The US House of Representatives [official website] voted unanimously [JURIST report] in March to impeach Porteous. After an investigation [report text, PDF] by a special committee, the Judicial Conference found "substantial evidence" that Porteous had signed false financial disclosure forms, falsified statements in a personal bankruptcy proceeding, made false representations to secure a bank loan and violated criminal laws [text] and ethical rules by soliciting and receiving "cash and other things of value" from lawyers in a bench trial over which he was presiding. Porteous' decision in that case, In re Liljeberg enters v. Lifemark Hospitals, was later partially reversed [opinion] by the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which earlier this year reprimanded Porteous [text, PDF]. A House committee began investigating Porteous [JURIST report] in 2008. Porteous is the eighth federal judge to be impeached and convicted by Congress.

On Friday, Ben Ali declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] amid nationwide protests, banning public gatherings and allowing police to fire on anyone refusing to obey orders. The declaration came a day after Ben Ali promised to cut prices [CNN report] on basic food supplies and order security forces not to use live ammunition except in cases of self-defense, as an attempt to end the protests. The protests were largely against Ben Ali and his family, who controlled numerous sectors of the economy and face accusations of corruption. Efforts to end the protests failed and within hours of the announcement Ben Ali had fled the country [BBC report] after 23 years in office, leaving Ghannouchi to assume power as interim president. In an announcement on state television [video, in Arabic], Ghannouchi cited Chapter 56 of the Tunisian Constitution [text], allowing the president to delegate his powers to the prime minister. He went on to assert that the government would adhere to the rule of law and that the announced reforms would still be implemented.

After serving four terms as governor from 1972-96, Edwards was convicted in 2000 for the extortion scheme. In 2004, US District Judge Ralph Tyson refused to overturn [JURIST report] Edwards' conviction. The rejected defense motion claimed a political bias on the part of the trial judge and additionally contended that he was impaired by painkillers as he presided over the trial. Tyson ruled that the defense "failed to point to any facts that raise a bona fide doubt as to the mental or physical competency of the trial judge."

Together these events demonstrate a general and unacceptable Israeli disposition to use excessive force against Palestinians, who are already suffering from prolonged occupation. It is impossible to separate this pattern of excessive use of force against Palestinians from the indiscriminate use of force against civilians in Israel's larger occupation policy, as illustrated by the cruel punitive blockade that has been imposed on the people of Gaza for more than three years and by the illegal manner in which Israel carried out attacks for three weeks on the defenseless population of Gaza two years ago. It is time for the international community to step in and offer this long vulnerable Palestinian population protection against the violence perpetrated by Israeli authorities.

Israel has faced ongoing criticism from the UN and international human rights groups for its action in the Palestinian territories, which have been under Israeli military control since 1967. In June, Israeli human rights group B'Tselem [advocacy website] released its annual report [JURIST report], noting an advancement in the rights of Palestinians, but calling for greater improvement. The report found that fatalities had declined by 80 percent compared to the previous year, and the quality of life had improved in the West Bank. The report called on Israel to dismantle all settlements, saying that merely halting new settlements is insufficient. The rights organization also chided Israeli security forces for not adequately protecting Palestinians from violence at the hands of Israelis, criticizing a "history of leniency" against the perpetrators of that violence. In March, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank "illegal" [JURIST report], and supported a plan by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad [BBC profile] to build the institutions of an independent state by 2011.