Following the publication of NGO Monitor’s analysis of Amnesty International’s activity in 2006, NGO Monitor has released the following response to Amnesty’s annual report.

The following points of concern arise from Amnesty’s report:-

  • Amnesty cite numerous figures without any sources to verify its claims.
  • Amnesty falsely claims only 3 Israeli servicemen were killed in the Hezbollah cross-border raid that triggered the conflict.  The true statistic is in fact eight.
  • Amnesty claims Israel killed 650 Palestinians, yet makes no distinction between combatants and civilians.  Nor do they provide a source for these figures. Similarly, no sources are given for the claim that 1200 people were killed in Lebanon during the war, and no differentiation is made between Hezbollah fighters and Lebanese civilians.
  • Amnesty criticizes Israel’s use of cluster bombs, but fails to even mention Hezbollah’s use of Chinese made cluster bombs fired at Israel.
  • Amnesty accuses Israel of committing "war crimes", "indiscriminate" and "disproportionate" attacks "on a large scale" in Lebanon.  NGO Monitor has documented in detail the false nature of many of these claims. (see earlier report)
  • Amnesty’s claim that Israel intended to inflict "collective punishment" and showed "wanton disregard" for civilians, is a one sided political statement, and has no place in a document intended to improve human rights for all peoples.
  • While only paying lip service to the widespread Palestinian infighting, Amnesty appears to blame the withholding of tax revenue by Israel as the reason for "unprecedented deterioration" of conditions in the PA.

By downplaying Israeli casualties, ignoring attacks on Israeli citizens, and by failing to differentiate between civilians and those involved in acts of war against Israel – Amnesty display a one sided, monochromatic understanding of the situation in the Middle East.   As such their claims, so often provided without verifiable sources, cannot be seen as credible or accurate.

NGO Monitor Executive Director, Prof. Gerald Steinberg noted, " This pattern of bias and lack of credibility is consistent with NGO Monitor’s previous analyses of Amnesty International’s reports and publications. "

Click here to view other NGO Monitor analyses of Amnesty International.

Click here for report on Amnesty’s 2006 activities.

 

ENDS ————  

Editors Notes:

NGO Monitor was founded to promote transparency, critical analysis and debate on the political role of human rights organizations.  For more information, see our website at http://www.ngo-monitor.org

Other recent publications and reports by NGO Monitor include:-

NGO Monitor’s Executive Director, Prof. Gerald Steinberg, is Senior Research Associate at the The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies.

For further information, comment or interviews, contact Jason Pearlman +972 (0) 546-328-795

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