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2nd Anniversary Reflections on the Israeli
Terrorist War on Gaza, So-Called Operation Cast Lead
By Eileen Fleming
Al-Jazeera, CCUN, January 3, 2011
On April 3, 2009 the President of the United Nations Human Rights
Council commissioned a fact-finding mission "to investigate all violations
of international human rights law and international humanitarian law that
might have been committed at any time in the context of the military
operations that were conducted in Gaza during the period from 27 December
2008 and 18 January 2009, whether before, during or after."
The Council appointed the Jewish Justice Richard Goldstone, a South African
Constitutional Court judge and the former chief prosecutor of the United
Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia.
Justice Goldstone issued the 575-page report on
September 29, 2009 and the Goldstone Report accused both Israel and Hamas of
war crimes perpetuated during the 22 days of assault on Gaza which began two
days after Christmas day in 2008, when the Israeli military launched
Operation Cast Lead; a full-scale attack on Gaza that killed 13 Israelis and
1,400 Palestinians.
Over 5,000 Palestinians were injured, 400,000
were left without running water, 4,000 homes were destroyed, rendering tens
of thousands who are still homeless because of Israel's targeted attacks
upon them, their schools, hospitals, streets, water wells, sewage system,
farms, police stations and UN buildings.
The 22 days of Israel's
attack on the people of Gaza was enabled by US-supplied weapons and we the
people of the US who pay taxes provide over $3 billion annually to Israel
although Israel has consistently misused U.S. weapons in violation of
America's Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts.
America is
the worlds largest arms supplier to Israel and under a Bush negotiated deal
with Israel-which Obama signed onto during Christmas time 2009, we the
people who pay taxes in America will also provide another $30 billion in
military aid to Israel over the next decade.
During the 22 days
of Israeli assault on Gaza, "Washington provided F-16 fighter planes, Apache
helicopters, tactical missiles, and a wide array of munitions, including
white phosphorus and DIME. The weapons required for the Israeli assault was
decided upon in June 2008, and the transfer of 1,000 bunker-buster
GPS-guided Small Diameter Guided Bomb Units 39 (GBU-39) were approved by
Congress in September. The GBU 39 bombs were delivered to Israel in November
(prior to any claims of Hamas cease fire violation!) for use in the initial
air raids on Gaza. [1]
In a 71-page report released March 25, 2009,
by Human Rights Watch, Israel’s repeated firing of US-made white phosphorus
shells over densely populated areas of Gaza was indiscriminate and is
evidence of war crimes.
"Rain of Fire: Israel’s Unlawful Use of White
Phosphorus in Gaza," provides eye witness accounts of the devastating
effects that white phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian
property in Gaza.
"Human Rights Watch researchers found spent shells,
canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing white phosphorus
on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards, and at a United
Nations school in Gaza immediately after hostilities ended in January.
"Militaries officially use white phosphorus to obscure their operations
on the ground by creating thick smoke. It has also been used as an
incendiary weapon, though such use constitutes a war crime.
“In Gaza,
the Israeli military didn’t just use white phosphorus in open areas as a
screen for its troops," said Fred Abrahams, senior emergencies researcher at
Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report. "It fired white phosphorus
repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the
area and safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians
needlessly suffered and died." [Ibid]
During the 22 days of attack on
Gaza, the UN Security Council, Amnesty International, International Red
Cross, and global voices of protest rose up and demanded a ceasefire, but
both houses of Congress overwhelmingly endorsed resolutions to support a
continuation of Israel’s so called "self defense."
In November
2006, Father Manuel, the parish priest at the Latin Church and school in
Gaza warned the world:
"Gaza cannot sleep! The people are suffering
unbelievably. They are hungry, thirsty, have no electricity or clean water.
They are suffering constant bombardments and sonic booms from low flying
aircraft. They need food: bread and water. Children and babies are
hungry...people have no money to buy food. The price of food has doubled and
tripled due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground here as
it is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have no
income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no
opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no hope.
"Without electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No oil or
candles...Thirsty children are crying, afraid and desperate...Many children
have been violently thrown from their beds at night from the sonic booms.
Many arms and legs have been broken. These planes fly low over Gaza and then
reach the speed of sound. This shakes the ground and creates shock waves
like an earthquake that causes people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself
weigh 120 kilos and was almost thrown from my bed due to the shock wave
produced by a low flying jet that made a sonic boom.
"Gaza cannot
sleep...the cries of hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and
women who are just sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope,
no love. These actions are War Crimes!"
TJP
Liberty Report Gaza - 2nd Anniversary Cast Lead - Ken O'Keefe Dec. 27, 2010
We
will not go down, Micheal Heart (Ahmed Emara Edition)
1.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/9-us-arms-used-for-war-crimes-in-gaza/
Eileen Fleming,
Founder of WeAreWideAwake.org
Staff Member of Salem-news.com A Feature Correspondent for Arabisto.com
Producer "30 Minutes with Vanunu" and "13 Minutes with Vanunu"
Author of "Keep Hope Alive" and "Memoirs of a Nice Irish American 'Girl's'
Life in Occupied Territory" and
BEYOND NUCLEAR:
Mordechai Vanunu's FREEDOM of SPEECH Trial and My Life as a Muckraker:
2005-2010
http://www.youtube.com/user/eileenfleming
Only in Solidarity
do "we have it in our power to begin the world again."-Tom Paine
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