New York Times: Jewish Settlers Harass Palestinians

The New York Times (NYTimes.com) reported today that Jewish settlers "are terrorizing Palestinians with impunity, attacking children on their way to school and destroying farmers' trees and crops, a UN expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict said in a report."

The report quoted the author of the UN report, John Dugard, saying Israel withdrew from Gaza but "effectively controls Gaza through targeted killings and sonic booms from warplanes flying over the region." The report said "Israel's UN ambassador in Geneva, rejected Dugard's allegations as ''misinformed and inaccurate.'"

This comes as the Israeli Haaretz (www.Haaretz.com) reported that the Israeli defense minister Shaul Mofaz threatened yesterday to assassinate the newly elected Palestinian prime minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh. Haniyeh represents Hamas which won a large victory in the latest Palestinian democratic elections.

Worth noting is that Israel is seen by many as a brutal occupier, and someone who has managed successfully to transform its image in western public opinion from an oppressor nation to that of an oppressed nation.