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Originally Posted by Cekpethobce
I see your garbage zionist propaganda video and raise you a
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Originally Posted by Cekpethobce
Exactly my point.Originally Posted by shakaraka
People need to open their eyes, its clear what Israel is doing is wrong. The death toll stands at approx 800, most of them which are
children, women and young men. Compared to casualties in Israel which is 10-15 people and they are calling Hamas a terrorist group?
give me a break
Exactly my point.Originally Posted by shakaraka
People need to open their eyes, its clear what Israel is doing is wrong. The death toll stands at approx 800, most of them which are
children, women and young men. Compared to casualties in Israel which is 10-15 people and they are calling Hamas a terrorist group?
give me a break
Also, anyone surprised that the U.S was the only nation to not sign the U.N resolution ?
Surprised but not surprised. The only reason I was a tad bit surprised is because we abstained insteadof voted against.
My feeling is most of the Arab countries want Hamas out, especially Egypt. The thing is, what COULD the Arab countries do to help in thissituation? The Arab League, the UN, Sarkozy and Mubarak can attend as many meetings as they want. This conflict will end when Israel chooses to end it...andaccording to them, they'll stop after they completely cripple Hamas.Originally Posted by MidEastBeast
I read an interesting article which explained that the reason Arab countries aren't doing more to help is because they want Israel to keep Hamas in check because it indirectly keeps Iran (which funds, arms and supports Hamas) from gaining influence in the area.
That's just disgusting. Speaking of the Arab countries, CNN has confirmed that Israeli F16's have violated Egyptian airspace, of course Israel denies it.
Also, anyone surprised that the U.S was the only nation to not sign the U.N resolution ? History does repeat itself.
UPDATED ON: Wednesday, January 07, 2009 15:27 Mecca time, 12:27 GMT | ||||||||||||||
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Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez
My feeling is most of the Arab countries want Hamas out, especially Egypt. The thing is, what COULD the Arab countries do to help in this situation? The Arab League, the UN, Sarkozy and Mubarak can attend as many meetings as they want. This conflict will end when Israel chooses to end it...and according to them, they'll stop after they completely cripple Hamas.Originally Posted by MidEastBeast
I read an interesting article which explained that the reason Arab countries aren't doing more to help is because they want Israel to keep Hamas in check because it indirectly keeps Iran (which funds, arms and supports Hamas) from gaining influence in the area.
That's just disgusting. Speaking of the Arab countries, CNN has confirmed that Israeli F16's have violated Egyptian airspace, of course Israel denies it.
Also, anyone surprised that the U.S was the only nation to not sign the U.N resolution ? History does repeat itself.
[h1]UN accuses Israel over phosphorus[/h1]
John Ging told the BBC that in spite of discussions with the Israeli liaison, "three rounds that emitted phosphorus" hit a corner of the Gaza City facility.
Israel's military said all weapons it used complied with international law.
Phosphorus shells are legal to use as a battlefield obscurant, but are banned from use where civilians may be harmed.
Human Rights Watch says it has observed "dozens and dozens" of white phosphorus shells being fired by Israel at the Gaza Strip - a heavily populated civilian area where its use is prohibited.
Palestinian medical officials said they had treated large numbers of casualties with unusual burns that were extremely painful to treat and could be consistent with exposure to white phosphorus (WP).
The Israeli military has declined to comment on specific munitions used during the 20-day offensive, but said any its weapons were used in compliance with international law.
There is no way independently to explain the contradiction between both sides' reports, as Israel has prevented international journalists from entering Gaza since its offensive began on 27 December.
'Relentless bombardment'
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Ging, director of operations in Gaza for the UN Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), said the area surrounding its compound had been under "relentless artillery and tank bombardment all night and all day".
Some rounds, Mr Ging said, had struck a part of the compound where about 700 residents of nearby blocks of flats were taking shelter. Three people were injured in the bombardment.
"Then an hour later, in spite of our protests and real-time discussions with the Israeli liaison, three rounds that emitted phosphorous struck the other corner of the compound," he added.
The compound is Unrwa's main distribution hub in Gaza and Mr Ging said the shells set alight part of a warehouse in which there were stored thousands of tonnes of food and medicine, and the workshop area.
The fires then threatened to engulf five fuel tankers, which had been due to be sent out that morning, but could not leave because it was too dangerous outside.
"When the fires broke out, five of our brave staff dashed down there and moved the trucks out of the area, so we avoided a massive explosion," he said.
Mr Ging told CNN the fire was very difficult to extinguish because the smoke from WP becomes toxic if water is used.
Following the incident, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon - in Israel to push for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip - expressed his "outrage" and demanded a full explanation from the Israeli government.
"The defence minister said to me it was a grave mistake and he took it very seriously. He assured me that extra attention will be paid to UN facilities and staff and this will not be repeated," Mr Ban said.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the compound had been targeted after militants had opened fire from there.
"It is absolutely true that we were attacked from that place, but the consequences are very sad and we apologise for it," he said. "I don't think it should have happened and I'm very sorry."
'Indiscriminate'
White phosphorus sticks to human skin and will burn right through to the bone, causing death or leaving survivors with painful wounds which are slow to heal.
The international convention on the use of incendiary weapons says it should not be used where there is a possibility of hitting civilians. An Israeli military spokesman said it was investigating the reports, but reiterated earlier assurances about the legality of its weaponry.
White phosphorus is permitted on the battlefield to make smoke screens to allow troops to move undetected, and also to impede infrared anti-tank weapons.
But its use in the densely populated areas of central Gaza City would be "unlawful", as it dispersal would be indiscriminate and could put civilians at risk, says Human Rights Watch military analyst Marc Garlasco.
"The Israeli military may be using legal weapons, but it is using the weapons in an illegal manner," Mr Garlasco told the BBC News website.
He said he had observed dozens and dozens WP shells used by the Israeli army over Gaza since 27 December, both ground-burst shells and air-burst, scattering distinctive burning lumps of phosphorus which left white smoke trails.
"We are absolutely certain this is white phosphorus, this is the singular, unique visual signature of white phosphorus on the battlefield. Not only have I seen it for myself but I have checked with US artillery," Mr Garlasco added.
Mr Garlasco also examined a press photograph which showed a burning lump of matter in the UN compound. He said it "definitely appeared" to be WP, but that the photo was not detailed enough to say with complete certainty.
Source: BBC
[h1]Arabs: Israel ammo in Gaza had depleted uranium[/h1]
VIENNA, Austria - Arab nations accused Israel on Monday of blasting Gaza with ammunition containing depleted uranium and urged the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate reports that traces of it had been found in victims of the shelling.
In a letter on behalf of Arab ambassadors accredited in Austria, Prince Mansour Al-Saoud, the Saudi Ambassador, expressed "our deep concern regarding the information ... that traces of depleted uranium have been found in Palestinian victims."
A final draft of the letter was made available to The Associated Press on Monday. It urgently requested IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei to "carry out a radiological and physical assessment in order to verify the presence of depleted uranium in the weaponry used by Israel ... in the Gaza Strip."
Officials at the Israeli mission to the IAEA said they were in no position to comment without having seen the letter.
IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming confirmed receipt of the letter and said a response might be issued later in the day.
The letter - which spoke of "medical and media sources" as the origin of its allegations - appeared to be alluding to health concerns related to depleted uranium but the effects of exposure to the substance are unclear.
An IAEA article on the issue says that while the substance "is assumed to be potentially carcinogenic ... the lack of evidence for a definite cancer risk in studies over many decades is significant and should put the results of assessments in perspective."
Still, says the article, "there is a risk of developing cancer from exposure to radiation emitted by ... depleted uranium. This risk is assumed to be proportional to the dose received."
It is not the first time Israel has been accused of using ordnance containing depleted uranium, which makes shells and bombs harder and increases their penetrating power. The Israeli army declined comment. But the U.S. and NATO have used uranium-depleted rounds in Bosnia and Iraq.
According to the World Health Organization, the weapons are lightly radioactive, though "under most circumstances, use of DU will make a negligible contribution to the overall natural background levels of uranium in the environment."
But researchers have suspected depleted uranium may be behind a range of chronic symptoms suffered by veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War. Some of the symptoms include memory and thinking problems, debilitating fatigue, severe muscle and joint pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and rashes.
Syria, which is being investigated by the Vienna-based agency for alleged secret nuclear activities, says traces of uranium found by IAEA experts at a site bombed by Israel jets Sept. 6, 2007 likely came from bombs or missiles used by the Israelis.
The Israelis have denied using such weaponry in that raid, and on Monday two diplomats accredited to the IAEA and familiar with its Syria investigations told the AP that the agency has virtually ruled out Israeli munitions as the source of the uranium. They asked for anonymity for discussing confidential information.
The IAEA investigation is based in part on intelligence from the U.S., Israel and a third, unidentified country, alleging that the bombed site was a nearly completed nuclear reactor built with North Korean help and meant to produce plutonium - which can be used as the payload of nuclear weapons.
The uranium traces were revealed by an analysis of environmental samples collected by IAEA experts during a visit to the site, in a remote part of the Syrian desert. Since that initial trip in June 2008, Syria has refused or deflected requests for follow up inspections both to the site and others allegedly linked to it.
Yahoo, from AP
Outcry over weapons used in Gaza | |||||||||
Dr Jan Brommundt, a German doctor working for Medecins du Monde in the south Gazan city of Khan Younis, described the injuries he had seen as "absolutely gruesome". Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Brommundt said surgeons had reported many cases where casualties had lost both legs rather than one, prompting suspicions that the Israelis were using some form of Dense Inert Metal Explosives (Dime). When detonated, a Dime device expels a blade of charged tungsten dust that burns and destroys everything within a four-metre radius. Brommundt also described widespread but previously unseen abdominal injuries that appear minor at first but degenerate within hours causing multi-organ failure.
"It seems to be some sort of explosive or shell that disperses tiny particles at around 1x1 or 2x1 millimetres that penetrate all organs, these miniature injuries, you are not able to attack them surgically." The doctors said many patients succomb to septicaemia and die within 24 hours. Dr Erik Fosse, a Norwegian surgeon who worked at the Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza during the Israeli offensive in Gaza, also told Al Jazeera there was a significant increase in double amputations. "We suspect they [Israel] used Dime weapons because we saw cases of huge amputations or flesh torn off the lower parts of the body," he said. "The pressure wave [from a Dime device] moves from the ground upwards and that's why the majority of patients have huge injuries to the lower part of the body and abdomen." Cancer fears Fosse described the injuries as "extreme" and "much more dramatic" than those inflicted by landmines as "legs are blown off to the groin, it's like they have been cut to pieces".
Noting that Dime explosives are precision weapons that are supposed to minimise civilian casualties, Fosse said: "The problem is that most of the patients I saw were children. If they [the Israelis] are trying to be accurate, it seems obvious these weapons were aimed at children." Fosse called on the UN to establish a body in Gaza to monitor survivors to see if they developed cancer, following claims Dime devices contain radioactive material. Medics and observers have also accused the Israelis of using white phosphorus - banned from use near civilians under international law - in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) said on Monday that delegates it sent to Gaza had found "indisputable evidence of widespread use of white phosphorus in densely populated residential areas in Gaza City and in the north". "We saw streets and alleyways littered with evidence of the use of white phoshorus, including still burning wedges and the remnants of the shells and canisters fired by the Israeli army," Christopher Cobb-Smith, a weapons expert touring Gaza as part of AI's four-person delegation, said. White phosphorus is a toxic chemical that causes severe burns and sparks fires that are difficult to extinguish. It is dispersed in artillery shells, bombs and rockets and burns on contact with oxygen and is used to create a smokescreen to hide the movement of troops. War crimes? Israel fiercely denies using weapons in such a way as to contravene international law. Major Avital Leibovich, a spokeswoman for the Israeli military, reiterated Israel was using "munitions that other militaries in the world are using" and that weapons were deployed "according to international law" . Pressed on the number of civilian and child casualties in Gaza, she accused Hamas, the Palestinian faction that controls the territory, of hiding fighters within civilian areas and using ordinary Gazans as "human shields".
More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in the 22-day offensive, many of them woman and children, and 5,340 injured. Thirteen Israelis, including 10 soldiers and three civilians, have been killed in the same period. The number of civilian deaths has provoked an international outcry, with senior UN officials demanding an independent investigation into whether Israel has committed war crimes. The likelihood of either side being subject to a war-crimes action seems remote as the International Criminal Court (ICC) has no jurisdiction to investigate because the Gaza Strip is not a state. In addition, Israel has not signed the Rome Statute that enshrined the ICC so any investigation would require a UN Security mandate - likely to be vetoed by Israel's ally, the US. However, Mark Taylor, an international law expert, told Al Jazeera that individual commanders and politicians on both sides could be subject to legal actions lodged abroad. "I think that Israelis in responsible positions, as well as Palestinians in responsible positions, are going to be looking over their shoulders in the days and weeks to come," he said. | |||||||||
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