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Note: It should be clear that Yesh Gvul regards numerous actions by Palestinian or Lebanese organizations (e.g. suicide bombings or missile attacks on the civilian population) as war crimes. Israel has detained or executed without trial thousands of such Lebanese and Palestinian suspects. Not a single Israeli official has been brought to justice on charges of war crimes. 18/06/09 ----- Here are the addresses and parliamentarians as part of the Justice Committee of the Spanish Congress, where he discussed the possibility of universal jurisdiction. The idea is that Palestinian, Israeli, etc., send your signature to these addresses. There may be duplicate postings, but it would be good if they did the voices. On June 25 and 18 are the two meetings which relate to the retention of the law or not, although both the PSOE and the PP and the nationalist right-wing have made the amendment. You can send this text to your address and ask them to forward your signature text to all those addresses? alvaro.cuesta@diputado.congreso.es; oscar.seco@diputado.congreso.es; oscarseco@socialistasvascos.com; juan.albendea@diputado.congreso.es; helena.castellano@diputada.congreso.es; jclagares@diputado.congreso.es; informacion@upyd.es; j.jane@convergencia.cat; pilar.cazorla@gppnv.congreso.es; jridao@diputado.congreso.es; federico.trillo@diputado.congreso.es; julio.villarrubia@diputado.congreso.es; vicente.ferrer@diputado.congreso.es; carmen.juanes@diputada.congreso.es; elviro.aranda@diputado.congreso.es; congreso.es; andres.ayala@diputado.congreso.es; javier.barrero@diputado.congreso.es; mjbonilla@diputada.congreso.es; mjbonilla@terra.es; meritxell.cabezon@diputada.congreso.es; eugenia.carballedo@diputada.congreso.es; a.gtizon@diputado.congreso.es; pilargonzalez@diputada.congreso.es; plopez@diputada.congreso.es; guillermomariscal@diputado.congreso.es; carmen.maron@diputada.congreso.es; pmatos@diputado.congreso.es; lourdesmendez@diputada.congreso.es; jmerino@diputado.congreso.es; montserrat@diputada.congreso.es; pedromg@diputado.congreso.es; mdolorsnadal@diputada.congreso.es; jordi.pedret@diputado.congreso.es (jordi.pedret@diputado.congreso.es); jesus.quijano@diputado.congreso.es; juanluis.rascon@diputado.congreso.es; gloria.rivero@diputada.congreso.es; gloria.rivero@gmail.com; mdelarocha@diputado.congreso.es; alexsaez@diputado.congreso.es; conchisanz@diputada.congreso.es; meritxell.batet@diputada.congreso.es; mfbermejo@diputado.congreso.es; anafupa@diputada.congreso.es; carlosgonzalez@diputado.congreso.es; pilargrande@diputada.congreso.es; carmen.bono@diputada.congreso.es; ahernando@psoe.es; gaspar.llamazares@diputado.congreso.es; pablo.martin@diputado.congreso.es; pablomartin@abogadosmartinsalva.com; carmen.monton@diputada.congreso.es; joseluis.perestelo@cablapalma.es; merce.pigem@diputada.congreso.es; mamen.sanchez@diputada.congreso.es; montse.surroca@diputada.congreso.es; ana.torme@diputada.congreso.es; matrujillo@diputada.congreso.es; jose.bono@presidente.congreso.es; viceprimera@mesa.congreso.es; j.jane@convergencia.cat; jrbeloki@diputado.congreso.es; celia.villalobos@diputada.congreso.es; ignacio.gil@diputado.congreso.es; jlrzapatero@presidencia.gob.es ; santiglez@hotmail.es; alquds@alquds-palestina.org IN SUPPORT OF UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION The social organizations, solidarity groups, development NGOs and human rights associations, as well as persons of the academic and legal sphere, listed below: WE EXPRESS our opposition to the approval by the Spanish Congress of Deputies of the Resolution that limits the exercise of the universal penal jurisdiction by the Spanish courts and restricts their jurisdiction to the cases in which those presumed responsible are found in Spain or to the fact that there are victims of Spanish nationality. WE RECALL , once again, that as a signatory of the Geneva Agreements of 1949 on Humanitarian International Law and the Additional Protocol I to these Agreements, related to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, Spain is obliged to maintain the universal jurisdiction principle within its legislation in order to judge those responsible for war crimes. Because of this, we consider this resolution a clear disregard of the conventional obligations assumed by the Spanish State. In relation to other international crimes as crimes against humanity or genocide, defined by International Law, on the extent that it prevents them from being prosecuted, its approval also implies an act of concealment. Consequently, the decision will also evidently limit the rights of the victims. WE REQUEST that the Government not continue with the reform of Article 23.4 of the Organic Law of the Judicial Power which could prejudice ongoing causes. We believe that the Spanish Government is obliged to prefer the fulfilment of its international commitments and the defence of human rights over contingent national interests and economic or political pressures. The legal actions carried out by civil society come to fill the gap left by the international community in the Palestinian issue. The governments, avoiding their responsability, do not try to solve the main problem: the Occupation of Palestine and the long series of crimes that have been committed with impunity for decades on Palestinian civil society and its properties. MANIFIESTO EN APOYO DE LA JURISDICCIÓN UNIVERSAL Las organizaciones sociales, grupos de solidaridad, ONG de desarrollo y asociaciones de derechos humanos, así como las personas del ámbito académico y jurídico, enumeradas abajo: EXPRESAMOS nuestra oposición a la aprobación por parte del Congreso de los Diputados de la Resolución que limita el ejercicio por los tribunales españoles de la jurisdicción penal universal y restringe su competencia a los casos en que los presuntos responsables se encuentran en España o a que haya víctimas de nacionalidad española. RECORDAMOS, una vez más, que como país firmante de los Convenios de Ginebra de 1949 sobre Derecho Internacional Humanitario y del Protocolo Adicional I a dichos Convenios, relativo a la protección de las víctimas de los conflictos armados internacionales, España tiene la obligación de mantener intacto en su legislación el principio de jurisdicción universal para juzgar a los responsables de la comisión de crímenes de guerra. Por ello consideramos esta resolución un claro incumplimiento de las obligaciones convencionales asumidas por el Estado español. En relación con otros crímenes internacionales como los crímenes contra la humanidad o el genocidio, tipificados por el Derecho Internacional, su aprobación también supone, en la medida en que impida enjuiciarlos, un acto de encubrimiento. La decisión traerá también consigo, en consecuencia, una evidente limitación de los derechos de las víctimas. PEDIMOS al Gobierno que no siga adelante con la reforma del artículo 23.4 de la Ley Orgánica del Poder Judicial y que no se perjudiquen las causas actualmente abiertas. Creemos que el Gobierno español está en la obligación de anteponer el cumplimiento de sus compromisos internacionales y la defensa de los derechos humanos frente a eventuales intereses nacionales y presiones económicas o políticas. Las acciones judiciales que se están llevando a cabo por la sociedad civil vienen a llenar el vacío que ha dejado la Comunidad Internacional en el tema palestino. Es más, se hacen buscando justicia, porque los gobiernos, haciendo dejación de su papel político, no tratan, en ningún caso, de resolver el problema de fondo: la ocupación de Palestina por Israel y toda la cadena de atentados y crímenes que se vienen cometiendo con total impunidad desde hace décadas sobre la población civil palestina y sus bienes. Signature/Firma --- 28/02/09 Press Release Spanish court to continue the investigation of the Shechade case A Spanish court has published yesterday (February 27, 2009) its decision to continue the investigation of the Shechade case. This decision corresponds to the Spanish court's policy, and counters attempts made in vain by Israeli politicians to convince the public that Israel will receive preferential treatment at international tribunals. The Spanish judge has stated in his decision that it has been made, in part, due to the Israeli Supreme Court's rejection of Yesh Gvul's petition on this matter, submitted in cooperation with 5 prominent Israeli authors and poets: Amos Keinan, Yitzhak Laor, Ronit Matalon, Sammy Michael and Nathan Zach. In the "Yesh Gvul" petition, submitted in September 2003, we asked that the Israeli Supreme Court (sitting as the High Court of Justice) instruct the opening of an investigation into the Shechade case: The dropping of a 1 ton bomb on a densely populated neighbourhood of Gaza in July 2002, killing 14 civilians, half of them children, and injuring around 150 innocent civilians. Yesh Gvul has warned since the start that attempts to whitewash the investigation would lead to the indictment abroad of those responsible for this illegal and immoral act. Yesh Gvul regards Israeli Supreme Court judges Dorit Beinish, Eliezer Rivlin and Ayala Procaccia as responsible for the Spanish court's decision. Not only has their pitiful ruling to reject Yesh Gvul's petition paved the way for the Spanish court to investigate and try those responsible for the dropping of the 1 ton bomb, it has done much more, by signalling to IDF commanders and soldiers, as well as to the Israeli government, that no one will be brought to justice for the deliberate killing of innocent people, "since there are no longer judges in Israel". Since such are the policies and rulings, even after the war on Gaza, the Israeli government refuses to conduct an independent investigation of its acts, some of which are alleged war crimes. Therefore, Israeli officers, soldiers and politicians may have to answer to foreign tribunals in the future, for these acts. Yesh Gvul --- 29/01/09 Yesh Gvul PRESS RELEASE Yesh Gvul regrets the deplorable decision of Israel's Supreme Court to refrain from ordering a criminal investigation, thereby leaving the way open for a Spanish court to indict Benyamin Ben Eliezer, Dan Halutz, Doron Almog, Moshe Yaalon, Avi Dichter, Giora Eiland and Mike Herzog for committing war crimes which also constitute offences under Israeli law. Yesh Gvul left no stone unturned in appealing to the Israeli judicial system to ensure that these alleged offences be investigated in Israel, not overseas. Yesh Gvul urges the judicial system - civil and military - to launch an immediate criminal investigation into any instance of the killing of innocent civilians during the recent Gaza conflict. A failure to do so is liable to provoke a flood of indictments of Israeli soldiers, officers and politicians. To forestall such a development, it would be advisable for the Israeli judicial system to take legal action against anyone against whom there is evidence of having committed war crimes. --- January 2009 Dear Friend, Please see below a translated report about legal developments in Spain, in the case of the 1 ton bomb dropped on a neighbourhood of Gaza in July 2002 ("The Shehade Case"). The report was published last week by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Aharonot. It contains some factual inaccuracies, and not all the names of the suspects involved in the case are mentioned, but the main point should be clear: the age of immunity granted to alleged perpetrators of war crimes is coming to an end. Based on the information we have, we are certain that this course of action will be continued, in Spain as well as in pther countries. Another update: a Dutch court order has been sought for the investigation of torture by Ami Ayalon, former director of the Israeli GSS (Shaba"k), and currently a government minister. Authorities in the Netherlands failed to arrest the Minister-without-Portfolio, Ami Ayalon, while he was visiting the Netherlands in May. Khalid al-Shami, a Palestinian man, submitted an application to the Dutch authorities for his arrest. Khalid al-Shami alleges he was tortured from 1999 to 2000 while he was held for 50 days in an Israeli jail. During the alleged torture, Ami Ayalon was the director of the Shin Bet (the Israeli General Security Services - GSS), which investigates individuals suspected of committing crimes against Israel's security. Al-Shami was arrested by Israeli soldiers and taken to Ashkelon prison on December 31, 1999. He was interrogated for 20 days, in time blocks between 20 to 40 hours. Al-Shami was alone in a two by two meter cell for two to three hours between each interrogation session. He further alleges being subjected to low temperatures and tied to a small chair by his hands and feet for lengthy periods of time. *********************************************** Yediot Ahronot 03.10.2008 Israel approached Spain: Don't Arrest Fuad (Benjamin Ben-Eliezer) and Dichter A Spanish organization requested the warrant of arrest warrants against the Israelis who were involved in the Shechade assassination ¡ñ The state is conducting secret contacts in an attempt to solve the complication By Itamar Eichner and Tovah Tzimuki Israel and Spain are conducting secret talks in order to settle the diplomatic complication that has arisen from the issuing of international arrest warrants against seven Israelis who were involved in the assassination of the senior Hamas figure Salah Shechade. During the assassination operation, which was executed in the Gaza Strip six years ago, 15 Palestinians, including 11 children, were killed in addition to Shechade. Additional dozens of human beings were injured. Three months ago a Spanish human rights organisation demanded from a court in Madrid to issue arrest warrant against the Israelis who were involved in the decision to take the action: Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the former Defense Minister Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer, the former head of the GSS Avi Dichter, the former Chief-of-Staff Moshe Ya'alon, the former Air Force Commander Dan Halutz, the former Chief of Operations Giora Eiland and the former Head of the Southern Command Doron Almog. The affair was first reported on in "Yediot Ahronot". It has become known to "Yediot Ahronot" that the Spanish authorities recently delivered a secret missive to the Israeli government, which posed a number of questions relating to the affair. Amongst other things Israel was requested to announce what actions have been taken against each of the named people, if they are still serving in official positions and enjoy immunity and if any means were taken to prevent the killing of innocent people in assassination actions. Israel attributes great importance to the missive and estimate that the answers it provides will influence how the Spaniards will deal with the suit. Israel expects that Spain will intercept the suit, just as Britain did regarding similar suits against senior IDF officers. When the suit, which includes a request to issue international arrest warrants in Europe against the named people, was reported on, the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem order those people not to go to Spain, for fear of arrest. Spain belongs to the group of states which are members of the ICC in The Hague and has adopted into its legal codex the law which allows suits against war crimes. According to the constitution of the court in The Hague which was established at the beginning of the century, every member state has the authority to exercise universal jurisdiction regarding the suspicion that war crimes have been committed, even if the suit has no connection to that state. Israeli control of the (Occupied Palestinian) territories is defined by this court as a "war crime". In the past few years state authorities have advised Dichter, Halutz, Eiland and Almog not to enter various European countries, where suits have been filed against them for actions attributed to the (Israeli) security forces in the (Occupied Palestinian) territories. A number of years ago Israel smuggled former Chief-of-Staff Shaul Mofaz from Britain, since during one of his visits there a suit and a request for an arrest warrant was filed against him. Because of a similar suit, General Doron Almog was forbidden from disembarking from the El Al plane which brought him to London, after it became known that police officers were waiting for him with an arrest warrant in Heathrow Airport. Almog remained on the plane for a number of hours before returning to Israel. In the meantime there is a news blackout regarding the contacts with Spain, so that the problem may be solved by diplomatic means. Amongst those involved in the contacts are the GSS, the IDF, the Ministry of Defense, The Ministry of Justice, the Israeli Embassy in Madrid, the Prime Minister's Office and the attorneys of the defendants. The central argument that Israel will put forward is that the affair has already been dealt with in the Israeli legal institutions, including the Supreme Court. Israel will also argue that a commission has been established with the purpose of examining the preemptive pinpoint assassinations, in order to minimize the damage to innocent civilians. After the suit was filed in Spain Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni approached the Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos and requested from him to examine how to solve the legal complication that had arisen. Livni said to Moratinos that it "is forbidden for IDF reserve officers will be harmed as a result of political and anti-Israeli lawsuits. I request from you to help solve this problem." State officials say that if the Spanish court issues arrest warrants against the Israelis, this act will greatly damage the relations between the two states. --- 12/2006 Links to reports about the arrest warrant issued against Moshe Yaalon in New Zealand : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/794834.html http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10413310 http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0612/S00001.htm http://www.newswire.co.nz/main/viewstory.aspx?storyid=349239&catid=33 http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411416/908655 Yesh Gvul's comment: The Israeli judicial system should start dealing seriously with alleged war criminals. The following info and call to action is based on an announcement by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR): Former Israel Chief of Staff Moshe Ya¡¯alon was spared arrest or any proper prosecution process in New Zealand this past Tuesday, despite a decision the day before, by His Honour Judge Avinash Deobhakta in the District Court at Auckland to issue warrants for his arrest on suspicion of committing a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949. Ya¡¯alon¡¯s escape from justice was facilitated by the intervention by the New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney General, Michael Cullen. Moshe Ya¡¯alon was Chief of Staff of the Israeli army from 9 July 2002 to 1 June 2005. Under his command the Israeli Occupation Forces were responsible for a countless variety of extensive human rights violations and war crimes inside the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. However, the arrest warrant was extinguished by the Attorney General directing the District Court to stay the prosecution permanently. The Attorney General has given no reasons for crushing the warrant in time for the lawyers to appeal, despite the ruling of the judge that there were ¡®good and sufficient reasons¡¯ to justify the arrest of Moshe Ya¡¯alon. Only after Ya¡¯alon had been permitted to leave the country, he gave untenable motivations such as ¡°unreliable materials¡± brought as evidence by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, Hickman & Rose and the local lawyers. Michael Cullen is not a lawyer. Instead he has accumulated an enormous amount of power being Deputy Prime Minister, Attorney-General, Justice Minister, the Finance Minister and Leader of the House at the same time. A highly politicized but not legally competent figure that has put all his influence against the legal prosecution of war crimes. Please act immediately: support this urgent call and alert the media and the responsible authorities in NZ about your outrage! (See sample letters and contact info below.) Michael Cullen must give a detailed account to the victims and his own public as to why the judge¡¯s orders for Ya¡¯alon to be arrested were not complied with. He needs to answer on what basis and powers did he instruct the police NOT to act on a legitimately issued warrant for arrest. *** For further information on the case see: http://www.pchrgaza.ps/files/PressR/English/2006/127-2006.htm Or contact: In New Zealand: Lawyer for the complainant, Davey Salmon, Partner, LeeSalmonLong Phone: + 64 9 912 7102; Mobile: + 64 21 974 873 Website: http://www.leesalmonlong.com/ OR Tuma Hazou, spokesperson for the Palestine Human Rights Campaign (PHRC): + 64 9 427 6527 OR Don Carson, +64 274 530 565 In Palestine: Raji Sourani, Lawyer and Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (GMT + 2 hours). Phone: 00 972 (0)599608811 E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org Website: http://www.pchrgaza.org In London, UK: Daniel Machover, Partner, Mobile: 00 +44 (0)7773 341096 OR Kate Maynard, solicitor, Mobile: 00 +44 (0)7899 982977 Hickman & Rose solicitors Website: http://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk *** SAMPLE PROTEST LETTERS *** Mr. Michael Cullen Email: mcullen@ministers.govt.nz Phone: +64 (0)4 470 6551 Fax: +64 (0)4 495 8442 Dear Mr. Michael Cullen, I am addressing you in your function as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of New Zealand to express my outrage about the way you have obstructed the implementation of international law and the prosecution of war crimes committed by Israel. I am aware that it was your action to ensure Moshe Ya¡¯alon was spared arrest or any proper prosecution process in New Zealand on 28 November, despite a decision on 27 November 2006 by His Honour Judge Avinash Deobhakta in the District Court at Auckland to issue warrants for his arrest on suspicion of committing a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949. Moshe Ya¡¯alon was Chief of Staff of the Israeli military from 9 July 2002 to 1 June 2005. Under his command the Israeli Occupation Forces were responsible for a countless variety of extensive human rights violations and war crimes inside the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. After the Judge had decided that there were ¡®good and sufficient reasons¡¯ to justify the arrest of Moshe Ya¡¯alon you have ensured the arrest warrant was to be extinguished by the Attorney-General. You have given no reasons for crushing the warrant in time for the lawyers to appeal. Only after Ya¡¯alon had been permitted to leave the country, you gave untenable motivations such as ¡°unreliable materials¡± brought as evidence. I am urging you to give a detailed account to the victims and your own public as to why the judge¡¯s orders for Ya¡¯alon to be arrested were not complied with. On what basis did you ¨C not having the legal expertise to do so - advise the police NOT to arrest in the face of the warrants? This has been an authentic act of impeding legal prosecution of war crimes. Apartheid Israel needs to be held accountable to bring justice to Palestine. This grave case of obstructionism and bad governance in New Zealand resounds widely across the globe among all those interested in justice as such work jeopardizes the mere relevance of international law towards the right of the might. I urge you to publicly and fully apologize to the people of Palestine and Lebanon for making this grave error of judgment and to likewise publicly inform the government of the state of Israel that the government of New Zealand will in future strictly uphold the full force of its legislation on international human rights and humanitarian law and that this intention covers Israelis for whom prima facie evidence exists that that they have committed war crimes. Sincerely, -------- To find the contacts for the New Zealand embassy in your country, go to: http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Embassies/NZ-Embassies/index.php Dear Ambassador of New Zealand, I am addressing you to express my outrage about the latest scandal of obstruction in the implementation of international law and the prosecution of war crimes. Reason for this was the unduly interference of Mr. Michel Cullen in his function as Attorney General. We urge you to give to ensure transparent and fair enquiries in the issue will happen. You will be aware that Moshe Ya¡¯alon was spared arrest or any proper prosecution process in New Zealand on 28 November, despite a decision on 27 November 2006 by His Honour Judge Avinash Deobhakta in the District Court at Auckland to issue warrants for his arrest on suspicion of committing a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention 1949. Moshe Ya¡¯alon was Chief of Staff of the Israeli military from 9 July 2002 to 1 June 2005. Under his command the Israeli Occupation Forces were responsible for a countless variety of extensive human rights violations and war crimes inside the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank. However, the arrest warrant was extinguished by the Attorney General directing the District Court to stay the prosecution permanently. The Attorney General has given no reasons for crushing the warrant in time for the lawyers to appeal, despite the ruling of the judge that there were ¡®good and sufficient reasons¡¯ to justify the arrest of Moshe Ya¡¯alon. Only after Ya¡¯alon had been permitted to leave the country, he gave untenable motivations such as ¡°unreliable materials¡± brought as evidence. The Attorney ¨C General (Mr. Michael Cullen) is no lawyer, instead he has accumulated an enormous amount of power being the deputy prime minister of New Zealand, the Finance Minister and Leader of the House at the same time. A highly politicized but not legally competent figure that has put all his influence against the legal prosecution of war crimes. Michael Cullen must give a detailed account to the victims and his own public as to why the judge¡¯s orders for Ya¡¯alon to be arrested were not complied with. He needs to answer to what basis did the AG advise the police NOT to arrest in the face of the warrants? This has been an authentic act of impeding legal prosecution of war crimes. This grave case of obstructionism and bad governance in New Zealand resounds widely across the globe among all those interested in Justice as such work jeopardizes the mere relevance of international law towards the right of the might. We urge you thus to play a part in uncovering the facts and ensuring Justice is upheld in New Zealand. Sincerely, ---------------- 23/11/2006 In a rare judicial move, Yesh Gvul, with Israeli citizens, and prominent international figures, is petitioning Israel's Supreme Court, demanding a ruling against the Court's own outgoing Chief Justice Aharon Barak and his deputy Mishael Heshin. The petition complains of the Court's excessive delay in ruling on an earlier petition which sought to outlaw the official policy of "liquidating" Palestinian militants ("targetted assassinations"). The petitioners suggest that the four years of foot-dragging since the original petition points to "deliberate evasion" on the part of the Court. Citing scores of unarmed Palestinian noncombattants - including dozens of women and children - killed in the course of the "targetted assassinations", the petition concludes with the stark question: "How many more children must die before the honoured judges of the Supreme Court finally issue their verdict ?!!" Acting without legal representation (lawyers are reluctant to join in a direct onslaught on the state's highest judicial body) the petitioners include dozens of Israeli peace activists from Yesh Gvul and other groups, and prominent foreign personages, among them Nobel laureates Harold Pinter, Maread Corrigan Maguire and Betty Williams, as well as British actress Susannah York. With over a hundred signatures, this latest petition is a further step in a persistent legal campaign seeking to halt the Israeli government's policy of violent repression of the Palestinian people. For further details, please contact us. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sep. 2006, following war crimes committed against civilians in Lebanon, the OT and northern Israel Dear friend, Following recent updates on the campaign to promote accountability for war crimes, here is some info and two important calls for action. 1. IDF commander: "We fired more than a million cluster bombs in Lebanon. What we did was insane and monstrous, we covered entire towns in cluster bombs" : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/761781.html 2. Please take action on the cluster bombs issue. Write to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence and to the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Force calling for the immediate hand-over of Israeli maps to the UN to reduce the risk of unexploded cluster-bombs to Lebanese civilians. Details: http://web.amnesty.org/pages/lbn-010906-action-eng 3. Please sign a petition and fax/mail your protest against the ongoing siege of 1.2 million human beings in gaza, who are suffering from hunger, lack of life-saving medications and bombing of civlian areas by the Israeli army. Details: http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=16224 4. If you can help our accountability and indictment campaign in your own country, by contacting the local media, members of parliament, human rights lawyers and activists, and the general public opinion, please do so and let us know. A clarification: we also regard attacks on Israeli civilians, and in particular the continuous firing of missiles on Northern Israel during the 2nd Lebanon war, as war crimes. For Amnesty International's report on this issue, see: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE020252006 Best Wishes Yesh Gvul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updates on our war crimes campaign in general and the Gaza bombing case in particular 01.03.06 Sunday Feb. 26, various Israeli media outlets reported that IDF Advocate General (JAG), Brigadier-General Avichai Mandelblitt, has directed Brigadier-General Aviv Kochavi not to take up his studies at a UK military academy. Mandelblitt recommends that senior Israeli officers who played an active role in the present intifada should avoid travel to England for fear of possible arrest for war crimes against Palestinian civilians. Kochavi's decision to cede his place at a prestigious UK military school is undoubtedly a very important ?non-event?. While the Israeli establishment still denies that Israeli forces commit war crimes, this is definitely an acknowledgement that a new reality now exists. Since the near arrest of Gen. Doron Almog in London last September, and the civil torts served against former Chief of Staff Ya?alon and former Shabak head Dichter in the United States in November, it has become painfully clear that Israeli military personnel are now vulnerable to due legal process abroad. If the Israeli judiciary system continues to ignore human rights violations, Israelis will pay the price in Spain, Norway, England and many other countries. The age of impunity for war crimes is coming to an end. Yesh Gvul is not happy to see Israeli officers becoming pariahs in the Western world. However we, along with other groups abroad, will continue to strive by all democratic means to defend human rights. Our goal is not to see people in jail, but to create deterrence that will stop the crimes. We hope that the government of Israel will sober up and, instead of trying to get democratic governments to change their laws, it will order our soldiers to respect the basic human rights of the Palestinians. Links to media reports on the Military Advocate General?s recommendation: Hebrew: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3221327,00.html http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=687684&contrassID=2&subContrassID=21&sbSubContrassID=0 http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/053/177.html English: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395494552&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/687468.html http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3221339,00.html ------------------- 10/11/05 Press Announcement Last week Yesh Gvul wrote to IDF Judge Advocate General (JAG) Avihai Mandelblit concerning the Israeli air strike in Gaza on October 27. Recalling media reports that the attack killed ?at least four civilians? (Haaretz 28.10) the letter expresses anxiety that this constituted ?a grave instance of infringement of human rights, with suspicion of a war crime.? Accordingly, ?it is only proper that thr incident be investigated in all its aspects, particularly: Who ordered the attack ? Who carried it out ? Was the order legal ? Was this an instance of crime, or criminal negligence ?? We went on to inquire whether the JAG has ordered an investigation of the incident, or if not, if he intends to give such an order ? In conclusion, our letter expresses the hope that ?this time, unlike the past, Israel?s law enforcement and judicial agencies will do their duty, instead of leaving the job to other judicial bodies? - a reference to Yesh Gvul?s role in judicial efforts in progress in foreign courts, to investigate IDF officers suspected of war crimes, after Israeli enforcement and judicial agencies declined to do so. Despite a further reminder, no reply has been received from the JAG. ----- Haaretz 14.9.05 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/624550.html Either High Court, or House of Lords By Michael Sfard The farce of General (res.) Dan Almog's escape from London this week to avoid arrest for interrogation for war crimes should not have surprised anyone. Anyone involved in law who is familiar with the methods of international criminal justice knows that the incidents of Israel Defense Forces officers fleeing Europe to elude arrest will increase in the near future. In Israel, a decision was made not to investigate war crimes; war criminals have not been prosecuted; no questions were asked as to what was permitted and what forbidden in occupied territory; and a lot of war crimes were indeed perpetrated. All this could and should have been prevented by the only system of rule that is not elected and is not subject to public pressure (or at least should not be) - the justice system. In shirking its responsibility, the Israeli justice system transferred the obligation to act to foreign justice systems. In fearing rulings on the legality of IDF actions in the territories, the Israeli justice system abandoned IDF officers and soldiers to international criminal justice. Thus did the High Court of Justice rule last week in a petition filed by the Yesh Gvul peace movement and five authors and poets, asking the court to order an investigation into the assassination of Saleh Shehadeh - one of the incidents in which Almog is a suspect in London. In order to eliminate Shehadeh, the Israeli Air Force dropped a bomb weighing one ton on the al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, killing 15 and wounding over 150. The IAF commander at the time, now Chief of Staff Dan Halutz, said that he lost no sleep over that operation. The petition, however, lay in the court's file room for almost two years before being granted a hearing date. Now, when the petitioners have finally managed to get a hearing set, the panel of justices, headed by Supreme Court Vice President Mishael Cheshin, decided not to hold the hearing, but rather to combine the case with a petition by the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, filed in January 2002 against the liquidation policy. The court, however, is not moving toward a ruling on that petition, either. Hearings on the petition against the liquidations were suspended in February, three and a half years after the original filing. So what's going on here? There were two petitions, one requesting that the policy of execution without trial, officially being implemented by the state, is illegal, and another asking for the investigation of an incident of mass killing from a bomb dropped by an IAF fighter jet onto a densely populated residential area. In both cases the court has been avoiding a ruling for years. And that's not all. At the outbreak of the al-Aqsa intifada, former judge advocate general Major General Menahem Finkelstein decided on a policy whereby Military Police Investigations would not look into the killing of Palestinian civilians, apart from exceptional cases. Finkelstein's successor adopted this non-investigation policy, and the High Court has refrained for over two years from ruling on a petition regarding the legality of such a policy. There is no investigation, no legal debate and no ruling on whether all this is legal. Unlike common crimes, war crimes are international crimes. This means that when the law enforcement authorities in the home country of the suspect prove they are incapable or uninterested in investigating and judging those responsible, international law obligates all other countries to investigate them and try them if there is enough evidence. If not Israel, then England. If not the High Court, then the House of Lords. As long as the chief military prosecutor and Israeli justices do not understand that a proper investigation of events that raise suspicions that war crimes may have taken place, and exacting justice on those responsible, is not only the moral thing to do but rather the right thing to do from a patriotic standpoint, then more and more IDF officers will have to spend their vacations in the Golan Heights and Eilat. The writer is an expert in international human rights law and represents the petitioners in the first two petitions mentioned in the article. --------------------------- In the dock By Haaretz Editorial 14.9.05 : http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/624552.html ------------------------- Internet links: Ha'aretz http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/623564.html Y-net http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3140750,00.html Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1568001,00.html 27.06.05 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/592453.html Court to hear petition against Dan Halutz By Yuval Yoaz High Court Justice Asher Grunis ruled yesterday that the Yesh Gvul movement's petition against Chief of Staff Dan Halutz will be heard by a three-justice panel. Grunis' decision came less than a week after Haaretz reported that the justice has been holding up the handling of the case for almost two years. "Without the publication, the handling of the case would not have moved forward; we could have waited a lot more time still," the petitioners commented on hearing the decision. In September 2003, Yesh Gvul filed a petition against the military advocate general and the attorney general, demanding the opening of a criminal investigation into then Israel Air Force commander Halutz. The demand for the criminal investigation came in the wake of the July 2002 targeted killing of Salah Shehadeh by dropping a one-ton bomb on a residential neighborhood of the Gaza Strip. Shehadeh and 14 innocent bystanders were killed. Frustrated by their fruitless efforts to initiate a criminal investigation into Halutz, Yesh Gvul petitioned the High Court; but the petition landed on the desk of Grunis, who decided to freeze its handling until the resolution of additional petitions. Yesterday, Grunis ruled briefly: "The petition will be heard by a three-justice panel." Yesh Gvul activist Yoav Hess was very pleased with the decision. "I hope the justices convene to deliberate the petition within a shorter time than the time that has already passed since its submission," he said. "I have no doubt that without the publication, we could have waited a whole lot longer still." ------------------------------------------- 20.06.05 Haaretz newspaper http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/589698.html or: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=589698 Justice keeps suit vs. Halutz out of court for two years By Yuval Yoaz Haaretz Can a single High Court justice indefinitely delay a hearing on a petition? According to the regulations of the High Court of Justice, such a power is granted only to a panel of three justices or more. However, in reality, for two years Justice Asher Grunis has prevented a hearing on a petition by Yesh Gvul, an organization of Israel Defense Forces reservists who oppose service in the territories. In September 2003, the group petitioned the High Court to open a criminal investigation against then air force chief Dan Halutz, now chief of staff, because of an order that he gave to assassinate Palestinian terrorist Salah Shehadeh by dropping a one-ton bomb on a residential neighborhood in Gaza in July 2002. The petition was submitted after the group failed to get then military advocate general Major General Menachem Finkelstein to open criminal proceedings against Halutz for the killing of 14 people, mostly children, during the attack on Shehadeh. The anger of the petitioners was fanned by a statement Halutz made to Haaretz that when the bomb was dropped, all he felt was "a slight tremor in the wings of the plane." Justice Grunis was on duty at the time the petition was submitted. Since then, delays have been caused by submission of, and decisions on, the state's requests to have more time in which to respond to the petitioners. In some cases, instead of making a ruling, Justice Grunis asks to "hear the postions of both sides." Three months after the petition was first submitted, Grunis proposed that the parties freeze the proceedings until another petition could be heard - one that had been submitted in January 2002 by the Committee Against Torture, regarding Israel's policy of targeted assassinations. Yesh Gvul opposed the delay, arguing that the bombing might be a criminal act even if the policy was legal. Still, Grunis froze the proceedings. A year ago, when Yesh Gvul found out that Halutz was going to be appointed deputy chief of staff, it submitted an urgent petition for a temporary injunction against the appointment. Grunis ruled that the matter required a separate petition, which was submitted and heard by a panel headed by Justice Edmond Levy. Afterward, he demanded an affidavit from Halutz, including a response to the statement he made in Haaretz. The panel ruled a few months later, in January 2005. While rejecting the petition against Halutz's appointment, the justices harshly criticized his statement, which they called "hair-raising." Meanwhile, the petition on the targeted assassinations was frozen after attorney Shai Nitzan argued that after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, in which Israel agreed to stop these acts, the hearing could also be discontinued - a position the court accepted. As a result of that ruling, lawyers for Yesh Gvul, Avigdor Feldman and Michael Sfard, reiterated their request that the petition against Halutz be reactivated, since it no longer was associated with the petition on the assassinations. However, the alleged foot-dragging continued, and the petitioners felt it necessary to take other measures and to submit a "request for a ruling." "The process in the High Court is unsound even according to its own rules," Yesh Gvul leader Yoav Hess said. When Grunis was asked about how long a justice may delay a ruling, and why he refused to pass the case on to a panel of justices, his response, through the High Court spokeswoman, was: "According to court procedure, the justice on duty continues dealing with a case until it is transferred to a panel." ------------------------ 18.03.05 In response to a petition by Yesh Gvul, Tel Aviv district judge Avraham Tal has overturned a ruling by Ramat Gan mayor Zvi Bar, barring a YG poster from the city's billboards. The poster features incoming IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz with a red cross over his face and the caption "Sent Halutz flying home !" . Bar regarded the cross as a call to kill Halutz - but the judge ruled that the poster does not threaten the public order or offend public sentiments, and that preference should be given to freedom of _expression. The judge ruled that the poster cannot be interpreted as calling for the death of Halutz, rather, for his dismissal from office - a demand an officeholder can expect. Regarding the red "X", the judge commented that "It would have been more proper to use a different symbol, but freedom of _expression was designed to protect exceptional and irritating opinions..." The judge wrote that Yesh Gvul's demand for the dismissal of Halutz is not offensive, and that the poster's caption "Sent Halutz flying home !" does not offend public sentiment. Yesh Gvul member Yoav Haas expressed satisfaction with the judge's ruling, adding that the movement intends to see Halutz brought to justice (over his role in the bombing of a residential home in Gaza where 14 non-combattants were killed). "We shall appeal to courts abroad, to prove that the man is unworthy of being chief of staff, or holding any other official post in Israel." Haas noted that Ramat Gan was the only municipality to reject the poster. Other cities allowed the poster to be pasted up on municipal billboards (for the standard fee). We still have a limited number of "Sent Halutz flying home !" posters. You can get one for a minimal donation of NIS 30 (to cover campaign expenses). 30 posters signed by their designer, Israel Prize laureate David Tartakover, are available for a minimum donation of $25. 25/02/05 Dear friend, We are stepping up our campaign to bring Dan Halutz to justice, now that he has received his official appointment to serve as the next chief of staff of the Israeli armed forces (IDF). We believe that it is outrageous that a man who has yet to face criminal investigation over the killing of unarmed civilians should be appointed to head the IDF. Yesh Gvul has published the following declaration as a paid advertisement in Ha'aretz (Friday Feb. 25). The headline refers to the famous promise by Israel's first prime minister and minister of defence, David Ben Gurion, that "every Jewish mother" who sends a son (or daughter) into the IDF "should know that he/she is in safe hands". EVERY JEWISH MOTHER SHOULD KNOW THAT SHE HAS ENTRUSTED HER SON'S LIFE INTO THE HANDS OF A WAR CRIMES SUSPECT Gen. Dan Halutz, who has been picked as the next chief of staff, is not the only IDF officer suspected of committing, or bearing responsibility for commission of war crimes. But Halutz is the only officer to boast of "perfect execution" of an extra-judicial execution in which 14 innocent Palestinians - over half children - were killed, and a further 150 innocents injured (in the assassination of Hamas militant Saleh Shehadeh in Gaza on July 22 2002). Israel's Supreme Court has hitherto evaded - on procedural grounds - ordering a investigation into that extra-judicial killing of innocents. Yesh Gvul hereby declares that it will act to bring Halutz to justice before international tribunals which do not exhibit the same clemency towards war crimes as Israel's judicial system. Yesh Gvul demands that Halutz is sent flying ! This declaration is also supported by the pilot refuseniks, and the refuseniks of the General Staff Scout unit. 27.01.05 DAN HALUTZ GETS AWAY WITH IT The Israeli Supreme Court has rejected a Yesh Gvul petition demanding suspension of IDF deputy chief of staff Dan Halutz. The petition, also supported by prominent academics, writers and airforce pilots, and the Committee against Torture, referred to Halutz's role while commander of the airforce, in authorising an attack with a 1-ton bomb on a crowded residential neighbourhood in Gaza, with the aim of killing Hamas militant Saleh Shehadeh. The bombing also caused the deaths of 14 non-combatants, mostly children, and it was over this aspect that the petitioners demanded Court action. The petitioners illustrated Halutz's callousness towards human life by citing a newspaper interview in which he boasted that he "slept well" after learning of the results of the air strike, on whose success he congratulated the pilots involved. But the case took an unforeseen turn when the judges focussed their attention almost exclusively on Halutz's words in the interview, while virtually ignoring his responsibility for the killing of innocents. The Court's ruling again referred mainly to Halutz's verbal excesses (over which they submitted him to a meek rebuke) while witholding comment on his criminal responsibility for the deaths. The judges based their decision on the curiously circular rationale that official prosecutors "have not found that the allegations directed at Halutz justify launching a criminal investigation in the matter" - precisely the omission which is the substance of the petition ! The ruling came as a disappointment, but no surprise. Contrary to its self-congratulary claims of impartiality, Israel's judicial system (like its law-enforcement agencies) has systematically shirked its responsibility for combatting human rights abuses and war crimes committed by the IDF and others against the Palestinian population. In rejecting the petition, Israel's highest court has again failed to meet up to the challenge, even when faced with such flagrant indifference to human life, and even when the petitioners pointed out that this was the last chance to secure justice within the confines of Israel's legal system. Now that all channels of legal recourse have been exhausted inside Israel with no success, new directions will have to be pursued. 30.12.04 Ramat Gan forbids posters denouncing deputy chief of staff By Lily Galili, Haaretz Correspondent Large posters calling for the dismissal of Israel Defense Forces Deputy Chief of Staff Major General Dan Halutz were displayed in Jerusalem on Thursday in the kick-off to a campaign headed by the Yesh Gvul organization and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel. Read the full report here: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=521352 27.12.04 The reaction of the petitioners to the response submitted by Dan Halutz?s to the petition filed by ?Yesh Gvul?, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, writers, poets, intellectuals and pilots In their response to the letter submitted by Dan Halutz to the High Court of Justice the petitioners state as follows: 1. The distinction that Halutz makes between morality and professionalism, according to which the responsibility on the IDF is solely professional and does not include ethical considerations is a descent to a point that renders the IDF an army of mercenaries whose sole interest the accuracy of its aim and that gives no thought as to why the victim should be killed and how many innocent people will die along with him. 2. Halutz?s moral boundaries have been so blurred that he is not able to state firmly that injuring innocent persons is an absolute prohibition. 3. Even when he does speak out against injuring innocent persons, Halutz employs practical considerations whose aim is to guarantee the continuing operations of the IDF. 4. Halutz determines a hierarchy of value of the lives of men, the highest level belonging to Israeli civilians and soldiers whose lives take precedence to those of innocent Palestinian Civilians whom he ranks only in the third place. Halutz does not believe in the sanctity of the life of Palestinian civilians particularly in contrast with the life of Israeli civilians. An observation that is, unfortunately, reminiscent of the darkest of regimes. All of the above indicate that Halutz is a person whose moral standards are faulty, who holds that the lives of non-Jews are of little value and who believes that his soldiers need not worry themselves with ethical matters. The petitioners, therefore, reiterate their belief that Dan Halutz is not fit to serve as the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff, a role known to be a stepping stone to the position of Chief of Staff, and demand that the High Court of Justice suspend him from this position until a criminal investigation is carried out to determine whether he is guilty of a war crime that now hangs as a dark cloud over him. ---- 03/12/2004 Yesh Gvul in response to Halutz's affidavit: Dan Halutz is an accomplice in a war crime http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/509165.html or http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=509165 23/05/04 On the initiative of refusenik support group Yesh Gvul, a group comprising 27 intellectuals, academics and airforce pilots today submitted a petition to Israel's Supreme Court for an interim injunction against the appointment of former airforce commander Gen. Dan Halutz as IDF deputy chief of staff, over his role in the assassination of Hamas leader Mustafa Sh'hadeh, when a one-ton bomb dropped on his home also killed 14 persons, mostly children, wounding a further 10. The petition is a follow-up on an earlier petition submitted by Yesh Gvul and five writers, demanding that the chief IDF prosecutor be instructed to launch a criminal investigation into the killing of the children; this petition is pending. The new petition points to Halutz as "responsible for one of the gravest actions in the annals of the IDF," and hence his nomination to the second-highest post in the IDF hierarchy prior to a criminal investigation is unlawful and conflicts with Supreme Court criteria for senior appointments. The petitioners include fomer education minister Shulamit Aloni, former legal advisor (Attorney General) Michael Ben Ya'ir, law professor and Israel Prize laureate S.Z. Feler, and a group of airforce pilots. The petitioners, represented by Atts. Avigdor Feldman and Michael Sfard, recall Halutz's comments in a press interview that "he sleeps well at night" after the killing of the children, and that the raid "meets up with my moral criteria" (Ha'aretz supplement, 23.8.03). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Yesh Gvul movement and a bevy of literary figures and intellectuals including authors Izhar Smilansky, Sami Michael, Ronit Matalon and poet Natan Zach will file a petition with the High Court of Justice on Tuesday, demanding a criminal investigation into the deaths of the 14 Palestinian civilians killed during the Israel Air Force assassination of senior Hamas leader Salah Shehadeh. An Israeli jet dropped a one-ton bomb on the Gaza Strip building in which Shehadeh was taking refuge in July 2002, also killing 14 Palestinians living adjacent to the targeted structure. The petitioners demand revocation of decisions made by the Israel Defense Force chief prosecutor and the attorney general not to open a criminal investigation into the air force's planning and execution of the air strike on Shehadeh. The petitioners also demand that an investigation into the incident be carried out within Israel by Israeli authorities. "The High Court of Justice is the last station for law enforcement before moving beyond the nation's border," the petition said. Yesh Gvul leader Yishai Menuhin told Haaretz that if the High Court does not accept their petition, the initiators will then turn to an international war crimes court, such as those operating in Ireland and Spain. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=345187 ------------------------------------------- Hendel: Ban authors who called for probe into IAF strike By Relly Sa'ar, Haaretz Correspondent Deputy Education Minister Zvi Hendel (National Union) said Tuesday he will work for the removal from the education curriculum works by Israeli writers who petitioned the High Court of Justice earlier in the day for a criminal investigation into the Israel Air Force assassination of senior Hamas leader Saleh Shehadeh in July 2002. The strike by F-16 warplanes saw a one-ton bomb dropped on a residential building in Gaza City, killing Shehadeh and his aide, and 15 others, including his wife and three children, and eight other children. Works by the writers - including S. Yizhar, Sami Michael, Ronit Matalon and Amos Keinan, as well as poet Natan Zach - are taught to middle school students and to high school students preparing for matriculation exams in literature. Hendel justified his intended actions by saying that, "The state needs to protect itself against people petitioning the High Court to open criminal investigations against the Air Force commander, who in this way grant public relations and moral support to our most bitter enemies during wartime, and say in the most clear fashion that our military is amoral and even murderous." When asked to explain the connection between the writers' petition and the fact that their literary works have long been considered suitable to teach in schools, Hendel said, "In literature courses, students don't just learn about the creation but also about the creator, and I am not interested that students should be exposed to this poison. "If [Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser] Arafat or Yigal Amir, the murderer of Yitzhak Rabin, were also creative people, I would object to their works being studied in schools," Hendel added. The deputy minister told Haaretz that he will convene the Education Ministry's pedagogical secretariat in an effort to give teeth to his intention. It is doubtful, however, that the deputy education minister would be able to influence a change in the literature curriculum or that of any other subject. Curriculums are determined over the course of years by a committee headed by a university professor and made up of academics and Education Ministry professionals. It is not within the authority of political figures to involve themselves in the determination of academic curriculums. The works of Michael and Zach, for example, were chosen to be included in the middle and high school curriculums due to their intensity; they are considered part of the "Israeli canon." Even the Education Ministry has declined from backing Hendel's proposal. Hendel's request was presented to Ronit Tirosh, the Education Ministry's director-general, the Education Ministry said in a written statement. Tirosh noted that even if the authors' court petition was harsh and aroused disagreement, their literary works cannot be thus removed from the academic curriculum. Former education minister Yossi Sarid (Meretz), a current member of the Knesset Education and Culture Committee, called Hendel's declaration an "imaginary proposal reminiscent of the worst and most dangerous side of regimes." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=345651 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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