Sabra and Shatila

September 16th to September 18th, 1982

Though estimates vary widely depending on the political motivation and the ethnic or religious affiliation of who is asked, it can be said with grim certainty that the death toll of the bloodbath in the refugee camps during the September week of Bashir's assassination numbered well over 800. Similarly, the events that unfolded within the walls of the camp are equally difficult to reconstruct. From the rubble of the camps emerged only questions, and nobody who would dispense a clear answer for so much to answer for. Only bodies and remnants of bulldozed structures remained of what once was either described as a temporary home of thousands of displaced people, or terrorist breeding grounds. Throughout all of this, surviving witnesses are scarce, and those who could tell the truth are presumed to be ordered to silence by their superiors... After the dust cleared, it was discovered that mostly the remains of hundreds of civilians, women, children, and old people were scattered prominently in the dusty streets of Sabra and Shatila... for more photos click here http://photos44.blogspot.com/

Gaza's untold story

Gaza's long history proves one point: it outlives all colonizers, writes Ramzy Baroud*

It's inconceivable that an area such as the Gaza Strip, so rich with history, so saturated with defiance, can be reduced to a few sound bites, blurbs and reductionist assumptions, convenient but deceptive, vacant of any relevant meaning, or even true analytical value. The fact is that there is more to the Strip than 1.5 million hungry Palestinians who are supposedly paying the price for Israel's "collective punishment", whichever way the media decides to brand the problem.

More importantly, Gaza's existence since time immemorial must not be juxtaposed by its proximity to Israel, failure or success in "providing" a tiny Israeli town -- itself built on conquered land that was seen only 60 years ago as part of the Gaza Province -- with its need for security. It's this very expectation that made the killing and wounding of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza a price worth paying, in the callous eyes of some and their followers.

These unrealistic expectations and disregard for important history will continue to be costly and will only serve the purpose of those interested in swift generalisations. Yes, Gaza might be economically dead, but its current struggles and tribulations are consistent with a legacy of conquerors, colonialism and foreign occupations, and more, its peoples' collective triumph in rising above the tyranny of those invaders.

In relatively recent history, Gaza became a recurring story following the 1948 influx of refugees driven from their homes by Zionist militias or who fled for their families' sake, hoping to return once Palestine was recovered. They settled in Gaza, subsisting in absolute poverty, a situation that continues, more or less, to this day.

The history of Gaza, and the place itself, was largely irrelevant from the point of view of the refugees who poured into the Strip mostly from the south of Palestine, for it represented the pinnacle of their loss, humiliation and -- at times -- despair. It mattered little to the peasant refugees as they fled to Gaza that they probably walked on the same ancient road that ran along the Palestinian coast when Gaza was once the last metropolis for travellers to Egypt before they embarked on an unforgiving desert journey through Sinai. So what if Gaza was described as the city, as told in the Book of Judges, where Samson performed his famous deed and perished? Christianity was relevant to the refugees insofar as a few of Gaza's ancient churches provided shelter to the tired bodies escaping snipers, bullets and massacres. Even the strong belief amongst Muslims that the Prophet Mohamed's great-grandfather, Hashem, died on one of his journeys from Mecca to the Levant and was buried in Gaza was largely sentimental. His shrine in Gaza City was visited by numerous refugees, who knelt and prayed to God that they, some day soon, would be able to return to their humble existence and ways of life from which they had been forcibly estranged.

But Gaza's history became more relevant to the refugees when it appeared that their temporary journey to the Strip was likely to be extended. Only then the areas' many stories of conquerors, tragedies, triumphs, but also sheer goodness, became of essence. A pilgrim to the Holy Land, who passed through Gaza in 570 AD, wrote in Latin, "Gaza is a splendid city, full of pleasant things; the men in it are most honest, distinguished by every generosity, and warm to friends and visitors."

Gaza's history became even more relevant when the refugees realised that their violent encounters with Israel were not yet over, and that they needed the moral tenacity to survive what would eventually be viewed as one of the most severe humanitarian catastrophes in recent memory. And indeed, there was much history to marvel upon, and from which to extract strength and substantiation.

Conquerors came and went, and Gaza stood where it still stands today. This was the recurring lesson for generations, even millennia. Ancient Egyptians came and went, as did the Hyksos, the Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Ottomans, the British, and now the Israelis. And through it all, Gaza stood strong and defiant. Neither Alexander the Great's bloody conquest of 332 BC nor Alexander Janneus's brutal attack of 96 BC broke Gaza's spirit or took away its eternal grandeur. It always rose again to reach a degree of civilisation unheard of, as it did in the fifth century AD. It was in Gaza that the Crusaders surrendered their strategic control of the city to Saladin in 1170, only to open up yet another era of prosperity and growth, occasionally interrupted by conquerors and outsiders with colonial designs, but to no avail. All the neglected ruins of past civilisations were only reminders that Gaza's enemies would never prevail, and would, at best, merely register their presence by another neglected structure of concrete and rocks.

Now Gaza is undergoing another phase of hardship and defiance. Its modern conquerors are as unpitying as its ancient ones. True, Gaza is ailing, but standing, its people resourceful and as durable as ever, defiant as they have always been, and hell-bent on surviving, for that's what Gazans do best. And I should know, it's my home.

War crimes convictions after Gaza?

Demonstrators in Belgium accused Israel of war crimes, as the Israeli foreign minister visited the headquarters of the European Union [AFP]

As the UN and human rights groups demand independent investigations into the conduct of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, the world’s attention is focusing on Israeli officials could face prosecution for war crimes.

Whatever the inquiries find, bringing suspected war criminals to court will be far from straightforward.

There is a world of difference between establishing that war crimes have been committed, and then holding those responsible to account, says Mark S Ellis, the executive director of the International Bar Association (IBA).

"Often, people view these as the same, but they are not under international law. There is a gap ... regarding the issue of accountability," Ellis says.

Even if independent inquiries do establish that gross violations of the laws of armed conflict have taken place during the war in Gaza, the mechanisms to ensure those responsible on either side are brought to justice "simply don’t exist".

The Phosphoric Bomb

Video showing injuries consistent with the use of white phosphorus shells has been filmed inside hospitals treating Palestinian wounded in Gaza City.

Contact with the shell remnants causes severe burns, sometimes burning the skin to the bone, consistent with descriptions by Ahmed Almi, an Egyptian doctor at the al-Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Almi said the entire body of one victim was burned within an hour. It was the first time he had seen the effects of what he called a "chemical weapon".

The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus during the assault on Gaza, but aid agencies say they have no doubt it has been used.

"It is an absolute certainty," said Marc Garlasco, a senior military analyst at Human Rights Watch. He had seen Israeli artillery fire white phosphorus shells at Gaza City, Garlasco said.

The shells burst in the air, billowing white smoke before dropping the phosphorus shell.

Garlasco said each shell contains more than 100 incendiary rounds, which ignite and pump out smoke for about 10 minutes.

Severe respiratory problems can result in anyone exposed to the smoke and burning chemical particles that rain down over an area the size of a football pitch.

According to the International Solidarity Movement, many patients at the hospital near Khan Younis were suffering from serious breathing difficulties after inhaling smoke.

Human Rights Watch compares the use of white phosphorus shells over Gaza to the impact of cluster munitions, which scatter "bomblets" over a wide area. Children may kick and play with a lump of phosphorus, stirring up the embers and producing more fire and smoke.

The use of white phosphorus as a weapon – as opposed to its use as an obscurant and infrared blocking smoke screen – is banned by the UN's third convention on conventional weapons, which covers the use of incendiary devices. Though Israel is not a signatory to the convention, its military manuals reflect the convention's restrictions on using white phosphorus.

Israel initially claimed that it was not using white phosphorus. It later explained that shells being loaded for a howitzer, identified from photographs as phosphorus rounds, were empty "quiet" shells used for target marking. However, images of exploding shells and showering burning fragments are now acknowledged by independent observers as having been phosphorus.

At the centre of the controversy is the way white phosphorus air burst shells have been used in heavily built-up urban areas, with an overwhelmingly civilian population.

The M825A1 rounds, which are the kind identified as being fired by Israeli forces, are made primarily for use as a smokescreen in a way that limits their effect as an incendiary weapon, experts say.

Neil Gibson, a technical adviser to Jane's Missiles and Rockets magazine, said the shells did not produce high-velocity burning fragments like conventional white phosphorus weapons once did.

Instead, he said, they produced a "series of large slower burning wedges which fall from the sky". The wedges would then ignite spontaneously in the air and fall to the ground, burning for five or 10 minutes, he said.

Israel kills not only innocent but also environment:

the phosphoric bombs is type of dangerous chemicals weapons whereas its start burning as soon as mix with oxygen and make the third and fifth phosphoric oxide, huge heat, horrible explosion and dense smoke, immediately after touch the skin it caused deep burn and dangerous explosion, what make it real dangerous its instant in fat and burn all parts inside human body, The phosphoric bombs has ability to make deep harm for people whereas it used for Killing and genocide            

The phosphoric bomb caused of real harm for environment and in case of pollute of any place the phosphoric inters subsoil in sea depth and rivers then infect the fishes.

This pollution infected human through plants, groundwater and rainwater.

Also Israel used new weapons called daym bomb, Israel make its experiment for this new bomb through killing Palestinians.

Daym bomb weighed about 250 rotl.

Daym bomb react during explosion then its splinter penetrate human body and makes dangerous cutting for tissue and bones.

195 Killed and 200 Injured in Israeli Air Strikes on Gaza

At least 195 Palestinians were killed with more than 200 wounded across the Gaza Strip on Saturday in massive Israeli air strikes on the Hamas-run enclave. The attack, the most intense since Sabra and Shatila massacre, has been carried out by F-16 and Apache fighters. The military spokesman for the Israeli Army said the operation is still at the beginning, expecting other attacks targeting Hamas leaders. Observers described the operation as the bloodiest in 20 years. The Israeli attack caused heavy damage to buildings and properties. Medical sources said there are scores of dead under the rubble, pointing out that the bombardments focused on Gaza, Khan Younis and Rafah. Palestinian