7 feb 2012
Is it not time for Israel to seek peace with its neighbors? (Via Press TV)
By William A. Cook
'Men use thought only to justify their injustices, and speech only to conceal their thoughts.' --Voltaire: Dialogue XIV, Le Chapon et la Poularde
Voltaire's wit often illuminates truth. Consider this revealing 'thought' as expressed recently in Alert, the voice of AIPAC to its membership: “Some Americans believe if the Israelis strike Iran, the U.S. will pay the political costs anyway, so it would be better for the Americans to do the job and do it properly. Their clock is a bit different from the one the Israelis hear. Because of their vastly superior firepower, the Americans could strike Iran later, more devastatingly and more sustainably.”
How just is it for AIPAC’s mouthpiece to declare that America should “devastate” Iran because it has “vastly more firepower” than Israel and could “do a better job” and “do it properly,” as though this were a clean-up “job” of a waste dump and not an illegal invasion of a member country of the United Nations that has done nothing under international law to threaten the U.S. much less attack it, while the Israeli government and its IDF look on happily content that it is American boys and girls suffering the consequences of the unwarranted attacks and not Jewish boys and girls?
Has it come to this, that unnamed Israeli spokespeople, voicing AIPAC’s policies, determine what nation the U.S. should invade without consultation with the representatives of the American people?
Not that this sentiment has not been expressed before. Netanyahu told Piers Morgan the same thing in an interview last year, as I have quoted in previous articles, noting Israel’s Zionist government’s desire to use America’s military as their own claiming that what is good for Israel is good for America.
That protestation completes the wit contained in Voltaire’s quote: because Israel is America’s only friend in the mid-east, and the only Democracy, and the only nation in that part of the world aligned with the west, it alone deserves America’s “unquestionable” and “unbreakable” support.
Speech that conceals fails to mention that being Israel’s “only friend” has made the U.S. a pariah among nations in the world and made its touted “Democratic freedoms” a laughing stock as the other nations in the UN watch America “support” the Zionists’ agenda to attack Iraq and Lebanon and Gaza, abort international law as it, like Israel, commits extrajudicial executions in foreign states, equips Israel when it invades its neighbors to the north and attacks peace activists aboard vessels from peaceful nations including Turkey, and, ironically sits silently by as Israel dismantles what little of a democracy existed in that nation by creating new laws that deny full citizenship to anyone not a Jew.
Thus have we become a nation supportive of a militaristic Theocracy while we continue to mouth the principle of separation of church and state, a principle founded on tolerance, concealing the truth that there are more than 20 great religions with well over a billion people who accept no religion (Adherents.com) all of whom deserve recognition and, as necessary, support from America.
Clearly Israel’s needs are not America’s needs if we mean by that more war in the mid-east.
Have we pulled our troops from Iraq just to move them into Iran? Does any sensible person believe that the Iranians have a “need” or desire to attack the people of the United States? Our forces completely surround Iran. We are the nation with atomic weaponry, not Iran. What possible good would Iran achieve by having a nuclear weapon?
Hasn’t Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement while Israel, who damns Iran for its nuclear “ambitions,” has an arsenal of nuclear bombs and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement. Which of these nations is to be feared? Iran has never attacked a neighbor; Israel attacks and occupies its neighbors at will.
Have the Iranians reason to fear control of the U.S. military by Israeli operatives using this nation as its power because Israel wants to devastate Iran the way Iraq has been devastated? Yes. Israel’s ultimate goal is control of the mid-east by surgically cutting it into small indefensible sections that can be dominated by Israeli money and American forces.
It would appear, however, that Israel fears America does not desire to follow Israel’s advice to “take out” Iran the way they convinced the Bush administration to “take out” Saddam Hussein. Hence the constant barrage that characterizes Iran as a warlike state set on wiping Israel off the map and becoming the dominant power in the mid-east.
It’s time, I believe, for the U.S. and the UN to consider how to avoid yet more devastation in the mid-east, not by expanding military operations there but by seeking peace through negotiations and cooperative support for the people of the mid-east. Both Israel and the United States must confront the reality on the ground today that they no longer have control over the people of the mid-east, and recognize the colonial drives that Zionism had designed for Israel are no longer tenable.
While Israeli control of America in the form of Las Vegas billionaires buying the presidency continues in the United States, and Republican candidates crawl to the altar of Mammon to remove Obama, who has already sold his soul to the forces of Evil, the people of the world look on in disbelief, having witnessed for sixty years the dominance of Zionist deceit, treachery, and manipulation of America as it savaged the mid-east in the name of friendship, democracy and shared values. But now, they have moved to take control of their own lives as they watch Israel corrode from within as it metamorphoses into a tribalistic, superstitious people further isolating themselves from the community of nations.
Can they not see that the people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and, arguably, in Yemen and Saudi Arabia have had enough of dictators imposed by the U.S. and Israel to control their governments; can they not see that Turkey broke with the Zionist forces that demanded compliance with their rule regardless of international law and due respect for neighboring nations;
are they blind to the Jordanian efforts to take seriously their role as a Palestinian neighbor; do they not see that the people of Egypt have made possible the opening of Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza, that the people of the world have given notice that they will not cease to break that siege with boats entering Gaza through international waters, that the Iraqi people have made clear that they will not cave in to America’s continued control of their country by proxy power, that the peoples of Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia have openly condemned Israel’s injustices to the Palestinian people regardless of their governments paid presidents and prime ministers that claim otherwise;
have they stood by blind to the French Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee issuing its recent report condemning Israel’s apartheid practices against Palestinians in the West Bank, blind to Secretary Ban’s clear call to Israel that it must withdraw from the occupied territories, blind to the European Union as it issued its recent report critical of the Israeli government’s on-going occupation and settlement of Palestinian land, blind as well as Russia, China, Iran and numerous other mid-east nations put into practice what they have agreed upon by resorting to other currencies than the dollar to be the international means of finance;
unable to see that once the people of the world have had an opportunity to view the critically acclaimed, dramatically powerful, passionately presented film, The Promise, by director Peter Kosminsky of the United Kingdom, where the inhumane policies of the Zionist criminals erupts in all its unguarded ferocity, the veil of respectability will be removed from Israelis’ atrocities for all, and blind, totally blind to the United Nations as it acts upon a resolution to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, must they not see, both Israel and its people, as well as all Americans, that they must accept the reality that no single nation can force its will on all other nations with impunity; that time is over.
Clearly Israel’s militaristic approach to neighborliness does not work. Israel fears “delegitimization,” it fears boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), and it fears total isolation from the world’s communities.
Should the U.S. become financially incapacitated through the devaluing of its currency, should it not be able to create adequate jobs for its citizens, should its investment in Israel estimated at $8.2 million per day for a population that is approximately 7 million impair its stability, should the people of America awaken to the control AIPAC has over their President and representatives and the total disregard of America’s security as a result, then Israel could lose both the American veto that has protected it from world condemnation of its policies and America’s military support for its aggressiveness against its neighbors.
That would leave Israel isolated, wrapped in fear, and psychologically unstable. Israel’s alternative can only be constant instability, never ending terror and war, hatred by their neighbors, innate, simmering self-hate, and mental anguish resulting from exclusionism that leaves open wounds of distrust and self-questioning, a state terribly close to insanity.
Is it not time for Israel to seek peace with its neighbors? Since no sensible person in the mid-east believes that the U.S. can act credibly as a broker for peace, Israel must seek other partners from the UN who can serve that purpose. It must be willing to accept as a premise for peace, justice as defined by the UN’s International Courts and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It must understand that the occupied territories must be returned to their native inhabitants, that the Partition Plan of November 1947 must be a basis for negotiations if only to provide a foundation for equitable land for both peoples. Modification of land distribution could follow as well as a means of providing for the rights of those displaced in the Nakba.
The world peace body could serve to protect both peoples as generations come and go until a free movement of all is possible. Then perhaps we could say, men use thoughts to find justice and speech to communicate it.
-William A. Cook is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne in southern California. His works include Psalms for the 21st Century, Mellon Poetry Press, Tracking Deception: Bush Mid-East Policy, The Rape of Palestine, The Chronicles of Nefaria, and most recently in 2010, The Plight of the Palestinians. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: [email protected] or visit: www.drwilliamacook.com.
By William A. Cook
'Men use thought only to justify their injustices, and speech only to conceal their thoughts.' --Voltaire: Dialogue XIV, Le Chapon et la Poularde
Voltaire's wit often illuminates truth. Consider this revealing 'thought' as expressed recently in Alert, the voice of AIPAC to its membership: “Some Americans believe if the Israelis strike Iran, the U.S. will pay the political costs anyway, so it would be better for the Americans to do the job and do it properly. Their clock is a bit different from the one the Israelis hear. Because of their vastly superior firepower, the Americans could strike Iran later, more devastatingly and more sustainably.”
How just is it for AIPAC’s mouthpiece to declare that America should “devastate” Iran because it has “vastly more firepower” than Israel and could “do a better job” and “do it properly,” as though this were a clean-up “job” of a waste dump and not an illegal invasion of a member country of the United Nations that has done nothing under international law to threaten the U.S. much less attack it, while the Israeli government and its IDF look on happily content that it is American boys and girls suffering the consequences of the unwarranted attacks and not Jewish boys and girls?
Has it come to this, that unnamed Israeli spokespeople, voicing AIPAC’s policies, determine what nation the U.S. should invade without consultation with the representatives of the American people?
Not that this sentiment has not been expressed before. Netanyahu told Piers Morgan the same thing in an interview last year, as I have quoted in previous articles, noting Israel’s Zionist government’s desire to use America’s military as their own claiming that what is good for Israel is good for America.
That protestation completes the wit contained in Voltaire’s quote: because Israel is America’s only friend in the mid-east, and the only Democracy, and the only nation in that part of the world aligned with the west, it alone deserves America’s “unquestionable” and “unbreakable” support.
Speech that conceals fails to mention that being Israel’s “only friend” has made the U.S. a pariah among nations in the world and made its touted “Democratic freedoms” a laughing stock as the other nations in the UN watch America “support” the Zionists’ agenda to attack Iraq and Lebanon and Gaza, abort international law as it, like Israel, commits extrajudicial executions in foreign states, equips Israel when it invades its neighbors to the north and attacks peace activists aboard vessels from peaceful nations including Turkey, and, ironically sits silently by as Israel dismantles what little of a democracy existed in that nation by creating new laws that deny full citizenship to anyone not a Jew.
Thus have we become a nation supportive of a militaristic Theocracy while we continue to mouth the principle of separation of church and state, a principle founded on tolerance, concealing the truth that there are more than 20 great religions with well over a billion people who accept no religion (Adherents.com) all of whom deserve recognition and, as necessary, support from America.
Clearly Israel’s needs are not America’s needs if we mean by that more war in the mid-east.
Have we pulled our troops from Iraq just to move them into Iran? Does any sensible person believe that the Iranians have a “need” or desire to attack the people of the United States? Our forces completely surround Iran. We are the nation with atomic weaponry, not Iran. What possible good would Iran achieve by having a nuclear weapon?
Hasn’t Iran signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement while Israel, who damns Iran for its nuclear “ambitions,” has an arsenal of nuclear bombs and has refused to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement. Which of these nations is to be feared? Iran has never attacked a neighbor; Israel attacks and occupies its neighbors at will.
Have the Iranians reason to fear control of the U.S. military by Israeli operatives using this nation as its power because Israel wants to devastate Iran the way Iraq has been devastated? Yes. Israel’s ultimate goal is control of the mid-east by surgically cutting it into small indefensible sections that can be dominated by Israeli money and American forces.
It would appear, however, that Israel fears America does not desire to follow Israel’s advice to “take out” Iran the way they convinced the Bush administration to “take out” Saddam Hussein. Hence the constant barrage that characterizes Iran as a warlike state set on wiping Israel off the map and becoming the dominant power in the mid-east.
It’s time, I believe, for the U.S. and the UN to consider how to avoid yet more devastation in the mid-east, not by expanding military operations there but by seeking peace through negotiations and cooperative support for the people of the mid-east. Both Israel and the United States must confront the reality on the ground today that they no longer have control over the people of the mid-east, and recognize the colonial drives that Zionism had designed for Israel are no longer tenable.
While Israeli control of America in the form of Las Vegas billionaires buying the presidency continues in the United States, and Republican candidates crawl to the altar of Mammon to remove Obama, who has already sold his soul to the forces of Evil, the people of the world look on in disbelief, having witnessed for sixty years the dominance of Zionist deceit, treachery, and manipulation of America as it savaged the mid-east in the name of friendship, democracy and shared values. But now, they have moved to take control of their own lives as they watch Israel corrode from within as it metamorphoses into a tribalistic, superstitious people further isolating themselves from the community of nations.
Can they not see that the people in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and, arguably, in Yemen and Saudi Arabia have had enough of dictators imposed by the U.S. and Israel to control their governments; can they not see that Turkey broke with the Zionist forces that demanded compliance with their rule regardless of international law and due respect for neighboring nations;
are they blind to the Jordanian efforts to take seriously their role as a Palestinian neighbor; do they not see that the people of Egypt have made possible the opening of Israel’s illegal siege of Gaza, that the people of the world have given notice that they will not cease to break that siege with boats entering Gaza through international waters, that the Iraqi people have made clear that they will not cave in to America’s continued control of their country by proxy power, that the peoples of Britain, the United States, Canada, and Australia have openly condemned Israel’s injustices to the Palestinian people regardless of their governments paid presidents and prime ministers that claim otherwise;
have they stood by blind to the French Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee issuing its recent report condemning Israel’s apartheid practices against Palestinians in the West Bank, blind to Secretary Ban’s clear call to Israel that it must withdraw from the occupied territories, blind to the European Union as it issued its recent report critical of the Israeli government’s on-going occupation and settlement of Palestinian land, blind as well as Russia, China, Iran and numerous other mid-east nations put into practice what they have agreed upon by resorting to other currencies than the dollar to be the international means of finance;
unable to see that once the people of the world have had an opportunity to view the critically acclaimed, dramatically powerful, passionately presented film, The Promise, by director Peter Kosminsky of the United Kingdom, where the inhumane policies of the Zionist criminals erupts in all its unguarded ferocity, the veil of respectability will be removed from Israelis’ atrocities for all, and blind, totally blind to the United Nations as it acts upon a resolution to recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to a state of their own, must they not see, both Israel and its people, as well as all Americans, that they must accept the reality that no single nation can force its will on all other nations with impunity; that time is over.
Clearly Israel’s militaristic approach to neighborliness does not work. Israel fears “delegitimization,” it fears boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), and it fears total isolation from the world’s communities.
Should the U.S. become financially incapacitated through the devaluing of its currency, should it not be able to create adequate jobs for its citizens, should its investment in Israel estimated at $8.2 million per day for a population that is approximately 7 million impair its stability, should the people of America awaken to the control AIPAC has over their President and representatives and the total disregard of America’s security as a result, then Israel could lose both the American veto that has protected it from world condemnation of its policies and America’s military support for its aggressiveness against its neighbors.
That would leave Israel isolated, wrapped in fear, and psychologically unstable. Israel’s alternative can only be constant instability, never ending terror and war, hatred by their neighbors, innate, simmering self-hate, and mental anguish resulting from exclusionism that leaves open wounds of distrust and self-questioning, a state terribly close to insanity.
Is it not time for Israel to seek peace with its neighbors? Since no sensible person in the mid-east believes that the U.S. can act credibly as a broker for peace, Israel must seek other partners from the UN who can serve that purpose. It must be willing to accept as a premise for peace, justice as defined by the UN’s International Courts and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It must understand that the occupied territories must be returned to their native inhabitants, that the Partition Plan of November 1947 must be a basis for negotiations if only to provide a foundation for equitable land for both peoples. Modification of land distribution could follow as well as a means of providing for the rights of those displaced in the Nakba.
The world peace body could serve to protect both peoples as generations come and go until a free movement of all is possible. Then perhaps we could say, men use thoughts to find justice and speech to communicate it.
-William A. Cook is a Professor of English at the University of La Verne in southern California. His works include Psalms for the 21st Century, Mellon Poetry Press, Tracking Deception: Bush Mid-East Policy, The Rape of Palestine, The Chronicles of Nefaria, and most recently in 2010, The Plight of the Palestinians. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: [email protected] or visit: www.drwilliamacook.com.
5 feb 2012
A Palestinian construction worker was injured by Israeli forces on Thursday while working near Israel's separation wall in Jerusalem, relatives told Ma'an on Sunday.
Najeeb Mahmoud al-Zeer, from al-Fureidis village near Bethlehem, said that his brother was attacked by soldiers while working inside Israel.
He suffered two broken legs and was taken to Beit Jala hospital for treatment.
Najeeb Mahmoud al-Zeer, from al-Fureidis village near Bethlehem, said that his brother was attacked by soldiers while working inside Israel.
He suffered two broken legs and was taken to Beit Jala hospital for treatment.
3 feb 2012
A boy collects materials salvaged from the debris of a damaged smuggling tunnel after it was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip February 3, 2012
Israeli warplanes fired on sites across the Gaza Strip early Friday, injuring a young man and a child in northern city Beit Lahiya, a Ma'an correspondent and medical officials said.
Medical officials said the child suffered serious injuries to the head and hands. A young man was also hurt, and he was taken to hospital, said Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmiya.
In southern Gaza, Israeli forces fired on a house east of Rafah and open lands near Bani Suheila east of Khan Younis, Salmiya added.
At least one of the airstrikes targeted a tunnel in Rafah, onlookers said.
An Israeli army statement said the strikes "targeted two weapon storing facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, three terror tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip and a weapon manufacturing facility in the central Gaza Strip."
"Direct hits were confirmed as well as secondary explosions at several targets," the statement said, adding that the strike was in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
Seven projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Later, Israeli tanks opened fired on a crowd of people in northern city Beit Hanoun, medics told Ma'an.
Israeli warplanes fired on sites across the Gaza Strip early Friday, injuring a young man and a child in northern city Beit Lahiya, a Ma'an correspondent and medical officials said.
Medical officials said the child suffered serious injuries to the head and hands. A young man was also hurt, and he was taken to hospital, said Gaza health official Adham Abu Salmiya.
In southern Gaza, Israeli forces fired on a house east of Rafah and open lands near Bani Suheila east of Khan Younis, Salmiya added.
At least one of the airstrikes targeted a tunnel in Rafah, onlookers said.
An Israeli army statement said the strikes "targeted two weapon storing facilities in the northern Gaza Strip, three terror tunnels in the southern Gaza Strip and a weapon manufacturing facility in the central Gaza Strip."
"Direct hits were confirmed as well as secondary explosions at several targets," the statement said, adding that the strike was in response to rocket fire from Gaza.
Seven projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries, Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Later, Israeli tanks opened fired on a crowd of people in northern city Beit Hanoun, medics told Ma'an.
Leon Panetta (L) and Barak
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, US media reported on Thursday.
The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next few months. CNN said it confirmed the report, citing a senior Obama administration official, who declined to be identified.
"Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June -- before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote.
"Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon -- and only the United States could then stop them militarily," Ignatius wrote.
Ignatius did not cite a source. He was writing from Brussels where Panetta was attending a NATO defense ministers' meeting.
Panetta and the Pentagon both declined comment on the Post report.
Israel, widely believed to possess the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, views Iran's uranium enrichment projects as a major threat and has not ruled out the use of military force to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The Post article said the postponement of a joint US-Israeli military exercise that had been scheduled for this spring may have signaled the prospect of an Israeli attack soon.
Washington and the European Union imposed tighter sanctions on Iran in recent weeks in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program.
Iran has said repeatedly it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.
Israel's military intelligence chief said on Thursday he estimated that Iran could make four atomic bombs by further enriching uranium it had already stockpiled, and could produce its first bomb within a year of deciding to build one.
But in his rare public remarks, Major-General Aviv Kochavi held out the possibility that stronger international sanctions might dissuade Tehran from pursuing a policy he had no doubt was aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said separately that "if sanctions don't achieve the desired goal of stopping (Iran's) military nuclear program, there will be a need to consider taking action.
US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes there is a growing possibility Israel will attack Iran as early as April to stop Tehran from building a nuclear bomb, US media reported on Thursday.
The Washington Post first reported that Panetta was concerned about the increased likelihood Israel would launch an attack over the next few months. CNN said it confirmed the report, citing a senior Obama administration official, who declined to be identified.
"Panetta believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June -- before Iran enters what Israelis described as a 'zone of immunity' to commence building a nuclear bomb," Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote.
"Very soon, the Israelis fear, the Iranians will have stored enough enriched uranium in deep underground facilities to make a weapon -- and only the United States could then stop them militarily," Ignatius wrote.
Ignatius did not cite a source. He was writing from Brussels where Panetta was attending a NATO defense ministers' meeting.
Panetta and the Pentagon both declined comment on the Post report.
Israel, widely believed to possess the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, views Iran's uranium enrichment projects as a major threat and has not ruled out the use of military force to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The Post article said the postponement of a joint US-Israeli military exercise that had been scheduled for this spring may have signaled the prospect of an Israeli attack soon.
Washington and the European Union imposed tighter sanctions on Iran in recent weeks in a drive to force Tehran to provide more information on its nuclear program.
Iran has said repeatedly it could close the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane if sanctions succeed in preventing it from exporting crude, a move Washington said it would not tolerate.
Israel's military intelligence chief said on Thursday he estimated that Iran could make four atomic bombs by further enriching uranium it had already stockpiled, and could produce its first bomb within a year of deciding to build one.
But in his rare public remarks, Major-General Aviv Kochavi held out the possibility that stronger international sanctions might dissuade Tehran from pursuing a policy he had no doubt was aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said separately that "if sanctions don't achieve the desired goal of stopping (Iran's) military nuclear program, there will be a need to consider taking action.
2 feb 2012
A Palestinian man was injured on Thursday night after being shot by a policeman in the central Israeli city of Rehovot.
Police said they noticed a man acting suspiciously in the streets and opened fire on the suspect when he tried to run away from them, Haaretz's Hebrew language site reported.
The man sustained injuries to his foot and was taken to hospital.
Israeli police claim the man entered the country illegally.
Police said they noticed a man acting suspiciously in the streets and opened fire on the suspect when he tried to run away from them, Haaretz's Hebrew language site reported.
The man sustained injuries to his foot and was taken to hospital.
Israeli police claim the man entered the country illegally.
Israeli tanks opened fired on the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, medics said.
No injuries were reported as tanks opened fire at a crowd of people in Beit Hanoun, medical sources told Ma'an.
Six projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries.
The projectiles landed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council at around 9 p.m., Israeli news site Ynet reported.
No injuries were reported as tanks opened fire at a crowd of people in Beit Hanoun, medical sources told Ma'an.
Six projectiles were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on Wednesday with no reported injuries.
The projectiles landed in the Shaar Hanegev regional council at around 9 p.m., Israeli news site Ynet reported.
Israeli occupation forces (IOF) blasted part of the home of a Palestinian citizen in Yatta town, south of Al-Khalil, and broke many of its furniture at dawn Thursday.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the soldiers stormed the town in nine armored vehicles and a jeep, carrying senior army officers, and served a summons to Ratib Mughanam after blasting their way into his home.
IOF units stormed other villages in the province and checked IDs at roadblocks causing long queues in the rainy weather.
IOF soldiers, meanwhile, threatened inhabitants in Mafqara, to the south east of Yatta, against repairing their only mosque at the pretext that it was located in a military zone.
Locals told the PIC that the IOF soldiers had repeatedly warned against maintaining that mosque, adding that employees of the civil administration threatened to evict all inhabitants and raze their homes if the mosque was repaired.
Eyewitnesses told the PIC that the soldiers stormed the town in nine armored vehicles and a jeep, carrying senior army officers, and served a summons to Ratib Mughanam after blasting their way into his home.
IOF units stormed other villages in the province and checked IDs at roadblocks causing long queues in the rainy weather.
IOF soldiers, meanwhile, threatened inhabitants in Mafqara, to the south east of Yatta, against repairing their only mosque at the pretext that it was located in a military zone.
Locals told the PIC that the IOF soldiers had repeatedly warned against maintaining that mosque, adding that employees of the civil administration threatened to evict all inhabitants and raze their homes if the mosque was repaired.
Israeli warplanes blasted targets in Beit Hanun, north of the Gaza Strip, at dawn Thursday with no casualties reported, local sources said.
Palestinian sources said that an Israeli Apache gunship fired at least one missile at a group of Palestinians in Beit Hanun but missed them.
They added that the Israeli artillery also fired a number of shells at the same area but with no casualties suffered.
The Hebrew radio said that the raid was in retaliation to the firing of eight locally made rockets at the western Negev on Wednesday that exploded in an open area without harming anyone.
It said that inhabitants of localities near to the Strip were ordered to remain near shelters in anticipation of any possible development.
Palestinian sources said that an Israeli Apache gunship fired at least one missile at a group of Palestinians in Beit Hanun but missed them.
They added that the Israeli artillery also fired a number of shells at the same area but with no casualties suffered.
The Hebrew radio said that the raid was in retaliation to the firing of eight locally made rockets at the western Negev on Wednesday that exploded in an open area without harming anyone.
It said that inhabitants of localities near to the Strip were ordered to remain near shelters in anticipation of any possible development.
1 feb 2012
Yousef Ikhlayl 17 Killed by Settlers 29 jan 2011
Israeli forces on Tuesday fired tear gas and sound grenades at a memorial march in Beit Ummar near Hebron.
Residents of Beit Ummar held the march to mark the first anniversary of the death of local teenager Yousef Ikhleil, who was shot dead by Jewish settlers.
The march was organized by the local popular committee, which demanded Ikheil's killer be brought to justice.
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs and attacked marchers with rifle butts, witnesses said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said around 40 people "rioted" in Beit Ummar and threw stones at soldiers. Forces responded with tear gas and a stun grenade, she said.
Israeli forces on Tuesday fired tear gas and sound grenades at a memorial march in Beit Ummar near Hebron.
Residents of Beit Ummar held the march to mark the first anniversary of the death of local teenager Yousef Ikhleil, who was shot dead by Jewish settlers.
The march was organized by the local popular committee, which demanded Ikheil's killer be brought to justice.
Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and sound bombs and attacked marchers with rifle butts, witnesses said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said around 40 people "rioted" in Beit Ummar and threw stones at soldiers. Forces responded with tear gas and a stun grenade, she said.
Palestinian youths sustained injuries overnight in a confrontation with Israeli soldiers and police officers in al-Isawiya in occupied East Jerusalem, a Ma'an reporter said.
One young man sustained serious injuries, witnesses said.
Confrontations began Tuesday afternoon in the center of al-Isawiya after Israeli forces broke into the home of Ayyoub Ubeid and detained him under the pretext that he hurled stones at Israeli soldiers in the town.
Witnesses told Ma’an that two Israeli officers sustained injuries along with dozens of Palestinians. A young man was shot by a rubber-coated bullet in the head, and medics said he was seriously hurt.
One young man sustained serious injuries, witnesses said.
Confrontations began Tuesday afternoon in the center of al-Isawiya after Israeli forces broke into the home of Ayyoub Ubeid and detained him under the pretext that he hurled stones at Israeli soldiers in the town.
Witnesses told Ma’an that two Israeli officers sustained injuries along with dozens of Palestinians. A young man was shot by a rubber-coated bullet in the head, and medics said he was seriously hurt.
31 jan 2012
Israeli forces shot and injured a Palestinian farmer on Tuesday east of Gaza City, medical officials and an Israeli military official said.
Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the farmer, who was not identified, suffered a gunshot wound while tending his land east of Gaza City.
He was taken from the Shajaiyeh area to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where he was determined to be moderately injured, Abu Salmiya said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces stationed near the border fence shot a Palestinian man who approached the area in the northern Gaza Strip.
The official said forces first fired warning shots and then at the man's lower body when he failed to respond. A direct hit was identified, but she said he left on his own.
She said the border area had been used in the past for planting explosives, "thereby endangering the citizens of Israel and the security forces operating in the area."
Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF shooting
A 44-year-old citizen was wounded east of Gaza city at noon Tuesday in Israeli occupation forces’ shooting, medical sources said.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the emergency and ambulance department in Gaza, said that the citizen was hit with a bullet in his left leg and carried to Shifa hospital.
He said that the citizen’s condition was moderate, adding that IOF troops stationed to the east of Gaza fired at him.
Hundreds of citizens have been injured in similar incidents.
Emergency services spokesman Adham Abu Salmiya said the farmer, who was not identified, suffered a gunshot wound while tending his land east of Gaza City.
He was taken from the Shajaiyeh area to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City where he was determined to be moderately injured, Abu Salmiya said.
An Israeli military spokeswoman confirmed that forces stationed near the border fence shot a Palestinian man who approached the area in the northern Gaza Strip.
The official said forces first fired warning shots and then at the man's lower body when he failed to respond. A direct hit was identified, but she said he left on his own.
She said the border area had been used in the past for planting explosives, "thereby endangering the citizens of Israel and the security forces operating in the area."
Palestinian citizen wounded in IOF shooting
A 44-year-old citizen was wounded east of Gaza city at noon Tuesday in Israeli occupation forces’ shooting, medical sources said.
Adham Abu Salmiya, the spokesman for the emergency and ambulance department in Gaza, said that the citizen was hit with a bullet in his left leg and carried to Shifa hospital.
He said that the citizen’s condition was moderate, adding that IOF troops stationed to the east of Gaza fired at him.
Hundreds of citizens have been injured in similar incidents.
Israeli military incursion east of Maghazi refugee camp
Israeli tanks on Monday evening carried out a limited incursion into the eastern area of Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza Strip and infiltrating troops on the same day kidnapped citizens east of Rafah area.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that a number of tanks and two bulldozers advanced 400 into the east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp amid intensive gunfire and bulldozed the area.
The Israeli occupation forces also infiltrated yesterday into the eastern outskirts of Rafah border area in the vicinity of Karam Abu Salem crossing and kidnapped two citizens during their presence in an agricultural land.
Local sources told the PIC reporter that a number of tanks and two bulldozers advanced 400 into the east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp amid intensive gunfire and bulldozed the area.
The Israeli occupation forces also infiltrated yesterday into the eastern outskirts of Rafah border area in the vicinity of Karam Abu Salem crossing and kidnapped two citizens during their presence in an agricultural land.
Israel: Attacking Nuclear Facilities in Iran should be Done by Middle of 2012
Official sources in security agencies confirmed that if decided on attacking the nuclear facilities in Iran, then it should be done before the middle of 2012, because of the Iranian attempts to move the Uranium enrichment process underground.
Associated Press said that these sources think that the best opportunity to successfully attack Iran would be before next summer.
These sources also said that Israel cannot carry out this attack at this stage because the new sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union should be given a chance first.
The AP report also said that according to Israeli experts, to strike Iran would not stop the Iranian Nuclear project, but would only delay it a couple of years, because it is already advanced, and because the facilities are scattered over the country; immune or buried underground.
Israel ups covert ops overseas: Report
A recent report has revealed that the Israeli regime has increased the number of its overseas covert operations in countries such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran over the past year.
"Most of the details about the operations are classified, including the exact number, but according to foreign reports, the IDF has operated in places such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
The daily said that the Israeli military has “a number of units that specialize in covert operations.”
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz “decided in December to establish the 'Depth Corps' -- a new unit that will oversee operations deep in enemy territory,” the report added.
The report comes as Iranian officials have many times pointed to the fact that Israel is behind terrorist attacks against Iranian scientists.
On January 11, an Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, was killed in a terrorist attack. In the incident, a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to his car near a college building of Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran. Ahmadi Roshan was the deputy director of marketing at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.
Several other Iranian scientists including Professor Majid Shahriari and Professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi have also been assassinated over the past few years.
On November 29, 2010, Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi were targeted in terrorist attacks. Shahriari was killed immediately, but Abbasi, the current director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, sustained injuries but survived.
The US, Israel, and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the United Nations Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran. Tehran rejects the claims, saying its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
Associated Press said that these sources think that the best opportunity to successfully attack Iran would be before next summer.
These sources also said that Israel cannot carry out this attack at this stage because the new sanctions imposed on Iran by the European Union should be given a chance first.
The AP report also said that according to Israeli experts, to strike Iran would not stop the Iranian Nuclear project, but would only delay it a couple of years, because it is already advanced, and because the facilities are scattered over the country; immune or buried underground.
Israel ups covert ops overseas: Report
A recent report has revealed that the Israeli regime has increased the number of its overseas covert operations in countries such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran over the past year.
"Most of the details about the operations are classified, including the exact number, but according to foreign reports, the IDF has operated in places such as Sudan, Lebanon and Iran," the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
The daily said that the Israeli military has “a number of units that specialize in covert operations.”
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz “decided in December to establish the 'Depth Corps' -- a new unit that will oversee operations deep in enemy territory,” the report added.
The report comes as Iranian officials have many times pointed to the fact that Israel is behind terrorist attacks against Iranian scientists.
On January 11, an Iranian scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, was killed in a terrorist attack. In the incident, a motorcyclist attached a magnetic bomb to his car near a college building of Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran. Ahmadi Roshan was the deputy director of marketing at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility.
Several other Iranian scientists including Professor Majid Shahriari and Professor Masoud Ali-Mohammadi have also been assassinated over the past few years.
On November 29, 2010, Shahriari and Fereydoun Abbasi were targeted in terrorist attacks. Shahriari was killed immediately, but Abbasi, the current director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, sustained injuries but survived.
The US, Israel, and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the United Nations Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on Iran. Tehran rejects the claims, saying its nuclear program is for civilian purposes.
30 jan 2012
Israeli tanks Monday fired several shells targeting Palestinian agricultural land in al-Zaytoun, a neighborhood in eastern Gaza, according to witnesses.
No injuries were reported.
No injuries were reported.
28 jan 2012
Israeli forces clashed with local youth in Yatta on Friday night, after conducting searches of homes in the southern West Bank town, locals told Ma'an.
Young men pelted soldiers with stones, and forces responded by firing in the air, as well as shooting rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, eyewitnesses said. No injuries were reported.
Soldiers had raided the homes of Burhan Ishaq Shreitih and Ratib Salim Mughnim in the Hebron-district town, locals said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers "carried out routine activity in Yatta, with no irregular incidents."
Young men pelted soldiers with stones, and forces responded by firing in the air, as well as shooting rubber-coated bullets and stun grenades, eyewitnesses said. No injuries were reported.
Soldiers had raided the homes of Burhan Ishaq Shreitih and Ratib Salim Mughnim in the Hebron-district town, locals said.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said the soldiers "carried out routine activity in Yatta, with no irregular incidents."
Israeli soldiers attack peaceful marches in W. Bank villages
Dozens of Palestinians were reportedly wounded on Friday afternoon during Israeli military attacks on peaceful marches organized weekly in different West Bank villages to protest the expansion of settlements and the segregation wall at the expense of Palestinian lands.
In Masarah village near Bethlehem city, Israeli soldiers attacked foreign activists and Palestinians after they marched towards the Palestinian lands behind the segregation wall. Two of the peaceful protestors sustained injuries after they were severely beaten by soldiers, a spokesman for Masarah popular committee reported.
In addition to the slogans chanted and banners carried against settlement activities, the protestors in Masarah dedicated their weekly march to condemn Israel's detention of Palestinian lawmakers.
Al-Khalil city also saw a massive rally organized after the Friday prayers to peacefully protest Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands in Tel Rumeida village.
The Israeli occupation forces also suppressed the weekly march that took place in Kafr Qaddum village.
Despite the soldiers' attacks, and the rainy and cold weather conditions, the Kafr Qaddum villagers along with foreign activists kept marching and chanting slogans calling for escalating the popular resistance until the liberation of all Palestine.
In another march organized in Bil'in village near Ramallah city, the occupation forces also used tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, and waste water against the protestors causing many injuries among them.
One Palestinian photographer was deliberately shot in his two legs with rubber bullets and many Palestinian and foreign protestors suffocated and puked as a result of the large amount of tear gas and waster water used against Bil'in march.
In Masarah village near Bethlehem city, Israeli soldiers attacked foreign activists and Palestinians after they marched towards the Palestinian lands behind the segregation wall. Two of the peaceful protestors sustained injuries after they were severely beaten by soldiers, a spokesman for Masarah popular committee reported.
In addition to the slogans chanted and banners carried against settlement activities, the protestors in Masarah dedicated their weekly march to condemn Israel's detention of Palestinian lawmakers.
Al-Khalil city also saw a massive rally organized after the Friday prayers to peacefully protest Israel's annexation of Palestinian lands in Tel Rumeida village.
The Israeli occupation forces also suppressed the weekly march that took place in Kafr Qaddum village.
Despite the soldiers' attacks, and the rainy and cold weather conditions, the Kafr Qaddum villagers along with foreign activists kept marching and chanting slogans calling for escalating the popular resistance until the liberation of all Palestine.
In another march organized in Bil'in village near Ramallah city, the occupation forces also used tear gas grenades, rubber bullets, and waste water against the protestors causing many injuries among them.
One Palestinian photographer was deliberately shot in his two legs with rubber bullets and many Palestinian and foreign protestors suffocated and puked as a result of the large amount of tear gas and waster water used against Bil'in march.
An Israeli army tank fired an artillery shell at a Palestinian home east of Gaza City on Saturday morning, causing damage but no injuries, locals said.
The shell caused severe damage to the kitchen of Abu Hajjaj home in Shujaiyya neighborhood, according to eyewitnesses. The family members were all at home, but no injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it had fired four mortar shells towards the Nahal Oz military crossing east of Gaza city late Friday.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said it was responding to Israeli military forces who crossed into the area.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said a projectile landed in the Negev on Friday, without causing injuries or damage. She was not familiar with the Israeli tank fire on Shujaiyya.
Survival of Palestinian family from Israeli shelling east of Gaza
A Palestinian family survived on Saturday morning (28 / 1) from an Israeli artillery shelling targeted their home near the border line eastern Gaza City.
According to media sources, the Zionist shell landed in the house of the citizen Haitham Hajjaj and destroyed the kitchen fully.
The citizen Hajjaj said that Providence had prevented the commission of a massacre of his family, where the shell landed on his home on Friday evening after the family had left the kitchen, noting that the random shell landed on the roof of the kitchen and then exploded inside.
It is worth mentioning that Hajjaj’s house is located east of Shijaia neighborhood near the border line, which is exposed on an almost daily bombing by the Israeli artillery stationed there.
The shell caused severe damage to the kitchen of Abu Hajjaj home in Shujaiyya neighborhood, according to eyewitnesses. The family members were all at home, but no injuries have been reported.
Meanwhile, the armed wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine said it had fired four mortar shells towards the Nahal Oz military crossing east of Gaza city late Friday.
The Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades said it was responding to Israeli military forces who crossed into the area.
An Israeli army spokeswoman said a projectile landed in the Negev on Friday, without causing injuries or damage. She was not familiar with the Israeli tank fire on Shujaiyya.
Survival of Palestinian family from Israeli shelling east of Gaza
A Palestinian family survived on Saturday morning (28 / 1) from an Israeli artillery shelling targeted their home near the border line eastern Gaza City.
According to media sources, the Zionist shell landed in the house of the citizen Haitham Hajjaj and destroyed the kitchen fully.
The citizen Hajjaj said that Providence had prevented the commission of a massacre of his family, where the shell landed on his home on Friday evening after the family had left the kitchen, noting that the random shell landed on the roof of the kitchen and then exploded inside.
It is worth mentioning that Hajjaj’s house is located east of Shijaia neighborhood near the border line, which is exposed on an almost daily bombing by the Israeli artillery stationed there.
27 jan 2012
The founder of humanitarian organization Roots of Peace said Friday that the group has demanded that Israel works to remove landmines from the Palestinian territories.
Heidi Kühn told Voice of Palestine radio that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would help to remove mines in the West Bank if the organization assisted with mine removal within Israel.
Kühn met with the Israel's Prime Minister on Jan. 23, telling him that "the Holy Land is not ‘holy’ when there are landmines in the ground."
Around 1.5 million landmines and unexploded ordinances prevent access to more than 50,000 acres of productive land in Israel, the West Bank and the Jordan River valley, Roots of Peace says.
The Israeli-Jordanian border areas and the Jordan Valley are still heavily land-mined, together with areas of the Golan Heights and the northern West Bank.
The mines no longer serve any military purpose.
Heidi Kühn told Voice of Palestine radio that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government would help to remove mines in the West Bank if the organization assisted with mine removal within Israel.
Kühn met with the Israel's Prime Minister on Jan. 23, telling him that "the Holy Land is not ‘holy’ when there are landmines in the ground."
Around 1.5 million landmines and unexploded ordinances prevent access to more than 50,000 acres of productive land in Israel, the West Bank and the Jordan River valley, Roots of Peace says.
The Israeli-Jordanian border areas and the Jordan Valley are still heavily land-mined, together with areas of the Golan Heights and the northern West Bank.
The mines no longer serve any military purpose.
26 jan 2012
IOF to use white phosphorus bombs in any future Gaza war
The Israeli army is to use the internationally-banned white phosphorus bombs in any future aggression on the Gaza Strip, Israeli press said.
The English-language Israeli paper Jerusalem Post said on its website on Thursday that an Israeli human rights activist, who is also a lawyer had filed a request with the Israeli higher court demanding a ban on the use of this material in the military attacks especially in the southern front, but the Israeli army rejected the demand, adding that it would only “restrict” its use.
Yair Naveh, the deputy chief of staff, said that he issued orders to limit the use of this bomb to the minimum in the event of any future operation in Gaza.
The southern command of the Israeli army had recently ordered its various divisions to prepare for a large-scale offensive on Gaza within the few coming months.
IDF debates use of white phosphorus shells
There is ongoing discussion within the army as to whether the shells should be used in a future operations in Gaza.
A debate is raging within the IDF over whether the military should use artillery shells, which contain white phosphorus, in a future operation in the Gaza Strip.
During Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009, the IDF fired a number of 155 mm shells – called M825A1 – which are used to provide a smokescreen for troop movements or to mark targets.
The shell is made in the United States and is approved for use by NATO.
Unlike phosphorus bombs which land and explode, the M825A1 shell explodes in midair and distributes 116 felt wedges saturated in white phosphorus. The wedges then fall to the ground and continue to provide smoke for forces maneuvering nearby.
Images of the exploding shells – appearing like a white octopus – featured widely in the press during Operation Cast Lead and it took the IDF days before it confirmed that it was using shells that contain white phosphorus in Gaza.
In the Israeli government report on Cast Lead released in late 2009, it confirmed that the IDF used shells which contained white phosphorus and argued that they were used “in a manner corresponding with its duty to minimize the risk to civilians.”
While the shell’s use is said to be critical in assisting ground operations in urban terrain like Gaza and Lebanon, there is an ongoing debate within the IDF whether it should be used in a future operation in Gaza due to the potential public relations damage it could cause Israel.
Earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post revealed that the IDF General Staff had instructed the Southern Command to complete preparations for a large-scale operation in Gaza within the coming months.
“There is no question that the use of the shell caused Israel’s image unbelievable damage, since a number of NGOs claimed that its use was a war crime,” one defense official said this week.
Israel has argued that use of the shell was in line with international law and that since it was not a traditional white phosphorus incendiary weapon it could be used in populated areas.
Several months ago, attorney Michael Sfard petitioned the High Court of Justice asking that it forbid the use of such shells in places like the Gaza Strip.
A hearing has been scheduled for December, but in November the IDF responded to the petition and said that Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen.
Yair Naveh has already ordered that the use of such shells be minimized in a future operation in Gaza.
The English-language Israeli paper Jerusalem Post said on its website on Thursday that an Israeli human rights activist, who is also a lawyer had filed a request with the Israeli higher court demanding a ban on the use of this material in the military attacks especially in the southern front, but the Israeli army rejected the demand, adding that it would only “restrict” its use.
Yair Naveh, the deputy chief of staff, said that he issued orders to limit the use of this bomb to the minimum in the event of any future operation in Gaza.
The southern command of the Israeli army had recently ordered its various divisions to prepare for a large-scale offensive on Gaza within the few coming months.
IDF debates use of white phosphorus shells
There is ongoing discussion within the army as to whether the shells should be used in a future operations in Gaza.
A debate is raging within the IDF over whether the military should use artillery shells, which contain white phosphorus, in a future operation in the Gaza Strip.
During Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009, the IDF fired a number of 155 mm shells – called M825A1 – which are used to provide a smokescreen for troop movements or to mark targets.
The shell is made in the United States and is approved for use by NATO.
Unlike phosphorus bombs which land and explode, the M825A1 shell explodes in midair and distributes 116 felt wedges saturated in white phosphorus. The wedges then fall to the ground and continue to provide smoke for forces maneuvering nearby.
Images of the exploding shells – appearing like a white octopus – featured widely in the press during Operation Cast Lead and it took the IDF days before it confirmed that it was using shells that contain white phosphorus in Gaza.
In the Israeli government report on Cast Lead released in late 2009, it confirmed that the IDF used shells which contained white phosphorus and argued that they were used “in a manner corresponding with its duty to minimize the risk to civilians.”
While the shell’s use is said to be critical in assisting ground operations in urban terrain like Gaza and Lebanon, there is an ongoing debate within the IDF whether it should be used in a future operation in Gaza due to the potential public relations damage it could cause Israel.
Earlier this month, The Jerusalem Post revealed that the IDF General Staff had instructed the Southern Command to complete preparations for a large-scale operation in Gaza within the coming months.
“There is no question that the use of the shell caused Israel’s image unbelievable damage, since a number of NGOs claimed that its use was a war crime,” one defense official said this week.
Israel has argued that use of the shell was in line with international law and that since it was not a traditional white phosphorus incendiary weapon it could be used in populated areas.
Several months ago, attorney Michael Sfard petitioned the High Court of Justice asking that it forbid the use of such shells in places like the Gaza Strip.
A hearing has been scheduled for December, but in November the IDF responded to the petition and said that Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen.
Yair Naveh has already ordered that the use of such shells be minimized in a future operation in Gaza.
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