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on the closure of EOHR's round-table discussion, "Legal tools for suing Israeli war criminals on their crimes in Lebanon and Palestine",
The formation of an Arab Authority for suing Israeli War Criminals
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9/8/2006
Law experts, Politicians, representatives from human rights organizations, parties, and work unions demanded the formation of an Arab Authority for suing of Israeli war criminals, and also to prepare a file for the Israeli war crimes in Lebanon and Palestine.
EOHR and the Arab Organization Against Discrimination shall take the responsibility of inviting Arab, International NGO's, International Law professors, writers and intellectuals to move in order to form the authority. the demand came to the fore at the closure of the round-table discussion held by EOHR, entitled, "Legal tools for suing Israeli war criminals on their crimes in Lebanon and Palestine", Monday August 7th 2006.
Participants condemned and announced refusing the Israeli military operations in South Lebanon, asking the Security Council to carry on with its role in putting an end to the crisis in Lebanon, by producing a resolution of immediate cease fire, alleging responsibility of breaching international humanitarian law on Israel, asking the General Assembly of the UN to convene in case the Israeli aggression carries on in Lebanon, confirming their full support to the Lebanese people.
The participants also asked the Arab League to convene in an emergency summit aiming to form a unified Arab stand that forms more than condemnation and refusal, to pass into the realm of effective decisions and actions against Israel in order to stop its crimes committed against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples, ensuring the safety of their rights. They also asked the Arab League to provide support to the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance, and to invite the international community to intervene to put an end to the Israeli continuous breaches to Lebanese and Palestinian human rights.
They invited the Arab states to sign and ratify the convention establishing the International Criminal Court, in order to profit from the international experience in dealing with war crimes and crimes against humanity, and to collect evidences and accusations against Olmert and military leaders by documenting the crime they committed in South Lebanon.
The round-table was opened by a word for Dr. Boutros Ghali, the president of the National Council for Human Rights, in which he confirmed the necessity of effectuating the role of NGOs on the international level so as to become hand in hand with the officials efforts, adding that in order to have credibility in such institutions, the cases at hand shall pass national boundaries to international realms, in order to become an effective tool in influencing the world's super powers, inviting in this course work unions and organizations to invest in their relationships and memberships in international communities, for the protection of the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples from the Israeli aggression.
Dr. Ghali demanded the release of the million message (Fax-Email) campaign to the effective decision taking centers on the International and American levels, confirming their demands for immediate unconditioned withdrawal, with exchange of Pows, remedying Lebanese and Palestinian peoples for their damages because of the aggression, and to search for a comprehensive solution for the Palestinian cause.
On his part, Mr. Hafez Abu Seeda, the Secretary General of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, stated that the Israeli history is full of breaches to the Palestinian territories since 1948 until now, among them are the massacres of Der Yassin in 1948, leading to the killing of 360 victims, most of which were children, women and elders, then Abu Shousha village massacre close to Der Yassin village, in which 50 victims were killed, then Tantoura massacre in 1948 where 90 were killed, then Kolaykela massacre in 1956 with 70 victims, Kafr Kasem massacre, same year, with 49 civilian Palestinian victims, burning Al Aksa mosque in 1969, then Sabra and Shatela massacre in September 16th 1982 where 3326 victims were killed, according to Amnesty International, Al Aksa massacre in 1990, Al Ibrahimi massacre in 1994, Genen massacre in 2002, etc. Beside assassinations, killing Palestinian resistance members, collective arrests, killing innocent children, women and elders, torture, siege, random bombing for cities and villages.
Abu Seeda added that the latest Israeli operations against Lebanon is a series of war crimes, as Israel breached the armistice it had with Lebanon on 1949, something that is not new for Israel, which breached the armistice by land and sea on 1968, 1972 and 1982, and more than a hundred times by air, which is all considered a breach to the Lebanese authority over Lebanese territories.
He also pointed out that Israel followed a methodological destruction for its neighbors, which is banned by land war law for the year 1907, Geneva fourth convention for the year 1949, and according to Article 147 of the convention which banned torture, perpetual deprivation of rights, wide range destruction for properties, and confiscations without military needs.
On the other hand, such acts breaches Article 85 of Geneva First Protocol on 1977, attached to the conventions of 1949, the international instruments which all state that the breaches to such rules are considered war crimes.
EOHR's Secretary General concluded his word by asking, "Is it possible that Arab Peoples, Governments and NGOs can exert pressure on the International community in order to try Ehod Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, and Omer Beretz, the Israeli Minister of Defence, as war criminals, for what they did in Lebanon?"
Regarding the legal aspect for the Israeli culminating aggressions in South Lebanon, Dr. Abdullah Al Ash'al, International Law professor and the deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that what Israel is committing in the Palestinian and Lebanese territories exceeds moral and legal boundaries, also that what Israel claims, regarding its operations in Lebanon is false, as defending its territories from Lebanon, is untrue, scrutinizing in the course of his word what was said by the Secretary General of the UN, who considered what Israel does is merely self defence.
He said that according to Article 51 of the UN Convention, there are certain standard practices which are considered as self defence for a state, as when it is subjected to an attack or on the verge of being attacked, beside the rules added by the International Justice Court on 2004, regarding armed assault, which shall be done by a state not by a group of militants in order to consider self defence by a state against another, the rule which thus holds that the operations of Hezbullah do not need self defence from Israel.
Dr. Al Ash'al raised many questions, among which was, "does Hizbullah has the right to pass Israeli boundaries?" and his answer was, yes, they can unless Israel stop its aggression and withdraw from the occupation of Sheb'a Farms region.
Does Hizbullah has the right to take Israeli soldiers as Pows? yes, because it's a war relationship between the two parties, and because the matter came for legal and humanitarian reasons, which is rescuing prisoners in Israeli prisons, especially in the presence of the international silence regarding the cause, and because Israel has a previous experience in the matter when it captivated 10 thousand Egyptian soldiers and killed them.
Can we consider what Israel is doing a reply on the Hizbullah operation? no, because Israeli leaders announced that their actions are planned and what was done by Hizbullah is merely a reason allowing them to disarm Hizbullah, according to their pre-designed plans of the international community. But such a claim is illegal, as Israel has no right to conduct the plans of the international community in such regard.
Regarding filing cases against Israelis as war criminals, Dr. Nabel Helmy, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Zakazik University, stated that the Criminal Court has the jurisdiction over persons who committed acts against humanity.
Also said that the need for such Courts led to the establishment of Norenburg Court for the Crimes against the Jewish people, while now there is a call for the trial of Jewish who committed and still is, crimes against Lebanese and Palestinian Peoples.
Dr. Helmy stated also that the Criminal Court is different from the International Court of Justice, as it handles the trial of defendants in acts against humanity, war crimes and terrorism, crimes that are not dismissed with the passage of time. Such a trial can only be initiated by an invitation from the Security Council asking for it.
He also pointed out that the International Criminal Court handles crimes in states that ratified its Statute, or on the territories of a state that did so, indicating that the Court is complementary, and that the original source of judiciary is the national judiciary. However, if the national judiciary can't achieve justice, there comes the role of the International Criminal Court, inviting in the course of his word, the Arab states, especially Lebanon, to ratify the convention of the International Criminal Court.
Dr. Eman Gad, the Secretary General of the Arab Organization Against Discrimination, indicated that the success of Hezbullah in its latest battle against Israelis wasn't expected by all, as Israel was faced with a lot of disturbance in its armed troops, therefore it started air bombing for factories, bridges and hospitals, targeting civilians, which forms a serious breach to International Humanitarian law, confirming that the crimes committed by Israel against Lebanese and Palestinians are nothing more than war crimes committed against humanity.
Dr. Gad called upon the Arab and international NGOs to start motivating an Arab team aiming to sue the Israeli war criminals, with the necessity of preparing and documenting a file for the Israeli crimes in the Palestinian and Lebanese territories, so as to provide the whole world with a picture for the Israeli massacres against the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples. He also indicated that there are put two Arab states which ratified the International Criminal Court, which are Djibouti and Jordan, asking they other Arab states to join the court.
On his part, Mr. Ahmed Al Muslamani, the Ahram Political and Strategic Studies Center expert, scrutinized the position of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the Lebanese crisis, describing it as "weak", but meanwhile he praised the role of the official and nonofficial Egyptian bodies, regarding sending food and medical aids to the Lebanese people.
He indicated that there is a difference between Hassan Nasrullah and Al Qa'eda, confirming that Hezbullah fought in the year 2000 with Lebanon and led it to victory, while Al Qa'eda fights leaders of states in order to establish the Islamic Khelafa system.
He also pointed out that there is a catastrophe we are collecting its outputs right now, which is the legend established by exchanging Pows with Israel with uneven sides, tilting to lower numbers of Arab prisoners against large numbers of Israeli ones.
While Dr. Magdy Abdulhamed, the Chairman of Al Nohoud Society for Community Participation, indicated the presence of documents proving that we are facing Israeli war crimes in Qana, with everything needed to confirm such a notion, from killing children, to the destruction of the infrastructure, necessitating the trial of no less than three Israeli officials, with more to come.
As the Israeli Prime Minister should be tried, along with the Minister of Defence and the Leader of the Air Force, demanding the rapid formation of a special Criminal Court for the trial of those war criminals for the horrible crimes they committed against the Lebanese people.
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