Firefox 3.5 download stats by country

Mozilla Firefox 3.5 (launched on June 30th) download statistics by country. Total surpassing 108 million now (August 20th at 14:46 UTC)…

I brought here the top 30 countries in absolute figures and added some per capita figures, taking the population data from the English Wikipedia. I hope there are no mistakes in my manual calculations:

Countries	Downloads (thousands)	Downloads (per thousand inhabitants)
1. United States	21 493	70
2. Germany	11 064	135
3. Brazil	5 704	30
4. France	3 856	59
5. United Kingdom	3 586	58
6. Russian Federation	3 436	24
7. India	3 434	3
8. Poland	3 073	81
9. Indonesia	2 876	13
10. Italy	2 488	41
11. Canada	2 483	73
12. Philippines	2 405	26
13. Japan	2 375	19
14. Spain	2 139	46
15. Turkey	1 933	27
16. China	1 846	1
17. Vietnam	1 799	21
18. Australia	1 744	79
19. Mexico	1 497	14
20. Argentina	1 302	33
21. Hungary	1 155	116
22. Malaysia	1 151	43
23. Netherlands	1 023	60
24. Thailand	941	15
25. Romania	935	45
26. Ukraine	850	18
27. Sweden	832	92
28. Czech Republic	812	81
29. Chile	800	47
30. Austria	775	97
…	…	…

P. S. Total surpassing 160 million now (August 29th at 20:16 UTC)…

I brought here the top 40 countries in absolute figures and added some per capita figures, taking the population data from the English Wikipedia. I hope there are no mistakes in my manual calculations:

Countries	Downloads (thousands)	Downloads (per thousand inhabitants)
1. United States	31 285	102
2. Germany	15 743	192
3. Brazil	8 625	45
4. France	5 833	90
5. India	5 385	5
6. United Kingdom	5 148	83
7. Russian Federation	5 133	36
8. Indonesia	4 837	21
9. Poland	4 297	113
10. Italy	3 805	63
11. Philippines	3 774	41
12. Canada	3 550	104
13. Japan	3 260	25
14. Spain	3 140	68
15. Turkey	3 047	42
16. Vietnam	2 846	33
17. China	2 590	2
18. Australia	2 390	109
19. Mexico	2 257	21
20. Argentina	1 868	47
21. Hungary	1 781	178
22. Malaysia	1 770	66
23. Netherlands	1 478	87
24. Thailand	1 447	23
25. Romania	1 344	64
26. Ukraine	1 268	28
27. Israel	1 244	178
28. Sweden	1 224	136
29. Colombia	1 177	26
30. Chile	1 165	69
31. Greece	1 162	106
32. Egypt	1 154	15
33. Austria	1 130	141
34. Czech Republic	1 121	112
35. Taiwan	1 031	45
36. Switzerland	964	120
37. Finland	897	179
38. Venezuela	888	32
39. Belgium	827	75
40. Portugal	705	64
…	…	…

P. S. Total surpassing 205 million now (September 7th at 23:15 UTC)…

I brought again the top 40 countries in absolute figures and added again per capita figures, taking the population data from the English Wikipedia. I hope there are no mistakes in my manual calculations:

Country	Downloads (thousands)	Downloads (per thousand inhabitants)
1. United States	39 093	127
2. Germany	19 608	239
3. Brazil	11 038	57
4. France	7 575	117
5. India	7 048	6
6. Indonesia	6 833	30
7. Russian Federation	6 592	46
8. United Kingdom	6 475	103
9. Poland	5 337	140
10. Italy	5 085	85
11. Philippines	5 048	55
12. Canada	4 412	130
13. Spain	4 146	90
14. Turkey	4 010	56
15. Japan	3 980	31
16. Vietnam	3 798	44
17. China	3 159	2
18. Australia	2 939	134
19. Mexico	2 934	27
20. Hungary	2 404	240
21. Argentina	2 359	59
22. Malaysia	2 302	85
23. Thailand	1 895	30
24. Netherlands	1 868	110
25. Romania	1 718	82
26. Israel	1 687	241
27. Ukraine	1 648	36
28. Egypt	1 567	20
29. Greece	1 555	141
30. Sweden	1 553	173
31. Colombia	1 547	34
32. Chile	1 478	87
33. Austria	1 432	179
34. Czech Republic	1 378	138
35. Taiwan	1 332	58
36. Switzerland	1 212	152
37. Venezuela	1 167	42
38. Finland	1 140	228
39. Belgium	1 059	96
40. Portugal	906	82
…	…	…

I made another table with all the countries and territories mentioned in the English Wikipedia list of countries by population (retrieved September 8th, 2009). I marked as n/a (not applicable) when they are not in the previously displayed “top 40″. Maybe this table (along with many other data) is useful when thinking of the global digital divide. Just look at China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Iran, Congo (DRC), Burma…

Country or territory	Population	Downloads (thousands)	Downloads (per thousand inhabitants)
1. China	1 332 840 000	3 159	2
2. India	1 168 670 000	7 048	6
3. United States	307 340 000	39 093	127
4. Indonesia	229 965 000	6 833	30
5. Brazil	191 820 000	11 038	57
6. Pakistan	167 378 500	n/a	n/a
7. Bangladesh	162 221 000	n/a	n/a
8. Nigeria	154 729 000	n/a	n/a
9. Russia	141 862 000	6 592	46
10. Japan	127 590 000	3 980	31
11. Mexico	107 550 697	2 934	27
12. Philippines	92 222 660	5 048	55
13. Vietnam	85 789 573	3 798	44
14. Germany	82 046 000	19 608	239
15. Ethiopia	79 221 000	n/a	n/a
16. Egypt	77 116 112	1 567	20
17. Iran	74 196 000	n/a	n/a
18. Turkey	71 517 100	4 010	56
19. Dem. Rep. of Congo	66 020 000	n/a	n/a
20. France	65 073 482	7 575	117
21. Thailand	63 389 730	1 895	30
22. United Kingdom	61 634 599	6 475	103
23. Italy	60 088 880	5 085	85
24. Myanmar (Burma)	50 020 000	n/a	n/a
25. South Africa	49 320 000	n/a	n/a
26. South Korea	48 333 000	n/a	n/a
27. Ukraine	46 029 281	1 648	36
28. Spain	45 929 476	4 146	90
29. Colombia	45 074 137	1 547	34
30. Tanzania	43 739 000	n/a	n/a
31. Sudan	42 272 000	n/a	n/a
32. Argentina	40 134 425	2 359	59
33. Kenya	39 802 000	n/a	n/a
34. Poland	38 100 700	5 337	140
35. Algeria	34 895 000	n/a	n/a
36. Canada	33 772 000	4 412	130
37. Uganda	32 710 000	n/a	n/a
38. Morocco	31 567 613	n/a	n/a
39. Iraq	30 747 000	n/a	n/a
40. Nepal	29 331 000	n/a	n/a
41. Peru	29 132 013	n/a	n/a
42. Venezuela	28 456 383	1 167	42
43. Afghanistan	28 150 000	n/a	n/a
44. Uzbekistan	27 488 000	n/a	n/a
45. Malaysia	27 468 000	2 302	85
46. Saudi Arabia	25 721 000	n/a	n/a
47. North Korea	24 051 706	n/a	n/a
48. Ghana	23 837 000	n/a	n/a
49. Yemen	23 580 000	n/a	n/a
50. Taiwan	23 069 345	1 332	58
51. Mozambique	22 894 000	n/a	n/a
52. Syria	21 906 000	n/a	n/a
53. Australia	21 903 000	2 939	134
54. Romania	21 498 616	1 718	82
55. Côte d’Ivoire	21 075 000	n/a	n/a
56. Sri Lanka	20 238 000	n/a	n/a
57. Madagascar	19 625 000	n/a	n/a
58. Cameroon	19 522 000	n/a	n/a
59. Angola	18 498 000	n/a	n/a
60. Chile	16 961 000	1 478	87
61. Netherlands	16 535 207	1 868	110
62. Kazakhstan	15 776 492	n/a	n/a
63. Burkina Faso	15 757 000	n/a	n/a
64. Niger	15 290 000	n/a	n/a
65. Malawi	15 263 000	n/a	n/a
66. Cambodia	14 805 000	n/a	n/a
67. Ecuador	14 036 775	n/a	n/a
68. Guatemala	14 027 000	n/a	n/a
69. Mali	13 010 000	n/a	n/a
70. Zambia	12 935 000	n/a	n/a
71. Senegal	12 534 000	n/a	n/a
72. Zimbabwe	12 523 000	n/a	n/a
73. Greece	11 257 285	1 555	141
74. Chad	11 206 000	n/a	n/a
75. Cuba	11 204 000	n/a	n/a
76. Belgium	10 754 528	1 059	96
77. Portugal	10 627 250	906	82
78. Czech Republic	10 467 542	1 378	138
79. Tunisia	10 327 800	n/a	n/a
80. Dominican Republic	10 090 000	n/a	n/a
81. Guinea	10 069 000	n/a	n/a
82. Haiti	10 033 000	n/a	n/a
83. Hungary	10 031 208	2 404	240
84. Rwanda	9 998 000	n/a	n/a
85. Bolivia	9 863 000	n/a	n/a
86. Serbia	9 850 000	n/a	n/a
87. Belarus	9 671 900	n/a	n/a
88. Sweden	9 292 359	1 553	173
89. Somalia	9 133 000	n/a	n/a
90. Benin	8 935 000	n/a	n/a
91. Azerbaijan	8 629 900	n/a	n/a
92. Austria	8 355 260	1 432	179
93. Burundi	8 303 000	n/a	n/a
94. Switzerland	7 739 100	1 212	152
95. Bulgaria	7 606 551	n/a	n/a
96. Honduras	7 466 000	n/a	n/a
97. Israel	7 434 000	1 687	241
98. Hong Kong	7 008 900	n/a	n/a
99. Tajikistan	6 952 000	n/a	n/a
100. Papua New Guinea	6 732 000	n/a	n/a
101. Togo	6 619 000	n/a	n/a
102. Libya	6 420 000	n/a	n/a
103. Paraguay	6 349 000	n/a	n/a
104. Laos	6 320 000	n/a	n/a
105. Jordan	6 316 000	n/a	n/a
106. El Salvador	6 163 000	n/a	n/a
107. Nicaragua	5 743 000	n/a	n/a
108. Sierra Leone	5 696 000	n/a	n/a
109. Denmark	5 519 441	n/a	n/a
110. Kyrgyzstan	5 482 000	n/a	n/a
111. Slovakia	5 413 548	n/a	n/a
112. Finland	5 344 345	1 140	228
113. Turkmenistan	5 110 000	n/a	n/a
114. Eritrea	5 073 000	n/a	n/a
115. Singapore	4 839 400	n/a	n/a
116. Norway	4 835 000	n/a	n/a
117. United Arab Emirates	4 599 000	n/a	n/a
118. Costa Rica	4 579 000	n/a	n/a
119. Croatia	4 435 056	n/a	n/a
120. Ireland	4 422 100	n/a	n/a
121. Central African Republic	4 422 000	n/a	n/a
122. Georgia	4 385 400	n/a	n/a
123. New Zealand	4 322 500	n/a	n/a
124. Lebanon	4 224 000	n/a	n/a
125. Puerto Rico	3 982 000	n/a	n/a
126. Bosnia and Herzegovina	3 767 000	n/a	n/a
127. Palestine	3 761 646	n/a	n/a
128. Republic of the Congo	3 683 000	n/a	n/a
129. Moldova	3 567 500	n/a	n/a
130. Liberia	3 476 608	n/a	n/a
131. Panama	3 454 000	n/a	n/a
132. Uruguay	3 361 000	n/a	n/a
133. Lithuania	3 349 872	n/a	n/a
134. Mauritania	3 291 000	n/a	n/a
135. Armenia	3 230 100	n/a	n/a
136. Albania	3 170 000	n/a	n/a
137. Kuwait	2 985 000	n/a	n/a
138. Oman	2 845 000	n/a	n/a
139. Jamaica	2 719 000	n/a	n/a
140. Mongolia	2 671 000	n/a	n/a
141. Latvia	2 257 300	n/a	n/a
142. Namibia	2 171 000	n/a	n/a
143. Lesotho	2 067 000	n/a	n/a
144. Republic of Macedonia	2 048 620	n/a	n/a
145. Slovenia	2 045 249	n/a	n/a
146. Botswana	1 950 000	n/a	n/a
147. Gambia	1 705 000	n/a	n/a
148. Guinea-Bissau	1 611 000	n/a	n/a
149. Gabon	1 475 000	n/a	n/a
150. Qatar	1 409 000	n/a	n/a
151. Estonia	1 340 415	n/a	n/a
152. Trinidad and Tobago	1 339 000	n/a	n/a
153. Mauritius	1 288 000	n/a	n/a
154. Swaziland	1 185 000	n/a	n/a
155. East Timor	1 134 000	n/a	n/a
156. Djibouti	864 000	n/a	n/a
157. Fiji	849 000	n/a	n/a
158. Cyprus	801 600	n/a	n/a
159. Bahrain	791 000	n/a	n/a
160. Guyana	762 000	n/a	n/a
161. Bhutan	697 000	n/a	n/a
162. Comoros	676 000	n/a	n/a
163. Equatorial Guinea	676 000	n/a	n/a
164. Montenegro	624 000	n/a	n/a
165. Macau	546 200	n/a	n/a
166. Solomon Islands	523 000	n/a	n/a
167. Suriname	520 000	n/a	n/a
168. Western Sahara	513 000	n/a	n/a
169. Cape Verde	506 000	n/a	n/a
170. Luxembourg	493 500	n/a	n/a
171. Malta	413 627	n/a	n/a
172. Brunei	400 000	n/a	n/a
173. Bahamas	342 000	n/a	n/a
174. Belize	322 100	n/a	n/a
175. Iceland	319 246	n/a	n/a
176. Maldives	309 000	n/a	n/a
177. Barbados	256 000	n/a	n/a
178. Vanuatu	240 000	n/a	n/a
179. Netherlands Antilles	198 000	n/a	n/a
180. Samoa	179 000	n/a	n/a
181. Guam	178 000	n/a	n/a
182. Saint Lucia	172 000	n/a	n/a
183. São Tomé and Príncipe	163 000	n/a	n/a
184. Federated States of Micronesia	111 000	n/a	n/a
185. U.S. Virgin Islands	110 000	n/a	n/a
186. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	109 000	n/a	n/a
187. Aruba	107 000	n/a	n/a
188. Grenada	104 000	n/a	n/a
189. Tonga	104 000	n/a	n/a
190. Kiribati	98 000	n/a	n/a
191. Jersey	89 300	n/a	n/a
192. Antigua and Barbuda	88 000	n/a	n/a
193. Northern Mariana Islands	87 000	n/a	n/a
194. Andorra	86 000	n/a	n/a
195. Seychelles	84 000	n/a	n/a
196. Isle of Man	80 000	n/a	n/a
197. Dominica	67 000	n/a	n/a
198. American Samoa	67 000	n/a	n/a
199. Bermuda	65 000	n/a	n/a
200. Marshall Islands	62 000	n/a	n/a
201. Guernsey	61 811	n/a	n/a
202. Greenland	57 000	n/a	n/a
203. Cayman Islands	56 000	n/a	n/a
204. Saint Kitts and Nevis	52 000	n/a	n/a
205. Faroe Islands	48 940	n/a	n/a
206. Liechtenstein	35 593	n/a	n/a
207. Monaco	33 000	n/a	n/a
208. Turks and Caicos Islands	33 000	n/a	n/a
209. Gibraltar	31 000	n/a	n/a
210. San Marino	30 800	n/a	n/a
211. British Virgin Islands	23 000	n/a	n/a
212. Cook Islands	20 000	n/a	n/a
213. Palau	20 000	n/a	n/a
214. Anguilla	15 000	n/a	n/a
215. Tuvalu	10 000	n/a	n/a
216. Nauru	10 000	n/a	n/a
217. Saint Helena	6 600	n/a	n/a
218. Montserrat	5 900	n/a	n/a
219. Falkland Islands	3 000	n/a	n/a
220. Niue	1 500	n/a	n/a
221. Tokelau	1 400	n/a	n/a
222. Vatican City	800	n/a	n/a
223. Pitcairn Islands	50	n/a	n/a

Galicia: achado arqueolóxico na ampliación da estrada a Laxe

Esta zona xa é coñecida para os arqueólogos, porque está a poucos km do dolmen de Dombate e do castro de Borneiro…

Na altura do lugar de Castrelo, na parroquia de Soesto (Laxe), os arqueólogos encargados de facer unha prospección valorativa no trazado da ampliación da estrada AC-433 acaban de localizar unha porta monumental de entrada a un xacemento castrexo da segunda Idade do Ferro. [...]

Ler máis e ver imaxes e localización no blog de Manuel Gago Mariño: “Importante achado arqueolóxico na ampliación da estrada a Laxe”.

Burma: army attacks Shan civilians (HRW press release)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) news release on Burma (also known as Myanmar)…

“Burma: Army Attacks Displace Thousands of Civilians. UN Security Council Should Investigate Possible War Crimes”

August 14, 2009

Burmese army attacks against ethnic Shan civilians in northeastern Burma have displaced more than 10,000 people in the past three weeks, HRW said today. HRW called on Burma’s military government to immediately end attacks against civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law.

Following democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi‘s sentence this week to return to house arrest on August 11, HRW reiterated its call to the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Burma and to create a commission of inquiry to investigate possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by all parties to the fighting in Burma’s ethnic minority areas.

“While the world has been focused on the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese troops have been battering civilians as part of the military government’s longstanding campaign against ethnic minorities,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW. “These attacks in Shan state should remind the international community that in addition to the persecution of the Burmese political opposition, Burma’s ethnic minorities are systematically marginalized and brutalized by the Burmese government and army.”

According to credible reports by Shan human rights groups, the Burmese army, or Tatmadaw, has deployed seven army battalions to clear civilians from large areas of Laikha township and parts of Mong Kerng township in central Shan state between July 27 and August 1. Troops have reportedly burned down more than 500 houses as they attacked 39 villages in the area.

HRW believes this recently scaled-up forced relocation operation is part of an intensified counterinsurgency campaign, as Tatmadaw units attack the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), an insurgent armed group that operates in the area. The SSA-S has been conducting deadly ambushes regularly for years and on July 15, SSA-S forces attacked the 515th Light Infantry Battalion in Laikha, killing 11 Tatmadaw soldiers. There are reports that many of the displaced civilians are moving toward the Thailand-Burma border.

The Thailand-Burma Border Consortium annual internal displacement survey reports that more than 13,000 civilians were displaced in 2008 in Laikha and surrounding townships because of increased Tatmadaw operations against the SSA-S. This follows years of similar operations. Between 1996 and 1998, the Tatmadaw effectively cleared central Shan state of its civilian population. Burmese army forces have been responsible for deliberate attacks on civilians, summary executions, rape, torture, destruction and forced relocation of villages, and use of child soldiers and forced labor. More than 350,000 civilians were forcibly displaced during that campaign, many of them becoming refugees in neighboring Thailand.

“While the Burmese Army flouts the laws of war, Shan civilians pay the price,” said Adams. “The ongoing Burmese army attacks in Shan state demonstrate the vicious modus operandi of the Tatmadaw and its disdain for the lives and well-being of civilians.”

Recent attacks by the Tatmadaw and their proxy forces, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, forced some 5,000 ethnic Karen across the border into Thailand in June. The civilians, mostly women and children, were fleeing fighting, forced labor, and the widespread sowing of landmines.

According to the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium’s annual survey, nearly half a million people are internally displaced in eastern Burma, either in government relocation sites, within non-state armed groups ceasefire zones, or in so-called free-fire areas highly vulnerable to Tatmadaw patrols that maintain an unlawful “shoot on sight” policy against civilians. HRW has documented abuses against civilians in ethnic areas of Karen state in eastern Burma and in Chin state in western Burma. Abuses such as extrajudicial killings, torture and beatings, and confiscation of land and property continue with impunity.

There are more than 140,000 Burmese refugees along the Thailand border in nine temporary refugee camps. Although 50,000 refugees have been resettled to third countries like the United States, Norway, and Canada, more refugees continue to arrive, fleeing the armed conflict in eastern Burma.

Thailand does not recognize people from Shan state as refugees, and refuses to permit the establishment of refugee camps for ethnic Shan, fearing a larger influx of civilians fleeing repression from northeastern Burma. Instead, those Shan who reach Thailand eke out an existence as migrant workers, often without legal status. HRW called on the government of Thailand to offer sanctuary to refugees fleeing abuses in Shan state in accordance with international law. Although Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, it is bound by the customary international law prohibition against returning people to countries where they face persecution.

HRW reiterated its calls to the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma and to pursue a comprehensive arms embargo against Burma. HRW said that Burma should become a regular topic for discussion on the Security Council agenda, to pressure the Burmese government to respect basic freedoms of its citizens and continue to inform Security Council members of its progress. Security Council Resolution 1674 on the protection of civilians in armed conflict states that “peace and security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations and the foundations for collective security.”

A May 2009 report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, “Crimes in Burma”, reviewed United Nations human rights reports for several years and concluded that human rights abuses are widespread, systematic, and part of state policy. The report, endorsed by five eminent international jurists, cited cases of forced relocation, sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, and torture. It similarly called for a commission of inquiry to be established by the Security Council to investigate potential crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.

HRW said an arms embargo could stop the supply of weapons, military assistance, and technology that enable continued attacks against civilians in ethnic conflict areas. China and Russia, both of whom supply weapons to Burma, are the military government’s main diplomatic supporters and continue to block stronger international action against the ruling junta.

On August 13, the UN Security Council issued a weak press statement on Burma that both “reiterate[s] the importance of the release of all political prisoners,” but also affirms Security Council members’ “commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Burma.

“The UN Security Council should end its inaction and authorize a commission of inquiry into human rights abuses and enforce an arms embargo,” said Adams. “This will not happen unless China and Russia stop protecting Burma’s generals.”

“Vitrum nostrum gloriosum” (King’s Singers)

Esta peza, “Vitrum nostrum gloriosum”, usa un estilo relixioso pero o texto (ver máis abaixo) é bastante mundano: unha exaltación da bebida. Case podemos falar dun contrafactum…

Non se sabe quen foi o autor, por iso a partitura aparece como anónima na lista do WIMA. Publicouna o editor e compositor Georg Forster (ca. 1510 – 1568) no volume II (1540) da obra Frische teutsche Liedlein.

Cantan os marabillosos King’s Singers, e o sonido recorda á gravación (publicada orixinalmente por EMI no 1984) “Madrigal History Tour”.

Vitrum nostrum gloriosum,
Deo gratissimum.
O, vitrum!

Levate!

Fac, fac, bibe totum extra,
ut nihil maneat intra,

Depone!

Hoc est in visceribus meis.
Prosequamur laude!

Israel and Hamas human rights violations: new HRW reports

Human Rights Watch publicou recentemente dous informes sobre violacións dos Direitos Humanos perpetradas polo exército de Israel e por grupos armados palestinos.

O primeiro saíu a semana pasada e leva por título “Rockets from Gaza: Harm to Civilians from Palestinian Armed Groups’ Rocket Attacks”. Copio un extracto da súa introducción:

Since 2001, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza have fired thousands of rockets deliberately or indiscriminately at civilian areas in Israel. Such attacks virtually stopped during a ceasefire that began in June 2008 but escalated in November 2008 after an Israeli military incursion into Gaza. The rocket attacks continued during and since Israel’s three-week-long military offensive in Gaza that began on December 27.

Palestinian rocket attacks –which have killed three Israeli civilians and wounded dozens of others since November– are an ongoing threat to the nearly 800,000 Israeli civilians who live and work in range of the rockets. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups have sought to justify the attacks as appropriate reprisals for Israeli military operations and the ongoing blockade against Gaza, and as a lawful response to the Israeli occupation of Gaza. As noted below, international humanitarian law (the “laws of war”) does not support these asserted justifications.

While Hamas has at times significantly decreased the level of rocket fire from Gaza, including by pressuring other armed groups to stop unauthorized attacks, it has taken no apparent action to prosecute or otherwise hold accountable Hamas forces or other Palestinian armed groups for launching unlawful rocket attacks against Israeli civilian areas. [...]

O segundo saíu antonte e leva por título “White Flag Deaths: Killings of Palestinian Civilians during Operation Cast Lead”. Copio un extracto da súa introducción:

This report documents seven incidents where Israeli soldiers fired on civilians with small arms during Israel’s major military operations in Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. These attacks killed 11 civilians —including five women and four children— and wounded at least another eight.

These casualties comprise a small fraction of the Palestinian civilians killed and wounded during what Israel called Operation Cast Lead, but they stand out because of the circumstances of the attacks. In each case, the victims were standing, walking, or in a slowly moving vehicle with other unarmed civilians who were trying to convey their non-combatant status by waving a white flag.

All available evidence indicates that Israeli forces had control of the areas in question, no fighting was taking place there at the time, and Palestinian fighters were not hiding among the civilians who were shot. Whether waving a white flag or not, these people were civilians not taking an active part in hostilities, and therefore should not have been attacked, according to international humanitarian law (the laws of war). [...]