DN: “Israeli Report Finds 2014 Gaza War ‘Lawful’ and ‘Legitimate’ Ahead of Critical U.N. Investigation

The Israeli government has released a report that concludes its military actions in the 2014 war in Gaza were “lawful” and “legitimate.” The findings come ahead of what is expected to be a critical United Nations investigation into the 50-day conflict that Israel has dismissed as biased and refused to cooperate with. More than 2,200 Palestinians died in what was called “Operation Protective Edge,” the vast majority civilians. On Israel’s side, 73 people were killed, all but six of them soldiers. In its report, Israel says it made “substantial efforts” to avoid civilian deaths, insisting Hamas was to blame for the high number of civilian casualties and accusing Hamas militants of disguising themselves as civilians and of converting civilian buildings into military centers. We are joined by Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and the former executive director of The Jerusalem Fund. We also go to Tel Aviv to speak with Gideon Levy, Haaretz columnist, whose latest piece is “Israel washed itself clean of Gaza’s dead beach children”…

 

–Democracy Now!, June 15th, 2015

 

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/15/israeli_report_finds_2014_gaza_war

“Supreme Court: U.S. Passports Must Say ‘Jerusalem,’ Not ‘Israel'” and other headlines from Democracy Now!

Supreme Court: U.S. Passports Must Say “Jerusalem,” Not “Israel”

 In the United States, the Supreme Court has struck down a law which would have let Americans born in Jerusalem list their birthplace as “Israel” on their passports. In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled the law infringed on the president’s right to make decisions about recognizing foreign nations. While Israel has occupied East Jerusalem since 1967, Palestinians claim it as the capital of any future Palestinian state.

Despite Hundreds of Deaths, U.N. Excludes Israel from List of Countries That Kill Children

 U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has left Israel off a list of countries which kill or injure children during conflicts. The decision defies the recommendation of a U.N. special envoy and follows intense pressure from Israel and the United States. It comes despite the U.N.’s conclusion last summer’s Israeli assault on Gaza killed about 540 Palestinian children, making it the third deadliest conflict for children included in the report, after Afghanistan and Iraq, and ahead of Syria.

Report: Israel Tested Nuclear-Laced “Dirty Bombs” in Desert

Meanwhile a report by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reveals Israel recently detonated a series of so-called “dirty bombs” laced with nuclear material, purportedly to test the potential impact of a radioactive attack. The so-called Green Field project involved 20 detonations, most of them in the desert, over four years, ending in 2014.

–Democracy Now!, June 9, 2015

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/9/headlines#694