GAZA CITY — Israel is using non-conventional weapons in the Gaza Strip, leaving the bodies of Palestinian victims "down to the bones" and rupturing internal organs without any obvious sign of shrapnel wounds, Palestinian doctors say.
"In some cases we have opened the abdomen and found very fragmented organs," Dr. Juma Al-Saqqa, the director of public relations at Shifa Hospital, told The Independent on Monday, September 4.
More than 200 Palestinian have been killed and hundreds wounded since Israel launched its wide-scale offensive on June 12.
Palestinian doctors say that the bodies of Palestinian victims have been burned "down to the bone".
A sample of injuries sustained by Palestinians and sent to Italy suggested that some wounds might have been caused by phosphorus.
A Palestinian Health Ministry report said the injuries indicate that Israel is using "unprecedented" projectiles with "radiant" substances.
"We think this should be studied," Saqqa stressed.
The severity of the Palestinian injuries has pushed the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider launching a full probe into their causes.
Dr Ambrogio Manenti, the head of the WHO's West Bank and Gaza office, said that a preliminary assessment had been conducted by the world body.
The assessment had been referred to the WHO Geneva headquarters, which is now considering a full investigation, he added.
No Talk
Meantime, a memorandum issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and addressed to military and other government agencies has warned against speaking about the Israeli offensives in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, fearing some talk could invite war crimes lawsuits.
"The type of language now considered off-limits includes 'crushing' the enemy, and 'cleansing', 'leveling', or 'wiping out' suspected enemy emplacements," a political source who saw the memo told Reuters.
He quoted the memo as censuring one official who called for Israel to respond to Hizbullah rockets fire into northern Israel by "getting rid of a village in Lebanon".
The Israeli foreign and justice ministries declined comment.
The Foreign Ministry has also set up a legal team to counter efforts by foreign groups to arrange the prosecution abroad of Israelis involved in the two onslaughts, said political sources.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called for trying Israeli leaders for committing genocide in Lebanon during the month-long war.
Almost half of the estimated 1,300 civilians killed in the Israeli onslaught were children.
The offensive, which left the Lebanese infrastructure in tatters, also displaced a million people.
According to the Israeli memo, numerous war crimes lawsuits against Israeli officials were being prepared.
It cited venues such as France, Belgium, Morocco and Britain, but no further details were immediately available.
Last month, a lawsuit was filed by three Moroccan lawyers against Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz over the Lebanese and Gaza offensives.
A Danish lawmaker also tried to have Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni detained and prosecuted during a recent visit to Copenhagen.
But the request for an arrest warrant was turned down by Danish prosecutors.
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-09/04/06.shtml
"In some cases we have opened the abdomen and found very fragmented organs," Dr. Juma Al-Saqqa, the director of public relations at Shifa Hospital, told The Independent on Monday, September 4.
More than 200 Palestinian have been killed and hundreds wounded since Israel launched its wide-scale offensive on June 12.
Palestinian doctors say that the bodies of Palestinian victims have been burned "down to the bone".
A sample of injuries sustained by Palestinians and sent to Italy suggested that some wounds might have been caused by phosphorus.
A Palestinian Health Ministry report said the injuries indicate that Israel is using "unprecedented" projectiles with "radiant" substances.
"We think this should be studied," Saqqa stressed.
The severity of the Palestinian injuries has pushed the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider launching a full probe into their causes.
Dr Ambrogio Manenti, the head of the WHO's West Bank and Gaza office, said that a preliminary assessment had been conducted by the world body.
The assessment had been referred to the WHO Geneva headquarters, which is now considering a full investigation, he added.
No Talk
Meantime, a memorandum issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and addressed to military and other government agencies has warned against speaking about the Israeli offensives in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, fearing some talk could invite war crimes lawsuits.
"The type of language now considered off-limits includes 'crushing' the enemy, and 'cleansing', 'leveling', or 'wiping out' suspected enemy emplacements," a political source who saw the memo told Reuters.
He quoted the memo as censuring one official who called for Israel to respond to Hizbullah rockets fire into northern Israel by "getting rid of a village in Lebanon".
The Israeli foreign and justice ministries declined comment.
The Foreign Ministry has also set up a legal team to counter efforts by foreign groups to arrange the prosecution abroad of Israelis involved in the two onslaughts, said political sources.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called for trying Israeli leaders for committing genocide in Lebanon during the month-long war.
Almost half of the estimated 1,300 civilians killed in the Israeli onslaught were children.
The offensive, which left the Lebanese infrastructure in tatters, also displaced a million people.
According to the Israeli memo, numerous war crimes lawsuits against Israeli officials were being prepared.
It cited venues such as France, Belgium, Morocco and Britain, but no further details were immediately available.
Last month, a lawsuit was filed by three Moroccan lawyers against Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz over the Lebanese and Gaza offensives.
A Danish lawmaker also tried to have Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni detained and prosecuted during a recent visit to Copenhagen.
But the request for an arrest warrant was turned down by Danish prosecutors.
http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2006-09/04/06.shtml