ジェニンでの虐殺疑惑に対してイスラエルは、犠牲者はテロリストであったと 否定を続けているが、英紙インディペンデントによると、これまでに確認 された死者のうち半数は一般市民であり、そこには負傷者への救急活動 中に心臓を打ち抜かれた看護婦や、外出禁止例が解除された機会に食料を 買い出しに出かけたところを殺された14歳の少年や、 戦車に轢き殺された車椅子使用中の男性などが含まれるという。 国連は既にジェニンでの虐殺調査団を任命したがイスラエル側はイスラエル側の 立場により近い軍事専門家などを加えるなどの条件を要求し、国連の調査受け入れを 拒否している。 ソースhttp://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=288683 Israel's army says most those killed in Jenin were fighters and that it did everything possible to protect civilians. But The Independent has found that nearly half of the 50 dead identified so far were civilians, including women, the elderly, and children. They include a nurse in uniform who was shot in the heart as she tried to help a wounded civilian, a 14-year-old boy killed when he tried to buy groceries when a curfew was lifted, and a man in a wheelchair who was shot as he tried to wheel himself up the street and then crushed under a tank.
在米ユダヤ人は大統領選ではむしろゴア大統領候補へ投票した者が多数だったが、 今回の一連のブッシュの中東政策を見て「ブッシュはイスラエルの味方だ」と人気が上昇している とのこと。 (ワシントンポスト) Jewish groups in U.S. praise Bush for his stand on Israel
By Alan Cooperman(April 5, Washington Post)President George W. Bush's stalwart support of Israel is winning effusive praise from major organizations representing American Jews,who voted against Bush in overwhelming numbers 17 months ago. Several leading pro-Israel lobbyist said they had concluded that Bush was profoundly, personally sympathetic to Israel.
Jun. 9, 2002 Court orders release of suspect foreign activists
The Jerusalem District court today ordered three pro-Palestinian foreign nationals who are appealing the deportation orders issued against them released on bail until a decision is made on their appeal.
The three activists, Darlene Wallach, a US citizen Josie Sandercock, a British citizen, and Makoto Hibino, a Japanese citizen, were arrested by police in the Balata refugee camp just outside Nablus on May 31 for breaking an army order which declared the area a closed military zone.
The three were part of a group of 16, mostly European Pro-Palestinian activists, who went to the refugee camp, considered a hotbed of Palestinian terrorism, to act as "a buffer" between Israeli troops and the Palestinian population.
Eight members of the group, which had split up in the camp, were arrested and ordered deported last week by the Interior Ministry.
Five of them agreed to leave the country immediately, but the remaining three lodged an appeal against the deportation orders against them.
A lawyer representing the three defendants, Mahmoud Jabarin, said at their court hearing yesterday that his clients were unaware that the area was a closed military zone, and were neither stopped by IDF soldiers positioned at the entrance to the camp, nor told at any point that the area was off-limits to civilians.
A video clip taken by the activists of their entry into the camp showed an IDF soldier inside a tank cautioning the group, which made their way to the camp by Palestinian sherut and on foot, to "be careful"
At the start of the seemingly bizarre and surreal district court hearing, which was attended by a group of a dozen of the defendant's co-activists, and a representative of the British Consulate and Japanese Embassy who, together with the judge were serving as acting translators since the defendant's lawyer forgot to ask the court to produce one, the three defendants denied any wrongdoing and conceded that they were just out to help the "poor Palestinians."
"I'm Jewish and they are going to deport me," interjected Wallach, the American defendant, who is from San Jose, California.
As the hearing began, Justice Michella Shidlovksy-Or asked the defendant's attorney why he had not asked the court to provide a translator for his clients.
The lawyer said he thought it was up to the court to do that.
"Your attorney should have asked for a formal translator for you," the justice told the defendants in almost perfect English.
"This is not the job of the court, but his job!" she said. For the remainder of the hour long hearing, the judge herself would serve as acting translator into both English, for the defendants and Hebrew, for the court stenographer.
Next, the justice had tough words for the prosecutor who, declaring insufficient time, had not brought the necessary proofs - including the testimony of the soldiers who arrested the group - to proceed with the hearing on their appeal of the deportation order against them.
"You must take it into account that they would have appealed, you must be aware of this, and not go to sleep on the job," she admonished him.
When the prosecutor suggested deporting the defendants and then carrying out the hearing, the judge cut him short.
"You must be really naive to talk in this way," she said, "your attitude is not serious."
Under pressure, the prosecutor then agreed that the defendants, who have been under arrest for nine days, could be released on NIS 30,000 bail, and a signed third person guarantee that they would show up for the next hearing, set for Tuesday morning at 10 AM.
One of the defendants agreed to deposit the NIS 30,000 bail for the whole group with her visa card. But then it turned out that her credit card was still in prison with her other belongings.
The judge then called a half hour break, during which time it was agreed that the two defense lawyers in he case would be granted power of attorney to withdraw the necessary cash from the visa card, and deposit it at the postal station to post bail.
As the defendants were led away from court, awaiting the financial transaction to take place, the justice reminded them not to go visit any other refugee camps once released.
Mrs. Hava Keler, the mother of the spokesman of the extreme-left Gush Shalom movement, Adam Keller, signed a third-person NIS 30,000 guarantee allowing their release.
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