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Islamic State Destroys More of Ancient Palmyra Islamist militants blow up Roman monument, vandalize parts of theater see note please

By on January 21st, 2017

This appalling disregard for shrines and historical monuments was routine when the Arabs(Jordan) controlled Jerusalem and occurs continually in those ancient cities of Judea and Samaria now controlled by the Palarabs….but nary a word from mainstream press….rsk

BEIRUT—Islamic State group militants destroyed a landmark ancient Roman monument and parts of the theater in Syria’s historic town of Palmyra, the government and opposition monitoring groups said Friday.

Maamoun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria’s antiquities department, said the militants destroyed the facade of the second-century theater along with the Tetrapylon, a cubic-shaped ancient Roman monument that sits in the middle of the colonnade road that leads to the theater.

Mr. Abdulkarim told the Associated Press that reports of the destruction first trickled out of Islamic State-held town late in December. But satellite images of the damage were only available late Thursday, confirming the destruction.

The imagery, provided by the US-based American Schools of Oriental Research, show significant damage to the Tetrapylon and the theater. The ASOR said the damage is likely caused by intentional destruction but they were unable to verify the exact cause.

Abdulkarim said only two of the 16 columns of the Tetrapylon remain standing. The stage backdrop has sustained damage, according to ASOR.

State-run news agency SAN’A reported the damage Friday and Syrian opposition monitors also confirmed but gave no immediate details.

The extremists recaptured the ancient town in December from government troops, nine months after IS was expelled in a Russia-backed offensive. During their first stay, from May 2015 until May 2016, Islamic State destroyed ancient temples including the Temple of Bel, which dated back to A.D. 32, and the Temple of Baalshamin, a structure of stone blocks several stories high fronted by six towering columns.

The militants also blew up the Arch of Triumph, which had been built under Roman emperor Septimius Severus between A.D. 193 and A.D. 211.

A Unesco World Heritage site, Palmyra boasts 2,000-year-old towering Roman-era colonnades and priceless artifacts. Syrians affectionately refer to it as the “Bride of the Desert.”

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Following Paris Peace Summit, Largely Forgotten 2013 French Court Ruling That Israeli Settlements Are Legal Receives Renewed Attention by Barney Breen-Portnoy

By on January 20th, 2017

A largely forgotten landmark 2013 French court ruling has received renewed attention this week following the international diplomatic summit held in Paris last Sunday at which Israeli settlements were portrayed as illegal.

In an editorial published on Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal wrote, “The conference was a failure, but the conferees could have helped themselves by first checking what French courts have to say about those settlements before scoring Israel again…In 2013 the French Court of Appeals in Versailles ruled that, contrary to Palestinian arguments, Jewish settlements don’t violate the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition against an occupying power transferring ‘its civilian population into the territory it occupies.’ The law, the court held, bars government efforts to transfer populations. But it doesn’t bar private individuals settling in the disputed territories.”

The Wall Street Journal was referring to the ruling on a lawsuit — detailed here — that was filed by the Palestinian Authority against two French companies that took part in the construction of the light rail line in Jerusalem — which traverses areas the Palestinians hope will be part of the capital city of their potential future state.

That ruling, the Wall Street Journal said, “matters because the Paris conference adopted the premise that settlements are illegal as a matter of settled law and the primary obstacle to peace. The French court makes a nonsense of that judgment simply by looking at what the Geneva Conventions say, rather than basing its judgment on a legally meaningless ‘international consensus.’”