Nothing being done to stop Israel crimes: Lawyer

Press TV has conducted an interview with Barry Grossman, an international lawyer in Bali, about a new video showing Israeli soldiers attacking two photojournalists in the occupied West Bank while covering an anti-Israeli demonstration.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: How can the Israelis continue to carry out this type of behavior against journalists and photographers, who are protected under a number of international conventions?

Grossman: Let’s be clear. There is absolutely nothing happening to stop them. If they can do what they like to the Palestinian people, it follows as we have seen now for many years that they will do whatever they like to journalists.

As for what happened, these actions should be understood in their proper context. On the same day, a weekly protest to retake or at least to call for a water spring that was seized illegally in 2008, to call for it to be given back to the Palestinian village, IOF (Israeli Occupation Forces) went in shooting. They went in shooting with live [bullets]. Their snipers shot two people in the legs and another four people were shot with rubber-coated bullets, including a young girl who was shot in the head.

It is not surprising in that context that as they started to carry out their operation, when they came across journalists, they did everything they could to get rid of the journalists because it is extremely unlikely that the escalation of IOF’s tactics to include the use of live fire on civilians could have happened without a calculated decision being made by the IOF commander.

So, it is not at all surprising that they reacted violently to these journalists to scare them; also they would not be around to film and report on the crimes being carried out by these Israeli forces.

Press TV: Mr. Grossman, in your own words, the Israelis can do whatever they like against the Palestinians, they act however they want with regards to journalists, they break international law on a daily basis, they trample a number of international treaties and conventions daily. How can all this change?

Grossman: Well, first of all, I call on anyone who has a conscience to look at what actually happens day in and day out in occupied Palestine and the lack of response by the international community.

What can happen to make it change? Well, that is of course the big question and obviously it is an intractable problem. But until the international community and in particular the United States starts to support the call on Israel [to be held] responsible for its violations of international law, Israel will continue to perceive itself to be free to do whatever it likes and to use whatever tactic it likes no matter how violent and how unlawful they are.

AHK/HJL

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