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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
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July 1st,
2009 - Amnesty Accuses Israel of Using Human Shields in Gaza |
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Amnesty Accuses
Israel of Using Human Shields in Gaza By Leigh Baldwin Agence France Presse July 1, 2009 Jerusalem - Amnesty
International on Thursday accused Israeli forces of war crimes, saying they
used children as human shields and conducted wanton attacks on civilians
during their offensive in the Gaza Strip. The London-based human
rights group also accused Hamas of war crimes, but said it found no evidence
that the Islamist rulers of Gaza used civilians as human shields during the
22-day offensive Israel launched on December 28. It also reiterated its call
for an international arms embargo against Israel. "Much of the
destruction was wanton and resulted from direct attacks on civilian
objects," Amnesty said in a study. Israeli troops forced
Palestinians to stay in one room of their home while turning the rest of the
house into a base and sniper position, "effectively using the families,
both adults and children, as human shields and putting them at risk,"
the group said. "Intentionally using
civilians to shield a military objective, often referred to as using 'human
shields' is a war crime," Amnesty said. It could not support Israeli
claims that Hamas used human shields. It said it found no evidence
Palestinian fighters directed civilians to shield military objectives from
attacks, forced them to stay in buildings used by militants, or prevented
them from leaving commandeered buildings. However, the report did
point out that Hamas and other armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into
southern Israel. "Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are
unacceptable," said Donatella Rovera, who led an Amnesty mission to Gaza
and southern Israel. More than 1,400 Palestinians
and 13 Israelis died during the offensive Israel launched in response to
rocket fire from Palestinian militants. Amnesty said 300 children
were among those killed. "Hundreds of civilians
were killed in attacks carried out using high-precision weapons,
air-delivered bombs and missiles, and tank shells. "Others, including
women and children, were shot at short range when posing no threat to the
lives of the Israeli soldiers," it said. "Most of the cases
investigated by Amnesty International of close-range shootings involve
individuals, including children and women, who were shot at as they were
fleeing their homes in search of shelter. "Others were going
about their daily activities. The evidence indicates that none could have
reasonably been perceived as a threat to the soldiers who shot them and that
there was no fighting going on in their vicinity when they were shot,"
the report said, adding that "wilful killings of unarmed civilians are
war crimes." It said Israel's use of
white phosphorus shells was also a clear breach of international law. White phosphorus is not
illegal if used as a smokescreen in open areas "but it should not be
used in a densely populated area as it was used here," Rovera told AFP,
adding that her team saw Palestinians with "hideous burns" from
white phosphorus shells. Amnesty also said Israel's
initial denial it used phosphorus caused further deaths. "People could have been
saved if the army had admitted using white phosphorus, rather than continuing
to deny it," Rovera said. "Then they could have received the care
that was necessary. The rights group was also
critical of Israel's use of flechette rounds - artillery shells which explode
to emit hundreds of steel darts. These are designed for use
in open battle but were employed by Israel in built-up areas, a clear breach
of the international rules of war, said Chris Cobb-Smith, an artillery expert
engaged by Amnesty. With its dazzling array of
high-tech weaponry, Israel was perfectly capable of distinguishing between
civilian and military targets, he told AFP. Asked if Israel had
deliberately targetted unarmed civilians, he said it was "very difficult
to come to any other conclusion". The Israeli military did not
immediately respond to a request for comment on the report. Copyright © 2009 AFP. External link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jc0DHbDsRG83m4stW9JdpHz3hxSw |