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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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June 6th,
2009 - Fact Finding Committee Leaves Gaza |
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Fact Finding Committee Leaves
Gaza, Disappointed over Israel’s Lack of Cooperation By Saed Bannoura International Middle East Media Center June 6, 2009 The 17 members of the UN
fact-finding committee, probing the latest war on Gaza, left the coastal
region on Friday after probing the devastating effects of Israel’s war.
Committee head, Richard Goldstone, said that Israel’s lack of cooperation is
disappointing but will not decrease the importance of the UN investigation. Goldstone stated that his
team would also probe Israel’s allegations of “war crimes” carried out by
Palestinian fighters. His team spent one week in
Gaza, collected testimonies, interviewed witnesses and observed the
destruction caused by Israel’s shelling. He refused to reveal
information regarding the investigation, and added that the report would be
made public by the first week of September. Goldstone praised the
Palestinians for their “admirable” cooperation with the investigation, and
that this cooperation would be referred to in the report. Ismail Haniyya, Prime
Minister of the dissolved Hamas government in Gaza, met on Thursday night
with Goldstone, and told him that Israel is not only blocking humanitarian
aid, but is also shelling civilian areas, killing women and children. Haniyya added that this war “humiliated
humanity itself”, and called for “sending Israeli war criminals to
international courts to judge them for their crimes”. Israel refused to cooperate
with the investigation and claimed that its own investigation “proved that
the Israeli army acted in accordance to international principles, and did not
violate the International Law”. Goldstone, a Jewish South
African Judge, was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council to
investigate Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli war on Gaza,
from December 27 to January 18, left more than 1600 Palestinians dead, 40
percent of whom were civilian women and children. The shelling rendered more
than 6000 Palestinians injured and caused the complete and/or partial
destruction of thousands of homes and buildings. The Israeli army used White
phosphorus shells over densely populated areas in direct violation to the
International Law. White Phosphorus (P4) is a
waxy fat soluble colorless or slightly yellow solid with a garlic smell that
is not naturally occurring but is produced in the laboratory. It is highly
reactive with oxygen (ignites spontaneously upon drying and exposure to air)
producing compounds like P4O6 and P4O10 (phosphorus pentoxide) which upon
contact with water becomes oxophosphoric acids (alternatively direct reaction
with water can lead to phosphoric acid H3PO4 through some intermediate
compounds). External link: http://www.imemc.org/article/60704 |