expressing its grave concern that the Palestinian people has been prevented from enjoying its inalienable rights, in particular its right to self-determination,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter,
Recalling its relevant resolutions which affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,
1. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine, including:
(a) The right to self-determination without external interference;
(b) The right to national independence and sovereignty;
2. Reaffirms also the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted, and calls for their return;
3. Emphasizes that full respect for and the realization of these inalienable rights of the Palestinian people are indispensable for the solution of the question of Palestine;
4. Recognizes that the Palestinian people is a principal party in the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East;
5. Further recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights by all means in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations;
Two men reported Palestinians opened fire at their car from passing vehicle. Injured evacuated to Jerusalem hospital, IDF searching area for shooters
08.12.09, 21:21 / Israel News
Two Israelis were lightly wounded near Givat Haroeh outpost in the West Bank Wednesday evening, apparently by shrapnel. The two reported that Palestinians opened fire at their vehicle.
The injured were evacuated to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem and the IDF launched searches for the shooters. Bullet marks have been found on the car.
An initial investigation revealed that while the car was moving between the settlement of Eli to Maale Levona, fire was opened at it, possibly from another vehicle.
Two of the three passengers were injured but managed to get to the entrance of Maale Levona, where they alerted security forces and Magen David Adom to the scene.
CAIRO (AFP) – Egyptian police have detained more than 40 people suspected of involvement in weapons smuggling to the Gaza Strip, a security official said on Tuesday.
The men were suspected of having bought or rented homes in the Rafah border town with Gaza to smuggle weapons and contraband into the Palestinian enclave, the official said.
Montassar el-Zayat, an Egyptian lawyer who has often represented jailed Islamists, said that Lebanese and Palestinians were among the arrested.
§ 11. Lieut.-Commander Fletcher asked the Prime Minister whether he will bring the existing state of affairs in Palestine to the notice of the French Government with a view to their ceasing to afford an asylum, in territory under French jurisdiction, to Arab leaders engaged in fomenting and directing the terrorist campaign in Palestine?
§ Mr. Butler As in the case of the ex-Mufti of Jerusalem, close contact has been and is being maintained with the French Government regarding the alleged political activities of other Arab leaders in the territories under French Mandate.
§ Lieut.-Commander Fletcher Is it not abundantly clear that the campaign of terrorism in Palestine is controlled, inspired and directed by the Mufti from Syria, and is it not impossible to stop this terrorism in Palestine unless it is dealt with at its source in Syria?
§ Mr. Butler I have informed the hon. and gallant Member that close contact has been and is being maintained with the French authorities.
§ Mr. Gallacher Is it not the case that these Arab leaders are fighting for the independence of their country?
§ 43. Commander Locker-Lampson asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can now state how many times the pipe-line in Palestine has been cut since its inception; and how many Arabs have been responsible for its injury and how many Jews, respectively?
§ The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Malcolm MacDonald) I am not in a position to supply the statistics for which my hon. and gallant Friend asks. The pipe-line has been attacked on a number of occasions by Arabs. I am not aware that there have been any Jewish attacks upon it.
§ Commander Locker-Lampson Is this not an additional argument in favour of increasing later the number of Jewish people who are allowed to bear arms?
§ Mr. MacDonald I said in answer to a previous question that the matter is under consideration.
ON JANUARY 19, at 8:45 in the evening, they got in their car to leave their home in the village of Shvut Rahel in Samaria, 45 kilometers north of Jerusalem. They were conscious of the time, because they were concerned they'd be late for a workshop they'd registered for at Kochav Hashahar, another village 20 minutes away. Moshe, a building contractor, was at the wheel, driving on the Allon Road. Phone reception in the area is irregular, but on her cellphone Sarah, an English teacher, tried calling her mother Ruth Pepperman in Jerusalem. Her mother didn't answer.
About 10 minutes into the drive, a car started passing them. As it pulled alongside, they heard four loud shots. The window on Moshe's side shattered. "I'm hit," Moshe shouted. "I can't see a thing." He stepped hard on the brakes and they swerved to the side. Their car stopped.
Moshe was bleeding from his mouth and nose. The phone rang. It was Sarah's mother calling her back. "Moshe's been shot. I can't talk," Sarah said and hung up. Sarah looked around quickly. What if the terrorists came back to finish them off?
In seconds she was out of the car. Her fingers dialed the emergency service. They answered on her first try. "Help! I need help! My husband has been shot!" The medic on the line asked her to describe the wound and suggested she have Moshe lie down. There was no way Sarah could get him into the back seat. Besides, she needed to get out of there before the terrorists returned.
Sarah managed to push Moshe into the passenger's seat. Blood poured from his head, but his eye didn't seem damaged. There was a bullet hole in his cheek. The medic told her to press a cloth against it, but there was nothing in the car. She was wearing two shirts. Without hesitation, Sarah lifted one over her head, and ordered Moshe to hold it against the wound. She gripped the wheel and stepped on the gas, heading for Kochav Hashahar.
AS SHE DROVE, Moshe thought he'd reached the end of his life. He thought back to meeting Sarah, whose family immigrated from Manchester, England, when they were youngsters. They'd married 14 years earlier when he was 19 and she was 18.
He bade good-bye to the woman he loved and then recited the Shema.
"I wasn't having any of that," said Sarah. "I didn't just talk to him, I shouted at him, 'I hope you haven't forgotten that we have five daughters to bring up and that you can't leave me alone to do this. You simply have to, have to stay awake and survive this.'"
Dear Relatives and Friends,
I wish you all a shavua tov (a good week). I have been asked to send Moshe Avitan's Hebrew name with all my updates - Moshe Rafael ben Aliza A'isha - so that people new to the list will know what name to use in their prayers. Hence, you will see this name on the subject line from now on.
I'm happy to tell you that there is continued improvement in Moshe's physical condition. He is now walking, eating and talking normally. His nervousness (understandably) still prevails and I think it's going to take a while for him to revert to the happy, outgoing and smiling Moshe that we knew before this attack. Slowly, slowly...
It seems that they are thinking of operating on Wednesday. As I understand it, the operation will be two-fold: (a) to take out the bullet, and (b) to do reconstruction work under the eyes where muscle has been damaged. I will perhaps know more of this tomorrow.
We are in a sort of hiatus period now with information. I don't think that anything is going to change very much, apart from, hopefully, continued improvement, until after the operation. This doesn't mean that we can forget Moshe in our prayers, Psalms and learning. He has still a long, long way to go before he has a complete recovery. So please continue to keep up the good work!!
Thanks,
Ruth
Tali Fahima, a Jewish Israeli woman who was tried and convicted for her contacts with Zakariya Zubeidi, former Jenin chief of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, criticized Zubeidi on Thursday, saying that he had turned into the "whore of the Shin Bet security service."
Speaking to Channel 10 news, Fahima complained that Zubeidi, who was once on Israel's most wanted list for his role in the Palestinian resistance, was now on friendly terms with the Shin Bet when it served his purposes.
Fahima referred to Zubeidi's recent request that the Shin Bet allow him leave the West Bank city of Jenin and undergo eye surgery in Ramallah.
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