JERUSALEM: A leading Israeli rights organization said Monday that it had requested a military investigation into a senior commander over suspected war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
The request comes days after Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military in the West Bank, appeared in a video in which he called for curfews and encirclements of Palestinian villages.
Contacted by AFP about the request, the Israeli military did not provide immediate comment.
In a letter to the military advocate-general, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) urged an inquiry into Bluth, citing comments and actions it said amounted to collective punishment of Palestinians.
“We ask you to order the opening of an investigation against Major General Bluth on suspicion of war crimes,” ACRI wrote in the letter, which was dated Sunday.
Bluth had said on Friday that “every (Palestinian) village and every enemy... will pay a heavy price” for attacks against Israelis.
His remarks, made in a video widely circulated in Israeli media, followed the arrest of a Palestinian man from the village of Al-Mughayyir who was accused by the army of carrying out a “terrorist attack” nearby.
In the same video, Bluth added that the villages of Palestinian attackers could face curfews, encirclements and terrain “shaping actions” with the aim of deterrence.
On Sunday, Israeli bulldozers uprooted hundreds of trees in Al-Mughayyir in the presence of the Israeli military.
The army said it had “cleared” the area after a “series of terror attacks originating from that village,” adding the vegetation “obstructed the identification of enemy movement.”
In a press statement on Monday, ACRI accused the army of having cut down the trees to impose “collective punishment” on Palestinians in Al-Mughayyir after a resident carried out a shooting attack.
“For months, lawlessness in the West Bank has made war crimes and crimes against humanity part of daily life. Alarmingly, the army has begun to boast about it,” the group said in its letter to the army’s prosecutor.
“We ask you to order the army to immediately cease all acts of collective punishment, including the destruction of property.”
Military Advocate-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi has so far not confirmed to AFP his receipt of the letter.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence there has soared since the start of the war in Gaza almost two years ago.
Bluth has in recent months been criticized by Israeli settler groups in the West Bank for his condemnation of acts of violence they are accused of committing.
Born in a West Bank settlement, Bluth served in the past as military secretary to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli rights group accuses general of war crimes in West Bank
https://arab.news/m5k5d
Israeli rights group accuses general of war crimes in West Bank
- Accusation comes days after Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military in the West Bank, appeared in a video in which he called for curfews and encirclements of Palestinian villages
- ACRI: ‘We ask you to order the opening of an investigation against Major General Bluth on suspicion of war crimes’
US Senate votes to end 'Caesar' sanctions against Syria
- Foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani says the move will 'open new horizons for cooperation' with the world
- Repeal of the sanctions is contained within sweeping defense bill, which sets out a record $901bn in annual military spending
LONDON: The ending of tough US sanctions against Syria moved a step closer on Wednesday when the US Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of a sweeping defense bill.The National Defense Authorization Act, which sets out a record $901 billion in annual military spending, included measures to repeal the “Caesar Act” financial restrictions placed on Damascus.
The sanctions were imposed in 2020 against former President Bashar Assad’s regime over the human-rights abuses carried out during the civil war.
Assad was driven from power a year ago and the new government has worked to end Syria’s international isolation and has won support from President Donald Trump.
Removing US restrictions on trade and investment with the country is seen as a crucial step in helping it recover from the devastating 13-year conflict.
The legislation will now pass to the president who the White House has said will sign it into law.
Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Al-Shaibani, welcomed the progress of the bill.
“We express our sincere gratitude to the US Senate for its support of the Syrian people through its vote to repeal the Caesar Act,” he wrote on X.“We consider this step a positive development that opens new horizons for cooperation and partnership between our country and the world.”
