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| Israeli warplane |
Ironfisted breach of law abrogates justice under law: Israel’s
conquest of Palestine is U.S. Global War on Terror
Edited by Carolyn Bennett
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| Geneva Conventions |
Told in five chapters roughly corresponding to a few
foundational legal opinions, “The Law in these Parts” is a documentary by Israeli
director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz dealing with 45 years of the Israeli military
legal system in the Occupied Territories on the West Bank and in the Gaza
Strip. This is an edited excerpt from a review by Kevin Kearney which was published
by the International Committee of the Fourth International at the World Socialist
Web Site.
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| Israeli wall |
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T
|
errorists and
Criminals (Chapter 2 of “The Law in these Parts”)
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Before introducing the 1969 case of the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) v Omar Mohammad Al-Qassem and eight others in Ramallah (all Fatah members),
Alexandrowicz explains ─
Today
the distinction between soldier and terrorist is deeply rooted in our legal and
political discourse.
But
at the end of the 1960s it was necessary to cement this distinction in the law.
Defendant Qassem tells the court he is certain this is his
land but he left when the occupation began and returned with other fighters to
liberate Palestine.
“Although the evidence showed that Qassem had only engaged
soldiers in battle—and he asserts he was merely a soldier fighting soldiers—the
court found that Qassem and his organization were terrorists with no legal protections under the international laws
of war ─ specifically the Geneva Convention.”
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| International Criminal Court The Hague |
“In his ruling Judge Abulafia concedes the Geneva Convention
grants special status to lawful combatants and that even includes members of
liberation organizations, but [the judge] holds that this status must first be
earned by following the rules of war in battle.
“Abulafia finds that the entire Palestinian liberation
movement does not follow the rules of war, citing civilian victims unrelated to
the particular facts of Qassem’s case and declares [Qassem] the member of a
terrorist organization, specifying that Palestinian liberation fighters like
Qassem will never have any rights under international law.”
|
G
|
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| United States attacks Iraq |
lobal war on terror TERROR
“Here we encounter, Kevin Kearney writes, “the Global War on
Terror’s pretense of legality in microcosm, growing organically out of the
Israeli conquest of Palestine.
“This poisonous piece of legal fruit,” Kearney continues, “has been dusted off, revised and updated by the U.S. government, which arrogates to itself −
the
authority to strip all rights of anyone it brands a terrorist
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| U.S. drone War on Terror terror |
to
subject them to indefinite detention and
even
summary execution without trial
Kearney concludes in praise of the filmmaker. “The Law in
These Parts” is a great success primarily because Alexandrowicz is a principled
artist who is “earnest in his desire to make sense of his subject matter… seeking
to understand a tragic reality and to prevent its recreation on a global scale.”
Sources and notes
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| Israeli warplane |
“The Law in These Parts: Israeli military justice in the
Occupied Territories” (Kevin Kearney, published by the International Committee
of the Fourth International (ICFI), wsws.org, November 21, 2012, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/nov2012/lawi-n21.shtml
From Israeli director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, “The Law in
These Parts,” has opened in New York City.
The Law in These Parts a film by Ra'anan Alexandrowicz
Film Forum Screenings New York City
209 West Houston Street, New York, NY 10014, between 6th
Avenue and Varick (7th Avenue) to the venue's website
November 23, 2012, at 13:15, 15:15, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
November 24, 2012, at 13:15, 15:15, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
November 25, 2012, at 13:15, 15:15, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
November 26, 2012, at 13:15, 15:15, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
November 27, 2012, at 13:15, 15:15, 18:00, 20:00, 22:00
http://www.thelawfilm.com/eng#!/screenings
http://www.thelawfilm.com/eng#!/the-film
Britannica notes
FATAH
Fatah is a political and military organization of Arab
Palestinians, founded in the late 1950s by Yāsir ʿArafāt and Khalīl al-Wazīr
(Abū Jihād) with the aim of wresting Palestine from Israeli control by waging
low-intensity guerrilla warfare.
Fatah (also spelled Fatḥ (Arabic: “Conquest” or “Opening”),
inverted acronym of Ḥarakat al-Taḥrīr al-Waṭanī al-Filasṭīnī (“Palestine
National Liberation Movement”)
Fatah timeline
1960s
Fatah obtains Syrian support and establishes base in
Damascus.
Fatah develops commando-type organizational structure.
Carries out its first military operation (1964), blowing up
an Israeli water-pump installation.
Headquartered in Jordan (1968), emerges as major Palestinian
force and becomes (in March) primary target of Israeli attack on the Jordanian
village of Karameh (150 guerrillas, 29 Israelis die) [Six-Day War had occurred
in 1967]
Fatah becomes the largest, best-funded of all Palestinian
organizations; takes over effective control of the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO).
1970s
Jordan’s army, after that country’s civil war (September
1970), forces the PLO and Fatah fighters out of Jordan and into Lebanon
Jordanian authorities (July 1971) kill a respected Fatah
leader, Abū ʿAlī ʿIyād.
Militant corps of Fatah, Black September (Aylūl Aswad), emerges
(proclaimed in November 1971, notorious in September 1972).
1980s
Fatah is headquartered in southern Lebanon when Israel invades
(1982) presenting further crisis.
Tunisia becomes Fatah’s next base of operations.
Rival battling factions develop within Fatah (1983), divisive
leadership struggle develops.
1990s
Arafāt reclaims his leadership of Fatah, the largest
constituent member of the PLO
Israel and Fatah-led PLO (1993) sign peace agreement (the
Oslo Accords) opposed by Rival Islamic group, Hamas.
Palestinian Authority (PA) forms (1994) to govern emerging
Palestinian autonomous regions; Gaza city becomes Fatah headquarters.
Elections are held in PA-administered areas (1996)
Arafat wins the presidency
Fatah captures a majority of seats
within the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC); Hamas does not participate in
the elections.
2000s
One of Fatah’s original members, Mahmoud Abbas, is elected
PA president (2005). Yasir Arafat had died November 11, 2004 [the cause of his
death was being questioned in 2012]
Elections are held (2006) for the PLC; Hamas wins majority
of seats.
YASIR ARAFAT
Yasir Arafat: president (1996–2004) of the Palestinian
Authority (PA), chairman (1969–2004) of the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO), and leader of Fatah, the largest of the constituent PLO groups.
Arafat led the PLO to a peace agreement with the Israeli
government in 1993; and in 1994 received jointly with Israel’s Yitzhak Rabin
and Shimon Peres the Nobel Prize for Peace.
___________________________________________
Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire http://www.facebook.com/#!/bennetts2ndstudy
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