28 may 2019
Senior White House adviser leads U.S. delegation to Mideast seeking support for late June economic workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians ahead of Trump's peace plan; delegation arrives in Israel Thursday
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is leading a U.S. delegation on stops in the Middle East this week seeking support for a late June workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz began their trip in Rabat and were to travel to Amman and Jerusalem, arriving in Israel on Thursday.
Kushner will attend the Bilderberg conference in Montreux, Switzerland, where he is expected to be a speaker, at the end of the week and then will meet up with U.S. President Donald Trump in London when the president makes a state visit there next week.
The trip is similar to one that Kushner and Greenblatt took in February to Gulf states to drum up support for the economic portion of a Middle East peace plan that they have been developing on behalf of Trump.
The official said one reason for this week's trip is to bolster support for a June 25-26 conference in Manama, Bahrain, in which Kushner is to unveil the first part of Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The plan, touted by Trump as the "deal of the century," is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
Palestinian leaders have been sharply critical of the effort. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will participate, and a senior U.S. official said officials from Qatar have said privately their country was expected to attend as well.
The participants in the conference in Manama are expected to include 300 to 400 representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and possibly some Palestinian business leaders.
A source familiar with the planning said it appeared Egypt, Jordan and Oman, as well as the G7 countries, would be sending representatives to the conference.
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner is leading a U.S. delegation on stops in the Middle East this week seeking support for a late June workshop aimed at helping the Palestinians, a White House official said on Tuesday.
Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and U.S. Special Representative for Iran and Kushner aide Avi Berkowitz began their trip in Rabat and were to travel to Amman and Jerusalem, arriving in Israel on Thursday.
Kushner will attend the Bilderberg conference in Montreux, Switzerland, where he is expected to be a speaker, at the end of the week and then will meet up with U.S. President Donald Trump in London when the president makes a state visit there next week.
The trip is similar to one that Kushner and Greenblatt took in February to Gulf states to drum up support for the economic portion of a Middle East peace plan that they have been developing on behalf of Trump.
The official said one reason for this week's trip is to bolster support for a June 25-26 conference in Manama, Bahrain, in which Kushner is to unveil the first part of Trump's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
The plan, touted by Trump as the "deal of the century," is to encourage investment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by Arab donor countries before grappling with thorny political issues at the heart of the conflict.
Palestinian leaders have been sharply critical of the effort. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have said they will participate, and a senior U.S. official said officials from Qatar have said privately their country was expected to attend as well.
The participants in the conference in Manama are expected to include 300 to 400 representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, and possibly some Palestinian business leaders.
A source familiar with the planning said it appeared Egypt, Jordan and Oman, as well as the G7 countries, would be sending representatives to the conference.
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced Washington’s upcoming proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “deal of humiliation,” saying the actual parties to the deal are the United States and Israel, rather than Palestinians.
In a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Monday, Sheikh Qassim stressed the Palestinians' outright rejection of the so-called “deal of the century.”
He also slammed the American deal as “a crime” against Palestinians as well as “an unjust liquidation of the Palestinian cause and a serious conspiracy on earth.”
The US-made plan is “a transaction of humiliation and disgrace” because it attempts to exchange the Palestinian “nation, land, sanctity, religion, unity, and even its presence with...a handful of money,” he added.
The Bahraini cleric further called on the Palestinian people to exercise vigilance and resistance against the plan, which he said would only bring shame to its supporters.
The so-called “deal of the century,” drawn up by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is said to hugely favor Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the initiative as “the slap of the century.”
The US is set to unveil the “economic component” of the deal during a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, a forum already boycotted by all Palestinian factions.
US plan ‘will go to hell’
Speaking in Ramallah on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that Trump’s proposal would “go to hell.”
“The Palestinian Authority does not recognize this conference,” he said. “Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to hold and present illusions.”
Abbas also noted that the Palestinian cause is developing step by step to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
“Whoever is interested in proposing a solution to the Palestinian issue should begin with a diplomatic solution,” he added.
The so-called Middle East peace process was dealt a major blow in December 2017, when Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and later transferred the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the Israeli-occupied city.
Angered by Trump’s contentious move, Abbas said Palestine would no longer recognize the US as a mediator in the conflict.
Hamas welcomes offer for Lebanese-Palestinian talks
On Sunday, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas — which governs Gaza — welcomed an initiative by Hezbollah for Lebanese-Palestinian dialog on the threat posed by the so-called “deal of the century.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Saturday that the upcoming Manama conference may pave the way for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other countries.
“Nasrallah’s call came at the right time and the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue is the best and most powerful way to handle 'the deal of the century' and confront its repercussions, especially the ongoing attempts to impose the resettlement of Palestinians and cancel the right of return,” Hamas spokesperson Raafat Maraa said.
Bahrain’s top Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim has denounced Washington’s upcoming proposal on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a “deal of humiliation,” saying the actual parties to the deal are the United States and Israel, rather than Palestinians.
In a statement carried by Arabic-language Lua Lua TV network on Monday, Sheikh Qassim stressed the Palestinians' outright rejection of the so-called “deal of the century.”
He also slammed the American deal as “a crime” against Palestinians as well as “an unjust liquidation of the Palestinian cause and a serious conspiracy on earth.”
The US-made plan is “a transaction of humiliation and disgrace” because it attempts to exchange the Palestinian “nation, land, sanctity, religion, unity, and even its presence with...a handful of money,” he added.
The Bahraini cleric further called on the Palestinian people to exercise vigilance and resistance against the plan, which he said would only bring shame to its supporters.
The so-called “deal of the century,” drawn up by the administration of US President Donald Trump, is said to hugely favor Israel. Palestinians have already rejected the initiative as “the slap of the century.”
The US is set to unveil the “economic component” of the deal during a conference in Bahrain on June 25-26, a forum already boycotted by all Palestinian factions.
US plan ‘will go to hell’
Speaking in Ramallah on Monday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas emphasized that Trump’s proposal would “go to hell.”
“The Palestinian Authority does not recognize this conference,” he said. “Trump’s ‘deal of the century’ will go to hell, as will the economic workshop in Bahrain that the Americans intend to hold and present illusions.”
Abbas also noted that the Palestinian cause is developing step by step to establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.
“Whoever is interested in proposing a solution to the Palestinian issue should begin with a diplomatic solution,” he added.
The so-called Middle East peace process was dealt a major blow in December 2017, when Trump recognized Jerusalem al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and later transferred the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the Israeli-occupied city.
Angered by Trump’s contentious move, Abbas said Palestine would no longer recognize the US as a mediator in the conflict.
Hamas welcomes offer for Lebanese-Palestinian talks
On Sunday, Palestinian resistance movement Hamas — which governs Gaza — welcomed an initiative by Hezbollah for Lebanese-Palestinian dialog on the threat posed by the so-called “deal of the century.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned on Saturday that the upcoming Manama conference may pave the way for the resettlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and other countries.
“Nasrallah’s call came at the right time and the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue is the best and most powerful way to handle 'the deal of the century' and confront its repercussions, especially the ongoing attempts to impose the resettlement of Palestinians and cancel the right of return,” Hamas spokesperson Raafat Maraa said.
27 may 2019
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei (L) and Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization
China and Russia will not be participating in a US-led economic conference set to take place in Bahrain next month to promote a controversial so-called plan devised by Washington for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei informed Nabil Shaath, the foreign policy adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas, that Beijing and Moscow had made an agreement to boycott the event, the Palestine Chronicle non-profit news and information organization reported on Monday. The meeting reportedly took place in the city of Ramallah in Israel-occupied West Bank.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” the Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Wei as saying.
Wei stressed Beijing’s position “in support of the Palestinian cause and people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital,” the agency added.
Israel claimed existence following a Western-backed war against Arab states in 1948. In 1967, it occupied the West Bank and other chunks of Arab land during fresh warfare.
Washington has kept the plan, which President Donald Trump has hailed as “the deal of century,” under wraps. Leaked information, however, indicate that it features serious violations of the Palestinian’s age-old demands.
Early last week, the US announced plans to hold the conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, where Trump administration officials are expected to unveil economic aspects of the plan.
China and Russia will not be participating in a US-led economic conference set to take place in Bahrain next month to promote a controversial so-called plan devised by Washington for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
China’s Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei informed Nabil Shaath, the foreign policy adviser to the Palestinian Authority’s President Mahmoud Abbas, that Beijing and Moscow had made an agreement to boycott the event, the Palestine Chronicle non-profit news and information organization reported on Monday. The meeting reportedly took place in the city of Ramallah in Israel-occupied West Bank.
“Boycotting the Bahrain conference comes within the framework of a bilateral Russian-Chinese agreement not to participate in it,” the Palestinian Wafa news agency quoted Wei as saying.
Wei stressed Beijing’s position “in support of the Palestinian cause and people, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem (al-Quds) as its capital,” the agency added.
Israel claimed existence following a Western-backed war against Arab states in 1948. In 1967, it occupied the West Bank and other chunks of Arab land during fresh warfare.
Washington has kept the plan, which President Donald Trump has hailed as “the deal of century,” under wraps. Leaked information, however, indicate that it features serious violations of the Palestinian’s age-old demands.
Early last week, the US announced plans to hold the conference in the Bahraini capital Manama, where Trump administration officials are expected to unveil economic aspects of the plan.
The Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has called on the Arab states intending to participate in the Bahrain economic workshop to boycott it, describing the event as the first step to implement the US deal of the century.
“The Committee is watching with great concern the attempt to integrate Israel into the region economically, politically and at the security level, while its occupation and illegal annexation of Arab and Palestinian lands are ongoing,” a statement published on the PLO website said.
It reiterated its outright rejection of holding the Manama conference, urging all countries, and political and economic bodies not to participate in it.
The PLO accused the US administration of seeking to launch the deal of the century through holding an economic conference after it had implemented political steps in this regard.
"The goal pursued by the US for the workshop is to start implementing the deal of the century and link it to economy after it took steps in implementing the political parts of the deal," its statement said.
The PLO also stressed that it did not delegate any party to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
The “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop, to be held on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain, was announced last week by senior White House officials, who said that the Trump administration is planning to release the economic part of its upcoming Middle East peace plan during the event.
“The Committee is watching with great concern the attempt to integrate Israel into the region economically, politically and at the security level, while its occupation and illegal annexation of Arab and Palestinian lands are ongoing,” a statement published on the PLO website said.
It reiterated its outright rejection of holding the Manama conference, urging all countries, and political and economic bodies not to participate in it.
The PLO accused the US administration of seeking to launch the deal of the century through holding an economic conference after it had implemented political steps in this regard.
"The goal pursued by the US for the workshop is to start implementing the deal of the century and link it to economy after it took steps in implementing the political parts of the deal," its statement said.
The PLO also stressed that it did not delegate any party to negotiate on behalf of the Palestinian people.
The “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop, to be held on June 25 and 26 in Bahrain, was announced last week by senior White House officials, who said that the Trump administration is planning to release the economic part of its upcoming Middle East peace plan during the event.
25 may 2019
Alstom, a French transport company, has announced their withdrawal from an Israeli light-rail project that is being used to annex illegal Israeli settlements into Jerusalem, citing potentially harmful human rights violations, and French law.
According to activists campaigning against the light-rail line, Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, rapid development of settlements, and forced transfers of its Palestinian population, constitutes a plethora of international law violations.
Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital with the official transfer of the United States’ embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on 14 May 2018, has further aggravated the situation in Jerusalem.
The existing light rail line was build on illegally seized Palestinian land, and the planned expansion is meant to connect West Jerusalem with Israeli settlements constructed on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, in violation of international law.
According to the Worldwide Movement For Human Rights (FIDH), on June 13, 2018, eight organizations (L’Association France Palestine Solidarité, CFDT, CGT, FIDH, Al-Haq, LDH, l’Union Syndicale Solidaires and the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine) published a report called ”Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem: Three French Companies Involved in Light Rail Construction”, urging French companies to withdraw from the project.
The withdrawal of Systra, a joint subsidiary of SNCF and RATP, was announced on June 20, 2018, and now Alstom has announced its withdrawal from the project as well.
The number of candidates for the second phase of the Jerusalem light rail project, has decreased from seven to two.
FIDH called on the remaining businesses to follow suit, to show their refusal to endorse Israeli’s continued annexation of Palestinian territories by force, settlement expansion, or other violations of international law.
One French company, Egis, a subsidiary of the publicly funded company, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), remains involved in the Jerusalem light rail project.
In the name of corporate ethics, for which no exception should be made, rights groups urgently called upon both the French government and the senior management of CDC to demand the immediate withdrawal of Egis from the project.
After the withdrawal of Alstom, which activists say is an important win, the FIDH said it is crucial that the French government and all other European governments take a clear stance against companies’ involvement in the Israeli policies of annexation, colonization, and occupation.
According to activists campaigning against the light-rail line, Israel’s illegal annexation of East Jerusalem, rapid development of settlements, and forced transfers of its Palestinian population, constitutes a plethora of international law violations.
Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital with the official transfer of the United States’ embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on 14 May 2018, has further aggravated the situation in Jerusalem.
The existing light rail line was build on illegally seized Palestinian land, and the planned expansion is meant to connect West Jerusalem with Israeli settlements constructed on stolen Palestinian land in the West Bank, in violation of international law.
According to the Worldwide Movement For Human Rights (FIDH), on June 13, 2018, eight organizations (L’Association France Palestine Solidarité, CFDT, CGT, FIDH, Al-Haq, LDH, l’Union Syndicale Solidaires and the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine) published a report called ”Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem: Three French Companies Involved in Light Rail Construction”, urging French companies to withdraw from the project.
The withdrawal of Systra, a joint subsidiary of SNCF and RATP, was announced on June 20, 2018, and now Alstom has announced its withdrawal from the project as well.
The number of candidates for the second phase of the Jerusalem light rail project, has decreased from seven to two.
FIDH called on the remaining businesses to follow suit, to show their refusal to endorse Israeli’s continued annexation of Palestinian territories by force, settlement expansion, or other violations of international law.
One French company, Egis, a subsidiary of the publicly funded company, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), remains involved in the Jerusalem light rail project.
In the name of corporate ethics, for which no exception should be made, rights groups urgently called upon both the French government and the senior management of CDC to demand the immediate withdrawal of Egis from the project.
After the withdrawal of Alstom, which activists say is an important win, the FIDH said it is crucial that the French government and all other European governments take a clear stance against companies’ involvement in the Israeli policies of annexation, colonization, and occupation.
23 may 2019
A coalition of Palestinian NGOs is urging local and international organizations to reject donations from Airbnb, in light of the company’s ongoing listing of homes in illegal Israeli settlements.
According to a statement published on the site of Ramallah-based human rights group Al-Haq, the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO-NET) issued the call after Airbnb reversed a previous decision to delist properties based in settlements.
PNGO-NET, which includes 145 organisations based in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) working on a range of issues from development to human rights, stressed the significance of Israel’s “unlawful settlement of Palestinian territory”.
This policy, it stated, according to the PNN, “is characterized by the confiscation of Palestinian land and natural resources, the obstruction of Palestinian movement due to checkpoints, the Annexation Wall, and other barriers, and the use of the OPT as a captive market for Israel.”
READ: Palestinians are suing the illegal Israeli settlers who list stolen property on AirBnB
Thus, Airbnb’s November 2018 announcement “that it would no longer list properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank” – while excluding settlements in East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights – was seen “as a step in the right direction in respecting the human rights of the occupied Palestinian population and towards fulfilling its responsibilities under international law”.
However, following legal action by Israeli settlers, on 9 April 2019, Airbnb announced a reversal in its position, saying it will continue to list the properties of settlers, but will donate the profits to NGOs “dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world”.
The Palestinian NGOs stated that:
Airbnb donations effectively amounts to the proceeds of crime and will be amassed by the illegal policies and practices we seek to end.
“We call on all international and local NGOs to reject donations of money from Airbnb, until their policies ensure respect for the human rights of all people, including those living under occupation,” the statement added.
“Together, we must all work to end corporate complicity in human rights abuses; companies like Airbnb must know that our silence cannot be bought.”
According to a statement published on the site of Ramallah-based human rights group Al-Haq, the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO-NET) issued the call after Airbnb reversed a previous decision to delist properties based in settlements.
PNGO-NET, which includes 145 organisations based in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) working on a range of issues from development to human rights, stressed the significance of Israel’s “unlawful settlement of Palestinian territory”.
This policy, it stated, according to the PNN, “is characterized by the confiscation of Palestinian land and natural resources, the obstruction of Palestinian movement due to checkpoints, the Annexation Wall, and other barriers, and the use of the OPT as a captive market for Israel.”
READ: Palestinians are suing the illegal Israeli settlers who list stolen property on AirBnB
Thus, Airbnb’s November 2018 announcement “that it would no longer list properties in illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank” – while excluding settlements in East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights – was seen “as a step in the right direction in respecting the human rights of the occupied Palestinian population and towards fulfilling its responsibilities under international law”.
However, following legal action by Israeli settlers, on 9 April 2019, Airbnb announced a reversal in its position, saying it will continue to list the properties of settlers, but will donate the profits to NGOs “dedicated to humanitarian aid that serve people in different parts of the world”.
The Palestinian NGOs stated that:
Airbnb donations effectively amounts to the proceeds of crime and will be amassed by the illegal policies and practices we seek to end.
“We call on all international and local NGOs to reject donations of money from Airbnb, until their policies ensure respect for the human rights of all people, including those living under occupation,” the statement added.
“Together, we must all work to end corporate complicity in human rights abuses; companies like Airbnb must know that our silence cannot be bought.”
Dozens of Palestinians, representing political factions, civil society organizations, labor and trade representatives, and the National Boycott Committee, demonstrated, Wednesday, outside the German representatives office in Ramallah, Palestinian Wafa News Agency reported.
The Palestinians were there to protest the bill adopted in the German parliament, the Bundestag, labeling the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement ‘anti-Semitic’.
The German representative was given a letter for the German government written by the Palestinian political forces and civil society, and nongovernmental organizations asking Berlin to rescind its decision to criminalize the peaceful BDS movement.
Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Jamal Muheisen said that Germany is trying to punish the victim and not the executioner by talking about anti-Semitism even though the Palestinian people and the entire Arab nation are Semitic.
“Today we live under a racist apartheid regime in the form of the Israeli occupation. Germany and the whole world are required to confront the Israeli government, which is going against all international resolutions, and not to play along with it, especially at this time when the US administration is plotting against the Palestinian national struggle,” said Muheisen.
BDS co-founder, Omar Barghouti, said the decision is a desperate attempt to criminalize the boycott movement, which has the full support of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and all the political forces and popular committees, which are struggling for the right of our people to freedom and the right of return of refugees.
He stated that the decision will not negatively affect BDS, but will show the hypocrisy of the German parliament, which succumbs to the pressure of the Zionist lobby and the rising fascism in Germany, which tries to criminalize BDS by claiming it is anti-Jewish.
He continued, saying, that this if far from the truth, adding that all those involved are against the Israeli colonial and racist regime and the Apartheid system, and have never been anti-Jewish, they reject racism in all its forms, including anti-Semitism.
Human Rights group Al-Haq Director, Shaawan Jabarin, said that the German parliament’s decision, was not a binding law until this moment, and urged the importance of sending a message to the German government not to turn it into a binding law, or implement, it because it violates the German constitution and the Human Rights Charter.
He added, “The boycott movement is not based on belief or ethnicity, and it is not directed against the Jews, but against the practices of the state and the political entity represented by the State of Israel, that commits war crimes.”
The Palestinians were there to protest the bill adopted in the German parliament, the Bundestag, labeling the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement ‘anti-Semitic’.
The German representative was given a letter for the German government written by the Palestinian political forces and civil society, and nongovernmental organizations asking Berlin to rescind its decision to criminalize the peaceful BDS movement.
Member of the Fatah Central Committee, Jamal Muheisen said that Germany is trying to punish the victim and not the executioner by talking about anti-Semitism even though the Palestinian people and the entire Arab nation are Semitic.
“Today we live under a racist apartheid regime in the form of the Israeli occupation. Germany and the whole world are required to confront the Israeli government, which is going against all international resolutions, and not to play along with it, especially at this time when the US administration is plotting against the Palestinian national struggle,” said Muheisen.
BDS co-founder, Omar Barghouti, said the decision is a desperate attempt to criminalize the boycott movement, which has the full support of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and all the political forces and popular committees, which are struggling for the right of our people to freedom and the right of return of refugees.
He stated that the decision will not negatively affect BDS, but will show the hypocrisy of the German parliament, which succumbs to the pressure of the Zionist lobby and the rising fascism in Germany, which tries to criminalize BDS by claiming it is anti-Jewish.
He continued, saying, that this if far from the truth, adding that all those involved are against the Israeli colonial and racist regime and the Apartheid system, and have never been anti-Jewish, they reject racism in all its forms, including anti-Semitism.
Human Rights group Al-Haq Director, Shaawan Jabarin, said that the German parliament’s decision, was not a binding law until this moment, and urged the importance of sending a message to the German government not to turn it into a binding law, or implement, it because it violates the German constitution and the Human Rights Charter.
He added, “The boycott movement is not based on belief or ethnicity, and it is not directed against the Jews, but against the practices of the state and the political entity represented by the State of Israel, that commits war crimes.”
