I believe that the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world.
I believe all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of kinship, love and tolerance.
I don't believe in distinction of any kind, such as
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- sex, gender identity
- sexual orientation
- language, culture
- religion, spirituality
- political opinion
- any opinion
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Sunday, February 22, 2009

AI managed to surprise me.

Hamas didn't manage to use the situation very well... after trying to use the war against Israel as a smoke screen to get rid of all the political enemies and after stealing the aid transports, Hamas isn't very high up on the human rights organizations' list right now. Now Amnesty International is demanding a weapon embargo against Hamas too...

"The London-based human rights group said it had found evidence that Israel and Hamas had both used weapons supplied from overseas to carry out attacks on civilians, accusing both sides of committing war crimes during the three-week conflict at the start of the year."

Donatella Rovera added: "At the same time, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets that had been smuggled in or made of components from abroad at civilian areas in Israel.

"Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths."
I find it interesting, though, that NOW no so-called Pro-Palestinian mentions that Hamas is actually the democratically elected government of Palestine, and therefore represents the whole Palestinian people... what Hamas does is what Palestine does just as what the GOI does is what Israel does...

Then I found this: "San Jose Peace and Justice Center; Free Gaza Activists Welcomed Home"

So - people are saying that Israelis owe the Gazan civilians reparations... Now, that depends totally on whether Gaza is occupied or not. In reality it hasn't been occupied since 2005. Some people seem to think that as long as Israel occupies ANY Palestinian territory, it occupies EVERY Palestinian territory. To my astonishment this idea is shared by a large chunk of UN. Basically they are saying that Ireland is wholly occupied by UK, as UK is still occupying the Northern Ireland. It is not only Ireland and UK who laugh at this idea, the whole world laughs with them, but for some reason the same logic is not used in the Israel-Palestine situation.
No, Gaza is not occupied and Israel owes no reparations.

They are demanding that President Obama sees that Israel complies to the UN resolution 1860. They aren't demanding that Palestine complies to the same resolution... Sure, there is no state of Palestine that is a full member of UN and therefore there are no resolutions against Palestine... but that's not the truth, really, is it. :-> The resolution 1860 actually includes demands on Palestine and its government - or both governments - and by recalling the resolutions given before PA became involved in UN and to this day didn't need to care for, UN security council made the Palestinians responsible for following these resolutions as well.

So what do these resolutions say?
242 (1967) - 338 (1973) - 1397 (2002) - 1515 (2003) - 1850 (2008) -1860 (2009)

Resolution 1860
"Calls upon Member States to intensify efforts to prevent illicit trafficking in arms and ammunition"
"Condemns all violence and hostilities directed against civilians and all acts of terrorism"

Has Palestine/Gaza/Hamas stopped? No. Last week there were at least five rockets sent from Gaza to Israel.
Why aren't these so-called pro-Palestinians demanding Gaza respects and honors the UN resolutions they are so angry to Israel for not doing?

resolution 1397 demanded "immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction".
It doesn't only speak to Israel, but to ALL STATES AND ACTORS IN THE AREA - including Palestine, Lebanon, Hamas, Hizbullah, and others.

Resolution 1850, among other things, demand that Palestinian government recognizes Israel.

Resolution 242 requires the application of this principle:
"Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and
respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force"
Another resolution Palestine is not complying to...

Resolution 338 "decides that, immediately and concurrently with the cease-fire, negotiations shall start between the parties concerned under appropriate auspices aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in the Middle East"
A government that denies any possibility of negotiations and that considers negotiation with Israel to be a treason is ignoring this UN resolution. Do the so-called Pro-Palestinian mind? Not the least.

The UN security council resolutions recalled also demand the implementation of the Tenet work plan, Mitchell Report recommendations, the Madrid Principles AND the Performance-Based Roadmap. These don't give only Israel obligations and responsibilities...

It is not President Obama's responsibility to see that Israel and Palestine respect the International Laws and UN resolutions. It is the responsibility of the democratically elected governments and leaders of Israel AND Palestine. Actually, what has been demanded of Hamas - which the so-called Pro-Palestinians claim are unreasonable demands - to recognize Israel, to respect the agreements of previous Palestinian governments and to stop the violence - are only requests to comply to the UN resolutions. It shouldn't be unreasonable, unfair nor impossible.