Damascus briefs UN on transfer of Libyan, Saudi arms, militants to Syria

Source :  Strategic-Culture.org

Syria has written to the United Nations over a measure by Turkey to assign a special mission to a Libyan ship carrying arms and terrorists to help the militants fighting against Damascus.

Syrian Foreign Ministry highlighted Ankara’s interference in the Arab country’s internal affairs in letters to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and current Chairman of the UN Security Council Vitaly Churkin, Syria’s official news agency SANA reported on Thursday.

According to the letters, Turkish lawmakers have recently raised the issue of Turkey’s Interior Ministry assigning a special mission to a Libyan ship, dubbed “Intisar,” to carry 400 tons of weapons and hand them over to the militants fighting against the Syrian government.

The Libyan ship, which entered Turkey’s Iskenderun Port about two months ago, also carried 250 Libyans to fight along with militants in Syria, the letters said.

The Ministry said the enquiry list was submitted to the Turkish Parliament by Atilla Kart, a member of Turkey’s Republican People's Party (CHP).

The Turkish lawmaker has also urged Ankara to explain the reasons behind permitting “three C-130 Saudi airplanes earmarked for military transportation and evacuation to use the Turkish airspace to transport weapons and gunmen to Syria,” according to the letters.

The letters further said, Turkish Cumhuriyet newspaper mentioned in its version published a few days ago that Hursit Gunes, another member of the Republican People's Party, has submitted a criminal complaint against the government officials over their anti-Syria policies.

According to the Syrian ministry, Gunes said in a press conference that the ruling Justice and Development Party trains gunmen in Turkey, transports weapons to Syria and provides all types of support to the armed groups in Syria.

He added that a number of militants’ leaders in Syria have provided information in this regard to international news agencies and media.

“This information proves in an irrefutable way that the Turkish territories have become a center for gathering, harboring, exporting, supporting and financing terrorism and terrorists from al-Qaeda to work inside Syria under the supervision of the Turkish government,” the ministry added.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry also expressed hope that the United Nations will fulfill its responsibility of “condemning the acts perpetrated by the Turkish government and by the other countries which support and finance al-Qaeda- linked armed terrorist groups” in Syria.

Press TV

UN: Israel must withdraw all West Bank settlers

Source :   Al Akhbar English

United Nations human rights investigators called on Israel Thursday to halt settlement expansion “without preconditions” and withdraw all Jewish settlers from the occupied West Bank, saying that its practices violated international law.

"Israel must, in compliance with article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, cease all settlement activities without preconditions. It must immediately initiate a process of withdrawal of all settlers from the OPT (occupied Palestinian territories)," said a report by the inquiry led by French judge Christine Chanet.

The settlements contravene the 1949 Geneva Conventions forbidding the transfer of civilian populations into occupied territory, which could amount to war crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it said.

Israel's foreign ministry called the report "biased," saying it would hamper alleged peace efforts between Israel and Palestine.

"The Human Rights Council has sadly distinguished itself by its systematically one-sided and biased approach towards Israel. This latest report is yet another unfortunate reminder of that," said spokesman Yigal Palmor in a statement.

Israel boycotted a routine review of its human rights situation by the United Nations Tuesday, making it the only UN member state to ever boycott the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) periodic review since the process’ inception in 2006.

UNHRC spokesman Rolando Gomez had warned that “if a delegation from the country was not to attend then action, as yet unspecified, would be taken.”

Israel’s intransigence with the UNHRC could set a precedent for other countries unwilling to respond to accusations of human rights violations.

In December, the Palestinians accused Israel in a letter to the United Nations of planning to commit further "war crimes" by expanding Jewish settlements after the Palestinians won de facto UN recognition of statehood and warned that Israel must be held accountable.

Israel severed ties with the UNHRC last March over a planned fact- finding mission on illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The independent UN investigators interviewed more than 50 people who came to Jordan in November to testify about confiscated land, damage to their livelihoods including olive trees, and violence by Jewish settlers, according to the report.

"The mission believes that the motivation behind this violence and the intimidation against the Palestinians as well as their properties is to drive the local populations away from their lands and allow the settlements to expand," it said.

About 250 settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been established since 1967 and they hold an estimated 520,000 settlers, according to the UN report. The settlements impede Palestinian access to water resources and agricultural lands, it said.

EU, UN ’Concerned’ over Zionist Shooting of Palestinians

EU, UN ’Concerned’ over Zionist Shooting of Palestinians

Officials from the United Nations and European Union on Wednesday expressed concern over a spate of incidents in which Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have been killed by the Zionist fire.

In separate statements, UN Humanitarian Coordinator James Rawley and the local EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah said security forces should largely refrain from using live fire.

In a two week period in January, four Palestinians were killed in separate incidents across the West Bank, including a woman and two minors.

Rawley said he was "seriously concerned by the increased casualties resulting from the use of live ammunition by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank."

"Eight Palestinian civilians, including three minors and one woman, have been killed since mid-November in separate incidents in the West Bank," he said in the statement.

The EU missions also said they were "deeply concerned by the number of Palestinians killed recently... in separate incidents involving recourse by Israeli forces to lethal force."

Both statements noted that the Zionist military was reportedly investigating the incidents, but urged security forces operating in the West Bank to avoid using live fire unless absolutely necessary.

"We reiterate the need for security forces, whether Israeli or Palestinian, to refrain from use of lethal force, except in cases where there is a real and imminent threat to life," the EU statement said.

"Using live ammunition against civilians may constitute excessive use of force and any such occurrences should be investigated in a timely, thorough, independent and impartial manner," Rawley said.

The Zionist military and foreign ministry had no comment on the statements.

Last week, 21-year-old Lubna Hanash died after being hit in the face by Zionist gunfire outside a college near the southern West Bank city of Al-Khalil, according to Palestinian medics.

Others killed in January include 15-year-old Saleh Amarin, who was also shot in the face, during clashes in Aida refugee camp north of Bethlehem and Samir Ahmed Awad, 17, who was shot near Zionist separation barrier on January 15.

Dialogue only way to settle Palestine-Israel issue: Chinese UN envoy

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- China said here Wednesday that dialogue and negotiations remain the only way to settle the Palestine-Israel dispute, and called for early resumption of the peace talk between the two sides.

"The question of Palestine-Israel constitutes the core of the Middle East peace process," Li Baodong, the Chinese permanent representative to the United Nations, told a Security Council open debate on the Middle East.

"China has always advocated that the parties concerned should resolve their dispute through political negotiations on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, the principle of Land for Peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Middle East Peace Roadmap so as to eventually lead to the establishment of an independent state of Palestine and peaceful coexistence between the two states of Palestine and Israel," Li said.

China welcomes and supports all measures which could help break the deadlock of Palestine- Israeli peace talks and push forward a renewed dialogue between the two sides, Li noted.

"China is always firmly opposed to settlement constructions by Israel in Occupied Palestine territories in East Jerusalem and the West Bank of the Jordan River," Li said, voicing China's serious concern over Israel's suspension of transfers of tax payments to Palestine

"We call on Israel, who is in a stronger position, to stop the building of settlements, to lift the blockade on Gaza and to release Palestinian prisoners. We also urge Israel to take measures to remove obstacles to the resumption of peace talks," he urged.

China supports the endeavor of the Palestinian people to establish, on the basis of the 1967 border; an independent state of Palestine with full sovereignty and with East Jerusalem as its capital, the ambassador noted.

"An independent state of Palestine, which is the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, is the basis and precondition to achieve peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine," Li said. "Palestine's successful bid to be recognized as a UN non- member observer state is a positive step on the road of establishing itself as an independent state."

Deeply worried by the long halt of the peace talks between Palestine and Israel, China hopes the international community increase its sense of responsibility and urgency for advancing the Middle East peace process, Li added.