Olmert says Israel has 'free hand' on blockade

The United Nations's undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs has warned Olmert's government against any possible invasion of Gaza and has brought up the Northern Ireland analogy to stress that the only possible solution is through negotiation rather then military means.

"The only thing that will make a lasting difference is a peace settlement," he said. "You can't stop these problems militarily. They have to be solved through negotiations."

In an interview with Haaretz after his visit to Sderot, Sir John Holmes said that the response to the Qassam rocket attacks must be proportional from a humanitarian point of view. The former British diplomat, who had been involved in negotiations regarding Northern Ireland, said that despite the terrorism, the British government never considered bombing that region, and sought other means to resolve the crisis.

Olmert, meanwhile, continues to insist that he is right to engage in collective punishment of the people of Gaza.

Ehud Olmert, said the people of Gaza could not live normal lives while Israelis across the border were constantly targeted by rockets.

Speaking in Jerusalem at a gathering of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Olmert said Israel's military had a "free hand" to hit Gaza militants. "We will reach out for anyone involved in terrorism against Israelis and will not hesitate to attack them," he said. "That applies to everyone, first and foremost Hamas."

Olmert has been a disastrously bad Prime Minister of Israel, embarking on the war with Hizbullah in Lebanon - the first war that Israel have ever lost - and engaging in actions that can only be described as war crimes. His indiscriminate dropping of cluster bombs in Lebanon as the UN finalised an end to the conflict, is a case in point. After the UN finalised their drafting of the resolution on a Friday afternoon, Olmert insisted that he could not put this draft to his cabinet until after the Sabbath, meaning that the war could not end until the Monday morning. However, no-one could have predicted what Olmert would do over that weekend.

"What's shocking and completely immoral is: 90% of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution," he said.

Indeed, Olmert behaviour shocked not only UN observers, but hardened Israeli troops:

According to Israeli soldiers, reported in the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz on Sept. 13, the Israeli military launched over 1.2 million cluster bombs into Lebanon, and used phosphorous shells as well -- "the overwhelming majority used in the last ten days of the war." The use of phosphorous, which causes excruciating burns, is prohibited under international law.

The rocket commander, who said he had complained to Israel's Defense Minister but has received no response, stated: "In Lebanon, we covered entire villages with cluster bombs. What we did there was crazy and monstrous."

Of course, Olmert has suffered no punishment for committing these war crimes, just as he is not even being reprimanded for stating that Israel has the right to collectively punish the people of Gaza for crimes that they have not committed. Actions which are clearly war crimes:

The 1949 Geneva Conventions state, in article 54 of their additional protocol: “Starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is prohibited”. It is also “prohibited to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population”. That means that the Israeli army’s latest offensive in the occupied territories amounts to war crimes; it includes the blockade of the civilian population and their collective punishment, the bombing of Gaza’s $150m power station, depriving 750,000 Palestinians of electricity in the intense summer heat, and the kidnapping on the West Bank of 64 members of the political wing of Hamas, including eight cabinet ministers and 22 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

However, John Holmes not only failed to point out that Israel's current actions are war crimes, he couldn't even bring himself to condemn the fact that the Israeli defence and foreign ministers have yet to find time to even meet with him:

When asked about his failure to secure meetings with Israel's defence and foreign ministers, Holmes said: "You will have to ask them why not." A spokesman for the foreign affairs minister, Tzipi Livni, said a clash of scheduling was the reason.

Holmes indicated that he saw little prospect of a deal by the end of the year as anticipated by the US-initiated Annapolis peace process. "There's a disconnect between the reality on the ground and the parallel peace process," he said.

And so here we are, watching Annapolis be confirmed as the photo call many of us expected it to be, as Olmert engages in yet more war crimes, whilst the world says nothing.

Just another day in the Middle East during Bush's presidency... Another day where Bush allows Olmert a "free hand"... Hey ho...

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Tags: Olmert, Israel, Palestine, Annapolis, peace talks, cluster bombs, Gaza, war crimes, United Nations, Sir John Holmes