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Rights groups urge EU to link Israel ties to human rights

15 June 2009, 15:38 CET
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(JERUSALEM) - Any upgrade of EU ties to Israel must be linked to improvements in Palestinian rights, Israeli human rights groups said on Monday as Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman headed to Brussels.

In a letter to EU ministers, B'Tselem, HaMoked and Physicians for Human Rights urged the European Union "to explicitly link the upgrade process to Israeli demonstration of tangible improvements in human rights and international humanitarian law in the occupied territories."

Israel must halt the building of settlements, end its blockade of Gaza -- isolated by the Israelis since the Islamist Hamas seized power there two years ago -- and stop demolishing Palestinian homes, the groups said.

They also demanded criminal investigations into allegations of torture of Palestinians in Israeli jails.

Late last year EU nations agreed to enhance ties with Israel but the process stalled when Israel launched a deadly 22-day military offensive in the Gaza Strip in December.

Lieberman, whose ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu (Israel is Our Home) party is the second largest in Israel's government coalition, will this week meet top EU officials in the hope of reviving the process.

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Document Actions

Israeli Human Rights

Posted by Jacques Fortier at 15 June 2009, 13:48 CET
This is an excellent standard to apply to Israel and other countries you associate with.
Now, life will change in Europe, as you will no longer buy OPEC oil nor import goods from China.
Good luck.

the age of nepotism

Posted by danica at 22 June 2009, 14:27 CET

Iran is one of the countries of the world that is depicted in the western societies' media only through what seems to be the obvious and dismal reality of such country. Current headlines warning about Iranian nuclear programme, the president who is making outrageous statements on daily basis causing fear to those living in democratic societies are mostly why such a small number of people is trying to dig bellow the surface and learn more about Iran. Ban put on all the social networks thus preventing people to connect and share thoughts and opinions, no freedom of information nor speech are keeping youth of Iran in a strange kind of vacuum. If you want to learn more about Censorship in Iran and how it effects their society, if you are interested in hearing a different kind of voice talking about Iran and Iranians, you should read The Age of Nepotism, the book by Vahid razavi, or visit the site www.theageofnepotism.com
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