"US aided Israel in War Crimes" Amnesty International

SOURCE: The Times/Amnesty International. Quoted materials in italics.

Amnesty International: US assisted Gaza war crimes
Rights organization says Israeli army used white phosphorus in densely-populated civilian residential areas, calls for weapons embargo to be imposed on Israel, Hamas


Amnesty International condemned the IDF's conduct during its military operation in Gaza in a report published Monday, and called for an UN Security Council arms embargo on both Israel and the terrorist Hamas group.

"The organization’s delegates found white phosphorus still burning in residential areas throughout Gaza days after the ceasefire came into effect on 18 January - that is, up to three weeks after the white phosphorus artillery shells had been fired by Israeli forces.
Amnesty International considers that the repeated use of white phosphorus in this way in densely-populated civilian areas constitutes a form of indiscriminate attack, and amounts to a war crime," it adds.

The report also criticizes the US' role in the war as Israel's main supplier of weapons, recommending that the Obama administration halt all further military aid to Israel. Donatella Rovera, who headed the Amnesty fact-finding mission, said that the group had systematically collected and catalogued shells across Gaza, and traced serial numbers back to factory production lines in the US.

"All of the evidence points to the failure of America to exercise due oversight of what they sell to Israel, which is in breach of their own laws... which require that weapons will not be sold to a country where they will be misused. And the manner in which these weapons were used in Gaza is a war crime."

The human rights group said that weapons experts in Gaza found white phosphorus artillery shells marked M825 A1 – a US-made munition – throughout the coastal strip. The Times published photographic evidence that Israel was using the M825 A1 shells on January 8.
After the Gaza conflict, Israel acknowledged using white phosphorus in a manner "according to international law". Israeli media reported that the military was investigating the incident on January 15, when several white phosphorus artillery shells hit a UN headquarters in Gaza City, destroying tens of tons of humanitarian aid.


Under an arms deal made by the Bush Administration, the US pledged to supply Israel with $30 billion worth of weapons over the next 10 years, according to an agreement signed in 2007, an increase of 25% from the pre-Bush days. Thus, the organization claims, the US was a contributing factor to Israel's bombing of Gaza.


'Report is not objective'
The Foreign Ministry stated in response to the report that its description of the fighting in Gaza was "tendentious."

One of Israel's arguments was that "Hamas is supported by 'extremists,' there for, they should not be granted such concern (aka "bias") in Amnesty International’s report.” Now, I looked up the definition of “extremist”, and it read “n. One who goes to extremes; a person advocates or resorts to measures beyond the norm, especially in politics.”

Hmmm. Perhaps, as the daughter of a Gazan, I am a biased, blind, prejudiced individual. However, it seems to me that Hamas was not the only one “going to extremes” here, or in the past.

My eternal argument in regards to the never-ending Palestine-Israel conflict is rather simple: They. Are. Both. At. Fault.

It’s funny how hard it is to find people who agree with this. Either the Palestinians are dirty Arab terrorists, or the Israelis are heartless, ruthless killers.

Maybe a little of both and a lot of neither?