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Posted 10:12 AM
by Mary
CNN is reporting that a UN compound in Gaza is now burning as a result of Israeli artillery and tank fire. Here is the AFP/Getty Images photo they are using in the story:
"Fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen in Gaza City set part of a U.N. relief agency's central storehouse for humanitarian aid ablaze, its director said Thursday.
The fire left black smoke hanging over Gaza City, and there was no way to control the fire, said John Ging, the head of operations in Gaza for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency.
"It's a very big fire, and we're not able to get it under control at the moment," he said. With gun battles going on around the facility, "the emergency services are not able to get to us."
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the story is the type of shells that were used, as Ging continues:
"What we've had all night and into this morning is a relentless bombardment of this area by artillery fire, which is coming from kilometers away, and by tank fire," he said.
He said staffers identified the source of the fires as white phosphorous shells, whose use is restricted under international law.What will be the official US response to this double war crime ( 1--shelling a relief agency with refugees present, 2--using white phosphorus for a purpose other than illumination)? Back in August of 2003, a UN compound in Baghdad was bombed in one of the first incidents of the insurrection in Iraq. Here is what George W. Bush had to say about that attack:
Today in Baghdad terrorists turned their violence against the United Nations. The U.N. personnel and Iraqi citizens killed in the bombing were in that country on a purely humanitarian mission. Men and women in the targeted building were working on reconstruction, medical care for Iraqis. They were there to help with the distribution of food. A number have been killed or injured. And to those who suffer, I extend the sympathy of the American people.
He goes even further:
The terrorists who struck today have again shown their contempt for the innocent. They showed their fear of progress and their hatred of peace. They are the enemies of the Iraqi people. They are the enemies of every nation that seeks to help the Iraqi people. By their tactics and their targets, these murderers reveal themselves once more as enemies of the civilized world.
Bush could issue much the same statement today, merely replacing "Baghdad" with "Gaza" and "Iraqis" with "Palestinians". Will he? I'm not going to hold my breath.
Labels: Gaza, Israel, war crimes, zionist
