Deze foto van de tweede grote vrouwenmars in Paramaribo, vorige week donderdag, is nu pas naar buiten gekomen. De politie dreef de betogers op het onafhankelijkheidsplein uiteen. (Nieuws van de Dag, 22 december 1982)DAPPERE VROUWEN, DIE NA DE DECEMBERMOORDEN,HET AANDURFDEN DE STRAAT OP TE GAAN OM TE PROTESTEREN!http://kennisaanval.blogspot.com/2012/01/revolutie-in-suriname.html‘
Kort voor Kerstmis overleed ex president Desi Bouterse op 79 jarige leeftijd.
En vrijwel direct na zijn overlijden kreeg hij door vogels van diverse pluimage,
een bijna ‘heiligenstatus” toebedeeld.
Zo werd er in de Nationale Assemblee [het Surinaamse parlement], gesproken
over Bouterse als ”moedige leider”, ”grote zoon” en ”inspirerend”
Anderen weer zagen hem als ”volksheld”, de man, die sociale hervormingen
doorvoer en ”vocht” voor de armen.
Er werden herdenkingsbijeenkomsten georganiseerd, zowel in Suriname
als in Nederland en een niet onaanzienlijk aantal mensen liet hun tranen
de vrije loop, en memoreerde zijn sociale inzet.
Nu was het inderdaad zo, dat tijdens de regeerperiode
van Bouterse als president een aantal sociale verbeteringen is doorgevoerd,
die in een arm land als Suriname zeker verlichting boden, maar er werd
onverantwoordelijk met ’s lands financiele middelen omgesprongen, waardoor
Bouterse Suriname na twee regeerperioden praktisch bankroet achterliet.
Daarbij verrijkte hij zichzelf en zijn politieke vrienden enorm, waardoor hij
het Surinaamse volk schandalig heeft bestolen.
Dat zouden de mensen zich moeten realiseren, nog afgezien van de
ellende, die hij over duizenden jongeren heeft gebracht door de openstelling
van Suriname voor de drugshandel.
Maar er is meer:
Bouterse verscheen op Suriname’s politieke toneel als leider van de
militaire coup op 25 februari 1980, waarmee hij het democratische staatsbestel
omverwierp.
Na een aanvankelijk vals-vriendelijk gezicht kwamen al snel kwalijke
mensenrechtenschendingen:
De dood, na een verdacht politieverhoor van would be tegencouppleger de Surinaamse ex KNIL militair Ormskirk [1980], arrestatie en opsluiting zonder vorm van proces van voormalige politieke leiders, de executie van de gewonde op een brancard liggende tegencouper sergeant majoor Hawker [maart 1982],
met als dieptepunt de standrechtelijke executie van 15 politieke tegenstanders
van het militaire regime Bouterse, de zgn Decembermoorden.
Niet uitvlakken wil ik hier het moedige verpleegstersprotest daags na de Decembermoorden
Ook overleed een voormalig medestander en rechterhand van Bouterse,
majoor Horb onder verdachte omstandigheden in een politiecel [1983]
Bouterse c.s. vestigden een dictatuur, die zou voortduren tot de eerste verkiezingen in 1987.
In de met Brunswijk [leider Junglecommando] uitgevochten Binnenlandse Oorlog zijn in het marrondorp Moiwana onder verantwoordelijkheid van
Bouterse als legerbevelhebber meer dan 39 burgers gedood. Een massaslachting dus.
Na een aantal jaren richtte D. Bouterse zijn partij de NDP op, maakte
zich populair door mooie toespraken en enkele doorgevoerde sociale verbeteringen.
Laat niet onverlet, dat Bouterse en co zich schuldig hebben gemaakt aan
foltering, diefstal, executies en massamoord/Misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Vanwege de ”heiligverklaring” van Bouterse is dit Stuk geschreven.
Opdat zijn misdaden en het rampzalige stempel, dat hij op Suriname heeft
gedrukt, niet worden vergeten
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Mail Astrid Essed aan De Ware Tijd/[Ingezonden Stuk]/Desi Bouterse geen ”volksheld”/Dief/Dictator/Misdadiger tegen de menselijkheid
Deze foto van de tweede grote vrouwenmars in Paramaribo, vorige week donderdag, is nu pas naar buiten gekomen. De politie dreef de betogers op het onafhankelijkheidsplein uiteen. (Nieuws van de Dag, 22 december 1982)DAPPERE VROUWEN, DIE NA DE DECEMBERMOORDEN,HET AANDURFDEN DE STRAAT OP TE GAAN OM TE PROTESTEREN!http://kennisaanval.blogspot.com/2012/01/revolutie-in-suriname.html‘
Kort voor Kerstmis overleed ex president Desi Bouterse op 79 jarige leeftijd.
En vrijwel direct na zijn overlijden kreeg hij door vogels van diverse pluimage,
een bijna ‘heiligenstatus” toebedeeld.
Zo werd er in de Nationale Assemblee [het Surinaamse parlement], gesproken
over Bouterse als ”moedige leider”, ”grote zoon” en ”inspirerend”
Anderen weer zagen hem als ”volksheld”, de man, die sociale hervormingen
doorvoer en ”vocht” voor de armen.
Er werden herdenkingsbijeenkomsten georganiseerd, zowel in Suriname
als in Nederland en een niet onaanzienlijk aantal mensen liet hun tranen
de vrije loop, en memoreerde zijn sociale inzet.
Nu was het inderdaad zo, dat tijdens de regeerperiode
van Bouterse als president een aantal sociale verbeteringen is doorgevoerd,
die in een arm land als Suriname zeker verlichting boden, maar er werd
onverantwoordelijk met ’s lands financiele middelen omgesprongen, waardoor
Bouterse Suriname na twee regeerperioden praktisch bankroet achterliet.
Daarbij verrijkte hij zichzelf en zijn politieke vrienden enorm, waardoor hij
het Surinaamse volk schandalig heeft bestolen.
Dat zouden de mensen zich moeten realiseren, nog afgezien van de
ellende, die hij over duizenden jongeren heeft gebracht door de openstelling
van Suriname voor de drugshandel.
Maar er is meer:
Bouterse verscheen op Suriname’s politieke toneel als leider van de
militaire coup op 25 februari 1980, waarmee hij het democratische staatsbestel
omverwierp.
Na een aanvankelijk vals-vriendelijk gezicht kwamen al snel kwalijke
mensenrechtenschendingen:
De dood, na een verdacht politieverhoor van would be tegencouppleger de Surinaamse ex KNIL militair Ormskirk [1980], arrestatie en opsluiting zonder vorm van proces van voormalige politieke leiders, de executie van de gewonde op een brancard liggende tegencouper sergeant majoor Hawker [maart 1982],
met als dieptepunt de standrechtelijke executie van 15 politieke tegenstanders
van het militaire regime Bouterse, de zgn Decembermoorden.
Niet uitvlakken wil ik hier het moedige verpleegstersprotest daags na de Decembermoorden
Ook overleed een voormalig medestander en rechterhand van Bouterse,
majoor Horb onder verdachte omstandigheden in een politiecel [1983]
Bouterse c.s. vestigden een dictatuur, die zou voortduren tot de eerste verkiezingen in 1987.
In de met Brunswijk [leider Junglecommando] uitgevochten Binnenlandse Oorlog zijn in het marrondorp Moiwana onder verantwoordelijkheid van
Bouterse als legerbevelhebber meer dan 39 burgers gedood. Een massaslachting dus.
Na een aantal jaren richtte D. Bouterse zijn partij de NDP op, maakte
zich populair door mooie toespraken en enkele doorgevoerde sociale verbeteringen.
Laat niet onverlet, dat Bouterse en co zich schuldig hebben gemaakt aan
foltering, diefstal, executies en massamoord/Misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Vanwege de ”heiligverklaring” van Bouterse is dit Stuk geschreven.
Opdat zijn misdaden en het rampzalige stempel, dat hij op Suriname heeft
gedrukt, niet worden vergeten
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Mail Astrid Essed aan Het Parool/[Ingezonden Stuk]/Desi Bouterse geen ”volksheld”/Dief/Dictator/Misdadiger tegen de menselijkheid
Deze foto van de tweede grote vrouwenmars in Paramaribo, vorige week donderdag, is nu pas naar buiten gekomen. De politie dreef de betogers op het onafhankelijkheidsplein uiteen. (Nieuws van de Dag, 22 december 1982)DAPPERE VROUWEN, DIE NA DE DECEMBERMOORDEN,HET AANDURFDEN DE STRAAT OP TE GAAN OM TE PROTESTEREN!http://kennisaanval.blogspot.com/2012/01/revolutie-in-suriname.html‘
Kort voor Kerstmis overleed ex president Desi Bouterse op 79 jarige leeftijd.
En vrijwel direct na zijn overlijden kreeg hij door vogels van diverse pluimage,
een bijna ‘heiligenstatus” toebedeeld.
Zo werd er in de Nationale Assemblee [het Surinaamse parlement], gesproken
over Bouterse als ”moedige leider”, ”grote zoon” en ”inspirerend”
Anderen weer zagen hem als ”volksheld”, de man, die sociale hervormingen
doorvoer en ”vocht” voor de armen.
Er werden herdenkingsbijeenkomsten georganiseerd, zowel in Suriname
als in Nederland en een niet onaanzienlijk aantal mensen liet hun tranen
de vrije loop, en memoreerde zijn sociale inzet.
Nu was het inderdaad zo, dat tijdens de regeerperiode
van Bouterse als president een aantal sociale verbeteringen is doorgevoerd,
die in een arm land als Suriname zeker verlichting boden, maar er werd
onverantwoordelijk met ’s lands financiele middelen omgesprongen, waardoor
Bouterse Suriname na twee regeerperioden praktisch bankroet achterliet.
Daarbij verrijkte hij zichzelf en zijn politieke vrienden enorm, waardoor hij
het Surinaamse volk schandalig heeft bestolen.
Dat zouden de mensen zich moeten realiseren, nog afgezien van de
ellende, die hij over duizenden jongeren heeft gebracht door de openstelling
van Suriname voor de drugshandel.
Maar er is meer:
Bouterse verscheen op Suriname’s politieke toneel als leider van de
militaire coup op 25 februari 1980, waarmee hij het democratische staatsbestel
omverwierp.
Na een aanvankelijk vals-vriendelijk gezicht kwamen al snel kwalijke
mensenrechtenschendingen:
De dood, na een verdacht politieverhoor van would be tegencouppleger de Surinaamse ex KNIL militair Ormskirk [1980], arrestatie en opsluiting zonder vorm van proces van voormalige politieke leiders, de executie van de gewonde op een brancard liggende tegencouper sergeant majoor Hawker [maart 1982],
met als dieptepunt de standrechtelijke executie van 15 politieke tegenstanders
van het militaire regime Bouterse, de zgn Decembermoorden.
Niet uitvlakken wil ik hier het moedige verpleegstersprotest daags na de Decembermoorden
Ook overleed een voormalig medestander en rechterhand van Bouterse,
majoor Horb onder verdachte omstandigheden in een politiecel [1983]
Bouterse c.s. vestigden een dictatuur, die zou voortduren tot de eerste verkiezingen in 1987.
In de met Brunswijk [leider Junglecommando] uitgevochten Binnenlandse Oorlog zijn in het marrondorp Moiwana onder verantwoordelijkheid van
Bouterse als legerbevelhebber meer dan 39 burgers gedood. Een massaslachting dus.
Na een aantal jaren richtte D. Bouterse zijn partij de NDP op, maakte
zich populair door mooie toespraken en enkele doorgevoerde sociale verbeteringen.
Laat niet onverlet, dat Bouterse en co zich schuldig hebben gemaakt aan
foltering, diefstal, executies en massamoord/Misdaden tegen de menselijkheid.
Vanwege de ”heiligverklaring” van Bouterse is dit Stuk geschreven.
Opdat zijn misdaden en het rampzalige stempel, dat hij op Suriname heeft
gedrukt, niet worden vergeten.
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Mail Astrid Essed aan Suriname Herald/[Ingezonden Stuk]/Desi Bouterse geen ”volksheld”/Dief/Dictator/Misdadiger tegen de menselijkheid
maandag 6 januari 2025. Bij deze nog de beste wensen voor wie dit leest!
Een citaat uit verslaggeving van Aljazeera, gedateerd 5 januari 2025: ‘Israëlische troepen hebben in Gaza 88 Palestijnen gedood in een enkele dag. Ze bombardeerden de enclave meer dan 100 keer in slechts drie dagen, waarbij ze meer dan 200 Palestijnen doodden, waarvan vrouwen en kinderen het merendeel van de slachtoffers uitmaakten.’(1) Tweehonderd Palestijnen door Israël gedood. In drie dagen tijd.
De NOS schrijft, op dezelfde 5 januari: ‘Israëlische luchtaanvallen in Gaza hebben dit weekend aan 102 Palestijnen het leven gekost, zeggen Palestijnse medici’.(2) The Guardian, enkele dagen eerder, op 3 januari: ‘Gaza’s bureau voor burgerbescherming zei dat er vrijdag 30 mensen gedood waren in Israëlische luchtaanvallen’.(3) Of deze 30 doden onder de 200 slachtoffers vielen waar Aljazeera melding van maakte, is niet duidelijk. Of ze vallen onder de 102 omgebrachte mensen die door de NOS worden gemeld evenmin. Wat wel heel duidelijk is: Israëlische aanvallen jagen dag na genocidale dag tientallen, vaak vele tientallen, Palestijnen de dood in. Nogmaals: dag na dag na dag.
Het zijn niet alleen bommen en raketten waarmee Israël Palestijnen vermoordt. De staat Israël stelt de Palestijnen in Gaza bloot aan honger, door de toevoer van voedsel zeer moeilijk te maken. De staat Israël stelt Palestijnen bloot aan ziekte door hetzelfde te doen met medicijnen, en door keer op keer ziekenhuizen aan te vallen. De staat Israël stelt Palestijnen bloot aan snerpende kou, doordat er vanwege de eindeloze luchtaanvallen amper nog een gebouw overeind staat waar mensen veilig beschutting kunnen vinden. Dus wonen mensen in intussen tot de draad versleten tenten. Die kou eist inmiddels slachtoffers: acht baby’s zijn inmiddels door onderkoeling omgekomen,(4) en hetzelfde geldt ook al voor een hulpverlener.(5) Vermoord door een Israël dat van geen ophouden weet.
The Guardian geeft een glimp van hoe mensen op Gaza zich moeten zien te redden: ‘Je raakt de zijkant van deze tenten aan, en alle kakkerlakken komen er uit, en alle insecten schieten weg, en nu in de winter zijn de tenten overstroomd, ze hebben slangen er in, er zitten ratten in, het water komt naar binnen, en mensen slapen op de grond terwijl het water op hun hoofden druppelt in de vrieskou’. Aldus Louise Wateridge, werkzaam voor de VN-hulpverlening aan Palestijnen in Gaza.(6)
Niet iedereen in Gaza heeft het even beroerd, trouwens. Voor Israëlische soldaten die even moete uitrusten van hun moordenaarswerk zijn riante voorzieningen getroffen. In Common Dreams wordt een zekere David Turjeman geciteerd, ‘hoofd van de voedingsdienst voor het Southern Command van de IDF’ (de Israëlische militaire moordmachinerie dus): ‘Je weet dat dit Gaza is, toch? Maar we hebben hier een thuisgevoel gecreëerd, met ijskoffie, espresso, toast, sahkshuka, vers fruit en zelfs roomeis op warmere dagen.’ Er is geestelijke gezondheidszorg beschikbaar, tandheelkundige zorg en zelfs massage.(7) Een ‘thuisgevoel’ voor die koloniale bezettingstroepen, terwijl de rechtmatige bewo0ners van huis en haard door precies die koloniale bezetters van huis en haard worden geterroriseerd en de dood in gejaagd. Common Dreams haalt de in formatie uit Ynet, een Israëlisch mainstream mediakanaal, waar zoiets dus kennelijk zonder merkbare schaamte wereldkundig wordt gemaakt.
Weinig wijst er op dat Israël voornemens is haar genocide snel stop te zetten. Erger: er zijn in de Israëlische politiek stemmen hoorbaar die de moordpartij nog verder willen intensiever. Mondoweiss, een kritische en momenteel onmisbare website over wat er in Palestina gebeurt, kwam op 4 januari 2025 met het volgende: ‘Op 31 december stuurden acht wetgevers van de regeringscoalitie in de commissies voor Buitenlandse zaken en Defensie een brief naar minister van defensie Israel Gatz waarin ze er bij hem op aandrongen om het beleg van Gaza te intensiveren – niet alleen in het noorden, maar in het hele territorium.’(8)
Het idee is kennelijk om iedereen in de ene zone na de andere tot vertrek te dwingen. Wie achterblijft, is dan legitiem doelwit. Intussen zou dan de complete toevoer van voedsel en water moeten worden afgeknepen, en alle energiebronnen en-toevoer moeten worden vernietigd. Plus: ‘Eliminatie-op-afstand van iedereen die zich in het gebied zonder witte vlag beweegt tijdens de dagen van effectief beleg’. ‘Eliminatie-op-afstand’, dat klinkt als: net zo lang bommen op het gebied gooien tot er niemand meer in leven is.
Dit is dus een voorstel van acht parlementsleden, geen officiële politiek. Maar je krijgt de indruk dat een wat slordige rommelige versie van deze aanpak intussen al min of meer beleid is. Met af en toe wat uitzonderingen op de uitroeiingsregels, zodat Israël-supporters kunnen schermen met de alom bekende humanitaire zorgzaamheid van Israël, en het Witte Huis zo ongestoord mogelijk wapens blijft sturen en Israël haar genocide kan voortzetten tot er geen Palestijn in Gaza meer in leven is.
Want daar gaat het onmiskenbaar naar toe als er aan de systematische moordpartijen geen einde wordt gemaakt. Nu al is de Palestijnse bevolking van Gaza naar schatting met 6 procent gedaald: 100.000 mensen zijn uit het gebied vertrokken, en pakweg 55.000 mensen leven niet meer. Met die cijfers kwam het Palestijnse Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek op nieuwjaarsdag 2025.(9). Uit de aantallen waarmee ik dit artikel opende, blijkt dat het tempo waarmee Israël haar genocide doorzet de laatste tijd niet bepaald de neiging heeft s om snel te dalen. Dat we alles op alles horen te zetten om aan deze massamoordpartij – en dus ook aan de Nederlandse medeplichtigheid daar aan – een einde te maken, mag duidelijk zijn. De urgente vraag is: hoe?!
Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, the organization said in a landmark new report published today.
The report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.
“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.
“States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide. All states with influence over Israel, particularly key arms suppliers like the USA and Germany, but also other EU member states, the UK and others, must act now to bring Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza to an immediate end.”
Over the past two months the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where a besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.
“Our research reveals that, for months, Israel has persisted in committing genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreparable harm it was inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza. It continued to do so in defiance of countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediate measures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard.
“Israel has repeatedly argued that its actions in Gaza are lawful and can be justified by its military goal to eradicate Hamas. But genocidal intent can co-exist alongside military goals and does not need to be Israel’s sole intent.”
Amnesty International examined Israel’s acts in Gaza closely and in their totality, taking into account their recurrence and simultaneous occurrence, and both their immediate impact and their cumulative and mutually reinforcing consequences. The organization considered the scale and severity of the casualties and destruction over time. It also analysed public statements by officials, finding that prohibited acts were often announced or called for in the first place by high-level officials in charge of the war efforts.
“Taking into account the pre-existing context of dispossession, apartheid and unlawful military occupation in which these acts have been committed, we could find only one reasonable conclusion: Israel’s intent is the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, whether in parallel with, or as a means to achieve, its military goal of destroying Hamas,” said Agnès Callamard.
“The atrocity crimes committed on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other armed groups against Israelis and victims of other nationalities, including deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking, can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”
International jurisprudence recognizes that the perpetrator does not need to succeed in their attempts to destroy the protected group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to have been committed. The commission of prohibited acts with the intent to destroy the group, as such, is sufficient.
Amnesty International’s report examines in detail Israel’s violations in Gaza over nine months between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024. The organization interviewed 212 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, healthcare workers, conducted fieldwork and analysed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies. On multiple occasions, the organization shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication.
Unprecedented scale and magnitude
Israel’s actions following Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October 2023 have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. Its brutal military offensive had killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, by 7 October 2024, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families. It has caused unprecedented destruction, which experts say occurred at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, levelling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites. It thereby rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.
Mohammed, who fled with his family from Gaza City to Rafah in March 2024 and was displaced again in May 2024, described their struggle to survive in horrifying conditions:
“Here in Deir al-Balah, it’s like an apocalypse… You have to protect your children from insects, from the heat, and there is no clean water, no toilets, all while the bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman here.”
Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death. Israel also subjected hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment.
Viewed in isolation, some of the acts investigated by Amnesty International constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But in looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion.
Intent to destroy
To establish Israel’s specific intent to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such, Amnesty International analysed the overall pattern of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, reviewed dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials, particularly those at the highest levels, and considered the context of Israel’s system of apartheid, its inhumane blockade of Gaza and the unlawful 57-year-old military occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Before reaching its conclusion, Amnesty International examined Israel’s claims that its military lawfully targeted Hamas and other armed groups throughout Gaza, and that the resulting unprecedented destruction and denial of aid were the outcome of unlawful conduct by Hamas and other armed groups, such as locating fighters among the civilian population or the diversion of aid. The organization concluded these claims are not credible. The presence of Hamas fighters near or within a densely populated area does not absolve Israel from its obligations to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and avoid indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Its research found Israel repeatedly failed to do so, committing multiple crimes under international law for which there can be no justification based on Hamas’s actions. Amnesty International also found no evidence that the diversion of aid could explain Israel’s extreme and deliberate restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.
In its analysis, the organization also considered alternative arguments such as ones that Israel was acting recklessly or that it simply wanted to destroy Hamas and did not care if it needed to destroy Palestinians in the process, demonstrating a callous disregard for their lives rather than genocidal intent.
However, regardless of whether Israel sees the destruction of Palestinians as instrumental to destroying Hamas or as an acceptable by-product of this goal, this view of Palestinians as disposable and not worthy of consideration is in itself evidence of genocidal intent.
Many of the unlawful acts documented by Amnesty International were preceded by officials urging their implementation. The organization reviewed 102 statements that were issued by Israeli government and military officials and others between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 and dehumanized Palestinians, called for or justified genocidal acts or other crimes against them.
Of these, Amnesty International identified 22 statements made by senior officials in charge of managing the offensive that appeared to call for, or justify, genocidal acts, providing direct evidence of genocidal intent. This language was frequently replicated, including by Israeli soldiers on the ground, as evidenced by audiovisual content verified by Amnesty International showing soldiers making calls to “erase” Gaza or to make it uninhabitable, and celebrating the destruction of Palestinian homes, mosques, schools and universities.
Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm
Amnesty International documented the genocidal acts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinians in Gaza by reviewing the results of investigations it conducted into 15 air strikes between 7 October 2023 and 20 April 2024 that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others. Amnesty International found no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.
In one illustrative case, on 20 April 2024, an Israeli air strike destroyed the Abdelal family house in the Al-Jneinah neighbourhood in eastern Rafah, killing three generations of Palestinians, including 16 children, while they were sleeping.
While these represent just a fraction of Israel’s aerial attacks, they are indicative of a broader pattern of repeated direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects or deliberately indiscriminate attacks. The attacks were also conducted in ways designed to cause a very high number of fatalities and injuries among the civilian population.
Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction
The report documents how Israel deliberately inflicted conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza intended to lead, over time, to their destruction. These conditions were imposed through three simultaneous patterns that repeatedly compounded the effect of each other’s devastating impacts: damage to and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure and other objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; the repeated use of sweeping, arbitrary and confusing mass “evacuation” orders to forcibly displace almost all of Gaza’s population; and the denial and obstruction of the delivery of essential services, humanitarian assistance and other life-saving supplies into and within Gaza.
After 7 October 2023, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza cutting off electricity, water and fuel. In the nine months reviewed for this report, Israel maintained a suffocating, unlawful blockade, tightly controlled access to energy sources, failed to facilitate meaningful humanitarian access within Gaza, and obstructed the import and delivery of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, particularly to areas north of Wadi Gaza. They thereby exacerbated an already existing humanitarian crisis. This, combined with the extensive damage to Gaza’s homes, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities and agricultural land, and mass forced displacement, caused catastrophic levels of hunger and led to the spread of diseases at alarming rates. The impact was especially harsh on young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, with anticipated long-term consequences for their health.
Time and again, Israel had the chance to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, yet for over a year it has repeatedly refused to take steps blatantly within its power to do so, such as opening sufficient access points to Gaza or lifting tight restrictions on what could enter the Strip or their obstruction of aid deliveries within Gaza while the situation has grown progressively worse.
Through its repeated “evacuation” orders Israel displaced nearly 1.9 million Palestinians – 90% of Gaza’s population – into ever-shrinking, unsafe pockets of land under inhumane conditions, some of them up to 10 times. These multiple waves of forced displacement left many jobless and deeply traumatized, especially since some 70% of Gaza’s residents are refugees or descendants of refugees whose towns and villages were ethnically cleansed by Israel during the 1948 Nakba.
Despite conditions quickly becoming unfit for human life, Israeli authorities refused to consider measures that would have protected displaced civilians and ensured their basic needs were met, showing that their actions were deliberate.
They refused to allow those displaced to return to their homes in northern Gaza or relocate temporarily to other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory or Israel, continuing to deny many Palestinians their right to return under international law to areas they were displaced from in 1948. They did so knowing that there was nowhere safe for Palestinians in Gaza to flee to.
Accountability for genocide
“The international community’s seismic, shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza, by first delaying calls for a ceasefire and then continuing arms transfers, is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience,” said Agnès Callamard.
“Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end this genocide, which was enabled by decades of impunity for Israel’s violations of international law. States need to move beyond mere expressions of regret or dismay and take strong and sustained international action, however uncomfortable a finding of genocide may be for some of Israel’s allies.
“The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued last month offer real hope of long-overdue justice for victims. States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC.
“We are calling on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently consider adding genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating and for all states to use every legal avenue to bring perpetrators to justice. No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished.”
Amnesty International is also calling for all civilian hostages to be released unconditionally and for Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups responsible for the crimes committed on 7 October to be held to account.
The organization is also calling for the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against Israeli and Hamas officials most implicated in crimes under international law.
Since October 2023, Amnesty International has conducted in-depth investigations into the multiple violations and crimes under international law committed by Israeli forces, including direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and deliberately indiscriminate attacks killing hundreds of civilians, as well as other unlawful attacks on and collective punishment of the civilian population. The organization has called on the Office of the ICC Prosecutor to expedite its investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine and is campaigning for an immediate ceasefire.
For the Hebrew translation of this press release, click here.
This report documents Israel’s actions during its offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip from 7 October 2023. It examines the killing of civilians, damage to and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcible displacement, the obstruction or denial of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, and the restriction of power supplies. It analyses Israel’s intent through this pattern of conduct and statements by Israeli decision-makers. It concludes that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. A stand-alone executive summary is available in English and other languages: ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza: Executive Summary (Index: MDE 15/8744/2024).
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2024/REFUGEE IN THE PAST/REFUGEE IN 2024
What HELL is going through the soul of any human being, especially
a Child, when you are the only survivor of a Ship, on it’s way to
Safety and [hopefully] a Better Life, a Ship, that perished in
the Mediterranean Sea?You are eleven years old.In a terrible Fear of DeathDeadly lonely…..As in a Miracle you’re being saved!No, this is NO Horror Movie.It really happened.LOOK! [1] And the Story goes, that the Girl has been found clinging to tire tubes for 3 days, before she was saved!Rescue workers of rescue vessel Trotamar III, run by the Germanorganisation Compass Collective, heard her screams in the darkness.And so they rescued her life.And this Story is written. Trotamar III skipper declared:”
“It was an incredible coincidence that we heard the child’s voice even though the engine was running,” [2]
A True Miracle……..
That’s the way WE look at it
But the Girl
Herself?
What a World of Fear, Fear of Death, Trauma, Horror,
she must have lived in…..
A Child of eleven years old deserves to play, to computer
game, to sport or whatever children on that age do.
NOT to fight for her life, clinging to tire tubes on a stormy
sea, facindg Death in the Middle of the Night……………….
I would like to know how the Child fared.
If she got the necessary help to survive this nearly death Event.
If she was able to scream, cry or talk about the deepfear and abandonment she must have felt. But WE will not hear it.Not we. Because like all socalled ”asylum fortune seekers” [3],at the end she will end up in the pile of all those migants,who are a ”threat” to the West, to Europe. [4] I hope Life will be good to her. It’s a Horror, that at so young an age she has to learn, whatinhumanity and exclusion means.Because had there been safe passages for refugees to Europe,she would not have looked Death in the eyes.On an age other children play, make joy.Have their dreams………… These are my Thoughts, preceding to the Remembrance ofanother Poor Family, firstly hunted in the cold to their Birthplace for the Counting of the People on the order of the RomanEmperor Augustus [5].A Horror Journey on a Donkey.The man, trying to protect his pregnang Wife as wellas possible.AND THEN!NOT welcome in the Inn, the Child born in a stable,hunted again, because the King considered the Childas a Danger [6] They fled to Egypt and returned when the King was dead [7]They were safe in Egypt, because there were no asylum laws there.Were there asylum measures a la the Dutch Minister Faber [8], noChristmas Story was ever told.
HEAR! Christmas:We celebrate it as a Big FeastAnd that is Good But let’s face-for one moment- how it beganAnd why of ALL Things This Child showed us,human being, His Message of Humanity and EqualityThink about that, Friends And let us, through all Turkeys and Christmas Pies, notforget that 11 year old Girl, who was, also not welcome in theINN. BLESSED AND MERRY CHRISTMAS ASTRID ESSED
”2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.”
2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.[6]
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
The Dutch Cabinet has approved three asylum reform laws proposed by Minister of Asylum and Migration Marjolein Faber. The proposed legislation includes the introduction of a two-tier system for asylum seekers, the elimination of permanent asylum permits, and stricter rules on family reunification.
According to Faber, the measures aim to reduce the number of new asylum seekers and their families entering the Netherlands and to ensure recognized refugees return to their home countries when conditions there improve. “By reducing inflow and increasing return, we can relieve the pressure on the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), asylum shelters, and the housing, healthcare, and education sectors,” Faber said in a statement following the Cabinet meeting.
The proposals are contained in three bills that will now be sent to the Council of State for review. Once the Council issues its advice, the legislation will need approval from both chambers of Parliament.
The two-tier system would categorize asylum seekers based on their likelihood of being granted protection, with stricter rules and shorter stays for those in the second category. The elimination of permanent asylum permits would mean refugees could no longer stay indefinitely, with their status subject to periodic reviews based on conditions in their home countries. The restrictions on family reunification aim to limit the number of family members who can join refugees already in the Netherlands.
Faber’s earlier attempt to reduce asylum numbers through emergency state laws failed after resistance from Parliament, particularly the Senate, where the coalition lacks a majority. That proposal sought to bypass parliamentary approval, sparking widespread opposition.
Despite these setbacks, Faber expressed confidence in the new measures. “I am moving forward. If adjustments are needed, we will look into them,” she said.
The proposals have drawn criticism from legal experts, the judiciary, and the Council of State, who argue that parts of the plan may conflict with international obligations. Advocacy groups and lawyers have also raised concerns about the potential impact on the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.
Faber declined to address specific criticisms, stating only that “all kinds of issues are, of course, being discussed and taken seriously.”
The minister remains optimistic about the progress of the reforms. “I’ll just wait for the advice calmly. You probably know me as a positive person,” she said.
Within the coalition government, the plans have faced skepticism from the New Social Contract (NSC) party, which has repeatedly questioned the feasibility and legality of the reforms. Faber, however, dismissed the concerns, saying, “Yes, they are critical, but that is allowed.
END
Reacties uitgeschakeld voor Notes 5 T/M 8/IT’S A MIRACLE!
An 11-year-old girl has been found clinging to tire tubes off the Italian coast after the migrant boat she was on sank three days earlier.
The girl is from Sierra Leone and has been named as “Yasmine” in Italian media.
She was found with a life jacket in the Mediterranean Sea early Wednesday morning by the crew of Trotamar II rescue vessel, which is run by the German NGO Compass Collective.
She told rescuers that the boat had left Sfax in Tunisia over the weekend with around 45 people on board, including her young brother, according to a statement from the rescue charity German NGO Compass Collective.
A storm in the area at the time had halted operations for several NGO rescue vessels around the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The girl said two others had initially survived when the metal boat overturned in the storm, but they disappeared into the water hours before she was rescued. All other migrants are presumed dead.
Trotamar III skipper Matthias Wiedenlübbert said they heard her cries in the darkness around 3:20 a.m. Wednesday (9:20 p.m. ET Tuesday). The boat, which had been on its way to another rescue, started patrolling the area after spotting debris from the capsized vessel.
“It was an incredible coincidence that we heard the child’s voice even though the engine was running,” he said. “And of course we looked for other survivors. But after the day-long storm with over 23 knots and 2.5-meter-high waves, it was hopeless.”
The girl was rushed to Lampedusa where she is being treated for hypothermia. She is expected to survive, according to the Red Cross, which manages the migrant center on the island.
The same night, the NGO distributed lifejackets to another boat in distress with 53 people on board before alerting Italian authorities of its location. It is not clear if those people were rescued.
Crew member Katja Tempel said: “Even during storms, people are forced to use risky escape routes across the Mediterranean. We need safe passage for refugees and an open Europe that welcomes people and gives them easy access to the asylum system. Drowning in the Mediterranean is not an option.”
More than 64,000 people have been rescued in the Central Mediterranean trying to reach Italy between January 1 and December 11, according to government statistics. Of those, 7,879 have been unaccompanied minors.
The miraculous rescue has reignited the debate about providing safe corridors for those seeking asylum in Europe. Earlier this year, Italy attempted to open migrant processing centers in Albania, but their legality has been caught up in the Italian court system.
END
[2]
“It was an incredible coincidence that we heard the child’s voice even though the engine was running,” he said. “And of course we looked for other survivors. But after the day-long storm with over 23 knots and 2.5-meter-high waves, it was hopeless.”
CNN
GIRL, 11, SURVIVES MIGRANT SHIPWRECK BY CLINGING TO
”A majority of respondents said that the Netherlands must make room for “real” refugees, but many don’t think that applies to the people currently seeking asylum in the Netherlands. Many voters describe asylum seekers as “fortune seekers,” “fake refugees” and refer to “large suitcases in Ter Apel,” with the idea that “a real refugee comes with little clothing.”
The Netherlands’ self-image as an open, compassionate country took a big blow when Geert Wilders and his PVV won the parliamentary elections at the end of November, and anti-asylum seeker sentiment has only grown since then. In the autumn, half of voters considered it a moral duty to take in asylum seekers, now, it is 39 percent. Nearly half want to reintroduce border controls within the European Union, the Volkskrant reports based on research it commissioned from Ipsos I&O.
There is a clear difference in political preference and how voters feel about asylum seekers. The more right-wing the voters, the more concerns they have about immigration. For example, 91 percent of PVV voters think immigration is the biggest problem of our time, compared to only 31 percent of GroenLinks-PvdA voters, who are far more concerned about the climate crisis.
According to Gianna Maria Eick, a political scientist at the University of Amsterdam who was not involved in this research, the immigration debate is over-polarized. “The politics are not in line with the facts.” For example, many right-wing voters have the idea that the Netherlands takes in far more asylum seekers than other EU countries, while in fact, the Netherlands is right in the middle, taking in slightly fewer asylum seekers per 1 million residents than the EU average.
But 78 percent of PVV voters think the Netherlands takes in (far) more asylum seekers than other countries. The same is true for 72 percent of BBB voters, 62 percent of VVD voters, and 59 percent of NSC voters. “That misconception is, therefore, present in all parties that form the new coalition,” Eick said. “At the same time, one in three voters of GroenLinks-PvdA underestimates the number of asylum seekers.”
A majority of respondents said that the Netherlands must make room for “real” refugees, but many don’t think that applies to the people currently seeking asylum in the Netherlands. Many voters describe asylum seekers as “fortune seekers,” “fake refugees” and refer to “large suitcases in Ter Apel,” with the idea that “a real refugee comes with little clothing.”
This image seems to be strongly influenced by what politicians have called “safe-landers” – asylum seekers from countries the Netherlands considers “safe” and who stand little chance of their application being approved in the Netherlands. In reality, only 4 percent of asylum seekers in the Netherlands come from a safe country. But reports about the nuisance this group causes in villages like Ter Apel color the perception. According to the Volkskrant, many voters have the feeling that asylum seekers abuse Dutch “hospitality” and facilities.
According to political scientist Eick, this fear that asylum seekers will steal facilities or get priority touches on “welfare chauvinism”—the position that newcomers to the country have less right to the welfare state. This sentiment is represented throughout Europe but is strikingly strong in the Netherlands and has grown here while it decreased slightly in other EU countries in the past two decades. Over half of Dutch voters think immigrants should only have access to the welfare state once they have been naturalized or not at all. Only in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Russia do voters want to be stricter.
“An economic explanation is often looked at, but that does not apply here,” Eick said. The Netherlands is a prosperous country with low unemployment and high incomes. Dutch also don’t spend the most on public facilities – the Netherlands is once again right around the average of the Western countries worldwide. According to Eick, this welfare chauvinism in the Netherlands is at least partly due to politicians like Geert Wilders. “He has been dominant for about 20 years with his anti-migration rhetoric. He feeds the idea that many problems are caused by newcomers.”
Hein de Haas, a migration expert and author of the book Hoe migratie echt werkt, told the Volkskrant that there is no one-to-one relationship between the popularity of anti-immigration parties and the actual problems. “In fact, in the year that the PVV achieved its first election victory, we had a negative migration balance. So it is not about the numbers, but about political image.”
According to De Haas, more asylum seekers have come to the Netherlands in recent years than in the preceding pandemic years, but asylum migration always happens in waves, and there is no structural increase. The high migration figure of the past two years is driven by Ukrainian refugees (100,000) and migrant workers, at least 900,000 of whom worked in the Netherlands last year.
The biggest driver behind migration is labor, the scientist said. “But politicians have used a distraction tactic to avoid talking about that because that goes directly against the economic agenda of, for example, the VVD and BBB.” So they focused their ire on asylum seekers, De Haas said. “And if voters hear often enough in talk shows that asylum migration is a problem, it will automatically become a lived reality.”
ANP
