[Reader-list] Israelis burn Palestinian Children with White Phosphorus

[M Javed]

Comments by GM: White phosphorous incendiary bombs were used by US and
British Airforce in the fire bombing of German cities. White
phosphrous bomblets backed in canisters are delivered by bombers or
air burst artilery shells. White clusters of white phosphorous pellets
are discharged bvy the canisters over a wide area and ignite fires as
soon as they land. Because white phosphorous ignites spontaneosly when
exposed to oxygen. Even after the flames are doused by water white
phosphorus reignites after the water dries. White phosphorus sticks to
the skin and the intense heat butrns throughright to the bones. German
victims of Allied attacks would jump in the rivwer to put out the
flames but as soon as they come out of the water the phosphorus on
their skins would start to burn. Phosphorus when burnt produces
Phosphorous pentoxide a highly corrosive and substance that damages
the lungs and windpipes of the victims.
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Israelis rain phosphorous bombs over children in Gaza
Mel Frykberg, The Electronic Intifada, 12 January 2009

RAMALLAH (IPS) - "There is no doubt that Israel is using phosphorous
bombs over Gaza. Israel is flagrantly violating the Fourth Geneva
Convention," says Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza.

"This is not the first time we have documented Israel using this kind
of prohibited weapon against Gaza's civilian population," Sourani told
IPS on phone from Gaza.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) confirmed Sourani's assessment in a statement
it released on Friday. Its researchers said they had seen "multiple
air-bursts of artillery-fired white phosphorous over Gaza City."

"I've been on the border for the last few days watching the Israeli
artillery firing white phosphorus shells into refugee camps," Marc
Garlasco, senior military analyst at HRW told France TV channel 24.

Ann Sophie Bonefeld from the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) in Jerusalem was more cautious. "We haven't been able to
confirm if Israel is using phosphorous bombs in Gaza," she told IPS.

Chiara Stefanini, spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) in
Jerusalem told IPS, "We have no evidence of phosphorous being used at
this point in time. It is still too early to comment."

Terrifying pictures released by Israeli military planes of white
clouds blanketing the skies of Gaza have filled the screens of
Al-Jazeera television every night.

Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev was unable to tell Al-Jazeera
whether the Israeli army were using this controversial weapon, and
referred the network to Israeli army spokeswoman Major Avital
Leibovitch during an interview Sunday.

"We don't discuss what weapons we use," Leibovitch told Al-Jazeera.
"But I can assure you we do not use any weapons that are prohibited by
international law. There are other nations that use phosphorous bombs,
and we have the right not to comment on this," she added.

Britain and the United States used phosphorous bombs in Iraq,
particularly during the Fallujah campaign.

The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not
be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas, but there is no blanket
ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for
illumination.

This is not the first time Israel has been accused of using
phosphorous bombs in crowded civilian areas in Gaza. Several years
ago, doctors in Gaza reported seeing strange wounds on those injured
during attacks by Israeli drones, which constantly monitor Gaza from
the air.

The wounds consisted of many small holes, often invisible to X-rays,
and burns caused by heat so intense that many required amputation
because of the extensive burning.

Habas al-Wahid, head of emergency at the Shuhada al-Aqsa Hospital in
Gaza City told journalists then that in several cases the legs of the
injured were sliced from their bodies "as if a saw was used to cut
through the bone." But there was no evidence of ordinary metal
shrapnel in or near the wounds.

At al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, spokesman Juma Saka said that on
examination of the wounds, the doctors had found a powder on the
victims' bodies and in their internal organs. The microscopic
particles turned out to be carbon and tungsten.

"The powder was like microscopic shrapnel, and this is likely what
caused the injuries," Saka said.

Following the claims of the Gaza doctors, an investigating team of
Italian journalists from the television channel Rai News 24 took
samples of the soil back to Italy.

Carmela Vaccaio, a doctor at the University of Parma, examined the
samples and found a high concentration of carbon, as well as copper,
aluminum and tungsten, whose presence she considered unusual.

She said in her report that "these findings could be in line with the
hypothesis that the weapon in question was a dense inert metal
explosive or DIME."

According to military experts, DIME is a carbon-encased missile that
shatters on impact into minuscule splinters. On impact it sets off an
explosive that shoots blades of energy-charged, heavy metal tungsten
alloy (HMTA) powder, such as cobalt and nickel or iron, with a carbon
fiber casing.

This turns to dust on impact, as it loses inertia very quickly due to
air resistance, burning and destroying everything within a four-meter
range, as opposed to shrapnel which results from the fragmentation of
a metal casing.

The metal is designated "inert" because it is not involved in the
blast, and not because it is chemically or biologically inert.

Israel was also accused of using phosphorous against civilian targets
in Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war. It initially denied the
charge, but finally confirmed it following investigation by the same
team of Italian journalists, and in the face of overwhelming evidence.

"While the international community might be horrified by the use of
phosphorous, this is overlooking the issue that hundreds of half-ton
bombs are being dropped on Gaza on civilian targets on a daily basis,"
Sourani told IPS.

Gaza's death toll has risen to over 900, while nearly 4,000
Palestinians have been wounded. The UN reports that half of the deaths
are civilian, and half of the civilian casualties are women and
children.

One million Gazans are currently living without electricity, and some
750,000 without water, according to UN estimates. Gaza has a
population of about 1.5 million.