Israelis are Playing Dirty, UN headquarters in Gaza Hit by ‘White Phosphorus’ Shells

The Israelis are fighting dirty. According to the UK Times Online, the main UN compound in Gaza was in flames today after being struck by Israeli artillery fire, and a spokesman said that the building had been hit by shells containing the incendiary agent white phosphorus.

The attack on the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) came as Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, arrived in Israel on a peace mission and plunged Israel’s relations with the world body to a new low.

Mr Ban told reporters in Tel Aviv that he had expressed “strong protest and outrage” to the Israeli Government over the shelling of the compound and was demanding an investigation. He said that Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defense Minister, had told him that it was “a grave mistake.”

I had no clue what white phosphorous shells were, so I did some research and was a little perturbed by what I read, including the fact that the U.S. used it in the Iraqi war.

White phosphorus (WP) is a flare- and smoke-producing incendiary device or smoke-screening agent that is made from a common allotrope of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus bombs and shells are incendiary weapons, but can also be used as offensive anti-personnel flame compounds capable of causing serious burns or death. The agent is used in bombs, artillery and mortars, short-range missiles which burst into burning flakes of phosphorus upon impact.

White phosphorus is commonly referred to in military jargon as “WP.” The slang term “Willy(ie) Pete” or “Willy(ie) Peter”, dating from World War I and common at least through the Vietnam War, is still occasionally heard. White phosphorus weapons are controversial today because of their potential use against civilians. It is not considered a chemical weapon, but in recent years the United States, Israel and Russia have used white phosphorus in combat. Source: Wikipedia

Of course they have denied this, but they ought to learn from the mistakes of the United States and Russia, or even when they met such strong resistance from Hezbollah in the skirmish with Lebanon. The Israelis have made a grave mistake and there should be strong international condemnation of their actions.

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Filed under: Gaza Strip, Hezbollah, Incendiary Device, Israelis, Russia, UN Compound, United States, Weapons, White Phosphorous Shells

Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney’s Relief Boat Rammed by Israeli Ship

Why Cynthia McKinney decided to go on a mercy mission to the Gaza Strip is beyond me. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a boat carrying international peace activists, including Ms. McKinney, and medical supplies to the embattled Gaza Strip sailed back into a Lebanese port on Tuesday after being turned back and damaged by the Israeli navy, organizers of the trip said.

The boat, according to media reports, wanted to make a statement and deliver medical supplies to embattled Gaza. The trip’s organizers said the boat was clearly in international waters, 90 miles off the coast of Gaza, at the time of its close encounter with the Israeli navy.

“Our boat was rammed three times, twice in the front and one on the side,” McKinney told CNN Tuesday morning. “Our mission was a peaceful mission. Our mission was thwarted by the aggressiveness of the Israeli military.”

Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, denied there had been any shooting although the two ships had made “physical contact.” Palmor said there was no response to a radio warning to the Dignity, and the vessel then tried to out-maneuver the Israeli patrol boat, leading to the collision. Cyprus state radio said the Cypriot government would seek explanations from Israel over the incident.

McKinney called on President-elect Obama to address the Gaza crisis, saying the weapons being used by Israel were supplied by the United States. McKinney denied that the incident was an accident. “What the Israelis are saying is outright disinformation,” she said. “What happened to us last night was a direct threat to our mission, but not our cause.” Palmor called those allegations “absurd.” “There is no intention on the part of the Israeli navy to ram anybody,” Palmor said. Source: AJC

Cynthia McKinney had me up until this point. She is calling on Barack Obama to intervene. Really Cynthia? News flash, he isn’t the president yet and there is really nothing he can do about this mess. It will be on his brunch plate first thing January 20, 2009, after he is sworn in.

McKinney, who ran as the Green Party candidate for president, sees the voyage as a humanitarian mission, said her father, former Georgia state Rep. Billy McKinney. “Her mother did not want her to go,” he said, referring to concerns at home for her safety. “But I think that certain people have missions in life and you can’t deter them.”

The activists, organized by the Free Gaza Group, said their 66-foot yacht called “SS Dignity” would defy an Israeli blockade of Gaza and ferry 16 activists and three tons of Cypriot-donated supplies. The supplies are intended to help treat the wounded from Israeli bombings against targets in Gaza, in retaliation for rocket fire aimed at civilians in southern Israeli towns. McKinney had sent an e-mail days ago to friends and supporters saying she intended to go to Gaza, said Hugh Esco, a Decatur resident who ran her presidential campaign Web site. “She has stood with people all over this planet against oppression,” said Esco. Source: AJC

Personally, I don’t think she should have gone, given the volatile situation. I hope this wasn’t a self-serving move on her part, but a geniune humanitarian effort. If the allegations are true, then the Israelis have played a dirty hand. On the other hand, Cynthia McKinney is no stranger to controversy–pandering for money from Saudi prince after 9/11 when Rudy Giuliani said no, to slapping a Capitol police man, plus the myriad of ridiculous antics in Atlanta–I take her actions with a grain of salt. Did she expect to descend on the Gaza Strip like Moses parting the Red Sea?

Filed under: Barack Obama, Boat Damaged, Cynthia McKinney, Gaza Strip, Humanitarian Efforts, Palestinians