Gaza football World Cup kicks off

The Gaza Strip has kicked off its own version of 'World Cup Football' to highlight the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian coastal silver under a tight blockade.

The opening ceremony of the two-week Gaza World Cup was held in the Gaza stadium in Gaza City on Sunday with a match between the "Italy" and "Palestine" teams. The Italian side beat the Palestinian outfit 1-0 in the opener.

Most of the teams are named after international football powerhouses like Brazil, Spain and France to simulate the real FIFA World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

The competition is meant to highlight a three-year blockade that has prevented most of the tiny territory's 1.5 million residents, including athletes, from being able to travel abroad, the event's organizer Patrick McGrann said on Sunday.

Some 16 teams of local and foreign players have taken part in the contest to win a trophy made out of twisted metal and rubble from last year's war with Israel.

The squads have a small contingent of foreigners from these countries - mostly international aid workers who are based in Gaza.

The Gaza's World Cup is free and open to the public.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=125275§ionid=3510211.

UN adopts fresh call for Gaza conflict investigations - Summary

(WARNING): Article contains propaganda!

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New York - The UN General Assembly adopted on Friday a new resolution calling on both Israel and the Palestinian Authority to investigate the Gaza Strip war in the winter of 2009, even though Israel has submitted its report and the PA has launched its independent inquiry. The 192-nation assembly voted 98-7, with 31 abstentions, to pass an Arab-backed resolution that called on Israel and the PA to conduct separate investigations that are "independent, credible and in conformity with international standards."

The United States and Israel were among those voting against the resolution. Other countries voting against included Canada, Panama and Micronesia.

France, China, Britain and Arab and Islamic countries voted in favor of the resolution.

More than 50 UN members were absent in the vote. The New York region on Friday was covered with nearly two feet of snow and the bad weather disrupted traffic and businesses.

The resolution asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to report within five months - a deadline that drew a protest from a Gaza-based Palestinian human rights group. Last November, the assembly gave Ban three months to report back, which expired on February 5.

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) said the new deadline would bury the UN Human Rights Council's report written by former South African Judge Richard Goldstone, which condemned the Gaza fighting.

The group, which favors the Goldstone report, said the new time-limit would amount to "merely prolonging a situation of impunity" by Israel.

US Ambassador Alejandro Wolff told the assembly that he voted against because the resolution failed to point out Hamas' responsibility in the Gaza conflict. Hamas is the sole authority in Gaza after it ousted the PA from the territory.

Wolff noted that Israel had already submitted its investigation of the Gaza conflict.

"Our goal is this regard is to have a domestic authority to investigate and to carry out a thorough, independent and credible investigation of allegations" of violations of human rights in Gaza, Wolff said, referring to failure to ask Hamas to do its own investigation.

Israeli UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the PA "cannot genuinely address the conflict between the State of Israel and the Hamas terrorist entity."

"Who exactly is the 'Palestinian side' that is responsible to undertake investigations that are independent, credible, and conform to international standards?" Shalev said.

"Can the Palestinian Authority conduct an investigation in Gaza from which it was violently ousted in a bloody coup?"

"Or, in contrast, do we really believe that the terrorist Hamas organization will investigate its use of human shields, its appalling methods of targeting civilians, and its cynical use of schools, hospitals, and mosques as weapons of terror?" she said.

The assembly last November called for Israel and the PA to investigate and Friday's resolution repeated that call. Israel submitted its investigative report in January and the PA said it had launched its own investigation.

The resolution asked for each side to investigate "the serious violations of international humanitarian and international human rights law" and to ensure accountability and justice as a result of the conflict.

The call by the General Assembly for the individual reports had its seeds in the Goldstone Report which was carried out under the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In that report, Goldstone led a four- member panel which found that both Israel and Hamas had committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The report detailed how the December 2008 - January 2009 conflict killed 1,400 Palestinians and nine Israelis. It detailed also the extensive destruction in Gaza.

Israel and the United States strongly rejected the Goldstone report, calling it unacceptable and biased. The two countries repeated their objections on Friday.

Earlier in February, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged the Israeli report as one based on an investigative system comparable to any used by democratic nations like the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada.

In his report, Ban said the Israeli investigators had followed on every allegation "regardless of whether the source was neutral, hostile or friendly." The investigators had probed 150 separate incidents, including 36 criminal investigations.

Ban at the time said however that some of the Israeli investigations were still underway.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/311522,un-adopts-fresh-call-for-gaza-conflict-investigations--summary.html.

OIC approves Iran's proposal for Gaza Day

KAMPALA, Jan. 31 (MNA) -- The Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference has approved Iran’s proposal to designate a day on the official calendars of Islamic countries as the Day of Gaza and Resistance.

On Sunday, the PUOIC delegates declared January 18 the official Day of Gaza and Resistance.

The sixth summit of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC was held in Kampala, Uganda to discuss various issues Islamic countries are facing.

The delegates at the summit, which ended on Sunday, described the Palestinian issue as the most serious challenge the Middle East is facing.

The conference condemned the human rights violations committed by the Zionist regime in the Palestinian territories, especially in Gaza, and called on the member states to form a united front to demand the recognition of the Palestinians’ legitimate right to establish an independent state.

The final statement of the conference insisted that the Gaza blockade be lifted immediately, called for the reconstruction of the coastal enclave, and condemned the continued construction of settlements in the West Bank.

The conference reaffirmed the legitimate right of all countries to access nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes and called for international cooperation in facilitating the exchange of nuclear expertise and equipment for civilian applications.

It also denounced certain states’ threats to deprive other countries of their right to nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes.

The countries participating in the conference reaffirmed their commitment to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, voiced concern about the nature of Israel’s nuclear program, and stressed the need for a thorough inspection of Israel’s nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

The OIC members also called for the dismantlement of the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, calling them a serious threat to peace and stability in the region.

In addition, the final declaration denounced terrorism and underlined the need for a distinction to be drawn between terrorism and resistance.

The conference also condemned the desecration of religious sanctities and called on the United Nations General Assembly to adopt a resolution banning such acts.

The OIC member states also called for efforts to increase cooperation among Islamic states and asked their parliaments to pass laws to facilitate economic transactions between Islamic countries.

Source: Mehr News.
Link: http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1027463.

Iran set to propose 'Day of Gaza' at PUIC summit in Uganda

KUWAIT CITY, Jan. 27 (MNA) – Iran will urge the Islamic countries to designate a day in their official calendars as ‘Day of Gaza and Resistance’ at the meeting of the Parliamentary Union of the OIC Member States (PUIC) in Uganda, senior MP Kazem Jalali announced on Wednesday.

Jalali is accompanying Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani in a trip to Uganda to attend the sixth summit of Parliamentary Union of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which started on January 24 and will run until 31.

“Naming a day as ‘Day of Gaza and Resistance’ in the calendars of Islamic countries is one of the proposals that Iran will put forward at the meeting,” said Jalali, the spokesman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.

The Iranian parliament has already approved January 7 as ‘Day of Gaza, Symbol of Palestine Resistance,’ he stated.

He went on to say that the Iranian delegation will present the proposal to the Parliamentary Union and will push for approval of the proposal.

Iran also has other proposals to make in regard to the Palestine issue and unity among Islamic countries, he explained.

The senior Iranian lawmaker added political, economic, and cultural committees will discuss major issues facing the Muslim world on the sideline of the summit.

“Issues concerning Lebanon, Palestine, Afghanistan, and other Islamic countries will be discussed at the meeting.”

During his trip to Kuwait, Larijani had said that examining important issues facing the Muslim world should be discussed at the PUIC summit.

The Iranian parliament speaker is the current president of the Islamic Parliamentary Union. He will preside over the meetings for two days.

According to the New Vision, the conference is aimed at preserving the Islamic values, promoting solidarity among member states, upholding international peace and security in addition to advancing education, particularly in science and technology.

Source: Mehr News.
Link: http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1025302.