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  • SUNDAY OCTOBER 22 2006 2:00 PM

Israel Admits Using Phosphorous Weapons

Submitted by legionnaire

Edited by legionnaire

Tags: Israel, phosphorous, geneva conventions, Hezbollah

During Israel's fight against Hezbollah troops in southern Lebanon this past summer, the Israeli army faced the daunting task of trying to pinpoint military targets that were peppered within civilian areas. The result was incredible carnage as collateral damage claimed the lives of civilians on both sides of the conflict, with Hezbollah indiscriminately attacking areas with civilians and Israelis killing Lebanese where Hezbollah troops were operating. Despite claims that the army worked to pinpoint strictly military targets, Israel now admits to having used white phosphorous based weapons, incendiary devices capable of inflicting massive burns during the conflict, raising the question of how strictly their counterassaults were directed against military centers of operation.

Cabinet minister Jacob Edery confirmed the bombs were dropped "against military targets in open ground".

Israel had previously said the weapons were used only to mark targets.

Phosphorus weapons cause chemical burns and the Red Cross and human rights groups say they should be treated as chemical weapons.

The Geneva Conventions ban the use of white phosphorous as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas.

Mr Edery says he confirmed during a parliamentary session last week on behalf of Defence Minister Amir Peretz that the weapons were used in fighting.

"The Israeli army made use of phosphorous shells during the war against Hezbollah in attacks against military targets in open ground," he said.


The usage of phosphorous in warfare against civilian targets is restricted by the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Conventional weapons, to which Israel is a signatory party, in an attempt to minimize the significant collateral damage these weapons are capable of creating.

The Israeli government is insisting that while the weapons were used, they were operating within the allowable treaty guidelines. Certainly the nature of the military operations against Hezbollah made it exceedingly difficult to distinguish between military and civilian targets (is an apartment building with a Hezbollah sniper inside a military or civilian structure?) However, the civilian recipients of these bombs might have argued for a more judicious use of these munitions.

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Comments
Dead_Ringer

Dead_Ringer

I'm lost
September 2004

OCT 22, 2006 02:12 PM

Every word in this "piece" is antisemtic. I don't have to back that up in any objective manner, by the way, because 9/11 excuses me from such obligations.

unapathetic

unapathetic

Brooklyn, NY
September 2002

OCT 22, 2006 02:17 PM

Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.

mamet

mamet

Charleston, SC
March 2005

OCT 22, 2006 02:20 PM

unapathetic said:
Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.



*whoosh*

Dead_Ringer

Dead_Ringer

I'm lost
September 2004

OCT 22, 2006 02:26 PM

unapathetic said:
Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.


Antisemite. Just like I said. And yes, we are at war, and everyone needs to remember that if we don't fight the Islamofascists over there by any means necessary, even those means that subvert our own values, they will come over here and force you and me to enroll in shari'ia schools. Israel has the right to fight the Islamofascists. Blame the Islamofascists for hiding in civilian areas if they don't want babies to be burned alive by sparklers and WP.

deldavis

deldavis

Brantford, ON
April 2003

OCT 22, 2006 02:26 PM

Let me get this strait...
Its the Hezbollahs fault that civilians are dying becuase they are with family and friends and Israel is using weapons they are not supposed too?
Thats like saying its the bank robbers fault people died when a cop tossed a granade into a crowd the robber ran into..
baffles me.

I honestly cant argue any political points to this, Im not really a political guy.. i just dont see how your point makes sense.

and the part about having to use any means at all or we will all wake up enslaved..

still baffeld

NewSpectre

NewSpectre

Baltimore, MD
March 2005

OCT 22, 2006 02:28 PM

Willy Pete shouldn't be banned anyways. Good stuff it is.

fountainofdreams

fountainofdreams

Batavia, IL
January 2005

OCT 22, 2006 02:34 PM

mamet said:

unapathetic said:
Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.



*whoosh*



it's not often you can actually hear the point flying over someone's head.

that was pretty cool.

Dead_Ringer

Dead_Ringer

I'm lost
September 2004

OCT 22, 2006 02:38 PM

SpectreInTheUK said:
Willy Pete shouldn't be banned anyways. Good stuff it is.


Fuck yeah!!! LOL!11

THIS SPOILER CONTAINS VERY AWESOMELY UNPLEASANT STUFF:

SPOILERS! (Click to view)







BrODell

BrODell

Kansas City, MO
October 2006

OCT 22, 2006 02:42 PM

horatios_dreams said:

mamet said:

unapathetic said:
Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.



*whoosh*



it's not often you can actually hear the point flying over someone's head.

that was pretty cool.



No shit!

I am having a pretty good giggle though.

MisterGone

MisterGone

Minneapolis, MN
March 2006

OCT 22, 2006 02:42 PM

He just forgot to wave as it passed him by.

Not2Bright

Not2Bright

Sumter, SC
July 2006

OCT 22, 2006 02:46 PM

Ok, my question is, what happens if the UN or another governing body desides that Isreal used these waepons inlawfully? Does anything happen, or does someone walk up and say, bad boy! Real bad boy!

Dead_Ringer

Dead_Ringer

I'm lost
September 2004

OCT 22, 2006 02:54 PM

deldavis said:
Let me get this strait...
Its the Hezbollahs fault that civilians are dying becuase they are with family and friends and Israel is using weapons they are not supposed too?


Exactly. If Lebanese "civilians" hadn't welcomed Hezbollah with open arms, then they wouldn't be in the position of having their babies mutilated and burned by the IDF's heroic use of incendiary devices. The Lebanese aided and abetted the Isalmofascists. I don't have any sympathy for Islamofascist-sympathisers.

Thats like saying its the bank robbers fault people died when a cop tossed a granade into a crowd the robber ran into..
baffles me.


It is. If they hadn't been criminals, the police wouldn't have been forced to use unreasonable force - again, heroically.

and the part about having to use any means at all or we will all wake up enslaved..

still baffeld


Source.

catdad

catdad

Portland, OR
August 2002

OCT 22, 2006 03:03 PM

DavidAwood said:
Ok, my question is, what happens if the UN or another governing body desides that Isreal used these waepons inlawfully? Does anything happen, or does someone walk up and say, bad boy! Real bad boy!



Anything the UN would try to do would be blocked by the good ol' USA. It's god's will, you know.

vampiresoldier

vampiresoldier

Oakland, CA
March 2004

OCT 22, 2006 03:08 PM

DavidAwood said:
Ok, my question is, what happens if the UN or another governing body desides that Isreal used these waepons inlawfully? Does anything happen, or does someone walk up and say, bad boy! Real bad boy!



When was the last time anything that the UN did was really taken into consideration? The UN has lost a lot of its credibility, it seems is just there because it has to be. When the US doesn't care what the UN says, the rest of the world sure as hell won't care either.

Bastardo

Bastardo

Boston, MA
January 2005

OCT 22, 2006 03:11 PM

horatios_dreams said:

mamet said:

unapathetic said:
Dead Ringer: You're fucking kidding me, right? How is being critical of Israel's tactics "anti-semetic"? Are you saying that Israel should be able to do whatever they want, because anyone who disagrees hates Jews? Give me a fucking break. And what does 9/11 have to do with any of this? Somehow 9/11 gives Israel the right to do anything? You've got some serious mental problems if you think that's a logical connection.



*whoosh*



it's not often you can actually hear the point flying over someone's head.

that was pretty cool.



If it went by any faster, it would've gone back in time.

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