Release Date: July 1, 2009
NGO Monitor: Amnesty Plays Hamas Apologist in Gaza Report

(Jerusalem) - Amnesty's latest report on the recent Gaza conflict denies
that Hamas used human shields, excuses their violations and supports a
strategy for Israel's isolation, according to NGO Monitor's analysis.

The Amnesty report, titled 'Operation Cast Lead: 22 Days of Death and
Destruction' again blames Israel almost exclusively for the conflict.
Similarly, Amnesty's 2009 Annual Report placed sole responsibility on Israel
for the breakdown of the ceasefire that led to Operation Cast Lead. In 117
pages of the latest report, a mere 8 are devoted to the 'conduct of
Palestinian armed groups'. Although this brief reference condemns Hamas
rocket fire on Israeli civilians as a war crime, Amnesty makes the
tendentious claim that it "did not find evidence that Hamas or other
Palestinian groups violated the laws of war to the extent repeatedly alleged
by Israel."

Ignoring well-documented evidence of Hamas' extensive use of human shields
(including this video clip of a gunmen grabbing a child as cover and this
detailed independent report) Amnesty found "no evidence that Hamas or other
fighters directed the movement of civilians to shield military objectives
from attacks."
'Evidence' in the report is based largely on 'eyewitness' testimony. For
example, "Atta Rmeilat, told Amnesty International that he was not aware of
rockets being launched from near the house at any time in the past" - one of
many claims that cannot be verified.

In a section on international humanitarian law, an area in which they lack
professional expertise, Amnesty makes inaccurate and biased legal claims,
including the absurd contention that 'Israel is the occupying power in the
Gaza Strip.' This specious assertion wholly disregards Israel's complete
military and civilian evacuation of the area in 2005 and contravenes
international law.

Amnesty's report includes 'aggressive' quotes from IDF personnel intended to
portray a disregard for Palestinian life. Statements such as 'let the
mistakes be over their lives not ours', ignores the very real threats faced
by the IDF in Gaza, as shown by the fate of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit.
Indeed, Amnesty continually fails to condemn the wholesale violation of
Shalit's basic human rights, an abuse also omitted from this report.

The recommendations are consistent with the 'Durban strategy' that seeks to
isolate Israel as a pariah state. Amnesty advocates an international arms
embargo, which would deny Israel's basic right to self-defense in the face
of daily security threats. The authors repeat calls on the international
community to 'exercise universal jurisdiction' in national courts against
'alleged perpetrators' of war crimes, reflecting the ongoing 'lawfare'
campaign to delegitimize Israel.

NGO Monitor's Executive Director, Prof Gerald Steinberg said, "Amnesty's
latest publication is further evidence of their obsessive attempts to
condemn and isolate Israel. The lack of expertise and the façade of research
are reflected by the effort to erase evidence of the massive use of human
shields by Hamas and its aggression.

Amnesty's call to isolate Israel through boycotts and manipulative legal
processes constitutes a pernicious and immoral campaign. It is entirely
inconsistent with the legitimate and impartial pursuit of universal human
rights."

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Editors Notes:
Click here to view a debate between Prof Gerald Steinberg and Amnesty's Josh
Rubenstein titled 'Human Rights, Inhuman Wrongs' in Boston on 10 May 2009
www.blinkx.com/video/gerald-steinberg-of-ngo-monitor-and-josh-rubenstein-of-amnesty-5-10-09/hOJxy8W7g_a6Fqa1MSQjtQ

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debate on the political role of human rights organizations. For more
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www.ngo-monitor.org

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