Accordingly, Yuval Diskin talked about a desire for a ceasefire by Hamas: which has often been defined as Israel ceases and Hamas fires.

Remnants of an Israeli white phosphorus shell, identified by the marking on the outer casing — M825A1 — have been found in the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza.

Witnesses in Gaza said that the shell was fired on January 9 and was taken indoors as evidence. They recalled seeing thick smoke and smelling a strong odour in keeping with the garlic-like smell associated with white phosphorus.

Hebrew writing on the shell casing reads “exploding smoke” — the term the Israeli army uses for white phosphorus. Doctors who examined the shell said that it appeared to include phosphorus residue.

As for white phosphorus, that was disproven a while ago. I do like that clever juxtaposition, the Jews possessing weapons with exceptionally good optics coupled with their fanatic hatred of Gazans. Clever, them Jews, aren’t they. Clever and cruel, right?

Most were killed with high-precision weapons, relying on surveillance drones which have exceptionally good optics, allowing those observing to see their targets in detail. Others were killed with imprecise weapons, including artillery shells carrying white phosphorus – not previously used in Gaza – which should never be used in densely populated areas.

Amnesty International found that the victims of the attacks it investigated were not caught in the crossfire during battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces, nor were they shielding militants or other military objects. Many were killed when their homes were bombed while they slept. Others were sitting in their yard or hanging the laundry on the roof. Children were struck while playing in their bedrooms or on the roof, or near their homes. Paramedics and ambulances were repeatedly attacked while attempting to rescue the wounded or recover the dead.

“The deaths of so many children and other civilians cannot be dismissed simply as ‘collateral damage’, as argued by Israel,” said Donatella Rovera. “Many questions remain to be answered about these attacks and about the fact that the strikes continued unabated despite the rising civilian death toll.”

What Israel should do now is remove itself from the UN. Being in the UN is like living with an abusive spouse. Time to move on.

Then there is also the issue of our internal moral health. Israel has of course been at war for 61 years, and by logic should by now be a totally militaristic, ruthless society. But it isn’t, because basically that’s not what the people want it to be. Yes we fight when we have to, but I don’t think the majority of our people would be comfortable with a ‘blitzkreig’ attitude towards our enemies.

What is particularly worrying about the Goldstone report, besides its obvious political nature, is its short-sightedness and hypocracy.
It is short-sighted because its conclusions indicate to terrorists and fascists everywhere in the world that not only is there no consequence for their actions, they are in effect operating above international law and therefore it is to their advantage to continue to hold civilian populations in the grip of terror.
This will surely come back to bite the world’s democratic nations on the bum. The nations who sit on the UNHRC and commissioned this report and indeed pre-dictated its findings are not, for the most part democracies: their attitude to dealing with terror is indeed the blitzkreig method, so its escalation worries them less.
The hypocracy is in the fact that many of the NGOs who contributed to the Goldstone report’s findings by giving ‘evidence’ are politically committed to Israel’s destruction and yet are financed by the EU, various European countries, the US and even Canada, as well as various private sources such as the Ford Foundation.
If the international community really does want to see peace, or at least an end to hostility, in the ME and wants to curb international terrorism in general, thus protecting its own citizens on the streets of London and NY, it must cease immediately to fund these organisations which are contributing to the legitimisation of terror and its placement above international law.
The world needs an urgent rethink on the subject of rules of warfare: normal rules of engagement are not appropriate for asymetrical warfare against terrorists and at present the fascist terror organisations have the upper hand.
Much of the world may well stand around rubbing its hands in glee when Israel gets the rough end of this situation, but it is only a matter of time before that fascist terror comes knocking on other doors too, and I’m sorry to say that it will be entirely the democratic nations’ own fault.

“Ari Shavit / UN must hold Obama to same standard as Israel ”

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115242.html

If Israel is guilty of War Crimes then let’s put Obama and Brown in the dock.

ToE

You know this story would make a good movie and Quentin Tarratino is currently in Israel for the local premeire of “Inglorious Bastards” ….Hmm, perhaps this could be “Inglorious Bastards II”?

Seriously: “A Jewish American man who served in a combat unit in the IDF”
Could that be this fellow: “Brotherhood of Warriors” by Aaron Cohen & Douglas Century at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q3KM9Y