Posted on 01/22/2009 10:02:53 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
There is evidence that Israel committed war crimes during its 22-day campaign in the Gaza Strip and there should be an independent inquiry, U.N. investigator Richard Falk said on Thursday.
The mental anguish of the civilians who suffered the assault is so great that the entire population of Gaza could be seen as casualties, said Falk, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Falk, speaking by phone from his home in California, said compelling evidence that Israel's actions in Gaza violated international humanitarian law required an independent investigation into whether they amounted to war crimes.
"I believe that there is the prima facie case for reaching that conclusion," he told a Geneva news conference.
Falk said Israel had made no effort to allow civilians to escape the fighting.
"To lock people into a war zone is something that evokes the worst kind of international memories of the Warsaw Ghetto, and sieges that occur unintentionally during a period of wartime," Falk, who is Jewish, said, referring to the starvation and murder of Warsaw's Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two.
"There could have been temporary provision at least made for children, disabled, sick civilians to leave, even if where they left to was southern Israel," the U.S. professor said.
Falk said the entire Gaza population, which had been trapped in a war zone with no possibility to leave as refugees, may have been mentally scarred for life. If so, the definition of casualty could be extended to the entire civilian population.
Falk, who was denied entry to Israel two weeks before the assault started on Dec. 27, dismissed Israel's argument that the assault was for self-defence in the light of rocket attacks aimed at Israel from the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip.
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.reuters.com ...
Screw the UN.
What a bunch of frap.
So “mental scarring” is a war crime now? That’s what I got from this.
Maybe Israel should just shoot UN Investigators then.
I loathe our mainsteam media, but Al Reuters is the worst.
Can someone link me to the report of the U.N. calling for war crimes trials for those who shot over 100 missiles per day into Israel each day for a solid year before Israel took action?
My problem is that the U.N. only investigates Israeli war crimes. It couldn’t care less about Arab war crimes.
Israel should boot all U.N. personnel from the West Bank and Gaza. They are members of a front organization for the terrorists.
He might have gotten one thing correct in all his ranting: it was more about garnering votes than really setting the Arab nomads back.
Israel could just sit there with big targets and let every missile hit perfectly, saying thank you terrorists may I have another, and the UN would find fault in Israel for not putting the rockets back together so the terrorists can launch them again.
“The mental anguish of the civilians who suffered the assault is so great...”
Just incredible.
I had to self-delete my first three posts. Enuff said.
I’ll be more interested in what our new administration does to all this propaganda.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Israel’s enemies sit at the UN roundtable. It’s time we kicked this dump out of the US. Hey, maybe we can put the Gitmo people there? Any difference?
did he write his proclamation on the first day of the war? or before? Probably just printed it out from a form letter and added a date and a signature.
The UN was aiding and abetting the Palestinians. So lets not consider them impartial.
How about becoming a UN investigator?
The man is a complete fool - an anti-Semite of the first order and a Charter Member of the Jews For A Second Holocaust.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Having read the whole thing … you are right … metal scarring is the only complaint. guaranteed to be a future UN war crime.
So far the only War CRIME I see is
#1 ...Israel allowing the UN into Gaza
#2 ..Israel allowing the UN into ISRAEL
#3 .. Israel allowing UN to leave Gaza in any form other than a CASKET.
Do I sound a Little Sour against the UN ... NAH, Not me!! No Never!!
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