Israeli human rights group wants napalm-like weapon banned

Zambia News.Net
Friday 22nd May, 2009

Moves are afoot in Israel to ban the use of white phosphorus.

The chemical weapon, which has similar applications to napalm which was widely used in the Vietnam War, was responsible for a number of deaths during the Israeli army's Cast Lead operation in December and January.

The human rights organisation, B'Tselem has now written to the judge advocate general, demanding that the military stop all use of munitions containing phosphorus.

B'Tselem also demanded that all cases in which the military used phosphorus during Operation Cast Lead be thoroughly investigated for breaches of international humanitarian law.

Human Rights Watch investigated six cases and found that at least thirteen Palestinians had been killed by phosphorus, among them four women and seven children, including a one-year-old infant. In addition, the use of phosphorus caused extensive damage to property. There is documentation of fires throughout the Gaza Strip that resulted from the use of phosphorus in the bombing of houses, UN facilities, and humanitarian-aid warehouses.

Phosphorus burns everything it touches. It causes severe burns when it comes into contact with humans. Phosphorus continues to burn as long as it is exposed to oxygen, so the burns continue to penetrate deeper into the body’s tissues, often through to the bone, making the injury especially horrific. Even if physicians manage to remove the burnt tissue, the phosphorus is absorbed in the blood stream and poisons internal organs.

One of the persons injured by phosphorus in Gaza, Ghadah Abu Halima, died from her wounds many weeks after being exposed to the substance. She had given a testimony to B'Tselem about the incident in which members of her family were killed by a phosphorus shell.

During the December/January offensive, Israeli officials denied that the military was using white phosphorus. As the number of reports on the use of phosphorus increased, and pictures proving its use appeared, officials were forced to admit that the military had indeed used phosphorus. However, they insisted its use was lawful under international humanitarian law.

Recently, the results of the Israeli army’s inquiry into “munitions containing phosphorus components” were made public. According to the inquiry, the army used two kinds of such phosphorus munitions. The first kind, which was used less, was shells in which phosphorus was a major component. These shells, the inquiry found, are not intended to provide a smoke screen. Nevertheless, the inquiry determined, because they were fired at open areas, and “phosphorus munitions were not fired at a built-up area and not against humans,” their use conformed to international law. Although not required by the strict letter of the law, the military decided to cease use of this ammunition.

The second kind of phosphorus ammunition, whose use was more prevalent, was munitions that “contained felt dipped in phosphorus.” To the best of B'Tselem’s knowledge, it says, most of the injuries to civilians and of property damage resulting from the use of phosphorus were caused by this kind of ammunition.

The report of the military’s inquiry states that these munitions are intended only for smokescreen purposes. Therefore, it holds, in its conclusions, that they are not subject to the special restrictions specified in international law regarding the use of “incendiary” munitions, and, in any event, are permitted under international law.

The findings of the inquiry, say B'Tselem raise doubts about the military’s willingness to seriously examine the claims raised about its conduct of the operation. "The published comments are completely detached from the effects of the use of phosphorus in the field. Not one mention is made of injury to humans, buildings, or farmland, as if it were a theoretical exercise in international law," said B'Tselem in a statement Friday. "The claim that the use of phosphorus was “in a configuration that is not intended to harm humans or ignite fires,” and that it was intended “only for smokescreen purposes,” is so divorced from the reality of use of phosphorus in the field that it raises doubts as to the material the investigators had at their disposal, or, alternatively, as to their commitment to the truth," said B'Tselem.

"The facts presented in the investigative report are inaccurate, and the investigators’ determination that use of these munitions was “only for smokescreen purposes” is not true. In several cases, at least, the military fired phosphorus in the air above populated areas, in circumstances in which justification for creating a smokescreen was unclear given that soldiers were not present in the area. This occurred, for example, in the attack on the UNRWA compound, in the center of Gaza City, on 15 January 2009."

HRW’s investigation indicates that, around ten o’clock in the morning of 15 Janaury 2009, six shells, at least three of which contained phosphorus, landed inside the compound. As a result, two warehouses containing food, medical equipment, and humanitarian supplies caught fire. Another example was the attack on the UN school in Beit Lahiya, on 17 January. According to HRW, at six o’clock in the morning, the military fired at least three white-phosphorus shells at the school. Two children were killed.

Even after publication of the results of the inquiry, it is still not clear why the military specifically chose to use munitions whose consequences are so horrible, said B'Tselem. "If it were indeed intended only to provide camouflage to protect the soldiers, the objective might have been achieved by using smoke bombs, which apparently the military possesses. This fact, which officials have ignored, strengthens the suspicion that the use of phosphorus was not chosen only as camouflage, but also to achieve other, unlawful purposes."

White phosphorus has been also used extensively in the Iraq War. For many years however the U.S. military denied it was being used. In November 2005 the U.S. ambassador to the UK Robert Holmes Tuttle said that U.S. forces "do not use napalm or white phosphorus as weapons."

The BBC however took issue with the statement and sought a confirmation from the Pentagon. A spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Venable, then confirmed to the British broadcaster a week later, that white phosphorus had been used as an antipersonnel weapon, and was quoted as saying: "It has been used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants."

The chemical weapon was used during the 2006 Israel - Lebanon War, and civilian victims have died in Afghanistan showing symptons of white phosphorus burns. U.S. and NATO forces there say they suspect the Taliban may be using the weapon.