JERUSALEM — Amnesty International on Thursday accused Israeli forces of war crimes, saying they used children as human shields and conducted wanton attacks on civilians during their offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The London-based human rights group also accused Hamas of war crimes, but said it found no evidence that the Islamist rulers of Gaza used civilians as human shields during the 22-day offensive Israel launched on December 28.

It also reiterated its call for an international arms embargo against Israel.

“Much of the destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian objects,” Amnesty said in a study.

Israeli troops forced Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the house into a base and sniper position, “effectively using the families, both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk,” the group said.

“Intentionally using civilians to shield a military objective, often referred to as using ‘human shields’ is a war crime,” Amnesty said.

It could not support Israeli claims that Hamas used human shields. It said it found no evidence Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shield military objectives from attacks, forced them to stay in buildings used by militants, or prevented them from leaving commandeered buildings.

However, the report did point out that Hamas and other armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel.

“Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable,” said Donatella Rovera, who led an Amnesty mission to Gaza and southern Israel.

More than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis died during the offensive Israel launched in response to rocket fire from Palestinian militants.

Amnesty said 300 children were among those killed.

-TCSM

Saudis warn elderly, pregnant women from hajj

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia warned elderly Muslims and pregnant women on Tuesday against undertaking the hajj pilgrimage this year as the threat of swine flu mounts worldwide.

A Saudi policeman helps an elderly Muslim pilgrim to climb steps at the site of the “Jamarat” ritual. REUTERS

The government has also pre-ordered millions of doses of vaccines being developed for the rapidly spreading H1NI flu so that, if ready, they can be administered around the kingdom ahead of the massive November-December global pilgrimage to Mecca.
“We always advise people with asthma, or pregnant women, or the elderly not to come on the hajj,” ministry spokesman Dr Khaled Marghlani said.

This year the swine flu threat has made the warning more important and the government is stressing the danger to those groups of people, Marghlani said.

Marghlani said the country was hopeful that a swine flu vaccine could be readied ahead of the hajj, when more than 1.7 million pilgrims from all over the world descend on the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia has pre-ordered vaccine doses equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s population of 25.3 million people, Marghlani said.

–Agencies

Iraqi foreign minister cautions U.S.

BAGHDAD — As the U.S. military presence in Iraq moves into the background, some Iraqi officials concerned that U.S. preoccupation with the war in Afghanistan would prematurely leave Iraq to fend for itself are welcoming Washington’s efforts to increase its political engagement here.

Hoshyar Zebari

“My message to them is … you lost Afghanistan in 2001, 2002, and 2003 because you turned your attention to Iraq from Afghanistan – now you are redirecting your attentions (to) Afghanistan and if you disengage with Iraq, it could be another failure. The situation is not that solid,” said Foreign Minister Hoyshar Zebari in an interview.
Mr. Zebari, who has served as foreign minister for the last six years, says the U.S. is still needed to help Iraq build government capacity and more effective government – as well as with national reconciliation.

Vice President Joe Biden arrived Thursday night on his first trip as President Barack Obama’s point man on Iraq. He is expected to meet with President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, urging them to advance reconciliation efforts.

Now that violence has declined in most of the country, reconciliation between the Shi’a-led government and Sunni factions, between Kurds and Arabs, and among a wide range of extremists who could potentially be persuaded to disarm and join the political process is seen as the key to building on the country’s fragile stability.

-TCSM

Israel rejects total settlement freeze

JERUSALEM — Israel will not impose a complete halt on settlement construction on occupied Palestinian land as demanded by the United States, a senior official said on Thursday.

A view shows the West Bank Jewish settlement of Adam at the north of Jerusalem June 29, 2009. Israel’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it had approved construction of 50 new homes in Adam as part of a plan for 1,450 housing units, an expansion that defies a U.S. call for a settlement freeze. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

“Israel will not freeze natural growth and will not suffocate the life of 300,000 Israelis who live in settlements in all legality,” Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told public radio.
The international community considers all settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal, saying they violate international law under which an occupying power cannot transfer part of its population to the land it occupies.

The U.S. administration is pressing Israel to freeze all construction activity in the settlements, which are seen as a major hurdle in efforts to reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.

Ayalon made it clear he did not believe the Palestinians were willing to make any concessions.

“One cannot demand immediate and complete payment by Israel if the other side is not willing to take the slightest step,” he said.

Israeli media has said hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was willing to consider a three-month construction freeze, but would exclude east Jerusalem from the moratorium, as well as the 2,000 to 3,200 private homes currently being built in the West Bank.

–Agencies

Sarkozy envoys meet Assad in Syria

PARIS — Two top aides to French President Nicolas Sarkozy held talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad this week, the foreign ministry said Wednesday, in the latest sign of improved ties between France and Syria.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy

The meeting in Damascus on Tuesday came ahead of a planned visit by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner to Syria and Lebanon, which could take place possibly as early as next week.
Sarkozy’s political chief of staff Claude Gueant and his chief diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte sat down with Assad and also met with his Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, said foreign ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier.

“These talks, which took place in a very constructive spirit, are part of the regular contacts that we have with Syrian authorities and provided an opportunity for exchange on bilateral and regional issues,” he added.

Kouchner was expected to travel to Damascus and Lebanon to preside over a regional conference of French ambassadors.

“Bernard Kouchner is scheduled to meet with Syrian authorities. His schedule has not ben finalised,” Chevallier said.

Relations between France and Syria have been warming since Assad paid a landmark visit to Paris a year ago and Sarkozy visited Damascus two months later in September 2008.

–Agencies

South Korean pipeline bombed in Yemen

Unknown attackers blew up an oil pipeline in southeast Yemen on Wednesday, according to the AFP.

The explosion caused a leak in the pipeline operated by a South Korean firm, police and industry officials told the news agency.

The attack took place in a region of Shabwa province that produces 10,000 barrels of oil a day.

Police told reporters the assailants planted an explosive device under the pipeline and detonated it from a distance.

Yemen, a small oil producer, has for the past several years been the target of attacks on its oil installations by tribesmen locked in dispute with the authorities, and also by local Al-Qaeda operatives.

Bahrainis mourn Michael Jackson

Bahraini citizens are mourning the death of pop icon Michael Jackson, including a Bahraini sheik who hosted him in the Gulf emirate for a year, according to the Associated Press.

A 12-meter-high statue of the late pop icon Michael Jackson in Regensdorf near Zurich July 2, 2009. REUTERS

Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Khalifa, a son of Bahrain’s king and a young songwriter, befriended Jackson after the singer’s child molestation trial in 2005 and helped him with monetary gifts while he stayed with him.
When Jackson left the emirate in 2006, the sheik said Jackson didn’t fulfill his promise of a joint music venture and sued him for $7 million, which Jackson denied and said was also a gift. The dispute was eventually settled out of court and terms were not disclosed.

Jackson mostly stayed to himself and with the sheik during his time the country, but some citizens remember him from brief encounters. Jackson was also spotted shopping in traditional women’s robes covering part of his face, and he reportedly drew crowds of curious onlookers because he didn’t walk like a typical woman.