ISRAEL IN VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND WAR CRIMES

Israel’s use of chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction in Lebanon and Palestine is becoming increasingly documented:

1. Israel has been using USA made and provided GBU 28 bunker busters bombs or Uranium depleted warheads in Lebanon, a hundred of which were delivered to Israel by the US Dept of Defense after their offensive begun. According to Dr. Doug Rokke, the former Director of the U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project, these warheads are America’s “dirty bomb”, who manufacturing, testing, and use result in various health and environmental effects.

2. There are reports from Gaza as well as Lebanon that Israel is using chemical weapons. This has been reported by al-Jazeera but also a German news agency
http://www.kokhavivpublications.com/ Rather than chemical, it is likely that there weapons are thermobaric weapons. These “vacuum bombs” are unconventional bombs that release fuel particles into the air and then ignite them. The force of the explosion is similar to a small atomic bomb without the radioactive fall-out, flattening buildings and equipment but also asphyxiating and/or incinerating personnel by sucking that air out of their lungs.

3. See below (“This is Bush’s War”) on the accusations and increasing evidence that Israel is using prosperous bombs in Lebanon.

An official from the World Health Organization (WHO) is supposed to be handed corpses from southern Lebanon tomorrow. Also, the matter has been pursued by a well-known Italian peace-activist Alex Father Zanottelli, who, along with several Italian parliamentarians, have called on the Italian Parliament to set up a commission to investigate if the Israelis are using WMD’s in Lebanon and Palestine.

Thalif Deen writes that Israel is actually in breach of not only international law but also US law. He quotes University of San Francisco Professor of politics Stephen Zunes who states that "Section 4 of the (U.S.) Arms Export Control Act requires that military items transferred to foreign governments by the United States be used solely for internal security and legitimate self-defense…Since Israeli attacks against Lebanon's civilian infrastructure and population centers clearly go beyond legitimate self-defense, the United States is legally obliged to suspend arms transfers to Israel."

Deen notes that the US taxpayer gives US$ 2.3 billion a year to Israel for its military alone see www.ipsnews.net.

Earlier this month, Law Professor Marjorie Cohn published a paper regarding Israeli policies in Gaza which also are subsequently appropriate in Lebanon. She states unequivocally that “Israel’s brutal retaliation against Palestinian civilians constitutes collective punishment. Attacks on a civilian population as a form of collective punishment violate article 50 of the Hague Regulations”, “The Fourth Geneva Convention also prohibits collective punishment. Article 33 ...” and “Collective punishment is likewise forbidden by Article 75 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions."”

I am afraid that this is just the beginning of a long campaign that we must launch to not only to stop Israel naked aggression and indeed war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza but also to make Israel accountable for those war crimes. Wishful thinking, perhaps but like Che said, “Let’s be realistic. Let’s do the impossible!” And man, history is hard to shake off and that scares some folks…and should.