A new Amnesty International report reveals that U.S.-made white phosphorus artillery shells among other U.S. weapons were found throughout Gaza. When white phosphorus munitions are used in densely-populated civilian areas as Israel has, it violates international humanitarian law’s prohibition on indiscriminate attacks and amounts to a war crime.
Samia Salman Al-Manay’a, 16 years old, was asleep in her home in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, when a phosphorus shell landed on the first floor of the house on January 10th. Ten days later, from her hospital bed, she spoke to the AI delegation.
“The pain is piercing. It’s as though a fire is burning in my body. It’s too much for me to bear. In spite of all the medicine they are giving me the pain is still so strong.”
Since 2001, the U.S. has been the largest supplier of arms to Israel. The U.S. has also provided considerable funding each year for Israel to buy arms despite U.S. legislation that restricts such aid to consistently gross human rights violators. Since 2002 Israel received over $21 billion in U.S. military and security assistance. Put simply, Israel’s military intervention in the Gaza Strip has been equipped to a large extent by US-supplied weapons, munitions and military equipment paid for with U.S. taxpayers’ money.
Even after the start of the current conflict and reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza, U.S. authorities continued to authorize large shipments of U.S. munitions, including white phosphorus munitions, to Israel.
In January, Amnesty International called for a suspension of all arms transfers to Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until there is no longer a serious risk that such equipment will be used for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights abuses. The Department of State should lead the call for accountability. If we suspect our weapons are being used in attacks that are indiscriminately killing civilians, we must act. Take part in the online action to call for an investigation into Israel’s use of U.S. arms in Gaza and a suspension of military aid.
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There are also reports of other types of illegal munitions by the IDF.
Let us not forget about the character of the the assaults on densly populated, civilian targets. The “human shield” accusation against Hamas is a sly attempt at refraiming the issue away from proportionality and civilian targeting. By the IDF’s definition the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising would have been guilty of using “human shields.”
If you want a good definition of human shiled, look to the 2005 Israeli Supreme Courts condemnation of the practice of marching Palestinians in advance of their patrols- a practice which by some accounts continues.
But these are all just a small chapter in the continuing humans rights crisis of the illegal and immoral occupation of the West Bank of Palestine and the rise of the blatant ethnic cleansers in Israeli politics Netanyahu and Liebermann, as opposed to the cryptic ones Barak and Livini- and arguably every government since Israels inception.
For those of us who carry no brief for Hamas rocket launching criminals and would love to see Israel rejoin the civilized world by finally doing justice by the Palestinians, recent events have been heart breaking.