The Council appointed the Jewish Justice Richard Goldstone, a South African
Constitutional Court judge and the former chief prosecutor of the United
Nations International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia.
Justice Goldstone issued the 575-page report on September 29, 2009 and the
Goldstone Report accused both Israel and Hamas of war crimes perpetuated during
the 22 days of assault on Gaza which began two days after Christmas day in
2008, when the Israeli military launched Operation Cast Lead; a full-scale
attack on Gaza that killed 13 Israelis and 1,400 Palestinians.
Over 5,000 Palestinians were injured, 400,000 were left without running water,
4,000 homes were destroyed, rendering tens of thousands who are still homeless
because of Israel's targeted attacks upon them, their schools, hospitals,
streets, water wells, sewage system, farms, police stations and UN buildings.
The 22 days of Israel's attack on the people of Gaza was enabled by US-supplied
weapons and we the people of the US who pay taxes provide over $3 billion annually
to Israel although Israel has consistently misused U.S. weapons in violation of
America's Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts.
America is the worlds largest arms supplier to Israel and under a Bush
negotiated deal with Israel-which Obama signed onto during Christmas time 2009,
we the people who pay taxes in America will also provide another $30 billion in
military aid to Israel over the next decade.
During the 22 days of Israeli assault on Gaza, "Washington provided F-16
fighter planes, Apache helicopters, tactical missiles, and a wide array of
munitions, including white phosphorus and DIME. The weapons required for the
Israeli assault was decided upon in June 2008, and the transfer of 1,000
bunker-buster GPS-guided Small Diameter Guided Bomb Units 39 (GBU-39) were
approved by Congress in September. The GBU 39 bombs were delivered to Israel in
November (prior to any claims of Hamas cease fire violation!) for use in the
initial air raids on Gaza. [1]
In a 71-page report released March 25, 2009, by Human Rights Watch, Israel's
repeated firing of US-made white phosphorus shells over densely populated areas
of Gaza was indiscriminate and is evidence of war crimes.
"Rain of Fire: Israel's Unlawful Use of White Phosphorus in Gaza,"
provides eye witness accounts of the devastating effects that white phosphorus
munitions had on civilians and civilian property in Gaza.
"Human Rights Watch researchers 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 in Gaza
immediately after hostilities ended in January.
"Militaries officially use white phosphorus to obscure their operations on
the ground by creating thick smoke. It has also been used as an incendiary
weapon, though such use constitutes a war crime.
"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." [Ibid]
During the 22 days of attack on Gaza, the UN Security Council, Amnesty
International, International Red Cross, and global voices of protest rose up
and demanded a ceasefire, but both houses of Congress overwhelmingly endorsed
resolutions to support a continuation of Israel's so called "self
defense."
In November 2006, Father Manuel, the parish priest at the Latin Church and
school in Gaza warned the world:
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"Gaza cannot sleep! The
people are suffering unbelievably. They are hungry, thirsty, have no
electricity or clean water. They are suffering constant bombardments and sonic
booms from low flying aircraft. They need food: bread and water. Children and
babies are hungry...people have no money to buy food. The price of food has
doubled and tripled due to the situation. We cannot drink water from the ground
here as it is salty and not hygienic. People must buy water to drink. They have
no income, no opportunities to get food and water from outside and no
opportunities to secure money inside of Gaza. They have no hope.
"Without
electricity children are afraid. No light at night. No oil or candles...Thirsty
children are crying, afraid and desperate...Many children have been violently
thrown from their beds at night from the sonic booms. Many arms and legs have
been broken. These planes fly low over Gaza and then reach the speed of sound.
This shakes the ground and creates shock waves like an earthquake that causes
people to be thrown from their bed. I, myself weigh 120 kilos and was almost
thrown from my bed due to the shock wave produced by a low flying jet that made
a sonic boom.
"Gaza cannot
sleep...the cries of hungry children, the sullen faces of broken men and women
who are just sitting in their hungry emptiness with no light, no hope, no love.
These actions are War Crimes!"
Dear President Obama,
On the two-year commemoration of Israel's killing of approximately 1,400
Palestinians during "Operation Cast Lead," I urge you to demand that
Israel stop inflicting collective punishment on the 1.5 million residents of
the Palestinian Gaza Strip through its illegal siege.
I also urge your Administration to stop blocking the international community
from holding Israel accountable for its actions in "Operation Cast
Lead," during which--the Goldstone Report found--Israel committed
violations of human rights and international law, war crimes, and possible
crimes against humanity.
On Human Rights Day, 2010, the State Department said that there is a
"single universal standard that applies to every country, including our
own. We apply it to Israelis," and that it views "Palestinians as
being human beings under the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights] and
entitled to these rights."
I urge your Administration to live up to these words in its policies toward
Israel's actions upon Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Help us end the Obama Administration's hypocrisy on human rights and on its policies toward Israel and the besieged Palestinian Gaza Strip by clicking here and signing our petition right now.