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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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January 8th,
2009 - Gaza Victims’ Burns Increase Concern Over Phosphorus |
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Gaza Victims’ Burns Increase
Concern Over Phosphorus By Michael Evans & Sheera Frenkel The Times January 8, 2009 Photographic evidence has
emerged that proves that Israel has been using controversial white phosphorus
shells during its offensive in Gaza, despite official denials by the Israel
Defence Forces. There is also evidence that
the rounds have injured Palestinian civilians, causing severe burns. The use
of white phosphorus against civilians is prohibited under international law. The Times has identified
stockpiles of white phosphorus (WP) shells from high-resolution images taken
of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) artillery units on the Israeli-Gaza border
this week. The pale blue 155mm rounds are clearly marked with the designation
M825A1, an American-made WP munition. The shell is an improved version with a
more limited dispersion of the phosphorus, which ignites on contact with
oxygen, and is being used by the Israeli gunners to create a smoke screen on
the ground. The rounds, which explode
into a shower of burning white streaks, were first identified by The Times at
the weekend when they were fired over Gaza at the start of Israel's ground
offensive. Artillery experts said that the Israeli troops would be in trouble
if they were banned from using WP because it is the simplest way of creating
smoke to protect them from enemy fire. There were indications last
night that Palestinian civilians have been injured by the bombs, which burn
intensely. Hassan Khalass, a doctor at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, told
The Times that he had been dealing with patients who he suspected had been
burnt by white phosphorus. Muhammad Azayzeh, 28, an emergency medical
technician in the city, said: “The burns are very unusual. They don't look
like burns we have normally seen. They are third-level burns that we can't
seem to control.” Victims with embedded WP
particles in their flesh have to have the affected areas flushed with water.
Particles that cannot be removed with tweezers are covered with a
saline-soaked dressing. Nafez Abu Shaban, the head
of the burns unit at al-Shifa hospital, said: “I am not familiar with
phosphorus but many of the patients wounded in the past weeks have strange
burns. They are very deep and not like burns we used to see.” When The Times reported on
Monday that the Israeli troops appeared to be firing WP shells to create a
thick smoke camouflage for units advancing into Gaza, an IDF spokesman denied
the use of phosphorus and said that Israel was using only the weapons that
were allowed under international law. Rows of the pale blue M825A1
WP shells were photographed on January 4 on the Israeli side of the
Israel-Gaza border. Another picture showed the same munitions stacked up
behind an Israeli self-propelled howitzer. Confronted with the latest
evidence, an IDF spokeswoman insisted that the M825A1 shell was not a WP
type. “This is what we call a quiet shell - it is empty, it has no explosives
and no white phosphorus. There is nothing inside it,” she said. “We shoot it to mark the
target before we launch a real shell. We launch two or three of the quiet
shells which are empty so that the real shells will be accurate. It's not for
killing people,” she said. Asked what shell was being
used to create the smokescreen effect seen so clearly on television images,
she said: “We're using what other armies use and we're not using any weapons
that are banned under international law.” Neil Gibson, technical
adviser to Jane's Missiles and Rockets, insisted that the M825A1 was a WP
round. “The M825A1 is an improved model. The WP does not fill the shell but
is impregnated into 116 felt wedges which, once dispersed [by a
high-explosive charge], start to burn within four to five seconds. They then
burn for five to ten minutes. The smoke screen produced is extremely
effective,” he said. The shell is not defined as
an incendiary weapon by the Third Protocol to the Convention on Conventional
Weapons because its principal use is to produce smoke to protect troops.
However, Marc Galasco, of Human Rights Watch, said: “Recognising the
significant incidental incendiary effect that white phosphorus creates, there
is great concern that Israel is failing to take all feasible steps to avoid
civilian loss of life and property by using WP in densely populated urban
areas. This concern is amplified given the technique evidenced in media
photographs of air-bursting WP projectiles at relatively low levels,
seemingly to maximise its incendiary effect.” He added, however, that
Human Rights Watch had no evidence that Israel was using incendiaries as
weapons. British and American
artillery units have stocks of white phosphorus munitions but they are banned
as anti-personnel weapons. “These munitions are not unlawful as their purpose
is to provide obscuration and not cause injury by burning,” a Ministry of
Defence source said. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian
war surgery specialist working in Gaza, told The Times that he had seen
injuries believed to have resulted from Israel's use of a new “dense inert
metal explosive” that caused “extreme explosions”. He said: “Those inside the
perimeter of this weapon's power zone will be torn completely apart. We have
seen numerous amputations that we suspect have been caused by this.” External link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5470047.ece |