{"id":295174,"date":"2024-09-20T06:03:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T06:03:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=295174"},"modified":"2024-09-21T05:36:18","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T05:36:18","slug":"where-was-amnesty-international-during-the-genocide-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=295174","title":{"rendered":"Where Was Amnesty International During the Genocide in Gaza?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul De Rooij \u2013 The Unz Review Sept 11, 2024<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one \u2018safe zone\u2019 at the time<\/p>\n

\u2014 Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt,<\/p>\n

10 August 2024<\/p>\n

One would expect that human rights organisations would spring into action during an impending or unfolding genocide \u2014 the ultimate violation of human rights. Maybe human rights NGOs actions should be proportional to the level of the crimes they are concerned with. Thus, the more killing, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, bombing\u2026, etc., that is plainly evident, the more action one would expect. So, what is the output of some of the leading human rights organisations in the face of the genocide in Gaza? Below is an analysis of Amnesty International\u2019s press releases and announced actions[1]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Will they come clean?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First things first. To assess the credibility of any organisation, one should know their relationship with Israel and the United States \u2014 both participants in the unfolding genocide. On this account, Amnesty International has never come clean about its relationship with the Israeli government. Uri Blau, a Haaretz investigative journalist, recently revealed that Amnesty_Intl.-Israel was taken over and run by Israeli operatives paid for by the Foreign Ministry.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

They ran interference in reporting on the situation in the occupied territories, participated in conferences, and even set up a \u201chuman rights\u201d institute at Tel Aviv university. This was a nice way to co-opt the human rights industry. The principal who ran AI-Israel even gave an interview boasting of his exploits.<\/p>\n

And did AI-Israel have a hand editing any Amnesty reports about the situation in the occupied territories or its many wars in the region? Some Palestinian lawyers reported having problematic encounters with AI-Israel officials, to the extent that they refused to have any dealings with it thereafter. One could well imagine AI-Israel officials reporting on Palestinians who reached out to them. So how ethical is it for Amnesty International to expose Palestinians contacting AI-Israel to imminent danger? When will Amnesty International acknowledge this dirty relationship and ensure that it maintains the requisite distance from the Israeli government in the future?<\/p>\n

The genocide will be televised<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Next, one must establish if what we witness amounts to a genocide. Craig Mokhiber, the former UN official in the High Commission for Human Rights, resigned because his agency was not reacting given the unfolding situation in Gaza, and stated in his resignation letter; \u201cthis is a textbook case of genocide\u201d. NB: the letter was submitted on 28 October 2023. Mokhiber stated that it is usually difficult to establish whether a genocide is taking place because one doesn\u2019t know the motivation of the leading military and political leadership.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

In the current context, there is no doubt about the motivation; one only has to listen to Netanyahu, Gallant, Ganz, Smotrich, Ben Gvir\u2026 And also most of the parliamentarians \u2014 they made genocidal statements in the Knesset; they were competing with each other to see who would be most truculent.<\/p>\n

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) statement on the case brought in front of the court by South Africa also suggests that we are witnessing a genocide \u2014 at least most of the justices urged Israeli action to forestall a genocide.<\/p>\n

Gaza is one of the most densely populated areas in the world, and in particular, the refugee camps exhibit a high population density. The Israeli military is bombing these locations using huge bombs recently delivered by 500+ of American military cargo planes.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

There is no doubt about this, one can even witness the bombing realtime on Al Jazeera. Civilians are directed to evacuate areas only to be bombed in locations that had been putatively named \u201csafe areas,\u201d hospitals, schools, UN compounds, etc. Fleeing civilians were targeted; all bakeries were destroyed; hundreds of wells destroyed; scores of chicken farms ravaged; entire families wiped out\u2026. Thus it is not only the level of killing, but also the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure that is happening now. The weaponry is very accurate, thus the targeting was done intentionally; so it is not an issue of \u201ccollateral damage,\u201d but it is intentional and indiscriminate targeting. A principle of International humanitarian law is that actions should be proportionate, but Israeli military and politicians revel at the disproportionate nature of the destruction; it is the Dahiya doctrine applied to Gaza.[5]<\/a> This doctrine refers to the disproportionate violence perpetrated against the Lebanese population in the Dahiya neighbourhood in Beirut in 2006; the neighbourhood was entirely flattened with huge bombs. Alastair Crooke, the former British diplomat, summarises the situation succinctly: \u201cGaza is already a monument to callous inhumanity and suffering. It will get worse\u2026\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

One thing is certain: if it quacks like a duck, waddles like a duck, then it is genocide.[7]<\/a> Under these circumstances, one would expect all human rights organisations to spring into action and demand court actions, UN Security Council resolutions, calls for key officials to be held accountable for crimes against humanity, and for the US, UK, Germany\u2026 and others to stop enabling Israel\u2019s genocidal actions.<\/p>\n

Nature of coverage<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A few things are evident when reviewing AI\u2019s press releases: one is struck by the paucity of coverage, the trite and generic form of statements, the unwillingness to call out the nature of some crimes, and unwillingness to debunk some of the crass Israeli propaganda meant to further de-humanise the Palestinians, and to justify Israel\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n

Since 7 October 2023, there have only been 60 press releases \u2014 none of any substance. One is struck also that there are a number of press releases about Israel\/OPT that don\u2019t mention the ongoing genocide at all![8]
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Or the commentary is part of a discussion of human rights in general.<\/p>\n

Ahistorical<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gaza has been subject to numerous massacres \u2014 several not even registering in the media accounts in the so-called West. There were several of the post-2006 attacks (aka \u201cmowing the lawn\u201d operations) usually referred to by their Israeli sugar-coated operation names. After each such operation AI dutifully produced its trite reports, but was rather circumspect in calling out Israeli crimes; and whenever it did issue a statement about a particular crime, it was immediately offset by references to Palestinian crimes.<\/p>\n

A good historical starting point to assess the current violations of international humanitarian law would be the Goldstone report (2008) \u2014 which documented and established serious Israeli crimes during \u201cOperation Cast Lead\u201d[9]<\/a>. Alas, one is struck by the ahistorical nature of AI\u2019s press releases and reports. It is as if history started yesterday, but then this is the nature of the \u201crights-based reporting,\u201d where there is virtually no reference to history. When it suits Amnesty it will ignore history.[10]<\/a> Would one\u2019s assessment of a criminal be altered by the fact that he was a serial criminal? If so, then it behooves AI to emphasise Israel\u2019s long history of mass crimes against the Palestinian population. But acknowledging the long history of dispossession and brutality against the native population would suggest that \u201cwe\u201d should be in solidarity with the Palestinians. Alas, that is not a position Amnesty is willing to take. It prefers to utter its clucking sounds, and admonish \u201cboth sides\u201d as if there were a moral equivalence between the violence perpetrated by oppressor and oppressed.<\/p>\n

False balance<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Amnesty wants to appear impartial, and clamours for both Palestinian and Israeli rights. Thus AI will issue a report outlining some of the Israeli crimes, but will then issue a report on the \u201cPalestinian war crimes\u201d. In general, according to AI, most of the actions perpetrated by the Palestinians are ipso facto war crimes; there is no need for further investigation or discussion. A disgraceful example is an article discussing Palestinian war crimes published on 12 July 2024. Thus after more than nine months of bombings, maybe 186,000+ dead[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

, calculated starvation, summary executions and evidence of rampant mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners\u2026 Amnesty chose to demand the release of the Israeli hostages! According to Erika Guevara Rosas, AI\u2019s \u201cSenior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns,\u201d holding Israeli civilian hostages is a war crime.[12]<\/a> Lost in this narrative is an explanation as to why the hostages are held \u2014 they are the only means to obtain the release of some of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners. And true to form, a few days later AI released a longish press release critical of the Israeli brutal treatment of prisoners. Producing reports critical of \u201cboth sides\u201d are attempts to claim impartiality.<\/p>\n

Amnesty ignores the 1960 UNGA resolution acknowledging the right for an oppressed\/colonised population to defend themselves \u2014 this includes armed struggle; and that Israel has an obligation to protect the oppressed population. The nature of the violence suggests that it is not possible to assume a \u201cneutral\u201d position. Thus, Amnesty\u2019s proclivity to admonish \u201cboth sides\u201d is ethically suspect.<\/p>\n

Not countering Israeli propaganda<\/strong><\/h2>\n

One useful function AI could play would be to debunk Israeli propaganda meant to dehumanise Palestinians to serve as a pretext for its genocidal campaign. The day after the Palestinian incursion, the Israeli propaganda machine was ready to push stories about rapes, babies cooked in microwave ovens, brutal murders, and so on. However, Amnesty has not countered these fabricated stories; in fact it has helped propagate the Israeli narrative. For example, it repeatedly referred to the 7 October attack as \u201chorrific\u201d \u2014 a term almost exclusively used to describe Palestinian actions. It doesn\u2019t account for the fact that it was the Israeli military who killed more than half the Israeli civilians on that day.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n

There were no babies cooked to death or impaled on bayonets. Alas, even with a pompous sounding \u201cEvidence Investigation Unit,\u201d Amnesty doesn\u2019t seem to care to separate facts from hateful slander. If the latter is meant to dehumanise the Palestinians, then exposing this propaganda would go some way to humanise the victim. It seems that that is not in Amnesty\u2019s purview.<\/p>\n

In the press release demanding the release of Israeli hostages, Erika Guevara Rosas stated: \u201cIsrael\u2019s brutal assault on Gaza that has resulted in the death of over 38,000 Palestinians\u201d. This is factually correct, but contextually challenged. Guevara is using the Palestinian Health ministry\u2019s figures that are based on the actual recovery of bodies; it misses all the victims under the rubble. The Lancet study estimates that about 8% of the Gazan population has been killed \u2014 that is in the order of 186,000 dead. Furthermore, the deaths attributable to epidemics, starvation, etc., are also missed in the Health Ministry\u2019s statistics. The London School of Hygiene and Johns Hopkins University have attempted to estimate this mortality rate.[14]<\/a><\/p>\n

. Their estimates and methodology are complex, and it is best to read it directly from their reports. Suffice it to say that the mortality rate has increased dramatically.<\/p>\n

Maybe a clearer explanation of the available statistics would be in order.<\/p>\n

Lets investigate!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

There are plenty of daily criminal attacks, but it is only the particularly outrageous ones when AI feels compelled to utter some comment. The discovery of mass burial sites near hospitals that had recently been invaded by the Israeli military elicited some commentary[15]<\/a>. Instead of pointing a finger at Israel, and suggesting serious crimes had been perpetrated, it instead calls for an \u201cindependent investigation\u201d. If only AI\u2019s sanctimonious investigators could enter the scene, then one could establish what really happened. The other implication of AI\u2019s call for investigation is that it doesn\u2019t value the voice of the victims of Israeli crimes. Thus it is not up to Palestinians to call out their oppressor, but some \u201cindependent\u201d body has to take its jolly good time determining whether a crime was committed; a report will follow a few years later. In the meantime, all Israeli crimes are merely \u201calleged\u201d crimes.<\/p>\n

There is a more problematic aspect to AI\u2019s call for investigations, namely, that it is giving credence to Israeli exculpatory claims and justifications for its attacks. Thus bombing the Al Shifa hospital was justified on the spurious grounds that there was an Al Qassam bunker in the vicinity. Or, bombing a location with many refugees in tents by stating that some of the resistance commanders were in the area. Given the history of Israeli lies about all the massacres that it has perpetrated, one would think that Amnesty would be more sceptical of Israeli claims, and to challenge them outright. Instead it calls for investigations. Furthermore, when is it justified to kill 100+ civilians in order to kill two fighters? It is curious that a human rights organisation doesn\u2019t reject this outright \u2014 there is no need for an investigation. Maybe an analogy could clarify the objection. Imagine that a rapist justified his crime by stating that the victim wore provocative clothing. Amnesty\u2019s actions are akin to investigating if the victim\u2019s clothing was actually sexy.<\/p>\n

On 26 August 2024, AI issued a press release on two of the bombings of camps of displaced people killing hundreds.[16]<\/a> A priori, one would say that it is a welcome report, but one is struck by the fact that these incidents \u201cneed to be investigated as war crimes\u201d. Amnesty even reviewed the statements made by the Israeli military to justify the bombing. And to add a comic element, Amnesty sent a note to \u201cMinistry of Justice officials,\u201d i.e., Hamas, to determine if its fighters were sheltering in the bombed locations. In other words, it is asking the Palestinians whether the Israeli bombings were justified! And to top things off, Amnesty regurgitated its accusation that the Palestinian actions, e.g., taking hostages amounted to clear war crimes. On the one hand, AI asks that Israeli actions be investigated, yet for the Palestinians the accusation is clear: these are war crimes.<\/p>\n

Amnesty usefully states that using civilians as human shields is \u201cprohibited under international law.\u201d Suggesting that if any fighter mingles with the civilian population, this amounts to a crime. The Palestinian fighters have little choice about where they can operate given that the population is constantly forced to move \u2014 the fighters included. But there is a difference between fighters being in close proximity to civilians, and the Israeli practice of placing Palestinian civilians on top of military vehicles or forcing them to enter houses ahead of Israeli soldiers. The difference is the coercion involved, and the fact that the fighters are in the midst of their own people. Thus in the press release, Amnesty wags its finger about fighters finding themselves together with civilians. However, Amnesty has yet to issue one of it missives about the civilians Israeli military forces to act as human shields. We await another press release.<\/p>\n

Losing the forest for the trees<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The crimes perpetrated against the Palestinians, i.e., genocide, crimes against humanity, and so on, must be described as mass crimes \u2014 referent to the population at large. However, Amnesty\u2019s favourite technique to avoid mentioning the mass crimes is to dwell on individual stories to the exclusion of the totality of the crimes. On 19 August 2024, Amnesty issued a press release about the flouting of the Arms Trade Treaty. Thus: \u201cAmnesty International has long been calling for a comprehensive arms embargo on both Israel and Palestinian armed groups because of longstanding patterns of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including war crimes\u2026\u201d. True to form Amnesty bleats about an embargo on \u201cboth sides,\u201d as if there were hundreds of military cargo airplanes delivering weapons to the Palestinians. But instead of mentioning the total tonnage of bombs dropped on Gaza, it provides two examples[17]<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Amnesty has documented the use of US-manufactured weapons in a number of unlawful airstrikes, including US-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) in two deadly, unlawful air strikes on homes in the occupied Gaza Strip, which killed 43 civilians \u2013 19 children, 14 women and 10 men \u2013 on 10 and 22 October 2023.<\/p>\n

A GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb, made in the US by Boeing, was used in an Israeli strike in January 2024 which hit a family home in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah, killing 18 civilians, including 10 children, four men, and four women.<\/p>\n

According to Euromed Human Rights: \u201cIsrael dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on Gaza Strip since last October, exceeding World War II bombings in Dresden, Hamburg, London combined.\u201d[18]<\/a><\/p>\n

Maybe providing such statistics would be more effective.<\/p>\n

Similarly, on 18 July 2024, AI released a rather lengthy report on prison conditions.[19]<\/a> To its credit, the press release was better than most AI output, but again, after a cursory mention of the total number of cases, it emphasises a few examples of prisoner\u2019s conditions. It is dwelling on a few items to the exclusion of the mass injustice condition.<\/p>\n

Long list of neglect<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Ever since 7 October 2023, there have been many incidents that didn\u2019t elicit a single comment by Amnesty International. Here are a few items:<\/p>\n