Fionnuala Sweeney: Rights report views Israel before and since violence

Fionnuala Sweeney

The U.S. State Department's report on human rights practices cast both the Israelis and the Palestinians in a less-than-stellar light. Israelis bristled at the charges leveled against them in the report, while the Palestinians called for an even closer look at Israeli practices.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon, flush with the backing of the left-leaning Labor Party for his national unity government, pushed to bring other parties -- including the far right and ultra-religious groups -- under his wings.

CNN Correspondent Fionnuala Sweeney has been following the story in Jerusalem.

Q: How did the U.S. State Department report characterize Israel's record?

SWEENEY: The U.S. report said it was dividing Israel's human rights record into two parts, one before the Intifada and one after the Intifada, which began late September, early October (2000). It didn't seem to criticize too much Israel's human rights record before October.

RESOURCES See an interactive map of the countries named in the report

Indeed, Michael Parmly, the acting assistant secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the State Department, said that as far as he was concerned, Israel, as of a Supreme Court ruling two years ago, had made steps toward improving its human rights record.

The report said that, in general, Israel respected the rights of its citizens, but that its record had worsened late in the year regarding its treatment of non-Jewish citizens. And then it tried to balance its comments by saying that throughout its existence, Israel had always experienced numerous terrorist attacks.

The U.S. State Department line is very much going along with what Secretary of State Colin Powell has been saying, which is, 'Stop the violence' and then start talking. And that would be along Ariel Sharon's line as well.

Q: How about the Palestinians? What did the report say about them and how did they take it?

SWEENEY: It criticized the Palestinians by saying the Palestinian security forces and members of Fatah's Tanzim forces killed numerous Israeli soldiers and civilians in this cycle of violence.

The Palestinians aren't too upset with this report because they say there's no real connection between the killings of Israeli soldiers and civilians and the Palestinian Authority. The main point they are trying to make with this report is that Israel has been called on by the United States, its strongest ally, because of human rights violations.

What they have basically said is that they're pointing to this as a condemnation of Israel rather than an attack on them because they say the Palestinian Authority is not linked with individual attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. They distanced themselves from those attacks and they have officially condemned those attacks.

Their basic position is that they want the Mitchell Commission (headed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell) to continue to investigate the origins of the uprising.

Q: Hasn't the Commission faced quite a bit of difficulty?

SWEENEY: The Mitchell Commission was set up after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit last October to investigate the origins of the uprising. That was done at Palestinian insistence, because they wanted an international human rights commission but in fact Israel objected, and eventually a compromise was reached at Sharm el-Sheikh that set up a U.S.-sponsored commission.

The Israelis reluctantly agreed to this, but they're not happy about the way it's being done.

For example, recently some of the Mitchell Commission went on a tour through the Old City. Israel said it hadn't been notified and they immediately protested against it.

Another point is that the commission was set up by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The commission is basically in suspension at the moment, while they wait for the government of Ariel Sharon.

Q: How might Sharon deal with this Commission?

SWEENEY: Sharon's immediate priority is to try to form this government of national unity. And that has been moved along with Labor's decision last night to join. But it's early to say how Ariel Sharon is going to work with it.

Q: With Labor on board for the coalition government, Sharon is now courting the far right. How might that affect his dealings with the Commission and the Palestinians?

SWEENEY: (The far right and religious right are) going to play quite a significant role in the government. This is why some people in Labor have been so reluctant to joining the government of national unity.

Q: So the opposition fears the right wing may set Sharon's agenda. But Sharon has pledged to put a number of Labor members into Cabinet positions. Who will those ministers be and won't their presence help offset the right-wing influence?

SWEENEY: This is up for dispute. Last night the Labor Party Central Committee decided at the last minute they would not allow (former Prime Minister Shimon) Peres -- the acting head until they choose a new leader -- to choose the ministers. They basically are going to choose for themselves.

U.S. criticizes Israel, Russia, China on human rights
February 26, 2001

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