Studies show that US coverage is Israeli-centric. The main bureaus for CNN, Associated Press, Time, etc. are located in Israel and often staffed by Israelis. The son of the NY Times bureau chief is in the Israeli army;"pundit" Jeffrey Goldberg served in the IDF; Wolf Blitzer worked for AIPAC. Because the U.S. gives Israel over $8 million/day - more than to any other nation - we feel it is essential that we be fully informed on this region. Below are news reports to augment mainstream coverage.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Gaza govt delivers second report to UN

Ma'an – The Gaza government delivered the second part of its follow-up report to the UN on Tuesday, responding to allegations brought forward by justice Richard Goldstone into Operation Cast Lead, officials said.

Gaza Minister of Justice Mohammad Farraj Al-Ghul told reporters that a copy of the report was sent to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Human Rights Council via the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Gaza City, as well as to "a number of involved organizations."

"An independent committee headed by the former assistance to the Egyptian foreign minister, Abdallah Al-Ash'al, and other experts followed up with investigations that were carried out. The credibility of the procedures were in accordance with Goldstone's recommendations," the minister said.


Al-Ghoul said the Hamas-led government was keen to deal with international committees to follow up on Israeli violations of law and agreements, calling on governments to "chase war criminals [because] not getting them gives them more freedom to commit more crimes."

The minister further called on Prosecutor-General of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo to issue arrest warrants for Israel leaders suspected of war crimes, and urged the UN to implement "fair standards."

In January, the Gaza government delivered its 52-page response to the UN's report on the Gaza war after the report called for both Israel and the Palestinians to mount a credible, independent investigation into allegations of crimes within six months of its issuance.

The report found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead both by the Israeli military and Hamas. Approximately 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis [4 in 'friendly fire'] were killed between 27 December and 18 January.