Denuding civilians, W. phosphorus: US overlooks Israeli war crimes
6 Min Read
The United States once again strays away from condemning the Israeli occupation's war crimes and only says it is "concerned" and "distressed" by its aggression.
-
A shell that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explodes over Kfar Kila, a Lebanese border village, as it is seen from Marjayoun town in south Lebanon, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023 (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
The United States is merely "concerned" about the reports proving that the Israeli occupation used white phosphorus munitions in its aggression on southern Lebanon, munitions it gave "Tel Aviv" to freely wage aggression with them on whoever it deemed fit.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday that the Biden administration saw the reports highlighting the occupation's usage of the internationally prohibited munitions.
"Certainly concerned about that. We'll be asking questions to try and learn a little bit more," Kirby said.
A Washington Post report that came out earlier in the day said the Israeli occupation used white phosphorus munitions handed to it by the US against Lebanon in October.
According to WashPo, the US-based newspaper got its hands on shell fragments found in al-Dhayrah, southern Lebanon, namely the remanent of three 155mm artillery rounds that injured at least nine civilians in what should be classified as a war crime.
A Washington Post journalist said production codes found on the shells match those by the US military to categorize domestically-produced munitions. One of the shells clearly has "WP" printed on it, which is consistent with white phosphorus rounds, arms experts said.
The internationally prohibited munition is part of multi-billion arms packages that the United States sends to the Israeli occupation, fueling the ongoing genocide in Gaza that has killed more than 18,000 Palestinians, at least half of whom are children.
Kirby, however, said white phosphorus had a "legitimate military utility", namely illumination and concealing movements.
"Obviously any time that we provide items like white phosphorous to another military, it is with the full expectation that it will be used in keeping with those legitimate purposes ... and in keeping with the law of armed conflict," he said.
Civilians attacked
What he forgot to mention, however, is that residents of the southern Lebanese town of al-Dhayrah reported suffering respiratory problems for days after the attacks as civilians were trapped in their homes for hours and could not breathe properly due to the toxic smoke.
Humanitarian law experts cited by WashPo said the US was obligated to track the behavior of its partners and allies whom it is assisting and force them to comply with US law.
Amnesty International underlines the incident should be investigated as a war crime. Although the Israeli occupation claims it was using the munition as a smokescreen, white phosphorus fell onto several homes and ignited wildfires, as well as wounded civilians, with black chemicals still being on the ground 40 days after the fact. Residents have reported that these chemicals combusted when they kicked them, which again proves that it is white phosphorus.
White phosphorus, with its dual capability for marking, signaling, and obscuring or as an incendiary weapon, can cause severe burns to individuals and ignite structures, fields, and other civilian objects in the vicinity.
White phosphorus is a combustible (ignites when exposed to oxygen) and a severely fatal chemical. The combustible reaction produces light, heavy white smoke, and heat of about 815°C.
White phosphorus is highly soluble in human flesh and causes deadly thermal and chemical burns that can go as deep as the bones.
Direct contact is extremely excruciating and can leave long-lasting damage to internal organs. Even inhaling its vapor can cause severe inflammation in the trachea.
US demands 'clarification' over naked pictures of naked Palestinians
The US State Department, upon seeing the photos of dozens of naked Palestinian men in the streets of Gaza, some were kneeling, some were standing, all of whom were humiliated in what could be deemed yet another war crime by the Israeli occupation, only said that it found the pictures to be "deeply disturbing".
All that the State Department did in the aftermath was say that it asked the Israeli occupation for clarification regarding its actions.
Some Palestinians said they recognized relatives in the images and denied they had links to Hamas or any other group. Some, they said, were children.
Video clip was taken by Israeli soldiers showing stripped and blindfolded Palestinian men, abducted by the IOF in northern Gaza. At least 100 Palestinian men were involved in this violation, which has been strongly condemned by Palestinian officials and human rights groups as degrading and inhumane.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's senior advisor, Mark Regev, played down the humiliation of Palestinian men in an interview with Britain's Sky News on Saturday, suggesting that the act of forcing Palestinians to strip their clothes as they were rounded up by Israeli soldiers was not a major issue because of the warmer weather in West Asia.
Regev stated that in the Middle East, particularly during sunny days, being asked to take off one's shirt might not be "the end of the world", "Remember, it’s the Middle East and it’s warmer here, especially during the day when it’s sunny, to be asked to take off your shirt, it might not be pleasant but it’s not the end of the world," Regev said.
Israeli propaganda falters...again
For example, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, a news website, recognized one of the men detained that day on December 7 as their correspondent, Diaa Kahlout. As such, the outlet urged the international community to denounce the arrest of journalists while the Committee to Protect Journalists called for his release, Reuters reported.
Similarly, Palestinian American, Hani Almadhoun, said he recognized his 12-year-old relative among those detained and denied his relative had any links to Hamas.
In turn, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stressed they were concerned of the images and underscored the importance of treating detainees with humanity and dignity as required by international humanitarian law.
Moreover, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on X, denounced the Israeli occupation's "savagery in treating prisoners and innocent abducted citizens." The Iranian FM further stressed that these images "all illustrate that this apartheid and occupier regime is well outperforming and excelling Daesh [ISIS] in committing various types of murder and crime!"
Similarly, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, said, ahead of his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, that doctors and journalists were among those "humiliated" by "Israel".
The Palestinian ambassador to London, Husam Zomolot, also commented on the images in a post on X, calling the Israeli aggression a "blatant attempt at the humiliation & degradation of Palestinian men...stripped & displayed like war trophies."
