Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Israel: White Phosphorus Use Evidence of War Crimes

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/03/25/israel-white-phosphorus-use-evidence-war-crimes
Israel: White Phosphorus Use Evidence of War Crimes
Indiscriminate Attacks Caused Needless Civilian Suffering
March 25, 2009
      "In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in 
open areas as a screen for its troops...It fired white phosphorus repeatedly 
over densely populated areas, even when its troops weren't in the area and 
safer smoke shells were available. As a result, civilians needlessly 
suffered and died."
    Fred Abrahams, senior emergencies researcher at Human Rights Watch and 
co-author of the report
(Jerusalem) - Israel's repeated firing of white phosphorus shells over 
densely populated areas of Gaza during its recent military campaign was 
indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes, Human Rights Watch said in a 
report released today.
The 71-page report, "Rain of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus 
in Gaza," provides witness accounts of the devastating effects that white 
phosphorus munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza. Human 
Rights Watch researchers in Gaza immediately after hostilities ended found 
spent shells, canister liners, and dozens of burnt felt wedges containing 
white phosphorus on city streets, apartment roofs, residential courtyards, 
and at a United Nations school. The report also presents ballistics 
evidence, photographs, and satellite imagery, as well as documents from the 
Israeli military and government.
Militaries use white phosphorus primarily to obscure their operations on the 
ground by creating thick smoke. It can also be used as an incendiary weapon.
"In Gaza, the Israeli military didn't just use white phosphorus in open 
areas as a screen for its troops," said Fred Abrahams, senior emergencies 
researcher at Human Rights Watch and co-author of the report. "It fired 
white phosphorus repeatedly over densely populated areas, even when its 
troops weren't in the area and safer smoke shells were available. As a 
result, civilians needlessly suffered and died."
The report documents a pattern or policy of white phosphorus use that Human 
Rights Watch says must have required the approval of senior military 
officers.
"For the needless civilian deaths caused by white phosphorus, senior 
commanders should be held to account," Abrahams said.
On February 1, Human Rights Watch submitted detailed questions to the Israel 
Defense Forces (IDF) about its white phosphorus use in Gaza. The IDF did not 
provide responses, citing an internal inquiry being conducted by the 
Southern Command.
In the recent Gaza operations, Israeli forces frequently air-burst white 
phosphorus in 155mm artillery shells in and near populated areas. Each 
air-burst shell spreads 116 burning white phosphorus wedges in a radius 
extending up to 125 meters from the blast point. White phosphorus ignites 
and burns on contact with oxygen, and continues burning at up to 1500 
degrees Fahrenheit (816 degrees Celsius) until nothing is left or the oxygen 
supply is cut. When white phosphorus comes into contact with skin it creates 
intense and persistent burns.
When used properly in open areas, white phosphorus munitions are not 
illegal, but the Human Rights Watch report concludes that the IDF repeatedly 
exploded it unlawfully over populated neighborhoods, killing and wounding 
civilians and damaging civilian structures, including a school, a market, a 
humanitarian aid warehouse, and a hospital.
Israel at first denied it was using white phosphorus in Gaza but, facing 
mounting evidence to the contrary, said that it was using all weapons in 
compliance with international law. Later it announced an internal 
investigation into possible improper white phosphorus use.
"Past IDF investigations into allegations of wrongdoing suggest that this 
inquiry will be neither thorough nor impartial," Abrahams said. "That's why 
an international investigation is required into serious laws of war 
violations by all parties."
The IDF knew that white phosphorus poses life-threatening dangers to 
civilians, Human Rights Watch said. A medical report prepared during the 
recent hostilities by the Israeli ministry of health said that white 
phosphorus "can cause serious injury and death when it comes into contact 
with the skin, is inhaled or is swallowed." Burns on less than 10 percent of 
the body can be fatal because of damage to the liver, kidneys, and heart, 
the ministry report says. Infection is common and the body's absorption of 
the chemical can cause serious damage to internal organs, as well as death.
If the IDF intended to use white phosphorus as a smokescreen for its forces, 
it had a readily available non-lethal alternative to white phosphorus - 
smoke shells produced by an Israeli company, Human Rights Watch concluded.
All of the white phosphorus shells that Human Rights Watch found were 
manufactured in the United States in 1989 by Thiokol Aerospace, which was 
running the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant at the time. On January 4, 
Reuters photographed IDF artillery units handling projectiles whose markings 
indicate that they were produced in the United States at the Pine Bluff 
Arsenal in September 1991.
To explain the high number of civilian casualties in Gaza, Israeli officials 
have repeatedly blamed Hamas for using civilians as "human shields" and for 
fighting from civilian sites. In the cases documented in the report, Human 
Rights Watch found no evidence of Hamas using human shields in the vicinity 
at the time of the attacks. In some areas Palestinian fighters appear to 
have been present, but this does not justify the indiscriminate use of white 
phosphorus in a populated area.
Human Rights Watch said that for multiple reasons it concluded that the IDF 
had deliberately or recklessly used white phosphorus munitions in violation 
of the laws of war. First, the repeated use of air-burst white phosphorus in 
populated areas until the last days of the operation reveals a pattern or 
policy of conduct rather than incidental or accidental usage. Second, the 
IDF was well aware of the effects of white phosphorus and the dangers it 
poses to civilians. Third, the IDF failed to use safer available 
alternatives for smokescreens.
The laws of war obligate states to investigate impartially allegations of 
war crimes. The evidence available demands that Israel investigate and 
prosecute as appropriate those who ordered or carried out unlawful attacks 
using white phosphorus munitions, Human Rights Watch said.
The United States government, which supplied Israel with its white 
phosphorus munitions, should also conduct an investigation to determine 
whether Israel used it in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch 
said.
 

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