Gazan Terrorists Continue To Use Phosphorous Illegally--And No One Cares

During Operation Cast Lead, Israel was accused of violating international law with its use of phosphorous--however, during Operation Cast Lead, the International Red Cross stated that Israel was not using phosphorous improperly:

The international Red Cross said Tuesday that Israel has fired white phosphorus shells in its offensive in the Gaza Strip, but has no evidence to suggest the incendiary agent is being used improperly or illegally.


The comments came after a human rights organization accused the Jewish state of using white phosphorus, hich ignites when it strikes the skin and burns straight through or until it is cut off from oxygen. It can cause horrific injuries.

The International Committee of the Red Cross urged Israel to exercise "extreme caution" in using the incendiary agent, which is used to illuminate targets at night or create a smoke screen for day attacks, said Peter Herby, the head of the organization's mines-arms unit.

"In some of the strikes in Gaza it's pretty clear that phosphorus was used," Herby told The Associated Press. "But it's not very unusual to use phosphorus to create smoke or illuminate a target. We have no evidence to suggest it's being used in any other way."

Of course, when the terrorists from Gaza use phosphorous, it is a different matter entirely--and the use of phosphorous by Gazan terrorists is not the first time they have used it either. Back on January 14, 2009--during the war--it was reported that terrorists in Gaza used phosphorous for the first time:

Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday fired their first phosphorus shell into Israel, which exploded in an open area in the Eshkol area in the western Negev.

During September 2010, phosphorous was again used by the terrorists in Gaza:

At least two of the nine mortar shells fired Wednesday into Eshkol Regional Council were phosphorus bombs, police confirmed after initially declining the corroborate a claim made by the area's security officer.

Police sappers examined and identified the two phosphorus bombs. According to police, such bombs do not cause any more damage than a standard mortar shell.

Since the addition of phosphorous does not create more damage, the only reason for adding the phosphorous was purely to cause increased physical injury--in clear violation, once again, of international law.

Just this past August, Hamas launched a mortar shell with phosphorus into Kerem Shalom.

And now, on Sunday, Gazan terrorists were again using phosphorous in violation of international law:

Two mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip into the rural Eshkol Regional Council on Sunday morning contained phosphorous, security forces confirmed. The shells landed in open fields, causing no injuries or damage.

Mortars containing phosphorous fired from Gaza have landed in Israeli territory in the past. Phosphorous is designed to ignite a fire around the impact zone. The chemical is banned by international law for use near civilians.

Has anyone at the UN addressed this?
Will the UN Human Rights Council address this?

The fact that the rockets were fired by Arabs at Israelis answers the question, doesn't it?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Phosphorous.