As reported by NGO Monitor, Amnesty International (AI) Secretary-General, Irene Khan, chose to highlight International Human Rights Day by visiting Israel’s Separation Barrier. Khan’s highly one-sided blog documented her trip to Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel.  In one entry, “Was there an Earthquake in Gaza?  No, it was a one-week ‘visit’ of the Israeli army,” Kahn omits the context of Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians that necessitated the IDF incursion into Gaza.  She also ignores Palestinian use of human shields by firing of rockets from inside heavily populated civilian areas.

In a letter summarizing her visit, Khan blamed Israel for the economic crisis in the PA while ignoring Palestinian violence and corruption. Khan accused Israel of engaging in “deliberate and reckless” attacks on civilians.  Rather than condemning the PA and calling for an immediate halt to Palestinian rocket attacks on Israeli civilians, Khan stated the “homemade rockets” are “creat[ing] a climate of fear, which is leading to a hardening of positions in favour of a harsh military response towards the Palestinians.”  Khan called on leaders of the EU to “ensure that any peace process” includes the removal of settlements and dismantling the “fence/wall” as well as “ending closures” and “a fair solution to the refugee question.”  Khan makes no call for an end to Palestinian violence, nor does she call on the Hamas-led PA to recognize Israel and abide by international agreements.