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Palestine Media Watch

The Seattle Times' erroneous erratum on illegal settlements

PMWATCH - June 18, 2002 -- On May 25, 2002, the Seattle Times issued the following erratum on a May 14 story it ran on Israeli settlements:

Information in this article, originally published May 14, was corrected May 24. An earlier version of this story in which an Israeli human-rights group - B'Tselem - criticized Israel's policy on settlements in the West Bank referred to the settlements as illegal under international law. While the legality of the settlements is a point of high contention in the Middle East conflict, the settlements have not been ruled illegal in a court of law. [See below for a link and the whole article]

What this means in the context of international relations (was Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait ever ruled illegal by "a court of law"?) is left unlclear by the editors of the Seattle Times. What is also left unsaid is the following: Israeli settlements are deemed in "flagrant violation" of the Fourth Geneva Conventions. As Prof. Chomsky explains:

The the most authoritative position on the matter is that of the High Contracting Parties of the Geneva Convention, which once again (Dec. 5, 2001), "reaffirm the illegality of the settlements in the said territories and the extension thereof." The text is reproduced in 'Report on Israeli Settlements' (Jan-Feb 2002). The US and Israel boycotted that meeting, but 114 Parties attended, including the EU, even Britain. Applicability of the Fourth Geneva Convention (the relevant one) to the territories was unanimously affirmed by the Security Council (Res 465, 1980), also condemning the settlements as a "flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention." That was reaffirmed in October 2000, this time 14-0 (US abstaining; Clinton evidently did not want to veto a core principle of international humanitarian law, particularly considering the circumstances in which it was instituted in 1949: to criminalize, formally, the crimes of the Nazis in occupied Europe). Applicability had been affirmed, explicitly, at least as far back as September 1971, that time by UN Ambassador George Bush, condemning Israel's violation of obligations of an "occupying power. [Private communication]

And as if more ever needed to be said about the legal status of the settlements, Israel's Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein warned at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution Committee on June 11, 2002, that "Israelis could be indicted by the new International Criminal Court (ICC) starting next month, when the court is formally inaugurated." High on the list of concerns, beside IDF soldiers committing war crimes, are settlers.Here is a quote from the Ha'aretz piece describing the Attorney General's trepidation (see inside text box for full article):

Among other items, Rubinstein said, the court could decide to try Jewish settlers who move to the territories after June 30, since one article of the treaty establishing the court defines the settlements as a war crime (the June 30 cutoff stems from the fact that the court has jurisdiction only over acts committed after its inauguration on July 1). It could also indict Israel Defense Forces soldiers and officers involved in operations like the one in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield.Ha'aretz, June 12, 2002

Is this enough for the Seattle Times to retract its misguided erratum? Please drop them a note and request that the Seattle Times' unfortunate confusion about the legal status of the settlements be rectified by a new erratum that clarifies that under international law, the settlements are indeed deemed not only illegal, but war crimes.

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Jim Mallery jmallery@seattletimes.com National/Foreign Editor (206) 464-8268
Mike Stanton mstanton@seattletimes.com Executive News Editor (206) 464-2972
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Your letter Wednesday, June 12, 2002 Tamuz 2, 5762 New Hague court may indict settlers for war crimes By Gideon Alon, Ha'aretz Correspondent http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=175313&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0 Israelis could be indicted by the new International Criminal Court (ICC) starting next month, when the court is formally inaugurated, Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein warned at a meeting of the Knesset Constitution Committee Tuesday. Among other items, Rubinstein said, the court could decide to try Jewish settlers who move to the territories after June 30, since one article of the treaty establishing the court defines the settlements as a war crime (the June 30 cutoff stems from the fact that the court has jurisdiction only over acts committed after its inauguration on July 1). It could also indict Israel Defense Forces soldiers and officers involved in operations like the one in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield. Overall, Rubinstein stressed, "I have faith in the 'purity of arms' of IDF soldiers'," and in cases where soldiers were found to have violated orders, they have been put on trial )according to the ICC treaty, the court cannot indict anyone who has already been subjected to genuine legal proceedings in his home country). Since the start of the intifada in September 2000, 140 soldiers have been investigated for crimes such as looting, and some have been indicted, he said. "[But] the international court is a great unknown for us," he said. "We don't know who the judges will be or who the prosecutors will be. We don't know what it will mean for the Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria and Gaza or for the neighborhoods of Jerusalem that were set up over the Green Line following the Six-Day War." Rubinstein noted that Israel never ratified the ICC treaty not, he stressed, because Israel has anything to hide, but out of fear that the court would be guided by political rather than strictly legal considerations. The decision not to ratify will reduce the danger represented by the court, but will not eliminate it entirely, he said. Deputy Attorney General Rachel Sukar explained that had Israel ratified the treaty, it would be obliged to assist the court by, for instance, handing over any documents it requested. But non-ratification does not provide immunity from prosecution by the court. The court also does not recognize diplomatic immunity, so even a sitting prime minister could be indicted, she said. Professor Ruth Lapidoth, an expert in international law, said that based on the list of candidates for seats on the ICC's bench, Israel cannot be confident that the court's judges will rule in a fair and unbiased manner. State Prosecutor Edna Arbel said the establishment of the court obligates the state to get ready to provide legal representation for any soldier indicted by the ICC for having faithfully executed the government's orders in the territories. The Justice Ministry has set up a special task force headed by Sukar to prepare for the court's inauguration, and the team will include representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Judge Advocate General's Office. But Alan Baker, the Foreign Ministry's legal adviser, warned against creating unnecessary panic over the court. Even though it is being inaugurated on July 1, it will actually begin working only in about a year, he said. Committee Chairman Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor) said the new situation created by the ICC's establishment requires Israel to change its policy regarding the settlements in order to avoid becoming embroiled in legal and political problems. MK Shaul Yahalom (National Religious Party) suggested that the Justice Ministry set up a database of complaints against terrorists who have murdered innocent civilians and transfer them to the court. For instance, he said, the ICC should be asked to indict Tanzim leader Marwan Barghouti. These complaints, said Yahalom, could serve as an acid test for determining whether the court is objective or politically biased.

http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?s lug=settle14&date=20020514

Information in this article, originally published May 14, was corrected May 24. An earlier version of this story in which an Israeli human-rights group - B'Tselem - criticized Israel's policy on settlements in the West Bank referred to the settlements as illegal under international law. While the legality of the settlements is a point of high contention in the Middle East conflict, the settlements have not been ruled illegal in a court of law.

Israeli group: Land 'stolen' from Palestinians

By Davan Maharaj

Los Angeles Times

JERUSALEM - The pattern of Jewish settlements in the West Bank was designed to make a Palestinian state impossible, an Israeli human-rights group charged in a report issued yesterday.

The group, B'Tselem, said the Jewish state had "stolen" tens of thousands of acres of Palestinian land to establish the settlements for hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

"It's the intentional plan of the development and location of the settlements ... precisely to prevent any sort of viable Palestinian state," said Jessica Montell, the group's director.

B'Tselem released what it described as the most detailed maps yet showing how Arab towns and villages were hemmed in by Jewish settlements and a network of roads leading to them. The carved-up territories present a major roadblock in the search for a lasting peace, the group said.

B'Tselem called on the Israeli government to vacate all settlements and compensate settlers who move to communities within Israel's borders.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who as housing minister in former Israeli governments was a major architect of the country's settlement policy, recently dismissed such suggestions.

"No settlement will be evacuated," Sharon said. "Such an evacuation would only encourage terrorism and increase the pressure on us."

Settlers, who live on less than 2 percent of built-up areas, now control 42 percent of West Bank land, according to B'Tselem. Palestinians, on the other hand, are systematically denied building permits and prevented from expanding their communities, the group said.

"Israel has created in the occupied territories a regime of separation.. basing the rights of individuals on their nationality," B'Tselem said. "This regime is the only one of its kind ... and is reminiscent of distasteful (ones) from the past, such as the apartheid regime in South Africa."

A spokesman for the Yesha Council, the main settlers group, poured scorn on B'Tselem's findings. Noting that settlers controlled "only" 42 percent of West Bank land, the spokesman said: "It's regrettable that the settlement movement has not managed to implement the Zionist vision to settle between the sea and the Jordan at a much (faster) pace."

According to B'Tselem, about 247,000 settlers lived in the West Bank in 1993, the year Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed an interim peace accord. Their numbers grew to 380,000 by the end of 2001.

But their homes could be affected by future peace agreements. Palestinians, who view settlements as the embodiment of illegal occupation and obstacles to a future state, have in previous proposals called for their dismantling. Palestinian militants say Jews who live in the settlements are fair targets for attacks.

Last week, the Bush administration called on Sharon to stop building new settlements. Secretary of State Colin Powell, who is trying to get regional leaders to attend a Middle East peace conference this summer, said this month that "something will have to be done about the settlements that are there now."

Under Sharon, 34 new settlements have sprouted on hilltops in the West Bank, according to a recent report by Peace Now, which tracks settlements.

Leaders of Peace Now and B'Tselem have criticized the Israeli government for giving settlers attractive financial incentives - loans, tax breaks and government grants - to move to the West Bank.

But other settlers don't need any financial lure. They move to the West Bank because they believe it is part of the land called Judea and Samaria which, according to their scriptures, God granted to the Jewish people. Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967, then turned over parts of the territories to Palestinian control during the peace process of the last decade.

Yitzhak Pindrus, the mayor of Beitar Ilit, a settlement of 25,000 mainly Orthodox Jews near Jerusalem, said B'Tselem's report was flawed.

"B'Tselem should focus on human-rights abuses, not real-estate problems," Pindrus said. "There's no reason why Jews shouldn't live in Arab communities and enjoy good relations."