[Jonathan Davis] There is and never has been a genocide in Israel. As Pascal Bruckner points out in 'The Temptation of Innocence' when he describes French farmers with banners reading "Stop the Genocide" protesting over fish prices , that "survivors of The Holocaust or of Rwanda will appreciate the extensive use
of the word."
[Jonathan Davis] Time to tone down the rhetoric maybe?
Genocide: The definitional article included in the 1948 convention stipulates in Article II (http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/gendef.htm)
In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Now from http://www.genocidewatch.org/whatisgenocide.htm
Punishable Acts
The following are genocidal acts when committed as part of a policy to destroy a group’s existence:
Killing members of the group includes direct killing and actions causing death.
Causing serious bodily or mental harm includes inflicting trauma on members of the group through widespread torture, rape, sexual violence, forced or coerced use of drugs, and mutilation.
Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy a group includes the deliberate deprivation of resources needed for the group’s physical survival, such as clean water, food, clothing, shelter or medical services. Deprivation of the means to sustain life can be imposed through confiscation of harvests, blockade of foodstuffs, detention in camps, forcible relocation or expulsion into deserts.
Prevention of births includes involuntary sterilization, forced abortion, prohibition of marriage, and long-term separation of men and women intended to prevent procreation.
Forcible transfer of children may be imposed by direct force or by through fear of violence, duress, detention, psychological oppression or other methods of coercion. The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines children as persons under the age of 14 years.
Genocidal acts need not kill or cause the death of members of a group. Causing serious bodily or mental harm, prevention of births and transfer of children are acts of genocide when committed as part of a policy to destroy a group’s existence:
It is a crime to plan or incite genocide, even before killing starts, and to aid or abet genocide: Criminal acts include conspiracy, direct and public incitement, attempts to commit genocide, and complicity in genocide.
Key Terms
The crime of genocide has two elements: intent and action. “Intentional” means purposeful. Intent can be proven directly from statements or orders. But more often, it must be inferred from a systematic pattern of coordinated acts.
Intent is different from motive. Whatever may be the motive for the crime (land expropriation, national security, territorrial integrity, etc.,) if the perpetrators commit acts intended to destroy a group, even part of a group, it is genocide.
The phrase "in whole or in part" is important. Perpetrators need not intend to destroy the entire group. Destruction of only part of a group (such as its educated members, or members living in one region) is also genocide. Most authorities require intent to destroy a substantial number of group members – mass murder. But an individual criminal may be guilty of genocide even if he kills only one person, so long as he knew he was participating in a larger plan to destroy the group.
The law protects four groups - national, ethnical, racial or religious groups.
A national group means a set of individuals whose identity is defined by a common country of nationality or national origin.
An ethnical group is a set of individuals whose identity is defined by common cultural traditions, language or heritage.
A racial group means a set of individuals whose identity is defined by physical characteristics.
A religious group is a set of individuals whose identity is defined by common religious creeds, beliefs, doctrines, practices, or rituals.
[hr]
Having established what Genocide is, let us examine the groups involved and actions taken against them.
The Palestians of the occupied territories are identifiable as an ethical or religious group. Thus they are protected by these statues.
Since 1948, members of the group have been killed. Widespread torture has been reported. They have no security or recourse which causes mental harm. The Israeli government has deliberately acted to deprive the group of resources needed for the group’s physical survival through prolonged curfews with severe restrictions on the movement of people and access for medical personnel; intense collective punishments; wanton damage to homes, cars and civilian property; looting and theft in the course of searches; and the coerced use of civilians to assist military operations. Such actions violate international standards and transcend any justification of military necessity. Palestinians do not have access to clean water. Large numbers of Palestinians have been deprived of housing. Foodstuffs have been blockaded. Many are detained without trial in camps. Large numbers have been forcibly relocated.
Thus crimes have been committed against the Palestinians, which if intent can be shown, would classify as genocide. Intent can be established through a pattern of behavior or through speech. A pattern of behaviour is shown in that, for at least the past fifty-four years if not longer, the Israeli government and its predecessors-in-law--the Zionist Agencies and Forces--have ruthlessly implemented a systematic and comprehensive military, political, and economic campaign with the intent to destroy in substantial part the national, ethnical and racial group known as the Palestinian People. This Zionist/Israeli campaign has consisted of killing members of the Palestinian People in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(a). This Zionist/Israeli campaign has also caused serious bodily and mental harm to the Palestinian People in violation of Genocide Convention Article II(b). This Zionist/Israeli campaign has also deliberately inflicted on the Palestinian People conditions of life calculated to bring about the
ir physical destruction in substantial part in violation of Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention.
In addition, we could cite the words of Zionists and leaders of the Israeli government which reflect intent. Perhaps the clearest description came from an Israeli Officer at Jenin "The problem," he says, "is that there is not enough room in this small country for two peoples. It is a trial of strength that we are winning. They would like to throw us into the sea. We may have to do the same to them." http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,680496,00.html. A brief Internet search will turn up hundreds.
It is important to note that allies of Israel, or countries acting to attempt to prevent a trial could also be charged before the International Court of Justice for aiding and abetting Israeli genocide against the Palestinian People in violation of Article III(e) of the 1948 Genocide Convention that expressly criminalizes "complicity" in genocide.
Additional material from Media Monitors (http://www.mediamonitors.net) particularly http://www.mediamonitors.net/francis4.html
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