UN Rapporteur: Terrorism against Jews is OK!
Bracing for Dugard
By MALVINA HALBERSTAM
June 6, 2008
Later this month the United Nations’s Council on Human Rights will consider a report issued by the Special Rapporteur for Palestine, John Dugard. The report condones acts of terrorism against Israel, in clear contravention of resolutions by the Security Council, the General Assembly, and a report by then U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, that acts of terrorism are criminal wherever and by whoever commits them, regardless of motivation.
The report issued by the Special Rapporteur states:
. A distinction must be drawn between acts of mindless terror, such as acts committed by Al Qaeda and acts committed in the course of a war of national liberation against colonialism, apartheid or military occupation.
. Such acts cannot be justified … they must be understood as being a painful but inevitable consequence of colonialism, apartheid or occupation.
. Acts of terror against military occupation must be seen in historical context. This is why every effort should be made to bring the occupation to a speedy end. Until this is done peace cannot be expected, and violence will continue …
. Israel must address the occupation and the violation of human rights and international humanitarian law it engenders, and not invoke the justification of terrorism as a distraction, as a pretext for failure to confront the root cause of Palestinian violence: the occupation.
The rest of the report, strongly critical of various actions taken by Israel, makes no reference to the fact that these actions were taken in response to terrorist attacks against Israel and, in Israel’s view, were necessary to protect its citizens from future attacks.
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The report should be rejected by the Council on Human Rights. Unfortunately, given the composition and history of that body, that is not likely.