By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, October 11, 5:07 PM GENEVA The U.N. human rights office called Tuesday for Israel to stop Jewish settlers from attacking Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, accusing the army of failing to restrain settlers while being quick to use force against Palestinians. Israeli diplomats expressed surprise at the statement, saying it was released without warning and made no mention of violence directed at settlers. The West Bank and Israel proper have experienced a spike in violence in recent weeks, with hundreds of olive trees uprooted, mosques attacked and Arab cemeteries vandalized. Extremist settlers are believed to be behind the violence, which they say is the price tag for army and government policies that they feel are unfair. Settlers have also clashed with Israeli soldiers in several instances. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Israel was legally obliged to protect Palestinian civilians and property. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...palestinians/2011/10/11/gIQABRBZcL_story.html Unfortunately, such attacks will persist far into the distant future thanks to the US government, which has been heavily supporting and defending illegal settlements while pretending to oppose such.
Wow, a unilateral plea from the UN to Israel? Has the UN urged Hamas to stop the missile attacks on Israel? Just another in a long line of onesided criticisms. And folks wonder why Israel cannot seem to take the UN seriously. Did they even have the decency to officially condemn the brutal murder of the Fogel family? Oh thats right they were squatters and deserved their fate. If Israel actually had the sway over the US some say, we'd have defunded and booted this useless fixture of the NY cityscape years ago,no?
That's sad. You are condemning the UN for condemning Hamas rockets simply because you are defensive and supportive of illegal settler attacks.
I'll have more sympathy for Israel when it accounts for its nuclear stockpile as the UN has requested. Not much more sympathy, but some.
The Israeli government only support the U.N when they rule in favour of the Israeli governments agendas. It's like, "hey we only accept international law when it allows us to continue to besiege people, but anything else is rubbish and should be ignored immediately". How small minded. No doubt if Israel were in a position to seek protection from the U.N, suddenly the U.N would become very legitimate to the Israeli regime and its supporters.
The UN protecting anyone? LOL what planet is Wales on? Does Rwanda or Darfur ring a bell? Or perhaps the UN protected Yugoslavian muslims? Did the UN protect Israel in 1948, 1967, 1973 when it was invaded by 5-7 arab armies? Did the UN move a finger to protect Israel from thousands of terror attacks, years of non-stop rocket barrages? And lest we forget, in 1967 the UN 'protectors' of Israel got up, packed up and left in a Cairo minute when Sadat told them to get the f&ck out of the Sinai. Some protection. LOL
Im hardly a supporter of Jewish settlers attacks. Ive called them kooks, nutjobs, fundmentalists,criminals etc.....same descriptions I use when describing the less savory Arabs/Muslim groups. Rockets fall all the time in Israel, whens the last time the UN has urged Hamas (rulers of Gaza) to contain them or criticized Hamas themselves for firing them? I wont hold my breath Judge.
The problem is not that the UN condemns Hamas rocket attacks. The problem is that you condemn the UN in response to illegal settler attacks against innocent civilians.
The blockade of Gaza, and the justification for intercepting the controversial convoy two years ago? That's considerably more recent than 1948. The abuse of the powers given to Israel in UN Resolution 242 after the Six Day War in 1967 also comes to mind.
UNSC 242 didn't give Israel any ' powers '. It ordered Zionists to get their sorry asses back into Israel.
In exchange for the Arab world's recognition, peace, secure and defensible borders. Needless to say Israel accepted the resolution, the arab world responded with their infamous thee no's: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.
The thread title writes: UN rights office urges Israel to stop settler attacks on Palestinians It does not write: One must endlessly and unconditionally blast Semites with uncontrolled racist hatred in defense of illegal settler activities.
Israel is pefectly entitled to rescind its membership of the UN so why doesn't it do so? Because they are the first to go whining to them at the first perceived slight against them.
The Americans take the same view; not only of the UN but of any international court which rules against them, and which they then refuse to recognise-unless, of course, it rules in their favour. No double standards there then...
