Human Rights Glance
The Prime Minister's Office announced on Thursday that the security cabinet had agreed to relax Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, but as it turns out, no binding decision was ever made during the cabinet meeting.
The Prime Minister's Office issued a press release in English following the meeting, which was also sent to foreign diplomats, was substantially different than the Hebrew announcement – according to the English text, a decision was made to ease the blockade, but in the Hebrew text there was no mention of any such decision.
For the first time in the war stricken story of mankind, waging aggressive wars has become a prosecutable crime in international law and given precise meaning and teeth before the ICC - this on the strength of an unexpected consensus reached between member states of the Court (or in ICC terminology 'states parties').
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has described Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as a violation of the Geneva Conventions and called on the Israeli government to lift it.
The U.S. government's annual worldwide human trafficking report, released Monday, for the first time includes an assessment of trafficking in the United States. The 373-page "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010" says some 12.3 million adults and children are in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world. Only 4,166 trafficking prosecutions were successful last year, according to the report.
Israel's plans to hold an inquiry into its deadly raid on a convoy of Gaza-bound aid ships have been dismissed by Turkey and the Palestinians. Turkey said Israel could not run an impartial probe into the deaths of nine Turkish activists during a 31 May raid.
Documentary maker Iara Lee smuggles out video despite Israeli attempt to confiscate all recordings.
For the thousands of Palestinians who travel daily between the north and south West Bank, there is only one route: a steep and narrow track up and down a canyon with 15 hairpin turns and the scars of frequent accidents.
