Canadian MP Prof. Irwin Cotler Spearheads Campaign for International Sanctions on Iran
By David Bedein and Arlene Kushner
This past Wednesday, December 30, 2009, Professor Irwin Cotler, a member of the Canadian parliament and former Canadian minister of justice and Canadian Attorney General, conducted a press briefing at the King David Hotel in which he announced that he was spearheading new international sanctions against Iran.
Speaking of the parallels between the current situation and 1939, Prof. Cotler addressed the issue of the Iranian threat from multiple perspectives:
The Iran of Ahmadinejad, says Cotler, is a clear and present danger to Middle East stability, Israel and Jews more broadly, and its own people.
Of great concern is the indifference and inaction of the international community with respect to these dangers, and the impunity with which Ahmadinejad is permitted to proceed.
He proposes an approach to Iran that is broad-based, and demands accountability of Iran with regard to all of the threats it currently represents:
1) Iran is defying the international community with regard to its nuclear development. It is in standing violation of UN prohibitions.
2) Iran has already committed incitement to genocide, as forbidden by the Genocide Convention.
3) Iran is a state sponsor of international terrorism.
4) Iran commits major human rights violations against its own people.
Prof Cotler asserts thatr it is a mistake to focus only on the nuclear threat. This marginalizes the other threats, and allows Iran to proceed as if there is no international concern at these various levels.
Engagement with Iran must deal with all of it. Professor Cotler is working with some 60 international human rights lawyers, who will be releasing a petition very soon that will provide documented evidence of Iranian violations and propose actions to be taken.
Members of this group will be visiting Western capitals -- 15 have been targeted -- in an attempt to energize specific actions against Iran. Recommendations include comprehensive, calibrated and targeted sanctions:
a) Iran is currently in violation of five sets of UN resolutions, which are not being enforced. The start is the enforcement of these resolutions.
b) Gasoline sanctions: measures against those who export refined petroleum products to Iran, or facilitate such export.
c) Curbing of energy investments in Iran. This would include the energy infrastructure -- shipping, etc.
d) Include the Iranian Central Bank -- which is at the heart of Iranian financial dealings -- in financial sanctions. This has not been done yet.
e) International institutions must be monitored with regard to money laundering for Iran.
f) Companies that facilitate domestic repression in Iran must be sanctioned.
g) Sanction companies that do business with the Revolutionary Guard -- the most vicious and radical element in Iran and the one that now has control. The Guard must be put on terrorism lists.
h) Embargoes must be placed against technology and arms transfers to Iran.
i) Landing permission must be denied to the Iranian transportation industry -- planes and ships. Note: The UN is serving as a third party in money laundering for Iran. Iran has been using a UN office -- The Asia Clearing Union -- to avoid US financial sanctions that forbid dealing with Iran.
These sanctions are only the beginning, however.
Additional Cotler recommendations include:
1) The eight precursors to genocide have already been identifiedas existing in Iran.
In such a situation, the Genocide Convention calls for specific actions.
HOWEVER, not one single signatory nation has undertaken these actions.
They are not voluntary -- they constitute a legal obligation. Says Cotler: "International legal responsibility is not a 'policy option.'"
1) The issue must be raised in the Security Council and an inter-state complaint must be brought before the International Court of Justice.
2) Interpol, the international criminal police organization, has a warrant out for the arrest of Ahmad Vahidi, the Iranian Minister of Defense, for his role in the 1994 terrorist bombing of the Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. But the world seems to be ignoring this.
3) It is important to provide solidarity with the Iranian opposition forces -- those challenging the government.
We are not at a tipping point yet, but it may come, and they may in time overturn the current regime.
They need international support.
Professor Cotler says there is no absence of remedy -- the problem is absence of action.
"We are witnesses to the crime of indifference", he concluded.
Indeed, perhaps the most newsworthy aspect of Prof. Cotler's press conference was that Iran Ahmad Vahidi, who has been named the Defense Minister of Iran, is wanted for the mass murder attack of the Jewish community center in Argentina which he masterminded in 1994.
Vahidi was the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force when he oversaw that antisemitic terrorist attack.
At the demand of the Argentinian government, Interpol issued a "wanted persons" alert for him in 2007.
Indeed, a quick search on the interpol web site will reveal the fact that, indeed,
Ahmad Vahidi remains on the active list of people whom Interpol still posts a "wanted" poster for Ahmad Vahidi's arrest..
See:
When Vahidi got his position to oversee the entire military apparatus of Iran earlier this year, a spokesperson for the US State Department simply described Vahidi's nomination as "disturbing".
Showing posts with label international terrorism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label international terrorism. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Israeli Group Sues North Korea over Role in Terror Attack
Jerusalem - An Israeli group has filed suit against North Korea on charges of supporting a major attack against the Jewish state.
Shurat HaDin, an Israeli law center, has filed a suit in a U.S. district court in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the families of the victims of the 1972 attack in Israel. In an attack on Lod Airport, 26 people were killed and 80 others were injured by attackers alleged to have been trained by North Korea. The attack was also attributed to the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
"This will be the first time North Korea is being held to account in a U.S. court for its support of terrorism over many decades," Shurat HaDin said Tuesday.
Most of the victims in the 1972 shooting were Catholic pilgrims from Puerto Rico who had come to visit the Holy Land for the first time. The court complaint alleged that Pyongyang - North Korea's capital - had trained and financed the three attackers, who used automatic weapons, ammunition and grenades. Two of the three attackers were killed and the third was captured and sentenced to prison in Israel.
"North Korea was behind the attack," Shurat HaDin said. "As the trial will show incontrovertibly, in the months leading up to the massacre, the leaders of the JRA and PFLP met each other and with North Korean officials, who provided funding, intelligence, training, and other material support for the terrorists."
The trial was scheduled to begin on Thursday in the U.S. federal district court in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The plaintiffs have argued that North Korea supported JRA's plan to target Israel as part of its campaign to promote communist revolution.
North Korea, removed from the State Department's list of terrorist sponsors in 2008, has been identified as a leading weapons supplier to Iran and Syria. Israel has asserted that Pyongyang helped build the huge underground network for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Shurat HaDin has filed two other lawsuits against North Korea.
"It is widely known that one of the world's most oppressive regimes, North Korea, is also a consistent supporter of terrorism, including providing weaponry, training bases, and funding for Palestinian terrorist organizations," Shurat HaDin said.
Shurat HaDin, an Israeli law center, has filed a suit in a U.S. district court in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the families of the victims of the 1972 attack in Israel. In an attack on Lod Airport, 26 people were killed and 80 others were injured by attackers alleged to have been trained by North Korea. The attack was also attributed to the Japanese Red Army (JRA) and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
"This will be the first time North Korea is being held to account in a U.S. court for its support of terrorism over many decades," Shurat HaDin said Tuesday.
Most of the victims in the 1972 shooting were Catholic pilgrims from Puerto Rico who had come to visit the Holy Land for the first time. The court complaint alleged that Pyongyang - North Korea's capital - had trained and financed the three attackers, who used automatic weapons, ammunition and grenades. Two of the three attackers were killed and the third was captured and sentenced to prison in Israel.
"North Korea was behind the attack," Shurat HaDin said. "As the trial will show incontrovertibly, in the months leading up to the massacre, the leaders of the JRA and PFLP met each other and with North Korean officials, who provided funding, intelligence, training, and other material support for the terrorists."
The trial was scheduled to begin on Thursday in the U.S. federal district court in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The plaintiffs have argued that North Korea supported JRA's plan to target Israel as part of its campaign to promote communist revolution.
North Korea, removed from the State Department's list of terrorist sponsors in 2008, has been identified as a leading weapons supplier to Iran and Syria. Israel has asserted that Pyongyang helped build the huge underground network for Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Shurat HaDin has filed two other lawsuits against North Korea.
"It is widely known that one of the world's most oppressive regimes, North Korea, is also a consistent supporter of terrorism, including providing weaponry, training bases, and funding for Palestinian terrorist organizations," Shurat HaDin said.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Philadelphia Bulletin: Underground Sensor tohelp Israel Fight Terrorists
by David Bedein
Jerusalem - The communal nightmare of the kibbutz and moshav agricultural villages near Gaza is that bands of terrorists will dig under their communities and conduct surprise infiltrations from underground.
To cope with that deadly scenario, Israel has developed an underground sensor designed to detect tunnel construction and operation.
Israel’s Spider Technologies Security has produced and delivered sensors designed to detect and track underground activity. Executives said the Israeli military as well as the U.S. government have been testing the system for underground and above-ground use.
“The most recent tests in the U.S. involve tunneling detection,” SpiderTech marketing director Elkana Pressler said. “The demonstrations have shown that the SpiderTech sensor can accurately identify underground activity even with intense surface noise, like car and truck traffic.”
SpiderTech, based in Lod, near Israel’s International Ben Gurion Airport, was also commencing field trials of its sensor network in Europe and South America.
One of the sensor systems, Tarantula, was said to comprise a network of SpiderTech’s proprietary seismic sensors based on novel seismic measurement components along with signal specially designed processing technology that could detect and classify the approach of people above ground as well as underground activity. The network horizontal architecture allows coverage of tens of kilometers over regular PC base control station.
In prototype testing, Tarantula, said to have a false alarm rate of below 10 percent, detected people at a distance of 20 feet and light vehicles at 80 feet.
The ranges of the cylindrical three-dimensional sensor -- each measuring 120 inches high x 80 inches in diameter and with a target positioning accuracy of up to five meters -- were about twice that of existing sensor technology systems.
“Since the system is designed as a multi-layer decision maker, the sensors have a very low rate of false alarms, thus, being extremely difficult to bypass and enhance any existing perimeter security solution,” SpiderTech said on Sept. 29.
SpiderTech has signed a collaboration agreement with Israel’s Rada Electronic Industries for the producing and marketing of Tarantula - an effort that could result in contracts in 2010. Executives said Rada would focus on Western governments and militaries, particularly the United States. The system, which does not require a line of sight with targets, is within an on-going feasibility classified program by the U.S. Homeland Security and defense parties.
“We are currently focused on the high-end government market segment where our solution is urgently needed,” Pressler said. “We also intend to expand our offering and introduce a commercial product line, tailored for mini sites, portable stand alone solutions, home and residential protection.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Jerusalem - The communal nightmare of the kibbutz and moshav agricultural villages near Gaza is that bands of terrorists will dig under their communities and conduct surprise infiltrations from underground.
To cope with that deadly scenario, Israel has developed an underground sensor designed to detect tunnel construction and operation.
Israel’s Spider Technologies Security has produced and delivered sensors designed to detect and track underground activity. Executives said the Israeli military as well as the U.S. government have been testing the system for underground and above-ground use.
“The most recent tests in the U.S. involve tunneling detection,” SpiderTech marketing director Elkana Pressler said. “The demonstrations have shown that the SpiderTech sensor can accurately identify underground activity even with intense surface noise, like car and truck traffic.”
SpiderTech, based in Lod, near Israel’s International Ben Gurion Airport, was also commencing field trials of its sensor network in Europe and South America.
One of the sensor systems, Tarantula, was said to comprise a network of SpiderTech’s proprietary seismic sensors based on novel seismic measurement components along with signal specially designed processing technology that could detect and classify the approach of people above ground as well as underground activity. The network horizontal architecture allows coverage of tens of kilometers over regular PC base control station.
In prototype testing, Tarantula, said to have a false alarm rate of below 10 percent, detected people at a distance of 20 feet and light vehicles at 80 feet.
The ranges of the cylindrical three-dimensional sensor -- each measuring 120 inches high x 80 inches in diameter and with a target positioning accuracy of up to five meters -- were about twice that of existing sensor technology systems.
“Since the system is designed as a multi-layer decision maker, the sensors have a very low rate of false alarms, thus, being extremely difficult to bypass and enhance any existing perimeter security solution,” SpiderTech said on Sept. 29.
SpiderTech has signed a collaboration agreement with Israel’s Rada Electronic Industries for the producing and marketing of Tarantula - an effort that could result in contracts in 2010. Executives said Rada would focus on Western governments and militaries, particularly the United States. The system, which does not require a line of sight with targets, is within an on-going feasibility classified program by the U.S. Homeland Security and defense parties.
“We are currently focused on the high-end government market segment where our solution is urgently needed,” Pressler said. “We also intend to expand our offering and introduce a commercial product line, tailored for mini sites, portable stand alone solutions, home and residential protection.”
View the original article in the Philadelphia Bulletin
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Special Report: May 2008 - Fatah as “Moderate” A Hard Look Post-Annapolis UPDATE (The Center for Near East Policy Research)
Fatah as “Moderate” A Hard Look Post-Annapolis
Executive Summary
This comes four months after the release of the primary report: “Fatah as ‘Moderate’” – seen at http://israelbehindthenews.com/pdf/ModerateFatah.pdf.
The fully documented update that follows this summary examines a marked pattern of
incidents – statements and actions by key members of Fatah or by the organs of Fatah – that work against genuine moderation. This situation has enormous import in light of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority that are based on the premise of Fatah moderation.
OVERVIEW: Increased Radicalism & Deterioration
Political discourse within Fatah (which controls the Palestinian Authority) has been
radicalized: more openly embracing terrorism and rejecting negotiation, and moving
towards an Islamic stance.
Fatah is now much closer to Hamas than was the case previously, as nationalism is now
entwined with Islam: nationalist rhetoric is succumbing to the notion of a religious war with a “Zionist-Crusader West.”
Internal Fatah politics are also increasingly unstable: Obstructionist elements are in ascendancy.
Influential members of the Fatah Central Committee who are hard line make it impossible for Abbas to advance a reasonable proposal for peace.
THE EVIDENCE
Praise of and Support for Terrorism
Considerable evidence exists for PA glorification of terrorism – often couched as
“armed struggle.”
Abbas Interview
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, has given an interview that
connects him directly with terrorism.
Praise of Terrorists and Their Actions
The PA officially praises terrorists who are responsible for horrendous terrorist acts: We see this with the infamous terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, referred to as “extraordinary hero... a beacon of light.” With the terrorist who massacred eight students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, referred to as a Shahid - holy Islamic martyr, and approved by a Fatah leader who says Fatah conducts itself similarly. And others.
Incitement
Evidence of incitement exists at the highest levels of the PA.
Multiple charges by Abbas
On at least three occasions during March 2008, Mahmoud Abbas, PA president, made
inciteful statements, either to the press or in talks within Arabic conferences. He spoke of “an ethnic cleansing” in Jerusalem, and of a ‘barbaric holocaust” in Gaza.
“Right of Return” Plan
Also in March 2008, a PA Deputy Minister advanced an initiative for all Palestinians
living abroad to converge upon Israel for Israeli Independence Day.
Blanket Criticism of Israeli Military Operations
When wanted terrorists responsible for murder of Israelis were killed by Israeli forces, the PA referred to this as a “barbaric crime…executions against our people.”
With regard to violence between Palestinians (no matter their affiliation or terrorist deeds) and Israel, the PA defends the Palestinians, who are brothers, and not Israel.
Terrorist Acts
Repeatedly, Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a military arm of Fatah, claims full or partial
credit for terrorist acts or attempted acts: These include a planned terror by poison in a restaurant; an attempted knifing; a number of rocket launchings; and two shootings each of which killed two Israelis.
Adherence to the “Phased Program”
The PLO’s “Phased Program” has the final goal of acquisition all the land, but achieved one “liberation step” at a time. It calls for giving an impression of moderation, with diplomatic processes. Each step is expected to weaken Israel. “Armed resistance” – terrorism – is to be utilized when it can be useful.
In an April 2008 TV interview, the Fatah-affiliated PA representative in Lebanon made it clear that the PLO still adheres to this policy.
Connection to Iran
Israeli Intelligence has information that Iran provides money to several Fatah groups.
Ongoing Hamas Connection
The Western world is providing an enormous amount of assistance to Fatah, broadly
based on the premise that it is a moderate entity serving as a foil to the radical Hamas, and not significantly associated with it.
But in actuality Abbas does a dance between two poles. He cannot totally avoid contact with Hamas – for he is struggling with the power and influence of Hamas, the ethos of Palestinian brotherhood, and the weakness of Fatah.
In March there were preliminary negotiations between Hamas and Fatah towards a
renewed unity government, but this fell apart immediately.
When Fatah and Hamas join forces, Fatah does not moderate Hamas, Hamas radicalizes Fatah.
Abbas has indicated he has stipulations for dealing with Hamas. But at no time has he
insisted that – because he is now negotiating peace with Israel – he can only form a
government with a party that recognizes Israel’s right to exist and is prepared to
negotiate a two-state solution.
Abbas's bottom line is simply the return of Gaza, which was wrested from Fatah in a
coup almost a year ago.
See the Full Report: Fatah as “Moderate” A Hard Look Post-Annapolis
Executive Summary
This comes four months after the release of the primary report: “Fatah as ‘Moderate’” – seen at http://israelbehindthenews.com/pdf/ModerateFatah.pdf.
The fully documented update that follows this summary examines a marked pattern of
incidents – statements and actions by key members of Fatah or by the organs of Fatah – that work against genuine moderation. This situation has enormous import in light of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority that are based on the premise of Fatah moderation.
OVERVIEW: Increased Radicalism & Deterioration
Political discourse within Fatah (which controls the Palestinian Authority) has been
radicalized: more openly embracing terrorism and rejecting negotiation, and moving
towards an Islamic stance.
Fatah is now much closer to Hamas than was the case previously, as nationalism is now
entwined with Islam: nationalist rhetoric is succumbing to the notion of a religious war with a “Zionist-Crusader West.”
Internal Fatah politics are also increasingly unstable: Obstructionist elements are in ascendancy.
Influential members of the Fatah Central Committee who are hard line make it impossible for Abbas to advance a reasonable proposal for peace.
THE EVIDENCE
Praise of and Support for Terrorism
Considerable evidence exists for PA glorification of terrorism – often couched as
“armed struggle.”
Abbas Interview
Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, has given an interview that
connects him directly with terrorism.
Praise of Terrorists and Their Actions
The PA officially praises terrorists who are responsible for horrendous terrorist acts: We see this with the infamous terrorist Imad Mughniyeh, referred to as “extraordinary hero... a beacon of light.” With the terrorist who massacred eight students at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, referred to as a Shahid - holy Islamic martyr, and approved by a Fatah leader who says Fatah conducts itself similarly. And others.
Incitement
Evidence of incitement exists at the highest levels of the PA.
Multiple charges by Abbas
On at least three occasions during March 2008, Mahmoud Abbas, PA president, made
inciteful statements, either to the press or in talks within Arabic conferences. He spoke of “an ethnic cleansing” in Jerusalem, and of a ‘barbaric holocaust” in Gaza.
“Right of Return” Plan
Also in March 2008, a PA Deputy Minister advanced an initiative for all Palestinians
living abroad to converge upon Israel for Israeli Independence Day.
Blanket Criticism of Israeli Military Operations
When wanted terrorists responsible for murder of Israelis were killed by Israeli forces, the PA referred to this as a “barbaric crime…executions against our people.”
With regard to violence between Palestinians (no matter their affiliation or terrorist deeds) and Israel, the PA defends the Palestinians, who are brothers, and not Israel.
Terrorist Acts
Repeatedly, Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, a military arm of Fatah, claims full or partial
credit for terrorist acts or attempted acts: These include a planned terror by poison in a restaurant; an attempted knifing; a number of rocket launchings; and two shootings each of which killed two Israelis.
Adherence to the “Phased Program”
The PLO’s “Phased Program” has the final goal of acquisition all the land, but achieved one “liberation step” at a time. It calls for giving an impression of moderation, with diplomatic processes. Each step is expected to weaken Israel. “Armed resistance” – terrorism – is to be utilized when it can be useful.
In an April 2008 TV interview, the Fatah-affiliated PA representative in Lebanon made it clear that the PLO still adheres to this policy.
Connection to Iran
Israeli Intelligence has information that Iran provides money to several Fatah groups.
Ongoing Hamas Connection
The Western world is providing an enormous amount of assistance to Fatah, broadly
based on the premise that it is a moderate entity serving as a foil to the radical Hamas, and not significantly associated with it.
But in actuality Abbas does a dance between two poles. He cannot totally avoid contact with Hamas – for he is struggling with the power and influence of Hamas, the ethos of Palestinian brotherhood, and the weakness of Fatah.
In March there were preliminary negotiations between Hamas and Fatah towards a
renewed unity government, but this fell apart immediately.
When Fatah and Hamas join forces, Fatah does not moderate Hamas, Hamas radicalizes Fatah.
Abbas has indicated he has stipulations for dealing with Hamas. But at no time has he
insisted that – because he is now negotiating peace with Israel – he can only form a
government with a party that recognizes Israel’s right to exist and is prepared to
negotiate a two-state solution.
Abbas's bottom line is simply the return of Gaza, which was wrested from Fatah in a
coup almost a year ago.
See the Full Report: Fatah as “Moderate” A Hard Look Post-Annapolis
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