Goldstone’s Legacy: Israel 0, Gaza 19, and still counting

As Gideon Levy warned only a few days ago(1), Goldstone’s recant (2) was a green light for Operation Cast Lead 2, an opportunity Israel was quick to grasp.

Since Thursday, Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have resulted in the deaths of at least 19 people - at least seven of them civilians - and 60 injured, 12 critically, including medics, women, children, and old men. Last night's attack near a school killed two. "One of them is a child named Wael Al Jaru which arrived the hospital in pieces, as for the second martyr he remained unidentified because he arrived to the hospital a body with no head," says a blog from Gaza, which went on to describe Israeli missiles targeting two civilian cars, populated areas like Shawwa Square, a populated street behind an UNRWA school, heavy shelling of the Al Zaytoon area, raids on Shyja’eya and also Jabaliya refugee camp.

Such an excessively brutal response to a rocket attack from Gaza that injured two people in Israel cannot by any measure be considered ‘proportionate.’

Nor can the international community’s response, the usual off-key cacophony about Israel’s right to security being screeched from the stalls of the European and British parliaments. Off-key, because Gaza/Palestine’s equal right to security is completely ignored by these harpies.

Off-key because Palestinians, living in their own territory for thousands of years, still do not have a ‘recognised’ state, or membership of the Unites Nations, while Israel, a French-English invention without agreed borders and filled with immigrants from other countries forcibly evicting existing Arabic citizens, not only has statehood, but also membership of the United Nations – despite its refusal to observe or be bound by this body’s conventions, let alone abide by its sanctions.

Off-key because if Palestinians attempt to defend themselves they are accused of terrorism and hounded to the ends of the earth, while Israel’s cold-blooded, deliberate, and sustained murder of thousands of Palestinian civilians barely warrants a slap on the wrist.

Off-key because the international community couldn’t declare a No-Fly Zone fast enough in Libya to protect civilian lives, but has left the skies above Palestine open to Israel for years of civilian slaughter, most devastatingly in 2008-9, and again now.

The Israeli massacre of Gaza must stop. If Israel will not stop of their own accord, they must be stopped by the international community.

Palestinians have the right to their state, the right to the security of their state, and the right to self-defense. Full stop.

Israel claims that they are targeting militants – either they are lousy shots, or they are lying. The second is more likely, given even a cursory read of the plethora of information available - read, for example, the Human Rights Watch report on drones, their accuracy, and use by Israel to target civilians. (3)

It seems Goldstone is the only person who believes the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) version of events – as Ireland’s Palestine Solidarity Campaign noted. (4) “Cedric Sapey, a spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council (the body that commissioned the report) gave the UN’s official view: “The UN will not revoke a report on the basis of an article in a newspaper. The views Mr Goldstone expressed are his own personal views.” Similarly, Ireland’s Col. Desmond Travers, an expert on international criminal investigations and member of the investigative team continues to endorse the findings saying “the tenor of the report in its entirety, in my opinion, stands”. Hina Jilani, another member of the team, has also said that “ultimately, the UN Report would not have been any different to what it was … no process or acceptable procedure would invalidate the UN Report; if it does happen, it would be seen as a suspect move … The UN cannot allow impunity to remain, and will have to act if it wants to remain a credible international governing body”.”

Israel is again acting with impunity. Important as the credibility of the United Nations as an international governing body may be, more important right now is the safety and welfare of every citizen trapped by Israel in the open prison of Gaza, every man, woman and child whose life is at risk at this very moment – and could be saved.

There are already 19 reasons for Richard Goldstone to be losing sleep since his article was published on April Fool's Day – let there be no more.

All it takes is for the international community – as individual governments, and in concert as the United Nations - to act, immediately and unequivocally, to end Israel’s murderous assault before any more innocent Palestinian lives are lost.

References
(1) http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/goldstone-has-paved-the-path-for-a-second-gaza-war-1.354550

(2) http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/reconsidering-the-goldstone-report-on-israel-and-war-crimes/2011/04/01/AFg111JC_story.html

(3) http://www.hrw.org/en/features/israeloccupied-palestinian-territories-precisely-wrong

(4) http://palsolidarity.org/2011/04/17448/

Julie Webb-Pullman (click to view previous articles) is a New Zealand based freelance writer who has reported for Scoop since 2003. She was selected to be part of the Kiwi contingent on the Viva Palestina Convoy - a.k.a. Kia Ora Gaza. Send Feedback to julie@scoop.co.nz

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