Gazans say Israeli troops forced them into battle zones
The Israeli soldiers outside Majdi Abed Rabbo's home were after the three Hamas fighters holed up next door, and they wanted Abed Rabbo to be their point man. For the next 24 hours, Abed Rabbo said, the soldiers repeatedly forced him to walk through the battle zone to see whether the militants were dead or alive.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/61329.html
Israel expels Gaza aid ship crew
Israel has expelled 10 activists and journalists after detaining them for hours and seizing their cargo ship that was trying to deliver aid to Gaza. Al Jazeera's Salam Khoder, who was among the group, said she and some of the others on board were beaten by Israeli forces before being taken to a police station in Ashdod and interrogated.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/02/20092611429906394.html
IDF colonel leaves speaking tour of UK for fear of arrest
An Israeli colonel involved in Operation Cast Lead returned to Israel in haste on Friday, fearing arrest on charges of war crimes during a visit to the UK. Col. (res.) Geva Rapp had arrived in London three days before for appearances in which he was to explain Israel's position and refute media representations of the hostilities.
According to the Jerusalem Post, "on Thursday night, after news of his visit reached pro-Palestinian groups, some 80 protesters demonstrated outside the offices of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) in central London, where Rapp was scheduled to speak."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304666671&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull
International court investigating war crimes in Gaza
The International Criminal Court has taken under advisement requests to try Israeli leaders for the commission of war crimes during several attacks on Gaza. ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo says that an official decision to prosecute will not come quickly.
http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=51502&s2=05
Across West Bank, villages hit with confiscation orders
During the month of January, Palestinian villages across the West Bank were hit with a wave of confiscation orders. In the Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron districts, Occupation forces closed or confiscated land for the construction of new segments of the Wall or military infrastructure. Collectively, thousands of dunums have been confiscated, and thousands more will be isolated. http://stopthewall.org/latestnews/1828.shtml
ISRAELI ‘HUMAN SHIELD’ STORIES PART OF MASSIVE PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN TO COVER THE DELIBERATE KILLING OF GAZAN CIVILIANS
The stories now emerging out of the Gaza less than three weeks after the Israeli ground withdrawal suggest that rather than Palestinian fighters using civilians as human shields, it has been Israeli soldiers that have been deliberately, callously and indiscriminately shooting to death surrendered civilians, including very young children, in situations and circumstances where no Palestinian fighters have been in the vicinity.
http://lataan.blogspot.com/2009/02/israeli-human-shield-stories-part-of.html
Johann Hari: The nightmare of Netanyahu returns
This is the man calling for the re-occupation of Gaza to 'liquidate' its elected government
Israel is about to make a misjudgement as disastrous – and deadly – as the attack on Gaza. In a few days, it looks as if it could elect Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister once again. This is a man who says he will "never" negotiate over Jerusalem, or the Golan Heights, or control of the West Bank water supply.
Israeli army "subcontracted" by extremist settlers
Extremist rabbis and their followers, bent on waging holy war against the Palestinians, are taking over the Israeli army by stealth, according to critics. In a process one military historian has termed the rapid "theologization" of the Israeli army, there are now entire units of religious combat soldiers, many of them based in West Bank settlements.
http://uruknet.info/?p=m51507&hd=&size=1&l=e
