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Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Goldman Report

מזכיר הומואים

What does the Goldstone Report Claim?

I plead the few readers having reached this part of the article to keep reading despite the legalistic jargon used. I attempted to summarize in a friendly manner the most important articles of this monumental report and believe it is worthy to read the following paragraphs.

In article 1674, the report states that Israel policies in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory did violate international human rights and humanitarian law.

Article 1675 defines Israel’s policy of blockade in the three years prior the attack as a collective punishment intentionally inflicted by the Government of Israel on the people of the Gaza Strip. It also claims the military operations and the manner in which they were conducted considerably exacerbated the blockade effects. The result, in a very short time was unprecedented long term damage both to the people and their development and recovery prospects.

In Article 1678 the report describes the first visit of the mission to Gaza, and the devastating effects of the operations on the population were, however, unequivocally manifest. In addition to the visible destruction of houses, factories, wells, schools, hospitals, police stations and other public buildings, the sight of families, including the elderly and children, still living amid the rubble of their former dwellings – no reconstruction possible due to the continuing blockade – was evidence of the protracted impact of the operations on the living conditions of the Gaza population. Reports of the trauma suffered during the attacks, the stress due to the uncertainty about the future, the hardship of life and the fear of further attacks, pointed to less tangible but not less real long term effects. The following article states that women were affected in significant ways. In this issue, the report states in article 1683 “that deeds by Israeli forces and words of military and political leaders prior to and during the operations indicate that as a whole they were premised on a deliberate policy of disproportionate force aimed not at the enemy but at the “supporting infrastructure.” In practice, this appears to have meant the civilian population.”

The Israeli Government planned thoroughly and extensively the Gaza military operations, claims article 1680 and adds that while the Israeli Government has sought to portray its operations as essentially a response to rocket attacks in the exercise of its right to self defense, the Mission considers the plan to have been directed, at least in part, at a different target: the people of Gaza as a whole, especially due to its resilience and support of Hamas as it is added in article 1681.


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