Thursday, January 20, 2011

PM: Israel will work to disconnect Gaza from power grid


PM Netanyahu and French FM Alliot-Marie

Photo by: French Embassy


The Jerusalem Post




Netanyahu, FM meet with French FM; Lieberman tells her Israel has facilitated peace, while Palestinians "commemorate terrorists."

In a meeting with French Foreign Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie on Thursdsay, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he will work to disconnect Israeli infrastructure from the Gaza Strip.

Israel "will work to disconnect from Gaza in the matter of infrastructure, mainly the electricity and water," the prime minister said.

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Additionally, the two agreed to cooperate in working towards the creation of a regional emergency response system for disasters such as the Carmel fire.

Earlier Thursday, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to halt diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority and request that the US refrain from giving foreign aid to the West Bank government.

Lieberman said that while Israel has taken steps to facilitate peace with the Palestinians, the PA continues to "commemorate terrorists by naming streets and squares after them in their cities."  

While meeting with visiting French Foreign Minister Michèle Alliot-Marie, Lieberman said that the current unbalanced situation cannot be allowed to continue.

Lieberman stated that the Foreign Ministry is preparing a report detailing Israeli and Palestinian activities since the current government was formed. The report is meant to show the large gaps in what the two sides have done to facilitate peace.

Also on Thursday, Allot-Marie met with President Shimon Peres. She was scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak in Tel Aviv later in the day. The two were expected to discuss renewing peace talks and other regional issues. 

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and as an added note:

MYTH
"Israel is required by international law to supply goods and services to Gaza- its blockade is 'collective punishment'." top

FACT

The statutes of international law only require Israel to permit passage of food, clothing and medicines intended for children under fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases. Israel, however, is not bound by the law to provide these supplies- it is only obligated not to interfere with provisions sent by others.470 Israel has not only complied with the law but has gone beyond precedent by providing humanitarian supplies itself. On the other hand, if Israel has reason to believe that Hamas will intercept these materials and the enemy will benefit, even these basic provisions may be prohibited.

Furthermore, the law does not prohibit Israel from cutting off fuel supplies and electricity to Gaza, withholding commercial items or sealing its border.  Additionally, Israel has no obligation to even provide the minimum supplies which would prevent a “humanitarian crisis.” In practice, though, Israel has gone above and beyond what is required- it provides for nearly 70% of Gaza’s energy supplies, allows sick and wounded Palestinians to be treated in Israeli hospitals and has even helped to upgrade Gaza’s sewage pumping and water purification stations. 471 Israel maintains this humanitarian corridor even though terror attacks continue to emanate from inside the strip.

Some critics have labeled Israel’s actions as "collective punishment," which is a reference to Article 50 of the Hague Convention on the Laws and Customs of War; however, this article pertains to the “imposition of criminal-type penalties to individuals or groups on the basis of another’s guilt.”472 Israel has done no such thing. Israel has no obligation to maintain open borders with a hostile territory. The suspension of trade relations and naval embargoes are frequent tools of international diplomacy and have never been regarded as “collective punishment.”473
"Legally, [Israel] is obliged only to prevent the civilian population from dying from starvation. In practice we have done much more than that... It is clear that the civilian population has suffered, but that does not mean the measure was illegal. We will not [target the areas where terrorists fire from], we will not do that. We will not harm the civilian population."
—Major General Avichai Mandelbilt, Israeli Military Advocate-General 474







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