By Gilbert Mercier, NEWS JUNKIE POST
Amnesty International UK just released today a comprehensive report on the Gaza conflict that took place between December 2008 and January 2009. Amnesty International has found that both sides committed war crimes during the fighting in the Gaza strip. Amnesty’s researchers spent a month in both Gaza and Israel investigating the devastation and interviewing eye-witnesses. They found that Israeli forces killed hundreds of unarmed civilians and destroyed thousands of homes, which broke international laws of war.
On December 27 2008, without warning, Israeli forces began a devastating bombing campaign on the Gaza strip. It’s stated aim was to end rocket attacks into Israel by armed groups affiliated with Hamas. By 18 January 2009, some 1,400 Palestinians had been killed, including some 300 children and hundreds of unarmed civilians. Further, large areas of Gaza had been razed to the ground, leaving many thousands homeless and the already dire economy in ruins.
“I want aggressiveness- If there is someone suspicious on the upper floor of a house, we’ll shell it. If we have a suspicion about a house, we’ll take it down. There will be no hesitation, nobody will deliberate.” Said an Israeli Commander in a briefing to soldiers during operation Cast Lead.
Besides the 1,400 Palestinians killed during Cast Lead in attacks by Israeli forces, some 5,000 were injured, many maimed for life. Hundreds of those killed were unarmed civilians, including children and more than 115 women & 85 men over the age of 50.
The Israeli army has put the overall death toll at under 1,200 and maintains that most of those killed were not civilians. However, the Israeli authorities have not made available any lists of those killed. The Israeli army maintains that its forces operated in accordance with international law.
However, based on the evidence it gathered from a wide range of sources, including the one made available by the Israeli authority, Amnesty International believes that many Palestinians, unarmed the civilians that were killed in attacks as a result of practices which violated international law. Israeli forces failed to take precautions in the choice of means and methods of attack with a view to avoid, or at least minimize incidental loss of civilian life & injury to civilians.
This is Amnesty International’s full report.
If Amnesty had their way all the RAF and US airforce pilots in WWII would have been war criminals, in addition to Winston Churchill.
This is suicidal liberalism. Until Muslims take over Europe, the people there will never understand. They’ve forgotten what aggression is, and only 65 years have past since many of them were taken over by Germany as proof of what happens when you go easy on maniacs and allow them to arm and flourish.
The Palestinians elected Hamas who uses them as human shields. Israel cannot have its hands tied in its war on people who blow up buses and shot rockets on civilians.
I read the report. Their arguments are essentially based on the idea that Israel still legally occupied Gaza during the conflict, thus giving Gaza civilians protected status. Israel ended the military occupation before the conflict began. Amnesty spends a huge effort trying to define the situation as Israel “occupying” Gaza, in order to classify the conflict as a war crime against protected civilians of an occupied area. It’s a transparent, spurious tactic.
Tom: so umm…shelling UN schools with white phosphorus doesn’t count as a war crime right? Even when the UN TOLD the Israelis the GPS Coordinates of the school (pretty accurate from what I hear) Talk about spurious tactics. Get off your soap box shill. Is that really the best you have? That Israel committed war crimes because of a “Technicality”? If you believe that, I got a nice bridge in Brooklyn to sell ya, barley used.
John: Israel broke the truce which lead to this massacre; while no rockets were going off, by committing targeted assassinations on Hamas officials, and re-initiated the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Of course all of these facts get overlooked when you aren’t looking for them because the US MSM refuses to report them. Then all of sudden after Israel BREAKS the truce – rockets start going off…hmmm, what a coincidence. Which in turn leads to the slaughter of thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians some burned alive by chemical weapons, and an entire 13 Israelis dead, 3 of which were killed by thier own friendly fire. So that means that the Israeli army actually accidentally killed 23% of the casualties they incurred. Honestly arguing for Israel in this matter, is just a lost cause.
In palestine, there are no civilians; everybody is a potential threat, a potential assassin. Whether they are visibly armed or not is no help in determining a threat. By the time they get close enough to determine that status, they could be detonating hidden explosives.
This is the choice that a minority of palestinians have made for the entire palestinian people. It is regrettable, but that doesn’t make it any less true.
They are a nation now, but they do not formalize their military and make a distinction between civilian and soldier. Until they do, and all would be assassins are removed from the battlefield, israel will be forced to do what they must to prevent their own casualties.
Nobody would hold any other nation to blame facing the same circumstances.