JERUSALEM,
July 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Israel is considering a
bunch of measures to protect its soldiers and senior officials from
being brought up on charges of war crimes before the newly founded
International Criminal Court (ICC). A media gag on Israeli practices
against the Palestinians in the occupied territories ranks high on the
proposed measures, according to Israeli media Sunday, July 21, 2002.
Against
the backdrop of the establishment of the International Criminal Court
in The Hague on July 1, the Israeli army began changing its media
policies. Following recent discussions, the army decided to impose
restrictions on the publication of identifying particulars of soldiers
taking part in the fighting in the (occupied Palestinian) territories,
reported Israeli daily newspaper Ha’aretz.
Various
measures, including a gag order on the publication of the names of
senior Israeli officers in command of sectors in the territories, were
considered; however, for now, the Israeli occupation army decided to
take steps to protect rank-and-file soldiers.
Consultations
on the matter were continuing for a number of months and involved
representatives from the Israeli Justice Ministry, the office of the
Judge Advocate General, the army Spokesman's Office and additional
elements.
According
to the new directives, soldiers who are interviewed in the media or
appear in reports from the territories will be identified only by
their first names. The reports will not carry the soldiers' surnames,
places of residence or details on the exact role they are fulfilling.
The
restrictions come to protect the soldiers from the possibility that
they could be brought up on charges before the ICC in the future.
Similar
regulations will be adopted with regard to junior and middle-rank
officers, while the senior officers will, for the meantime, remain
"exposed" in the media. Proposals to reduce the number of
appearances in the media by such officers are considered.
At
this stage, it was decided not to impose a ban on photographing or
filming the faces of soldiers who are participating in operations in
the occupied territories. A few weeks ago, a television report drew
harsh criticism from senior officers after it prominently showed the
face of a soldier serving as a sniper in the Nablus area. The officers
feared the exposure could be used against the soldier in the future.
Israeli
military sources told Ha'aretz that the decision was "a
precautionary measure" only. According to the sources, the future
policies of the ICC are still unknown and the decision has been taken
both in light of fears that the Palestinians may choose to use the ICC
as a public relations platform, and so as to protect the soldiers from
possible legal entanglements.
In
a separate related development, a Syrian official daily newspaper
ridiculed the Jewish state's efforts to stamp out bomb attacks, saying
only an end to "Israeli terrorism" could halt
"legitimate resistance" by the Palestinians, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
"Putting
a stop to martyr operations is impossible because nobody can prevent
Palestinian youngsters from responding to Israeli terrorism by acts of
legitimate resistance, whatever form they take," the ruling
party's Al-Baath newspaper said Sunday.
The
commentary came days after two bombers killed three Israelis in
virtually simultaneous attacks on the old bus station in Tel Aviv.
Washington
repeatedly criticized Damascus for its continued support of
Palestinian resistance factions responsible for anti-Israeli attacks,
particularly the Islamic groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
Al-Baath
also rejected meetings in New York last Tuesday of officials from
moderate Arab states and key players in the Middle East peace process,
saying they were a deliberate ploy to prevent a united Arab front
against Israel.
The
talks, which involved representatives of the United States, Russia,
the European Union and the United Nations as well as Egypt, Jordan and
Saudi Arabia, were "an attempt to divide Arab ranks which the
Arab world should reject," the paper said.
The
U.S. peace plan discussed at the meeting "ignored the root cause
of the problem which was Israel's occupation of Palestinian
territories and its pursuit of a policy of terrorism towards the
Palestinians."
Ahead
of last Tuesday's talks, Syria expressed dismay that it was excluded
from the meeting and insisted it did not accept the right of the three
moderate governments to speak on behalf of other Arab states.
