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They say
9/11 changed the world. What about September 16?
For Immediate Release
| No.
(E/31/04) |
15
September 2004 |
September 16 commemorates the 1982 Sabra and
Shatila massacre, the day almost a quarter of a century ago, when up to
3,500 civilians, mainly Palestinian refugees, died in Beirut, Lebanon
refugee camps.
In 1982, Ariel Sharon was Defense Minister of Israel. An Israeli commission
of inquiry found that he and other Israelis were responsible for the
massacre. Now Ariel Sharon is Prime Minister of Israel.
Under the Universal Jurisdiction Law of Belgium, Ariel Sharon was charged in
relation to the Sabra and Shatila massacre. The case failed when Belgium was
forced to abandon its law through U.S. and other pressure. The law simply
put Belgian law into agreement with the Geneva Conventions something
expected from every state that is a signatory to the Conventions. The Geneva
Conventions call for prosecution or extradition of anyone guilty of crimes
against humanity. Among others, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
have supported the concept of universal jurisdiction.
Others who had a role in the massacre remain in positions of power both in
Israel and Lebanon.
Things haven’t changed much for the Palestinians. Inquiries into the
massacre were not released. Most massacre perpetrators remain at large.
Nothing has been done to compensate the victims.
The killing with impunity continues, especially for Palestinians. In the
occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip more than 3,100 Palestinians have been
killed by the Israeli military and Israel settlers in the past four years.
In the same period almost 1,000 Israeli civilians and members of the Israeli
security forces have been killed by Palestinians.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon remain unable to own land and are barred
from more than 70 types of work. The Palestinians of West Bank and Gaza
remain locked in a land which is growing smaller by the day with illegal
takeovers of land and the building of the wall by Israel.
All Palestinians who lost their homes in 1948 and through the years because
of Israeli actions have been denied the right of return.
Some say the world changed on September 11, 2001 but on 16 September, 22
years after the Sabra and Shatila massacre, not much has changed for the
Palestinians.
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