When a criminal defendant lies in Court and gets caught at it, then the Court is less likely subsequently to believe anything else that might be said by the defendant. Israel initially totally denied using White Phosphorus in Gaza but now has retreated to its second line of lies, saying that it did use White Phosphorus but only to light up the sky! Here is Israel in the beginning with its first lie thrown out to the world public…
On 13 January Brig-Gen Avi Benayahu, chief spokesman for the Israel Defense Force (IDF), said that in its assault on Gaza Israel was using weapons in accordance with international treaties and conventions. He denied Israel was using white phosphorus. ”I repeat Commander in Chief Ashkenazi’s words: The allegations of the IDF using WP [white phosphorus] are false.”
That was taken from ISRAEL-OPT: Israel denies using white phosphorus in Gaza But Israel has moved on to its next line of fortified lies to the world public…
“In response to the claims of NGOs and claims in the foreign press relating to the use of phosphorus weapons, and in order to remove any ambiguity, an investigative team has been established in the Southern Command to look into the issue,” said an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman. “It must be noted that international law does not prohibit the use of weaponry containing phosphorus to create smoke screens and for marking purposes. The IDF only uses weapons permitted by law.”
An Israeli foreign ministry statement pointed to findings by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which said in mid-January that it found no evidence of illegal phosphorus use. “The investigation of this matter,” the spokesman said, was part of “routine IDF checks of its internal operating procedures and in no way indicated any illegal use.”
The ICRC has since clarified its position. “The fact that International Humanitarian Law does not specifically prohibit phosphorous weapons does not imply that any specific use of weapons containing this substance is legal,” said Peter Herby, head of the ICRC’s Arms Unit. “The legality of each incident of use has to be considered in light of all of the fundamental rules I have mentioned. It may be legal or not, depending on a variety of factors.”
That was taken from The Christian Science Monitor’s After the war, Gazans seek answers on white phosphorus
War is not pleasant and both sides should be held accountable for wrongful conduct.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1059475.html
And lost in the arguments over whether or not Israel acted in a legal fashion–as will be revealed only at the end of an examination of the matter that is underway–is Hamas’ continuing theft of humanitarian assistance
UNRWA has now suspended the transfer of humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip after Hamas stole 200 tons of supplies last night. The Jerusalem Post reported:
UNRWA informed the IDF on Friday that it is suspending its humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip after Hamas stole supplies the United Nations organization had transferred to the Palestinian territory.
The seizure of the 200 tons of supplies took place Thursday night and in response, UNRWA officials informed the Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration that it was suspending its deliveries to the Gaza Strip until further notice. The supplies confiscated included flour and other basic commodities.
Hopefully, a mechanism will be found to permit the delivery of humanitarian assistance to resume to Gaza’s residents. Agreement from Hamas to refrain from further confiscation of humanitarian aid would be constructive. But it is not implausible that UNRWA might need to develop a “safe corridor” perhaps with Egyptian or other Arab troops to safeguard the delivery of aid.
What is clear is that Hamas’s theft of badly-needed relief supplies has created a risk of a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip. Whether or not Hamas wants to trigger such a disaster in a cynical bid to try to leverage with respect to the issue of Gaza’s border crossings remains to be seen.
Perhaps such revelations about Hamas’s behavior will result in a public outcry among Gazans and a replacement of the Hamas regime. Seems like Hamas is as corrupt at Fatah, not unlike the situation existing in the US with the Democrat and Republican Parties.
Ron & Don, I just love it that pussies like you who defend torture, police brutality, the use of the IDF as a proxy, hide behind your fellow pussies in Homeland Security and their Torture Freak Bitch-Masters like Bush and Cheney and Netanyahu… think you represent ALL of Americans.
Yep, it sure is Grand that people the world over get to read your snivelling cowardly words and assume that ALL Americans are pussies like you two.
As for the “revelations of the behavior of Hamas” doesn’t it ever occur to you that the SOURCE for those “revelations” are the same Lying Bitches who “Revealed” that Saddam Hussein had a million Tons of WMDs?
But you expect to be taken seriously…
Pussies.
Go run and hide behind the FBI and the other Pigs.
Only problem with that is, They’re Pussies just like you.
Cowards run in Packs.
“pussies like you who defend torture, police brutality”
“Pussies” like us obey the law and, thus, are not directly impacted by torture and police brutality. Better start behaving yourself!
Jonah,
Before you question the validity of news articles that I periodically post, you should be sure that you are certain that the news articles are incorrect. In this case, the article is accurate.
UNRWA disseminated the following press release:
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, has suspended all imports of aid into the Gaza Strip following the confiscation of hundreds of tons of food aid.
During the night of 05 Feb 10 truckloads of flour and rice were taken from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Gaza. They had been imported from Egypt for collection by UNRWA today. The food was taken away by trucks contracted by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Two hundred metric tons of rice and one hundred metric tons of flour were taken.
UNRWA’s suspension of imports will remain in effect until the aid is returned and the Agency is given credible assurances from the Hamas government in Gaza that there will be no repeat of these thefts.
This is the second incident in 3 days. On Tuesday 03 Feb, three thousand five hundred blankets and over four hundred food parcels were taken at gun point from a distribution store in Beach Camp, Gaza. UNRWA has demanded the return of this aid as well.
Notice, also, that that UNRWA refers to the confiscation of the humanitarian supplies as “thefts.”
P.S. As the information I provided is factual, I don’t believe it is unreasonable to expect that the information will be taken seriously by those who come across it.
“Torture Freak Bitch-Masters”
Easy for you to say, kid, however, if there were a ticking time bomb in your neigborhood and the FBI had in custody a terrorist who knew where the impending explosion was about to occur, you would no doubt want the FBI to exert more “influence” on the terrorist than merely depriving him of his milk and cookies and sending him to bed early without TV privileges. Serious times call for serious measures and, anyway, a little water-boarding never hurt anyone 🙂
Jewish Israel destroys then wants to decide who will be allowed to reconstruct what it has destroyed. What chutzpah! …speaking of, which is something that ‘Ron-Don’ is certainly full of!
BTW, Happy Jewish Arbor Day Weekend, ‘Don-Ron’! The flowering of the trees is a glorious thing, is it not? Too bad your Jewish State is tearing down so many of the trees that belong to another people.
Tony Logan,
Israel wants guarantees that reconstruction assistance benefits Gaza’s residents, not Hamas terrorist group. Given that the purpose of reconstruction is to benefit Gaza’s people, it makes sense for Israel and donor nations alike to ensure that there are adequate controls that the assistance benefits its target recipients (Gaza’s residents) and is implemented in an efficient manner so as to provide the largest benefit for every dollar or euro of investment.
Baloney! Israel merely wants to control the people of Gaza and that means trying to eliminate Hamas and controlling the distribution of international relief. Israel has already shown its lack of love for Gazans by forcing them into ghettos there off the land stolen from them by Jewish Israelis.
Tony Logan,
Israel withdrew fully from the Gaza Strip in August 2005. The boundaries of the Gaza Strip remain the same as they were when it was captured from Egypt. There is no “theft” of land underway there.
With respect to its security needs, it is prudent for Israel to assure that the Hamas terrorist group does not exploit the reconstruction process to put itself in a stronger position to attack Israel in the future. Every sovereign state looks after its vital security needs and the lives of its people.
Israel proper is land stolen from the Palestinians as is also the West Bank, territory still occupied by Israel. Gaza is a small encircled prison and is not still independent of Israeli control at all. It is akin to a ghetto prison run by Jewish wardens.
Hamas is seen to be prisoner leadership rebels that must be exterminated by its Jewish guardians, Israel. Reminds us of Attica or Angola, but with Arabs not Blacks trapped inside and on a much larger scale…. PLUS, these Palestinians have committed no crimes beyond having been in the way of building the ‘Jewish State’ with their original ownership of the land and property.
Happy Tu Bishvat, ‘Don’. But I bet you’ll be working overtime still.
Tony Logan,
Israel proper is not “stolen” land. Otherwise, had a single Arab state been created in the Palestine region, that, too, would have been “stolen” land.
Both peoples shared historic legitimacy. Both had an equal right to self-determination. None had a rightful claim to be the sole heir to the Ottoman Empire’s or British Empire’s possession of the territory.
I subscribe to Ayn Rand’s point of view on Israel, which is that, irrespective of whether Palestine was stolen or not, the Jews deserve Palestine because the Jews took the initiative and made something of the land, turned swampland and desert into thriving industries and world-class universities and state-of-the-art scientific research centers. Were it left to the Arabs, Palestine would still be a cesspool and they would still be living in the 7th century. Israel is also a Democracy, which all civilized people should embrace, while the Arab states are comprised, to a great extent, of savages who be-head innocent people and who allow themselves to be ruled by repressive theocracies and dictatorships. Israel is progress. The Arab states are regressive. We really should support Israel and all the good things it represents.