JONATHAN AZAZIAH: OPERATION PHANTASMAGORIA II: GAZA AND AL-QUDS, LINKED IN BLOOD

Beneath the "mask of Zion," there is nothing

but darkness, evil and crimes against humanity.

May 24, 2011

By Jonathan Azaziah

MASK OF ZION

PRELUDE: IN PART I, the hasbara behind the March 11th murders on the illegal Zionist settlement of Itamar was thoroughly debunked, absolving Palestinians of all wrongdoing and presenting evidence for Israeli orchestration of the slaying of the Fogel family as well as displaying in detail that Zionism benefited greatly from the crime. Operation Phantasmagoria now moves to the holy city of al-Quds (Jerusalem) and the besieged ghetto-prison of Gaza, in a convergence of false flags, white phosphorus and innocent blood...

SHADOW WAR PHASE II: BOMBING IN AL-QUDS

On March 23rd, 2011, a “bomb” rocked a crowded bus stop in Zionist-occupied al-Quds, killing a 60-year old woman and wounding over 30 others; the first of its kind in over 6 years. Though no Palestinian Resistance group claimed responsibility for the attack, the delusional, antagonistic and deeply misleading Zionist media immediately blamed Palestinians.

Hundreds of (ultra-racist) ultra-Orthodox Zionist extremists marched on ethnically cleansed land in al-Quds and chanted, “death to the Arabs!” and demanded “retribution,” though, again, there was no evidence that “Arabs” had anything to do with what had taken place (1). 

War criminal Netanyahu called for a response 

of aggression after the false flag in al-Quds.

This fundamentally racist and deep-rooted flaw within Israeli society provided picture-perfect groundwork for Tel Aviv to initiate an assault in subsequence. Talmudically-derived Zionist bloodlust: the buoy that has kept Israel afloat, functioning as a “state” for 63 years. Following this pattern of bloodlust to the letter, mass murdering war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu went on the record to state that the Zionist entity would respond

“aggressively, responsibly and wisely to preserve the quiet and security that has prevailed here over the past two years,” and also, “we are very determined to strike at the terrorist elements and deny them the means of attacking our citizens (2).”

Israel is one of the most militarized and security-laden “states” on planet earth, with cameras located even in confiscated religious sites in occupied al-Quds (3).

With that said, its expertly-trained and intel-obsessed police in Jerusalem didn’t have a single “terror” alert in the city or any other nearby city for that matter on the day in question (4).

 Not only did this bomb go off at the very entrance of occupied al-Quds, one of the holy city’s busiest sections, it went off near several government ministries (5), which are perpetually swarming with agents and operatives of Mossad, Shin Bet, IOF and Aman. As was the case with the Itamar killings, it is not only of the loftiest implausibility that Palestinians planted this bomb in al-Quds; it is impossible and quite firm in its blatant impossibility. The Jerusalem bus stop bombing was a Mossad false flag (6), engineered as a key progression in the “Phantasmagoria” project.

Zionist security officials fleetingly attempted to convince the world that the device that shook al-Quds was homemade and weighed a minuscule four pounds (7), but it was nothing of the sort and their pathetic hasbara-ridden narrative crumbled rather quickly.

Firstly, the device was remote-controlled (8), solidifying beyond a shadow of a doubt that the device was produced by Israeli intelligence; it is the bonafide signature of Zionism. Mossad and Aman have used remote-controlled explosive devices, most notably IEDs and car bombs, to utterly devastate Iraq and transform it into what it is now: an occupied wasteland. It has become an occupied wasteland largely due to the car bomb warfare inflicted upon it by the Zionist entity (9). 

 

Tne of the Zionist entity's favorite weapons: the suitcase bomb.

Secondly, as confirmed by Israeli police and multiple eyewitnesses, the explosive device was delivered in a suitcase (10), another signature that leads straight to Zionism. Israeli intelligence assets have used the suitcase bomb in London during the Hindawi Affair, in Kenya during the operation at the Kikambala Hotel, in multiple operations led by long-hidden Zionist agent Abu Nidal, in peak-level paramilitary ventures and assassinations across the Middle East, in the infamous Lockerbie bombing which has been repeatedly invoked by the Zionist media throughout its coverage on the criminal war now being waged against Libya (11), in Houston during a failed false flag operation at an oil refinery and in the 1993 Bombay terror attacks that have been exposed as a Mossad-RAW operation (12).

The suitcase bomb is the very representation of Mossad’s motto, “by way of deception, thou shalt wage war.” It is efficient in its bloodshed, easily deliverable, easily concealed and it is undetectable to those unfamiliar with Mossad’s methods.

The stage had been set. Making good on his promise to “respond aggressively,” Benjamin Netanyahu sent his warplanes, fully paid for by the United States, the Zionist entity’s favorite lapdog, into the besieged Gaza Strip just hours after Mossad’s remote-controlled suitcase bomb detonated in occupied al-Quds. Multiple airstrikes were launched (13), once again bringing terror to 800,000 starving Palestinian children that call Gaza their home.

Meanwhile, the Zionist security authorities in Jerusalem claim that they are “hunting down” the perpetrators of the “terror” attack (14). Well. It is certain that they will be “hunting” forever, since they will never look in the offices of the Israeli prime minister, or the offices of the directors of Shin Bet, Aman and Mossad.

March 2011 was a bloody month for besieged Gaza;

16 Palestinians were murdered by Israel.

BESIEGED GAZA: THE MARCH MASSACRE

Mossad’s false flag in occupied al-Quds was designed to once again generate international sympathy for the Zionist entity which is incessantly (and despicably) barking in its media organizations to portray itself as a victim, and to give credence to any future attack it may launch in illegally besieged Gaza. Multiple world leaders, or, more appropriately titled, stooges of the Israeli apartheid state, condemned the attack.

It was darling of the Zionist Lobby Hillary Clinton that spoke in the most thunderous manner,

“Terrorism and the targeting of civilians are never justified. And Israel, like all nations, of course, has to respond when this occurs. The United States is committed to Israel’s security and we strongly condemn this violence and extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected (15).”

As usual, Tel Aviv’s terrorism against innocent Palestinians is conveniently left out of the equation.

The usurping entity would like the public to believe that its recent attacks on illegally besieged Gaza began on March 23rd, when the suitcase bomb detonated in occupied al-Quds. This however, like all other scenarios regarding Palestine that are presented in the Zionist-owned mainstream media, is a fallacy; an atrocious fallacy.

The aggression against Gaza, which has been routine since the genocide of Operation Cast Lead, actually began 21 days prior on March 2nd when the Israeli Navy engaged in one of its favorite hobbies, shooting at Palestinian fishing boats. This criminality was followed by IOF tanks and bulldozers invading the southern Strip to demolish farmlands and fire live ammunition on Palestinian families (16).

Two days later, Tel Aviv sent its warplanes into the Strip in the early morning hours and targeted a car in An-Nusseirat Refugee Camp, spreading terror amongst men, women and children, but once again no injuries or deaths were reported (17). 

Zionist warplanes; function: dropping bombs on Palestinian children.

 Two more days passed, and Israel’s terror began anew as Zionist F-16s assaulted the Strip, conducting multiple airstrikes in several Gaza City neighborhoods and Central Gaza. Homes, warehouses, schools and mosques were damaged in the assault, but no Palestinians were hurt or murdered (18).

The new attacks came in response to Hamas’ protest of the Zionist entity closing al-Muntar (Karni) Crossing, the main commercial crossing between Gaza and what is now known as “Israel.” The closing of al-Muntar adds another layer to the already inhumane and crippling siege afflicting the people of the Strip (19). Zionism was upset that its additional collective punishment was resisted and not submissively accepted.

The following day, the laundry list of Israeli war crimes against the besieged Strip literally got a little longer as the Zionist entity announced its near completion of the first phase of the illegal electric fence it is building on the Egypt-Gaza border (20).

The newest barbed wire monstrosity tightens Israel’s iron grip even more on the suffering Palestinian population of Gaza, and is, by itself, a war crime and a crime against humanity. Tensions were rising exponentially in the Strip as Palestinian truckers started staging mass demonstrations on March 9th against the closure of al-Muntar Crossing and demanding its immediate opening. They were also demanding a response from the Hamas government to the latest Israeli attack on whatever was left of their livelihood (21).

On March 10th, it was revealed that the Zionist regime had abducted 42-year old Dirar Abu Sisi, a Palestinian father of six from besieged Gaza, while he was in the Ukraine inquiring about citizenship in late February (22).

Shin Bet, notorious for torturing and fabricating evidence against those who resist Israel’s militarism, tyranny and occupation, has filed an indictment against Abu Sisi, labeling him the “rocket godfather” of Hamas (23).

This, as expected, is a gross lie of monumental proportions and a malicious slander against the 42-year old husband and father, who isn’t a member of Hamas in any way, shape or form. And, also as expected, it is now known that Dirar Abu Sisi has been mercilessly tortured by Shin Bet and he remains imprisoned, in solitary confinement, consistently (and pointlessly) interrogated by agents of Shin Bet and Mossad (24).

  

Kidnapped by Mossad: Dirar Abu Sisi, 
father of 6 and senior engineer in Gaza.

The real reason behind Abu Sisi’s kidnapping, imprisonment and torture is his job. He’s the senior official at Gaza’s lone power plant and has brilliantly uncovered a way to engineer a switch in the fuel sources of the plant in defiance of the criminal Zionist siege (25).

Abu Sisi’s wife Veronica stated clearly that Mossad kidnapped her husband to sabotage his plans and to cripple the plant, therefore crippling the Palestinian people (26).

Not even abroad are Palestinians safe from the deadly reach of Zionist intelligence.

March 16th was a day drenched in blood. The Zionist entity began its aggression early in the morning by air, assassinating two fighters from al-Qassam Brigades, 25-year old Ghassan Fathi Abu Omar and 23-year old Adnan Yousef Eshtewy and wounding two others (27).

The aggression continued throughout the afternoon with incessant firing from gunboats on Gaza’s fisherman, as several fishing boats were hit and one Palestinian was wounded (28).

Palestinians in eastern Gaza City couldn’t even sleep as the bombardment continued in the evening with IOF tanks shelling a cemetery (29).

An uneasy calm prevailed in the Strip for 3 days, minus the everyday buzzing of Zionist drones, and the aggression came to life again as the illegitimate Israeli state heavily bombed and shelled Gaza on Saturday, March 19th. 5 Palestinians were wounded, including a 3-year old child, when Israeli tank shells struck eastern Gaza City. Missiles from Zionist warplanes struck homes, mosques and tank shells blasted Gaza International Airport.

Finally, the Resistance fired homemade shells, that cannot be aimed, that more often than not land in empty desert lands or abandoned areas, and often do not explode, into ethnically cleansed Palestine in retaliation against Israel’s terror raining down upon Gaza’s citizens (30).

Imad and Qasem; murdered by Israeli tanks.

No Israelis were hurt or killed, and no “residence” incurred any damage.

Zionist missiles continued to be fired from F-16s and Zionist shells IOF tanks continued to scorch the Strip into Saturday evening, and around 9:30 pm local time in occupied Palestine, Israeli tanks pounded a civilian neighborhood in Johr al-Deek and murdered two Palestinian children. 14-year old Imad Farajullah and 16-year old Qasem Abu Eteiwi died on impact (31).

But the Zionist entity’s March Massacre didn’t stop here.

On March 22nd, as a group of Palestinian children were playing soccer (32), the Israeli army tank blasted five artillery shells into the home of Fayiq al-Hilo, and slaughtered four innocent civilians, the youngest of which being 11-year old Muhammad al-Hilo. Ten Palestinians were wounded in the assault, many of them with wounds so serious they needed amputations to save their lives. 19 Palestinians were wounded for the day by multiple IAF airstrikes and non-stop IOF shelling, including 7 children and 2 women (33).

Drones entered the frame and fired a plethora of missiles into Gaza City, wounding a fighter from al-Qassam Brigades and the IAF continued its brutal raids, assassinating four Qassam fighters and leaving another brave soul in an intensive care unit. Tuesday’s body count was 9 Palestinians, including 3 children (34).

As IOF continued to brutally shell Gaza, war criminal

blood-lusting Livni demanded more; a Cast Lead-type escalation.

The Zionist entity never ceases to push its cowardice to new peaks; add soccer to Zionism’s list of “existential threats.” 

The escalation continued two days later as Zionism targeted a fighter from the Salah ad-Din Brigades and narrowly missed, destroying several buildings in the process. Additional Zionist air raids wounded two more Palestinian civilians in the Beit Lahia district of northern Gaza. The Resistance responded by launching 3 homemade shells at the illegal Karmiya settlement (35).

As the casualties continued to rise, and the bodies of Palestinian innocents continued to stack up, what does the “liberal” Zionist war criminal Tzipi Livni do? She calls for more shedding of innocent blood by suggesting that Israel should initiate a second round of Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli ethnic cleansing operation that wiped 1,440 Palestinians off of the map, including 431 children (36).

This, more so than anything else, 
fully exemplifies how bloodthirsty Zionism is.

Before the chapter of the March Massacre came to a close however, Zionism destroyed al-Sattar Factory, which produces various sodas for the besieged Gaza citizenry (37), assassinated two fighters from al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, in Jabalia, just hours after all of the Resistance factions in Gaza stated (for the umpteenth time) that they will commit to a ceasefire if the Zionist entity stops its mass murder (38), and one day after the family of 11-year old wrestling fan Muhammad al-Hilo mourned their fallen child (39), barbaric Israeli air raids shook the Strip, assassinating another al-Quds fighter and critically wounded another as they made their way to morning prayers (40).

Morning prayers have long been on the Zionist list of “existential threats,” as evidenced by the infamous martyring of Hamas founder and Resistance giant Sheikh Ahmed Yassin when IAF launched a missile at him as he was leaving a Gaza City Mosque in his wheelchair after Fajr (41).

Ultimately, March saw 16 Palestinians, including children and the elderly meet their demise at the hands of Israeli occupiers (42). 

 

Zionism's bombardment of Gaza didn't end in April; it worsened.

BESIEGED GAZA: APRIL ATROCITIES

Still reeling from the brutality inflicted across the Strip in March, the Palestinians of besieged Gaza did not receive a break, did not receive any rest, did not receive any mercy from the Zionist entity in April. Gaza was pounded by the illegitimate Israeli state’s warplanes on April 2nd in a joint operation coordinated by the Zionist military and Shin Bet. Three Palestinians from al-Qassam Brigades were assassinated in the strikes, their bodies badly mutilated due to the sheer force of the blast (43). 

The 3-day uneasy calm was unhinged when Zionist occupiers gunned down an unarmed Palestinian man in the dreaded “buffer zone,” a strip of land imposed on the Palestinians of Gaza by Israel which the entity uses to shoot Palestinians at will. The Zionist buffer zone has rendered 30% of Gaza’s agricultural land useless (44).

The following day, only hours after hundreds of Palestinian children gathered on al-Saraya Street in the middle of Gaza City to plead with the “international community” for protection against Israel’s aggression (45), the Strip was hammered again. 4 Palestinians were wounded in multiple Zionist air raids, including 2 women, one of whom was pregnant. Homes were destroyed and a plastics factory that provides work to many Palestinians was damaged in the assault (46). 

Palestinian children in occupied Gaza 
asking the world to heed their call for help.

The calls of Gaza’s children fell on deaf ears however, as the international community of cowards and hypocrites watched Tel Aviv bomb on. Not even 24 hours after the “heroic” Israeli army targeted a pregnant woman, F-16s ripped through the southern Strip, spreading terror through residential areas and leaving one Palestinian wounded (47).

More than a month of murder and mayhem, and the Palestinians of besieged Gaza still had not been hit by Israel’s worst; still had not been hit by Israel’s most brutal; Israel’s most animalistic. What was about to follow would be the most drastic Zionist escalation in Gaza since Operation Cast Lead.

As April 7th swallowed April 6th, dawn passed and the morning rolled forward, the Resistance of Gaza, led by Hamas, responded to the Zionist entity’s assassinations of its fighters and brutalization of its citizenry with multiple mortar shells against an illegal Israeli settlement. The Resistance reported that two illegal Israeli settlers were wounded when one of its shells had struck a bus on a road that is frequented by Zionist occupation forces (48).

Israel’s media however, notoriously known for manufacturing malevolent hasbara and outright lies to justify illegal Zionist aggression against the Palestinian people and those who stand with them (49), stated that a 16-year old boy was critically wounded and hospitalized by the Hamas response, additionally adding that the boy was “hysterical” and that the target hit was a school bus, not just a commuter bus. Israeli Defense Minister (and war criminal) Ehud Barak thunderously called for Tel Aviv to carry out a “swift retaliation.”

What is most odd about this particular piece of hasbara is that the Zionist papers reported that the bus was “nearly empty,” and what is even more odd, is that it didn’t quote anyone in the military to substantiate this information like it normally does, instead choosing to ambiguously cite “Israeli sources (50).”

Is there any evidence that a 16-year old boy was “critically wounded” by fire from the Gaza Resistance? No, and even if the story has some truth to it, the supremacist (and overall, ridiculous) undertone invalidates its seriousness. The reason for manufacturing this morsel of hasbara? To drop more bombs on the Strip.

Israel unloaded several white phosphorus bombs on Gaza in April.

Ehud Barak’s orders of “swift retaliation” were carried out mercilessly by the IOF war machine in a sustained campaign of bombardment. Over the course of 24 hours, from April 8th at noon to April 9th at noon, 14 Palestinians were slaughtered and dozens of others, mostly women, children and elderly, were badly wounded by Zionist tank shells and air strikes that rocked the Gaza Strip to its very core (51).

Paramedics and ambulances were deliberately targeted by IOF (52), a Zionist shell wrecked a water tank in eastern Gaza City, forcing municipality officials to shut down the water pumps to prevent residents from drinking contamination (53), and the Zionist entity once again unleashed internationally banned chemical weapons on Gaza (54), including the dreaded white phosphorus (55).

The usurping regime’s brutality continued despite the Resistance unequivocally calling for a ceasefire, again (56), and by the time the killing was over, 19 Palestinians had been martyred, including women, elderly and children, and more than 60 were wounded (57).

IOF’s assault was as tragic as it was barbarous. 21-year old Nidal Qdeih, who was murdered alongside her 45-year old mother Najah when a Zionist missile struck their home in al-Faraheen, was preparing for her wedding the following week (58). This is Zionism’s foundational essence: destruction of lives, destruction of families, destruction of love, compassion and humanity; spreading fear wherever it finds an opening.

The Zionist entity would launch mock air raids over the Strip just a few days after the massacre (59), to humiliate Hamas and the other Resistance factions and to remind Gaza’s population that another stream of devastation could happen at any moment. The everyday violations of Gaza’s dignity would succeed the mock raids, with Israeli forces firing on fishermen, shooting at homes and destroying agricultural land (60), solidifying that Palestinian life in the largest open air prison on earth had returned from “in hell” to the status quo of besieged.

.

The Hamas-Fatah "unity" deal is a sham.

CONCLUSION: THE CRIPPLING OF HAMAS

On April 27th, 2011, an event took place that took all analysts from the side of the oppressed and the side of the oppressor, solidarity activists and average observers by surprise; gargantuan surprise. Hamas, the Islamic Resistance of Gaza, had agreed to a “reconciliation” deal with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), a collaborationist entity thoroughly dominated by Fatah. The basis of this deal was a new “unity” government (61).

Right as the shock began to wear off and the abyssal skepticism of the deal even coming to fruition started to set in, another gargantuan surprise emerged: the Resistance and the collaborators actually signed the deal (62). Though many questions about this deal were immediately asked, there was only one question that had any meaning, any significance:

would this new “unity” government collaborate with Tel Aviv as the PA has for years and years now (63)?

 

Saeb Erekat: collaborator extraordinaire and vile traitor to Palestine.

Israeli occupation forces issued an answer to the question soon enough, with a senior official calling the unity deal “fiction.” The official would also state that,

“the security officers I have spoken to over the past week have said that it changes nothing for them. It is business as usual for the Palestinian Authority's security forces (64).”

Saeb Erekat, the PA’s chief “negotiator” for the peace process sham, confirmed the Israeli official’s observations, commenting in no uncertain terms,

“Security coordination with the Israelis and defining the meaning of security coordination, in accordance with the agreements, they will continue (65).”

The Zionist entity is officially at war with Hamas, and vice versa, so how can Hamas partake in the everyday affairs of a government that, by aforementioned PA and IOF admission, it is at war with?

A future piece in this series will deal with this issue as well as the fraudulence of the “reconciliation” deal in rigorous detail. At the moment though, another question, in relation to this piece is much more pressing and relevant.

What would cause Hamas, a Resistance organization by design, definition and action, to bow down to the dominion of the entity it refused to ever recognize and sign a deal with its armed wing of collaborators and traitors? The PA has blocked Israeli releases of Palestinian prisoners, formed backstage committees to block real unity at every angle, murdered Palestinian innocents and boasted about it to its American paymasters and accepted billions of dollars from the Zionist-occupied regimes in the US and EU (66), how can Hamas “unify” with these thugs?

It is the opinion of this writer that Hamas did not do so on its own free volition, but that it did so after being broken down by the Zionist entity. It is the only explanation for such a lapse in dignity and principle from an organization that swept the 2006 elections in the besieged Gaza Strip because their commitment to resisting Israeli occupation was genuine (67).

Led by Zionist war criminal Elliot Abrams, the Bush administration attempted to stage a coup d'etat by funding what was essentially a Palestinian mercenary faction led by PA official Muhammad Dahlan. The plan was to wipe out the Islamic Resistance once and for all and re-install Fatah as the controlling faction in the Strip. However, the plan failed miserably, and with Hamas’ survival, it gained greater respect in the eyes of the people, despite the bloody 5-day civil war that ensued (68).

But with the ever-tightening all-out siege imposed on the 1.5 million residents of Gaza bearing down on its proverbial neck, Hamas seemed to weaken a little more every day, despite public showings of strength and solidarity. Israel’s genocidal Operation Cast Lead was the penultimate shot before the knockout, and every one of the 1,440 Palestinians murdered undoubtedly haunted the Hamas leadership on a daily basis.

Victim of Israel’s aggression against Gaza in April.

Their sacrifices, the 431 children in particular, undoubtedly continue to do so. Hence this is why Resistance leader Khaled Mish'al attempted to “legitimize” Hamas’ ambitions and positions in the eyes of the pathetic “international community” after Cast Lead (69).

Simultaneously, it continued with its Resistance, but despite its best efforts to repel Zionism’s aggression, Hamas has been unable to end its people’s suffering, unable to end the siege, unable to defeat the occupation. And with the PA pushing towards a September date for the UN to recognize a Palestinian state (70), which is really nothing more than a carved-up Zionist-controlled Palestinian bantustan, it is seemingly clear that Tel Aviv gambled by trying to back Hamas into a corner and the gamble paid off.

The nonstop and murderous Israeli aggression against Gaza that began in early March and didn’t end until mid-April was the knockout blow. The Zionist regime used its false flag attack in occupied al-Quds to link the two Palestinian ghettos in blood and prepare them for the international legitimacy of Israel’s apartheid and occupation in September.

This is the essence of Operation Phantasmagoria; putting a “mask of Zion” on oppression, dispossession, humiliation and murder to make it look like hope and progress. Like all Resistance movements, Hamas must make a decision that will not only determine its own fate, but the fate of the people it is resisting for.

It must choose between resisting until liberation or succumbing to the pressure of the oppressor and submitting to subjugation. Unfortunately, this “unity” deal seems to have led Hamas down the road of the latter. For occupied Palestine’s sake, let’s hope, that what seems, is wrong.

~ END OF PART II ~

OPERATION PHANTASMAGORIA I

Next: The horrific assassination of activist, actor and director Juliano Mer-Khamis and what it means for the future of occupied Palestine....

Next: The horrific assassination of activist, actor and director Juliano Mer-Khamis and what it means for the future of occupied Palestine....

SOURCES:

(1) Jerusalem Bus Bomb Kills One And Injures 30 by Adrian Blomfield, The Telegraph

(2) Israel Warns Of “Aggressive Response” To Jerusalem Blast by Conal Urquhart and Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian

(3) Security Cameras Lead To Shabbat Desecration? by Ari Galahar, Ynet

(4) Woman Killed, Dozens Injured In Jerusalem Bombing by Melanie Lidman and Yaakov Katz, The Jerusalem Post

(5) Jerusalem’s Fragile Peace Destroyed By Suitcase Bomb by Conal Urquhart and Phoebe Greenwood, The Guardian
      
(6) Terror Attack In Jerusalem, Counter To Fatah-Hamas Unity by Feroze Mithiborwala, Counter Currents

(7) Mystery Deepens Over Deadly Jerusalem Bus Bomb by Karl Vick and Aaron J. Klein, TIME Magazine

(8) Deadly Jerusalem Bus Bomb Possibly Remote Controlled by Richard Esposito and Lee Ferran, ABC News

(9) Occupied Iraq: New Year, Same Zionism by Jonathan Azaziah, Mask of Zion

(10) Deadly Bombing Targets Jerusalem Bus Stop by Wyre Davies, BBC

(11) Libya: The Zionist Dragon And The Drums Of War by Jonathan Azaziah, Mask of Zion

(12) 26/11: Mossad Terrorizes Mumbai by Jonathan Azaziah, Mask of Zion

(13) Israeli Jets Strike Gaza: 23 March 2011 by Al Jazeera English

(14) Jerusalem Bus Bombing Kills 1, Injures 30 by Anne Barker, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

(15) Bombing In Jerusalem: Press Statement - Hillary Rodham Clinton by US Department of State

(16) Israeli Navy Fires At Palestinian Fishing Boats by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(17) Israeli Air Force Bombards A Car In Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(18) Israeli Air Force Carries Out A Series Of Air Strikes In Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(19) Palestinian Government In Gaza Protests Closure Of Main Commercial Crossing Into Israel by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(20) Israel Constructs Electric Fence On Egypt Border by Jeany Massad, IMEMC

(21) Gaza Truckers Protest Israel’s Closure Of Commercial Crossing by Rami Almeghari, The Electronic Intifada

(22) UN Official: Israel Kidnaped Palestinian Engineer From Ukraine by Haaretz

(23) Shin Bet Files Indictment Against ‘Rocket Godfather’ by Yaakov Katz, The Jerusalem Post

(24) Israel, Extraordinary Rendition And The Strange Case Of Dirar Abu Sisi by Richard Silverstein, Truth Out

(25) Gaza Engineer Sent To Solitary by Ma’an News Agency

(26) Dirar Abu Sisi, Palestinian In Ukraine, Allegedly Abducted By Israel by Maria Danilova and Diaa Hadid, The Huffington Post

(27) Two Qassam Martyrs In Israeli Airstrike On Gaza by Al-Qassam Information Office; Two Palestinians Killed As Army Bombards Gaza Village by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(28) Fisherman Wounded By Israeli Navy Fire by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(29) Army Bombards Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(30) Five Palestinians Wounded In Israeli Air Strikes In Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC; Israeli Artillery Shelling On Gaza Strip by Al-Qassam Information Office

(31) Killing Children In Gaza Is Israeli War Crime by Al-Qassam Information Office

(32) Israel Kills 8 Gazans In Day Of Strikes by Ma’an News Agency

(33) Resident Wounded As Army Bombards Gaza, 19 Wounded Tuesday by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(34) Nine Palestinians, Including Three Children, Killed By Army Fire In Gaza On Tuesday by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(35) Two Civilians Wounded In New Israeli Air Raids On Gaza by The Palestinian Information Center

(36) IDF: Assassination Of Hamas Leaders Possible by Yoav Zitun, Ynet

(37) Israeli Artillery Shell Blasts Factory In Gaza by The Palestinian Information Center

(38) Two Fighters Assassinated In Gaza, One Resident Injured by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(39) Gaza Family Mourns Boy Killed By Israeli Shell by Rami Almeghari, The Electronic Intifada
  
(40) A Palestinian Man Killed, Another Badly Injured In Brutal Air Raid On Rafah Area by The Palestinian Information Center

(41) Hamas Founder Killed In Israeli Airstrike by CNN

(42) 16 Palestinians Killed By Israel Last Month by The Palestinian Information Center

(43) Three Fighters Assassinated In Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(44) Palestinian Killed In Gaza Buffer Zone by Circarre Parrhesia, IMEMC

(45) Palestinian Children Demand International Protection by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(46) Army Bombards Gaza, Four Palestinians Injured by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(47) Army Bombards Gaza, One Resident Wounded by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(48) Resistance Hit Back, Injures Two Israeli Settlers by Al-Qassam Information Office; “Israeli Army Strikes Gaza After School Bus Hit” – Deconstructed by Associated Press Deconstructed

(49) Israel Hasbara Fails Again: Photos Show Mavi Marmara Passengers Protecting, Aiding Israeli Soldiers by Ali Abunimah

(50) Two Israelis Hurt In A Mortar Attack In Souther Israel by IMEMC

(51) 14 Killed In Gaza, Dozens Injured In Series Of Strikes by Ma’an News Agency

(52) Five Palestinians Killed, 40 Injured By Israeli Missiles In Gaza by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(53) Municipality: Israel Shelled Drinking Water Tank In Gaza City by The Palestinian Information Center

(54) Health Minister: Internationally Banned Weapons Used In Israeli Aggression by The Palestinian Information Center

(55) The IOF Used White Phosphorus In Its Latest Aggression by The Palestinian Information Center

(56) Palestinian Factions In Gaza Declare Ceasefire by Saed Bannoura, IMEMC

(57) Palestinians Say 19 Killed In Weekend Of IDF Strikes On Gaza by Anshel Pfeffer, Jack Khoury, Amos Harel, Barak Ravid and Yanir Yagna, Haaretz

(58) Woman Killed In Gaza Strike Was Anticipating Wedding by Rami Almeghari, The Electronic Intifada

(59) Israeli Warplanes Launch Mock Raids On Gaza by The Palestinian Information Center

(60) IOF Opens Fire At Gaza Border Areas by The Palestinian Information Center

(61) Fatah and Hamas Agree To Historic Palestinian Reconciliation Deal by Avi Issacharoff, Haaretz

(62) Palestinian Rivals Hamas And Fatah Sign Reconciliation Deal by The Guardian

(63) Wikileaks Is Zionist Poison II: Deconstruction Of The Myth by Jonathan Azaziah, Mask of Zion

(64) Is The Fatah-Hamas Deal A Disaster? by Anshel Pfeffer, The Jewish Chronicle
  
(65) Hamas-Backed “Unity Government” To Cooperate With Israel Army, Erekat Says by Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada

(66) Hollow ‘Reconciliation’ In Palestine by Ali Abunimah, Al-Jazeera English

(67) Hamas Sweeps Palestinian Elections, Complicating Peace Efforts In Mideast by Scott Wilson, The Washington Post

(68) The Gaza Bombshell by David Rose, Vanity Fair

(69) Hamas’ Choice: Recognition Or Resistance In The Age Of Obama by Ali Abunimah, The Electronic Intifada

(70) In Israel, Time For Peace Offer May Run Out by Ethan Bronner, The New York Times

CONSEQUENCES OF ISRAELI WEAPONS TESTING ON GAZA

This piece concerns itself with the effects of weaponry on the Palestine people. But it matters not  upon whom or where these hellish weapons of genocidal destruction are used, there is no argument in their favour. Never. Never. Never. Anyone who denies their effects is simply lying and either stupid or of a criminality level that exists so far beyond the pale of decency and truth that they deserve being taken out behind the barn and humanity put out of the misery he represents.

14 March 2011

War induced environmental threats continue to confrontithe population of Gaza: Health hazards resulting from the fractured sewage system caused by the bombings and toxic radiation contamination caused by Depleted Uranium (DU) and other Heavy Metal weaponry are manifesting at a staggering speed.

To top it all, unlike the dysfunctional sewage system that gave rise to waterborne diseases, DU contamination is irreversible and the effect is prolonged for at least hundreds of generations. A contaminated man will pass it to his spouse, who will then pass it to her child and that leads to his or her child and it goes on and on. The most calamitous aspect of DU contamination is the birth of stillborn or disfigured babies.

DU is the waste product of the nuclear industry and is disposed free of charge to weapon manufacturers. Both DU and heavy metals have the ability to kill indiscriminately.

Despite the denials put forth by Israel, it is a known fact that her military used DU and other heavy metals most liberally in its weaponry during the December 2009-January 2010 onslaught on the Gaza Strip. This is an international crime of giant proportions and it violates all international conventions on humanity, and it is morally incumbent upon the world community to aid the Gazans and institute efforts to punish the perpetrators.

Upon hitting a target, 70% of the depleted uranium burns and oxidizes, bursting into tiny highly toxic, radioactive micro particles which can be ingested or inhaled. DU dust is deposited on the ground and seeps into the soil contaminating groundwater supplies or is carried away by the wind. Experts state that DU dust are trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere and air currents will cause the regions near DU contaminated areas to be vulnerable to radiation.

It is radiation alpha particles from DU that runs rife inside your body and the rate and type of “Cancer” is subject to if it is inhaled or ingested.

When DU explodes, the core temperature reaches extremely high levels around 5,000 degrees Celsius creating miniature atomic weapons. Some dust particles settle in the crater and its vicinity whilst others escape into Earth’s atmosphere. It takes only one single alpha particle from a uranium atom to start the cancer process.

People in the area are dying of blood cancer caused by depleted uranium and medical experts are reporting a 30% increase in mortality rates due to radiation exposure. Children are born deformed and numbers of illnesses such as diabetes and infertility in Gaza are on the rise. The local health authorities are helpless because of the lack of facilities in Gaza due to Israel’s closure policy.

Richard Lightbown argues that Israel’s use of depleted uranium, white phosphorus and other toxic metals in its war on the people of the Gaza Strip has put the whole of the Strip’s population and its environment ~ air, soil, groundwater and possibly seawater ~ at risk of serious long-term injury and contamination.

Press TV on 4 March 2011 reported that cancer cases in Gaza had increased by 30 per cent, and that there was a link between the occurrence of the disease and residence in areas that had been badly hit by Israeli bombing. Zekra Ajour from the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights told the channel that Gaza had been a testing ground for illegal weapons.

BIRTH DEFECTS

On 20 December 2009 Al-Dameer had published another paper in Arabic on the increase in the number of babies born in Gaza with birth defects, thought to be the result of radioactive and toxic materials from Operation Cast Lead. ~ The birth defects included incomplete hearts and malformations of the brain. During August, September and October 2008 the number of cases had been 27. In the comparable months in 2009 the numbers had risen to 47. There was a similar rise in aborted foetuses. Al-Dameer had called for scientific monitoring throughout the Gaza Strip to obtain statistics on deformed foetus cases relating to the intentional use of internationally banned weapons.

Similar dramatic increases in birth defects over a longer period have been recorded in Iraq and have been linked to widespread use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons.

(It is reported that local midwives no longer look forward to births as they don’t know what is going to come out.)

DEPLETED URANIUM

“Depleted uranium burns at almost 1200 degrees Celsius. (TNT by comparison burns at 576 degrees Celsius.) At this temperature the fire vaporizes any metals in the target which in combination with uranium are released into the air in aerosol form. After deposition the aerosols have the potential to contaminate groundwater.”

Although the epidemiologist Professor Alastair Hay told the BBC in March 2010 that it was difficult to suggest any particular cause for the trend, scientific data has been published which contradicts his opinion. A review in Environmental Health in 2005 concluded by saying:

Regarding the teratogenicity of parental prenatal exposure to DU aerosols, the evidence, albeit imperfect, indicates a high probability of substantial risk. Good science indicates that depleted uranium weapons should not be manufactured or exploded.

When later asked in the same interview about white phosphorus, Prof. Hay had replied;

…phosphorus is an essential element in our bodies and so you would I think have to ingest a huge amount to cause any particular problem. But there has been no investigation anywhere that I am aware of to link phosphorus with health problems…

Apparently the professor has not read the Goldstone Report of the previous year which states in paragraph 896:

Apparently the shilling “good” professor is a shield to the truth, a misinformant and utterly without conscience.  He is also the worst kind of fool insisting upon empirical evidence scientifically produces when the truth of the matter is right in front of his lying eyes.  Who pays him to ignore the following report from the American Army?

A 1995 technical report issued by the American Army indicates that “if depleted uranium enters the body, it has the potentiality of causing serious medical consequences. The associated risk is both chemical and radiological”. Deposited in the lungs or kidneys, uranium 238 and products from its decay (thorium 234, protactinium and other uranium isotopes) give off alpha and beta radiations which cause cell death and genetic mutations causing cancer in exposed individuals and genetic abnormalities in their descendants.

Medical staff reported to the mission how even working in the areas where the phosphorus had been used made them feel sick, their lips would swell and they would become extremely thirsty and nauseous.

The toxicity of phosphorus is also recorded in a report by New York medical staff:

Oral ingestion of white phosphorus in humans has been demonstrated to result in pathologic changes to the liver and kidneys.

The ingestion of a small quantity of white phosphorus can cause gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. Individuals with a history of oral ingestion have been noted to pass phosphorus-laden stool (“smoking stool syndrome”).

The accepted lethal dose is 1 mg/kg, although the ingestion of as little as 15 mg has resulted in death.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that breathing white phosphorus for long periods causes “phossy jaw”, a condition in which there is poor wound healing of the mouth and breakdown of the jawbone.

DEPLETED URANIUM IN US-SUPPLIED BUNKER-BUSTER BOMBS

Evidence of the use of depleted uranium against Gaza is tenuous and Goldstone merely recorded in paragraph 907 that it had received allegations which it had not further investigated. Much of this evidence came from Action des citoyens pour le désarmement nucléaire (ACDN: Citizens Action for Nuclear Disarmament). Their report of July 2009 hypothesizes that the GBU-39 bunker-buster bomb is packed with 75 kilogram of depleted uranium. (A UNEP report also ambiguously refers to bunker-buster bombs containing depleted uranium.)

The US delivery of 1,000 of these bombs to Israel arrived in early December 2008 shortly before the start of the war. The GBU-39 is considered one of the world’s most precise bombs and Boeing, the manufacturer, claims that the bomb will penetrate three feet of steel-reinforced concrete. (UNEP suggests that it can penetrate reinforced concrete to depths ranging from 1.8 to over 6 metres.) Boeing’s patent on the weapon mentions depleted uranium.

It is not known how many bunker-buster bombs were used against Gaza but it seems reasonable to assume that the number could run into hundreds. It is thought that they were used mostly in the Philadelphia corridor against the tunnels. Desmond Travers, the former Irish army officer who was a member of the Goldstone Commission, would only say that depleted uranium may have been used during the war, although he did agree that it would have been well suited for attacking the tunnels where maximum penetration would have been desired. 

He was also in agreement with ACDN that the use of below-ground targets would have considerably reduced the levels of aerosol uranium that was dispersed into the air.

Col Raymond Lane, who is chief instructor of ordnance with the Irish armed forces, gave testimony to the Goldstone Commission on weapons used in the Gaza conflict. He told the commission that he had no expertise of depleted uranium and so had not investigated it. He gave no reason for his failure to bring in specialist expertise to investigate the subject.

In April 2009 Jean-François Fechino from ACDN was part of a four-person team which went to Gaza for the Arab Commission for Human Rights. Samples that the team brought back were analyzed by a specialist laboratory which identified carcinogens: depleted uranium, caesium, asbestos dust, tungsten and aluminium oxide. Thorium oxide was also found, which is radioactive, as are depleted uranium and caesium. The analysis also identified phosphates and copper, along with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are a health hazard, especially to children, asthmatics and elders.

Depleted uranium burns at almost 1200 degrees Celsius. (TNT by comparison burns at 576 degrees Celsius.) At this temperature the fire vaporizes any metals in the target which in combination with uranium are released into the air in aerosol form. After deposition the aerosols have the potential to contaminate groundwater. (The Gaza aquifer, which is the Strip’s only water source, is also connected to ground water supplies in Egypt, although water only flows into Gaza from Israel.)

There is empirical documentation that the aerosols can travel up to 42 Km and theoretical documentation that they can travel further. Sderot is about 43 kilometres from the Philadelphia corridor and less than five kilometres from Beit Hanoun. In consequence, it may be that the activities of Israel’s air force have created a greater threat to the Israeli city than all of the 8,000 well-publicized rockets from Gaza ever have.

Depleted uranium accumulation has been recorded in the bone, kidney, reproductive system, brain and lung. It is carcinogenic, toxic to the kidneys, damaging to cellular DNA and causes malformations to an embryo or foetus.

WHITE PHOSPHORUS

“Doctors found that when they removed bandages applied to a wound that still contained fragments of white phosphorous, smoke would come from the wound since the chemical continues to burn as long as it is in contact with oxygen.”

Although an Israeli army spokesman told CNN on 7 January 2009, “I can tell you with certainty that white phosphorus is absolutely not being used.” the chemical had been used by Israeli forces since the beginning of the war. 

The Goldstone Report stated that Israeli sources later claimed their forces had stopped using white phosphorous on 7 January 2009 because of international concerns.

This was also untrue as there is evidence that it had been used after that date. Goldstone declared the Israeli armed forces to have been “systematically reckless” in using white phosphorous in built-up areas (paragraphs 884, 886 and 890).

Difficulty in detecting the extent of damage to tissue and organs gave serious problems to medical staff trying to treat white phosphorus injuries. Several patients died as a result. Doctors found that when they removed bandages applied to a wound that still contained fragments of white phosphorous, smoke would come from the wound since the chemical continues to burn as long as it is in contact with oxygen. White phosphorous sticks to tissue so that all flesh and sometimes muscle around the burn would have to be cut out. The substance is also highly toxic (Goldstone paragraphs 892/4/5/6).

An article published in The Lancet included photographs of a young man who was admitted to hospital in Gaza with white phosphorous burns on 30 per cent of his body. The day after admission smoke was noticed coming from the wounds and the patient was rapidly transferred to the operating room for removal of dead tissue and removal of white phosphorus particles. During the operation a particle of the chemical was dislodged and caused a superficial burn on a nurse’s neck. The patient survived.

Col Lane testified that although white phosphorus gave the best quality of smoke for military purposes it was “horrible stuff” and the Irish army had stopped using it 20 years previously. He recounted how the British army had sea-dumped quantities of the material off the coast of southwest Scotland in the 1950s, some of which had been washed up on the coast of Ireland by a storm in 2007. It had ignited on drying (the colonel had witnessed this himself) and in one instance a child had suffered burns as a result.

OTHER TOXIC MATERIALS

Mass spectrometry analysis conducted by the New Weapons Research Group (NWRG) found aluminium, titanium, strontium, barium, cobalt and mercury in biopsies taken from white phosphorus wounds at Shifaa Hospital, Gaza. (Aluminium, barium and mercury have potential for lethal and intoxicating effects; aluminium and mercury can cause chronic pathologies over time; mercury is carcinogenic for humans; cobalt can cause mutations; and aluminium is fetotoxic, i.e. injurious to foetuses.)

White phosphorus bombs are built with alternating sectors of white phosphorus and aluminium. Analysis by NWRC of the powder from a shell near Al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza also found high levels of molybdenum, tungsten and mercury. 

Tungsten and mercury are carcinogenic, while molybdenum is toxic to sperms.

(Mutation and reduced sperm production ~ more proof that, when combined, are ideal for committing genocide.)

In a report appropriately entitled “Gaza Strip, soil has been contaminated due to bombings: population in danger”, NWRG also conducted analyses of two craters caused by bombs in 2006 and two others by bombs in 2009. In the 2006 craters they identified tungsten, mercury and molybdenum, while in the 2009 craters at Tufah they discovered molybdenum, cadmium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, copper and zinc. Cadmium and some nickel and manganese compounds are carcinogenic.

NWRG has further conducted research of hair samples from 95 children resident in heavily bombed areas of Gaza. Again using mass spectrometry the study identified the carcinogenic or toxic metals chromium, cadmium, cobalt, tungsten and uranium. One wounded individual also had unusually high levels of lead. The study found the results alarming and considered the levels could be pathogenic in situations of chronic exposure. Thirty-nine of the examinees were recommended for further checks.

DIME WEAPONS, SOIL CONTAMINATION AND CANCER

“DIME bombs cause a high proportion of amputations particularly of legs, while patients often suffered internal burns as well.”

It has been reported that soil in the area of a DIME (dense inert metal explosive) bomb blast may remain barren for an indefinite period of time because of contamination from heavy metal tungsten alloy. The same material in trial rapidly caused tumours in 100 per cent of rats when used at both low and high doses, with the tumours spreading to the lungs, necessitating euthanasia.

DIME weapons were first used against Gaza by Israeli drones in the summer of 2006, when Palestinian medical personnel reported that it significantly increased the fatality rate among victims. Shortly after the DIME weapons were also tested during the first week of the war in Lebanon in July 2006.

The Goldstone Commission was unable to confirm that DIME munitions were used by Israeli forces during Operation Cast Lead. Col Lane had told the commission in testimony that there was no actual proof. He then went on to testify that he had been given samples in Gaza which analysis in Dublin had shown to contain DIME materials consisting mostly of tungsten with traces of iron and sulphur.

He was of the opinion that ordnance had been used that had some sort of DIME component. He also mentioned that he had read of unusual amputations, and that tungsten and cobalt would have this effect. Weaponry had been found with DIME components which was capable of amputation and there are Palestinian amputees, yet neither Col Lane nor the commission was prepared to say that DIME weapons had been used by Israeli forces.

DIME bombs cause a high proportion of amputations particularly of legs, while patients often suffered internal burns as well. The bombs consist of powdered tungsten alloy mixed with an explosive material inside a casing which disintegrates on explosion. The tungsten powder tears apart anything it hits including soft tissue and bone, causing very severe injuries. Tungsten alloy particles, described as “finely powdered micro-shrapnel”, are too small to be extracted from the victim’s body and are highly carcinogenic. (Goldstone, paragraphs 902-4)

No weapons fragments can be found from DIME bombs with standard diagnostic resources, despite the indication of heavy metals from this type of injuries. Mass spectrometry analyses by NWRG of biopsies from amputation injuries revealed aluminium, titanium, copper, strontium, barium, cobalt, mercury, vanadium, caesium, tin, arsenic, manganese, rubidium, cadmium, chromium, zinc and nickel. 

 

Doctors reported that it was difficult to determine the extent of dead tissue (which it is vital to remove). This resulted in higher rates of deep infection, subsequent amputation and higher mortality.

The wide range of heavy metals discovered by analysis in casualties, residents and soil in Gaza suggests that other unidentified weapons may have also been tested. (The Sensor Fuzed Weapon has been suggested as one such technological perversion that the Israeli forces may have used.)

The whole Gaza population and their environment, including generations yet to be conceived, have been put at risk of serious long-term injury from heavy metal pollution of the air, soil and groundwater (and possibly the seawater too), while the causal pollution is likely to cross state borders into Egypt and even into Israel.

Reassurances of the legitimate and responsible use and the reduced lethality of weapons (an opinion in part shared by Col Lane) are callous and inadequate in the context of the dangerous reality that has resulted.

Meanwhile, the impacts of Israel’s illegal assaults on Gaza remain ignored and its deeds uncensored by the wider international community.

War induced environmental threats confronting the population of Gaza: Health hazards resulting from the fractured sewage system caused by the bombings and toxic radiation contamination caused by Depleted Uranium (DU) and other Heavy Metal weaponry, are manifesting at a staggering speed.

People in the area are dying of blood cancer caused by depleted uranium and medical experts are reporting a 30% increase in mortality rates due to radiation exposure. Children are born deformed and numbers of illnesses such as diabetes and infertility in Gaza are on the rise. The local health authorities are helpless because of the lack of facilities in Gaza due to Israel’s closure policy.

To top it all, unlike the dysfunctional sewage system that gave rise to waterborne diseases, DU contamination is irreversible and the effect is prolonged for many generations. A contaminated man will pass it to his spouse, who will then pass it to her child and that leads to his or her child and it goes on and on. The most calamitous aspect of DU contamination is the birth of stillborn or disfigured babies.

The majority of high tech weapons today contain Depleted Uranium or other Heavy Metals or both. These weapons are coated in DU or have both DU and Heavy Metal in their warheads. DU is also used as a counterweight for war machinery.

DU is the waste product of the nuclear industry and is disposed free of charge to weapon manufacturers. Both DU and heavy metals have the ability to kill indiscriminately.

Upon hitting a target, 70% of the depleted uranium burns and oxidizes, bursting into tiny highly toxic, radioactive micro particles which can be ingested or inhaled. DU dust is deposited on the ground and seeps into the soil contaminating groundwater supplies or is carried away by the wind. Experts state that DU dust are trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere and air currents will cause the regions near DU contaminated areas to be vulnerable to radiation.

A 1995 technical report issued by the American Army indicates that “if depleted uranium enters the body, it has the potentiality of causing serious medical consequences. The associated risk is both chemical and radiological”. Deposited in the lungs or kidneys, uranium 238 and products from its decay (thorium 234, protactinium and other uranium isotopes) give off alpha and beta radiations which cause cell death and genetic mutations causing cancer in exposed individuals and genetic abnormalities in their descendants.

It is radiation alpha particles from DU that runs rife inside your body and the rate and type of “Cancer” is subject to if it is inhaled or ingested.

When DU explodes, the core temperature reaches extremely high levels around 5,000 degrees Celsius creating miniature atomic weapons. Some dust particles settle in the crater and its vicinity whilst others escape into Earth’s atmosphere. It takes only one single alpha particle from a uranium atom to start the cancer process.

It’s a known fact that Israel used DU and other heavy metals in its weaponry during the December 2009-January 2010 onslaught on the Gaza Strip. 

This is an international crime of giant proportions and it violates all international conventions on humanity, and it is morally incumbent upon the world community to aid the Gazans and institute efforts to punish the perpetrators