Hacked  By  r4dBlack

MALE: The Maldives called last week for an immediate freeze on all settlement activity in the West Bank as the first step to resuming peace talks in the Middle East. The rapid expansion in Israeli settlement activity and reports of settler violence against Palestinians, often with impunity, was grave cause for concern, said Shazra Abdul Sattar, charge d’affaires at the Maldives mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

“The Maldives believes that settler activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory not only represents a flagrant violation of international international humanitarian and human rights law, but also represents a key obstacle to the achievement of long-term peace and security in the region,” she said.

The appeal followed a telephone call between President Mohamed Nasheed and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas last month, with the latter asking the Maldives to call for settlement activity to be stopped.

Abdul Sattar spoke at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council convened by Palestine with the support of the Organisation of Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement to agree to what steps to take following the Goldstone report.

Independent investigations

The UN fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict, led by Justice Richard Goldstone, was asked to investigate all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law during the conflict in December last year which saw more than 1,400 people killed.

Israeli air strikes targeted the Gaza strip in Palestine in response to a week-long barrage of missiles from Gaza.

Although responding to rocket attacks, the Goldstone report found that the Israeli government directed its offensive at the people of Gaza, resulting in the deaths and detention of many civilians, with scant regard for basic international humanitarian law and human rights norms.

The report further found that that armed Palestinian groups had committed war crimes, as well as possible crimes against humanity by repeatedly launching rockets and mortars into Southern Israel.

The report concluded that gross violations were committed by both sides and called for an independent investigation to be carried out on both sides.

“Non-cooperation”

The resolution tabled at the special session condemned the “non-cooperation by the occupying power, Israel, with the independent international fact-finding mission” and endorsed the recommendations in the report.

Soon after the report’s publication, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected its findings as biased in favour of Hamas. He argued Israeli forces were exercising their right to self-defence following the rocket attacks.

The resolution further called upon all concerned parties and UN bodies to ensure the recommendations were implemented without delay and was adopted by the council with 25 votes in favour, six against and 11 abstentions.

Speaking during the debate on the report and draft resolution, Abdul Sattar said the Maldives supported the findings in the Goldstone report and the recommendation that alleged violations by both sides be independently investigated.

During his speech at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, the president said he would make use of diplomatic ties to assert its support for an “independent and sovereign” Palestinian homeland.

“We believe dialogue and constructive engagement serve the cause of peace better than ostracism and isolation,” he said.

The decision to restore diplomatic ties with Israel led to uproar among opposition parties as well as the religious conservative Adhaalath Party, a member of the coalition government. They have interpreted the move as a condonation of Israel’s actions towards Palestine.

In an email to Minivan News last month, David Goldfarb, an official from the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs, said, “Israel has no quarrel with the Muslim world and seeks to establish dialogue and relations with all Muslim countries...The conflict in the Middle East is a territorial and political conflict, not a religious one.”