Page 6 - aruba-today-20221223

A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 23 december 2022
Watchdog: Under 1% of Israel army probes yield prosecution

By ISABEL DEBRE eration on the part of the
Associated Press complainants.”
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli “The likelihood of discover-
soldiers accused of harm- ing the truth is directly im-
ing Palestinians in the occu- pacted by the lack of co-
pied West Bank and Gaza operation,” it said.
Strip over the last five years The 1,260 complaints
have been indicted in less lodged against the mili-
than 1% of the hundreds of tary by victims, lawyers, the
complaints against them, Justice Ministry and others
an Israeli rights group re- reflected just a fraction of
ported. The watchdog ar- the incidents that occurred
gued that Israel’s military in the occupied West Bank
systematically fails to con- and Gaza over the years.
duct a credible prosecu- B’Tselem has reported that
tion of itself. Israeli security forces killed
Between 2017 and 2021, 819 Palestinians between
the Israeli military received 2017 and 2021, including in
1,260 cases of alleged of- conflicts with Gaza militant
fenses by Israeli soldiers groups.
against Palestinians, includ- Just 117 of those deaths
ing 409 cases involving the prompted investigations,
killing of Palestinians, ac- Yesh Din said. Violence has
cording to military data ob- Palestinians carry the body of Jana Zakaran, 16, during her funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin, surged this year in the West
tained by the group Yesh Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. Bank as Israel conducts
Din and released Wednes- Associated Press daily arrest raids in response
day after a freedom of in- soldiers, the group added, the use of weapons, prop- reflect a pattern of impu- to a spate of Palestinian at-
formation request. with those sentenced for erty damage and violence nity. B’Tselem, a leading tacks this past spring that
The Israeli military opened killing Palestinians serv- against Palestinians. Israeli watchdog, grew so killed 19 people in Israel. At
248 criminal investigations ing only short-term military “It should be noted that the frustrated with the system least 150 Palestinians have
into instances of possible community service. majority of the proceedings that in 2016 it dismissed the been killed, making 2022
misconduct in response to In response to a request for ended in a punishment that probes as a whitewash and the deadliest in 16 years.
those complaints just 21.4% comment, the Israeli mili- includes actual imprison- halted its decades-long The Israeli army says most
of the total, Yesh Din said. tary contended there had ment, in accordance with practice of assisting inves- of the Palestinians killed
Only 11 investigations dur- been more charges filed the general punishment tigations. The Israeli army have been militants.
ing that five year period against soldiers than Yesh policy,” the military said. says it has proved that its But stone-throwing youths
have yielded indictments. Din had reported, with a to- Rights groups and critics investigations are indepen- protesting the incursions
In those cases, Israel’s mili- tal of 31 indictments lodged long have alleged Israeli dent and professional. and others not involved in
tary prosecutors acted with during the five-year period military investigations into It attributed the many chal- confrontations have also
leniency toward convicted for offenses also involving the killings of Palestinians lenges to “a lack of coop- been killed. q

Seoul: North Korean hackers stole $1.2B in virtual assets

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Korea’s capacity to steal response to its nuclear and states to repatriate North eign policy and national
Associated Press digital assets is considered missile tests. Korean overseas workers. security.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) among the best in the world The U.N. sanctions im- Its economy suffered fur- Earlier this month, senior
— North Korean hackers because of the country’s posed in 2016-17 ban key ther setbacks after it im- diplomats from the United
have stolen an estimated focus on cybercrimes since North Korean exports such posed some of the world’s States, South Korea and
1.5 trillion won ($1.2 billion) U.N. economic sanctions as coal, textiles and sea- most draconian restrictions Japan agreed to increase
in cryptocurrency and oth- were toughened in 2017 in food and also led member against the pandemic. efforts to curb illegal North
er virtual assets in the past The NIS said state-spon- Korean cyber activities. In
five years, more than half sored North Korean hackers February, a panel of U.N.
of it this year alone, South are estimated to have sto- experts said North Korea
Korea’s spy agency said len 1.5 trillion won ($1.2 bil- was continuing to steal
Thursday. lion) in virtual assets around hundreds of millions of dol-
Experts and officials say the world since 2017, in- lars from financial institu-
North Korea has turned to cluding about 800 billion tions and cryptocurrency
crypto hacking and other won ($626 million) this year firms and exchanges.
illicit cyber activities as a alone. It said more than 100 Despite its economic dif-
source of badly needed billion won ($78 million) of ficulties, North Korea has
foreign currency to support the total came from South carried out a record num-
its fragile economy and Korea. ber or missile tests this year
fund its nuclear program It said North Korean hackers in what some experts say
following harsh U.N. sanc- are expected to conduct is an attempt to modern-
tions and the COVID-19 more cyberattacks next ize its arsenal and boost its
pandemic. year to steal advanced leverage in future nego-
South Korea’s main spy In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North South Korean technologies tiations with its rivals to win
Korean leader Kim Jong Un, bottom center, attends a ruling
agency, the National Intel- party congress in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Jan. 12, 2021. and confidential informa- sanctions relief and other
ligence Service, said North Associated Press tion on South Korean for- concessions.q