The Goldstone Report accuses both Israel and Hamas of war crimes perpetuated during 23 days which began two days after last Christmas day, when the Israeli military launched 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 still homeless because of Israel's targeted attacks on schools, hospitals, streets, water wells, sewage system, farms, police stations and UN buildings.
The resolution passed by a vote of 25 in favor and six countries voted against it-the United States, Italy, Holland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Ukraine.
And it's about time!
The American Governments "special relationship" with Israel, is at the root of Israel's attack on Gaza for it has supported Israel's illegal occupation and illegal settlements/colonies.
But we the people are suppose to be the government and those of US with a conscience say we want the GOLD: we want the US to uphold the gold standard of law which is international law and the Goldstone Report is leading US in that way.
Because the USA has NOT been an honest broker for justice the "peace process" has never been much more than photo ops and paper work that sits on shelves. The international community is the body that is now leading the way to an end of the Israeli Palestinian conflict which was rooted in 1947 by the UN Partition Plan and entrenched in 1967 by Israel's military occupation of the indigenous people of the so called holy land-which is in pieces-bantustans!
The 23 days of Israel's attack on the people of Gaza was fueled by US-supplied weapons paid for with US tax dollars. We the people who pay taxes in the USA provide $30 billion annually to Israel which has consistently misused U.S. weapons in violation of America's Arms Export Control and Foreign Assistance Acts.
Imagine how many American citizens could receive basic health care with that!
During the 23 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 were 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. [2]
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.
à ‚¬Å"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]
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