CrossFireArarbia

To Israel: Stop Killing Palestinian Prisoners!

CrossFireArabia
December 31, 2024

Following the news that five more detainees from the Gaza Strip have been killed in a 24-hour period, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor urges the United Nations to take swift action. The UN must send an international investigative mission to look into the grave crimes and violations that Palestinian prisoners and detainees endure in Israeli prisons and detention facilities.

Premeditated killings

Since the October 2023 start of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the number of crimes involving premeditated killing, killing under torture, torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances of Palestinian prisoners and detainees—particularly those from the Strip—has increased at an unprecedented rate in the prisons and detention facilities operated by the Israeli army and prison administration authorities. Given the methodical and pervasive way in which these crimes are committed in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, they cannot be regarded as the isolated behaviours of individual perpetrators.

Three detainees from the Gaza and Northern Gaza governorates have been confirmed dead by Euro-Med Monitor. One of them, Mohammed Rashid Saeed Al-Akka (43), was killed in the Negev Prison today (Monday 30 December). He was arrested by Israeli forces in October 2023 at a military checkpoint on Salah Al-Din Street, south of Gaza City, while being forced to move from the Zeitoun neighbourhood to the southern Strip after his neighbourhood and the school-turned-shelter where he had sought safety were both destroyed.

🚨Five more Palestinian hostages from the Gaza Strip have been reported killed by Israel within a 24-hour period. Five lives lost, and not a single word of condemnation!

Euro-Med Monitor urges int’l action https://t.co/Uuu2EUsclR
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) December 30, 2024

The second detainee, Samir Mahmoud Al-Kahlout, was taken into custody by the Israeli army on 25 October 2024, while he was being treated at Kamal Adwan Hospital. He died on 3 November 2024, just nine days after being taken into custody—the result of ongoing torture that was concealed until yesterday (Sunday 29 December).

Death in Israeli Jail

Ashraf Muhammad Fakhri Abd Abu Warda (51), a resident of Jabalia, in the north of the Strip, was the third detainee. He was arrested on 20 November 2023, while being forced to flee from Jabalia to the southern section of the Strip, and died on 29 December in Israel’s Soroka Hospital, two days after being moved from the Negev Prison to the hospital. Notably, his family has said that he had no health issues.

The fourth inmate was 58-year-old Zuhair Omar Al-Sharif, who had been in custody since 7 October 2023. While he was employed in Israel, he was arrested by the occupation. Al-Sharif was married and had six children. Euro-Med Monitor notes that his family has said that he did not have any health issues. He was killed on 18 October 2023.

The fifth victim was 57-year-old Muhammad Anwar Labad, who was arrested by the Israeli occupation army on 18 November 2024, during his displacement from the north to the south alongside his family. He was married and had eight children. Before his arrest, he suffered from liver cirrhosis and diabetes. He died on 27 November 2024.

The recent deaths of these detainees bring the total number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees killed in Israeli prisons and detention facilities since 7 October 2023 to over 54, including 35 incarcerated individuals from the Gaza Strip. According to former detainees’ testimonies, the true number of victims could be more than twice as high.

Euro-Med Monitor stresses that, given the systematic and pervasive nature of these crimes and the complete immunity enjoyed by their perpetrators, whether at the judicial, political, military, or social levels in Israel, crimes committed in Israeli prisons and detention facilities cannot be seen as isolated behaviours committed by individual “bad apples.”

Pervasive

In addition to the dozens of Palestinians who have suffered physical and psychological injuries with irreversible effects and are now disabled as a result of being subjected to one or more of the 40+ forms of torture and ill-treatment reported by survivors, dozens of prisoners and detainees in Israeli prisons have died in recent months due to harsh detention conditions, torture, and ill-treatment practices. These crimes frequently start at the time of arrest and continue throughout the investigation and detention phase, right up until the moment of release.

In addition to the unprecedented rise in direct and indirect killings of prisoners and detainees, the international community’s continued silence regarding the facts and documented reports of killing, torture, ill-treatment, and rape in Israeli prisons and detention centres, as well as the crime of genocide that has affected all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and led to the killing and wounding of roughly 7% of them, has given Israel the go-ahead to continue committing these crimes and even intensify them.

In addition to being acts of genocide against the Palestinian people, the crimes committed by the Israeli army and other Israeli security forces against Palestinian prisoners and detainees from the Gaza Strip are also full-fledged war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is especially true given that the crimes are routinely carried out against Palestinians with the intention of destroying them as a people, including by killing them and causing them severe physical and psychological harm through torture, mistreatment, and sexual violence, including rape.

All nations and relevant international organisations must act swiftly and forcefully to prevent Israel’s systematic, pervasive crimes of killing, torture, and other grave violations against Palestinian prisoners and detainees to further intensify. These nations and relevant groups must also immediately and unconditionally free those who are arbitrarily detained, permit visits from qualified local and international organisations to all Israeli facilties, and allow victims to hire attorneys.

These crimes must be investigated by the International Criminal Court, and it is imperative that they be added to the list of charges brought against Israeli officials.

The UN Human Rights Council must fire Alice Gill Edwards, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, for her demonstrated inability to carry out her mandate, her bias, and her wilful failure to complete her assigned tasks, as she is clearly unable to effectively and impartially address the grave crimes that Palestinian prisoners and detainees endure. Additionally, a new Special Rapporteur must be appointed who is neutral, unbiased, and steadfastly committed to universal humanitarian principles, without discriminating against victims or aggressors based on their race, nationality, religion, or any other status.

In order for the fact-finding and investigation committees and international courts to consider, investigate, and conduct trials regarding Israeli crimes, hold those responsible accountable, and compensate the victims in accordance with the rules of international law, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances must perform prompt and thorough investigations into all crimes committed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, communicate with the victims and their families, and submit reports on the findings to all pertinent parties.

EuroMed Human Rights Monitor

Opinion

Carter: A Mideast Idealist

Dr Khairi Janbek
December 31, 2024

Dr Khairi Janbek

The legacy of the late President Jimmy Carter in the Middle East can at best be described as mixed, notable achievements and setbacks.

The Camp David Accords remain his greatest foreign policy achievement in the region, with Egypt and Israel continuing to honor the peace treaty till this day. However, the 1978 Iranian Revolution, the fall of the Shah, the US embassy hostage crisis and the rise of the Islamic Republic of Iran, underscored the limits of his idealistic foreign policy approach.

While Carter’s emphasis on human rights was a notable shift from the more pragmatic or rather, realpolitik approach of his predecessors, it often clashed with the realities of the US strategic interests in the region. His inability to stop or reverse the Iranian Revolution, combined with his perceived weakness in handling the hostage crisis, significantly damaged his standing both domestically and internationally.

Jimmy Carter pic.twitter.com/grnXezIfng
— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) December 29, 2024

Despite these challenges, Carter’ presidency laid the groundwork for future US policies in the Middle East in terms of emphasis on peace, diplomacy and the need for strategic engagement. In fact, he articulated in January 1980 the Carter Doctrine, which stated that the US will use military force if necessary to defend its interests in the Arabian Gulf against Soviet aggression, which marked a significant shift in US foreign policy asserting a more active and interventionist role in the region.

When it comes to the question of human rights, despite concerns for abuses in countries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Carter found it necessary to balance human rights with strategic and economic interests, and he did receive criticism internationally and nationally for tolerating autocratic regimes, not to mention of course in this context, his support for the Shah of Iran despite his repressive policies and human rights abuses.

Still, in the final analysis, with successes and failures, Carter’s approach to the Middle East was foundational in shaping US policy for the years that followed, particularly in the realms of contradictory policies of human rights, and the balance of power in the Gulf region.

Dr Khairi Janbek is a Jordanian commentator currently based in Paris.

News

Baathist Maysaa Sabrine Appointed as Syria’s Central Bank Chief

CrossFireArabia
December 30, 2024

Syria’s new interim government is moving full-blast ahead on women’s right. It has just appointed, Monday Maysaa Sabrine as the new governor of the country’s Central Bank. This is the second woman appointment in the new administration of Ahmed Al Sharaa, seen as an Islamist extremist turned liberal.

She becomes the first woman to hold such a top position in the bank’s seven decade history and is expected to lead Syria into the modern age in a post-Baathist government.

But there is a hitch and apparently that doesn’t seem to be much bothering the new government in Damascus for Sabrine has served under the old Baathist regime as deputy governor of the Central Bank for the last six years and holds a degree in accounting.

Maysaa Sabrine was formerly a deputy governor of the Syrian central bank. She would be the first woman to lead the institution in its more than 70-year history, replacing Mohammed Issam Hazime who was appointed by toppled President Bashar al-Assad.

Source: @Reuters https://t.co/SZbGGY29Ga
— Karen Woods 林爷 🇺🇦🇮🇱🇨🇦🌻 (@KarenWenLin) December 30, 2024

Thus it would seem the new government is looking for meritocracy than ideological or political affiliation for Sabrine is will versed in the country’s fiscal system having also served on the board of directors of the Syria securities exchange.

Her appointment is trending on the social media as she is the second woman after Aisha Al Dibs who was made head of the Women Affairs Section in the interim administration, an appointment designed to allay the fears of the West who still see this government as an Islamist extremist one.

Therefore the appointment of Sabrine has created much talk among the social media buffs related to those who supported the move and those against it as she was part-and-parcel of the former Baath regime.

But those in favor believe the woman has a wide ranging economic experience that would be essential for the current administration. So maybe practicalities has over-ridden the ideological garb.

Opinion

The Day After in Syria is Simply Bleak!

Saleem Ayoub Quna
December 30, 2024

By Saleem Ayoub Quna

Syria has just turned a gloomy chapter of its long turbulent history that lasted for at least half-a-century. The question now is: Will this new era bring better or worse news for this beleaguered country and its people?

The new local stake holders on the ground and outside players are showing different and often conflicting signals of what lies ahead. A month ago, the totalitarian Assad dynasty regime collapsed, its
dictator fled the country, his strong men melted into the caves, his father’s imposing statues downed and his foreign supporters’ influence, Iran and Russia, evaporated. From this underdog dark side, the game
was over!

But it was not so on the other rising side of the game, where you have the local opposition of multiple groups and their new de facto foreign partners and friends, celebrating the defeat of the bygone oppressive regime.

All they see is a helpless, desperate and a lone prey for the cut! In real terms the country, so far, is being divided into different de facto regional enclaves or mini-states. Each is controlled by its own local
leaders. Members of each community share either the same faith, or speak the same language, or adhere to a host of old norms and traditions inherited from their ancestors.

Both leaders and their followers of each faction are finding themselves at a crucial turning point. Do they want to repeat what their previous leaders did when they, willy-nilly, allowed the central government under the Assad regime, run their daily life affaires, and then when it was too late, discovered that they were either deceived or coerced by the now defunct regime’s agents? Or are they saying no more of this stuff this time, and accordingly acting more independently to preserve their special identity and immune their rights?

The idea of partitioning Syria as we know it since its independence in 1946 is not new! It can be traced back to its pre-independence original format, conceived then by the French mandatory power in the early 1900s, when the Ottoman’s four centuries rule, of the whole of Arabia and North Africa, came to an end.

At that time, France, sanctioned by League of Nations, suggested to divide the country into five main enclaves or mini-states: An Alawite enclave on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean with Latakia as its capital, an Aleppo enclave in the north, a Jabal Druze enclave in the south, bordering Jordan, Alexandretta enclave which was taken by Turkey and renamed as the Hatay province, and finally the dominated Sunni region in the center with its capital Damascus.

Today, the US, with the consent of other good wishers, are openly pushing, by deeds and words, to create an additional enclave in the autonomous Kurdish oil-rich region in the north-eastern part of Syria.
On the Golan Heights, the new strong players are turning a blind eye to the serious Israeli military encroachments inside proper Syrian territories, previously recognized by the world community and UN resolutions. At the same time, the emerging clashes in the east and west of the country and other places in the center, between rivaling armed groups, leave little room for optimism.

The most important step Syrians need today is a constitution that can stand at the same distance from all components of the society. But surprisingly, the last statement attributed to the new top man in
Damascus saying such a constitution might take four to five years to come to life, can only send discouraging and negative signals to all the components of Syrian society and others!

A final question that must be asked: Is Syria nearing to lose its last chance to avoid falling back in the pre-independence fragmentation trap?

This opinion was especially written for Crossfire Arabia by Saleem Ayoub Quna who is a Jordanian author writing on local, regional and international affairs and has two books published. He has a BA in English Literature from Jordan University, a diploma from Paris and an MA from Johns Hopkins University in Washington. He also has working knowledge of French and German.

News

Gaza Genocide: Death Toll Spikes to Over 45,000

CrossFireArabia
December 30, 2024

The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip announced, Monday, the death toll from the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinians has risen to 45,541 dead and 108,338 wounded since October 7, 2023.

The ministry stated in its daily statistical statement the Israeli army “committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, with 27 martyrs and 149 wounded arriving to hospitals in the past 24 hours.”

It reported “the death toll from the Israeli aggression has risen to 45,541 martyrs and 108,338 wounded since October 7, 2023.”

The ministry indicated there are victims under the rubble of destroyed homes and on the roads, but the civil defense and ambulance crews are unable to reach them due to the repeated Israeli targeting.

The Israeli genocide since 7 October, 2023 with American support has caused the loss of more than 11,000 Palestinians, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and the elderly.

Israel continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on 21 November against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in Gaza.

Tel Aviv has turned Gaza into the largest prison in the world, besieging it for the 18th year, and the war of extermination has forced about two million of its citizens, numbering about 2.3 million Palestinians, to flee in tragic conditions with a deliberate severe shortage of food, water and medicine.

For decades, Israel has occupied lands in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon, and refuses to withdraw from them and establish an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the borders before the 1967 war as reported in Anadolu.