|
The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
|
January 5th,
2009 - Israel Rains Fire on Gaza with Phosphorus Shells |
|
Israel Rains Fire on Gaza
with Phosphorus Shells By Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem & Michael Evans The Times January 5, 2009 Israel is believed to be
using controversial white phosphorus shells to screen its assault on the
heavily populated Gaza Strip yesterday. The weapon, used by British and US
forces in Iraq, can cause horrific burns but is not illegal if used as a
smokescreen. As the Israeli army stormed
to the edges of Gaza City and the Palestinian death toll topped 500, the
tell-tale shells could be seen spreading tentacles of thick white smoke to
cover the troops’ advance. “These explosions are fantastic looking, and
produce a great deal of smoke that blinds the enemy so that our forces can
move in,” said one Israeli security expert. Burning blobs of phosphorus would
cause severe injuries to anyone caught beneath them and force would-be
snipers or operators of remote-controlled booby traps to take cover. Israel
admitted using white phosphorus during its 2006 war with Lebanon. The use of the weapon in the
Gaza Strip, one of the world’s mostly densely population areas, is likely to
ignite yet more controversy over Israel’s offensive, in which more than 2,300
Palestinians have been wounded. The Geneva Treaty of 1980
stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in
civilian areas, but there is no blanket ban under international law on its
use as a smokescreen or for illumination. However, Charles Heyman, a military
expert and former major in the British Army, said: “If white phosphorus was
deliberately fired at a crowd of people someone would end up in The Hague.
White phosphorus is also a terror weapon. The descending blobs of phosphorus
will burn when in contact with skin.” The Israeli military last
night denied using phosphorus, but refused to say what had been deployed. “Israel
uses munitions that are allowed for under international law,” said Captain
Ishai David, spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces. “We are pressing ahead
with the second stage of operations, entering troops in the Gaza Strip to
seize areas from which rockets are being launched into Israel.” The civilian toll in the
first 24 hours of the ground offensive - launched after a week of bombardment
from air, land and sea - was at least 64 dead. Among those killed were five
members of a family who died when an Israeli tank shell hit their car and a
paramedic who died when a tank blasted his ambulance. Doctors at Gaza City’s
main hospital said many women and children were among the dead and wounded. The Israeli army also
suffered its first fatality of the offensive when one of its soldiers was
killed by mortar fire. More than 30 soldiers were wounded by mortars, mines
and sniper fire. Israel has brushed aside
calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid into the besieged territory,
where medical supplies are running short. With increasingly angry
anti-Israeli protests spreading around the world, Gordon Brown described the
violence in Gaza as “a dangerous moment”. White phosphorus: the smoke-screen chemical that can burn to the bone - White phosphorus bursts
into a deep-yellow flame when it is exposed to oxygen, producing a thick
white smoke - It is used as a
smokescreen or for incendiary devices, but can also be deployed as an
anti-personnel flame compound capable of causing potentially fatal burns - Phosphorus burns are
almost always second or third-degree because the particles do not stop
burning on contact with skin until they have entirely disappeared - it is not
unknown for them to reach the bone - Geneva conventions ban the
use of phosphorus as an offensive weapon against civilians, but its use as a
smokescreen is not prohibited by international law - Israel previously used
white phosphorus during its war with Lebanon in 2006 - It has been used
frequently by British and US forces in recent wars, notably during the
invasion of Iraq in 2003. Its use was criticised widely - White phosphorus has the
slang name “Willy Pete”, which dates from the First World War. It was
commonly used in the Vietnam era Source: Times archives External link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5447590.ece |