Aftonbladet's article echoes a report by Mary Barrett; "Autopsies and Executions," which was published in April 1990 in Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. In it, Barrett concludes, "The question of organ theft is of compelling concern to Palestinians." In June 2001, Dr. Nancy Scheper-Hughes of the University of California-Berkeley and Organs Watch testified to the House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights. She described a "multi-million dollar business" that the Israeli Ministry of Health refused "to intervene and crack down on.
It may also be recalled that the Haaretz newspaper reported in
January 2005 that Breaking the Silence organization has collected new testimony
from Israeli soldiers on harsh actions carried out during the course of the
fighting in the occupied territories. Two of the testimonies pertain to a
military doctor who gave medics lessons in anatomy using the bodies of
Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.
The second report came from a soldier who served in Hebron in October 2000.
The soldier told Breaking the Silence that a comrade had fired live rounds at a
Palestinian youth, Mansour Taha Ahmed, 21, who was standing some distance from
a group of stone-throwers. The soldier said he was firing rubber bullets at the
stone-throwers when he suddenly heard his comrade fire live rounds, killing the
young man.
Double standards
The episode of the Palestinian organ theft refreshes the memories of cruel massacres of Sabra and Shatila, Khan Yunis, Al-Aqsa Mosque or Jenin. The legality of settlements and the right of return of refugees are basic principles of international law and international humanitarian law which is flouted by Israel. The impunity and flagrant display of arrogance, demonstrated by Israel which continues to use the US to pressure the international community as a double standard to hold sanctions on Iran due to its nuclear program, knows no bound.
The US has historically claimed to be an arbiter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, yet it has committed itself to unconditionally support Israel whatever its crimes are. And these supports are not restricted to the numerous veto it wield in favor of Israel at the UN, nor to the White Phosphorus it supplies to Israel to target defenseless civilians, the Congressional Israel lobby has achieved a commitment from the Obama administration to add Israeli systems and munitions to a new U.S.-built F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and deliver 25 to Israel by 2015 with another 50 delivered by 2018.
President Obama's role in the Palestinian conflict so far belies his tall claims he made in Cairo in June last that he seeks peace in the region, and that it is the just arbiter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his Orwellian speech accepting the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month, he mentioned countries that violated the international law but did not refer to Israel which violated the international law many times. While Obama referred to the persecutions in places like Zimbabwe and Burma, the Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians was not worthy crime for him to cite in his speech.
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