Israeli army files indictments against soldiers accused of torturing Palestinian prisoner: Report
Israel’s broadcaster Kan is reporting that the Israeli military prosecution has filed indictments against five Israeli reserve soldiers on charges of assaulting and torturing a Palestinian prisoner in the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev desert last July.
Kan said according to the indictment, the five soldiers used extreme violence, including stabbing the prisoner with a sharp object in various parts of his body, which resulted in fractures and serious wounds in sensitive areas.
The incident is reported to have occurred on July 5, 2024, while the defendants were serving at the facility and were asked to search the detainee, who was blindfolded, and had his hands and feet shackled.
The military police had arrested the soldiers involved after a video was leaked showing the prisoner being abused.
Better than nothing. Yet indicting a few scapegoats is still a long way away from solving the policy of systemic torture.
Muslim rights group sues US government over ‘genocide in Gaza’
Lawsuits against the US government for its support of Israel’s war on Gaza are being carried over to the Trump administration, a human rights group says.
Despite several US State Department officials documenting Israel’s “acts of genocide” in Gaza, the administration of former US President Joe Biden disregarded these reports, leading to legal action against the former administration by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
Nihad Awad, CAIR’s executive director, said President Biden and his administration were fully aware of Israel’s disregard for international law during the attack.
Awad said lawsuits filed on behalf of Palestinian-American families who lost loved ones in the war – carried out with US weapons – are now proceeding under the new administration.
President Biden and former Secretary of State Antony Blinken covered up and dismissed US reports outlining Israel’s criminal conduct, Awad alleged.
Palestine condemns Fiji’s decision to open embassy to Israel in Jerusalem
Palestine has strongly condemned Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s decision to open the country’s embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, calling it a violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry and the Hamas movement issued separate statements, urging the Fijian government to reverse its decision.
According to the Foreign Ministry, the Fijian decision is “an act of aggression against the Palestinian people and their inalienable rights” and impedes “prospects for peace based on the principle of the two-state solution”.
Hamas said in a statement that the decision is “a blatant assault on the rights of our Palestinian people to their land and a clear violation of international law and UN resolutions, which recognise Jerusalem as occupied Palestinian territory”.
Yesterday, the Fijian Foreign Ministry announced on its official website that the country’s cabinet has approved the establishment of an embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.
If the decision is carried out, Fiji will become the seventh country to have embassies in Jerusalem after the US, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.
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