Hours before Israel announced a ceasefire, an Amnesty International fact finding mission gained access to Gaza. Their initial reports are disturbing: the team found first hand evidence of war crimes, serious violations of international law and possible crimes against humanity by all parties to the conflict.
AI researchers continue investigating attacks against southern Israel and are currently documenting the true scale of devastation wrought on civilians in Gaza. The stories they report are harrowing.
In the early afternoon of January 4th, three young paramedics walked through a field on a rescue mission to save a group of wounded men in a nearby orchard. A 12-year-old boy, standing by his house, assisted the operation by pointing to where the men could be found. An Israeli air strike on the area killed all four.
The bodies of the four victims could not be retrieved for two days. Ambulance crews who tried to approach the site came under fire from Israeli forces.
Our researchers later traveled to the scene of the strike with the two ambulance drivers who witnessed the attack. They met with the boy’s distraught mother and found the remains of the missile. The label of the missile read, “guided missile, surface attack” and cited the United States as the country of origin.
This is just one of many similar stories.
Under the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel searching, collecting, transporting or treating the wounded must be protected and respected in all circumstances. Clearly, this was not the case on Jan. 4th.
Since we last wrote, more than 87,000 of you have written Congress and former administration officials. These emails, along with the massive outpouring of letters from around the world from other Amnesty sections, are making an impact. Just this week:
- the United Nations pledged $613 million in aid for Gaza
- 60 members of Congress signed a letter to Secretary of State Hillary of Clinton calling for humanitarian support for Gaza
- And yesterday ago, the US pledged $20 million in aid
We have a small window of opportunity to build on this momentum: urge Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Susan Rice to push for a full-fledged independent investigation.
This investigation is critical for many reasons, not the least of which is the clear evidence of the use of white phosphorous, as well as the mounting evidence of the misuse of US arms. As you read this, Amnesty researchers continue documenting the use of arms, and we expect an action specifically calling on Congress to investigate the misuse of US weapons in this conflict in the coming weeks.
Everyone is responsible for the protection of international law. The US government must not turn a blind eye to possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should support an independent international inquiry by the United Nations into allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law – by all groups participating in the conflict.
The story of the paramedics and the young boy is not an anomaly. Write Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Rice today and urge accountability for abuses in Gaza and southern Israel now.
7 comments ↓
While what has happened in the middle east is a complete tragedy, I don’t agree that I’m responsible for the protection of international law. To think that the US government actually is one of the people, where “we the people” actually controls it is foolish.
Do we control it like when 95% of people called in to tell them not to bailout the financial industry and they still did it? Do we control it like voting democrats in to end the war in 2006, and it still is going on?
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t send the requests and make the calls, but I think it’s important to note that although we may tell them what we want them to do, in reality, we’re just begging. Enough angry beggers and the king might act differently, but it’s still begging.
But don’t you know? Somehow YOU are responsible and the politicians really aren’t. YOU are bad, and the politicians get away with murder.
I guess this is just the nature of war. Maybe some day humanity will evolve and stop using force as a policy.
Well. In a way we are responsible. Don’t the courts ofttimes hold Parents culpable when their children go astray? Is there nothing we can do to stop the involuntary servitude?
Of course there is. Punish the criminals and the horse they rode in on. Just what is it that enables the criminals to continue?
Isn’t it We The People? When we vote for a known shyster because he is a member of our party don’t we aid and abet the crime? Could you vote against the crook? Of course you can.
Then why in the world don’t you do it?
Get the Party First. That will stir a change that will get all the Criminals attention, including the Party they rode in on.
Never again vote for a Republican Candidate! Try it. You’ll See.
Cliff, first things first. The government is in no way my parent, my mother, my mommy, my daddy, or anything else.
I don’t vote for any of these people in office, but yet, they’re still my parents, and I’m somehow still responsible for their actions? Nonsense.
It’s much better to compare it to the mafia.
Think of this as an alternate analogy.
Al Capone and his thugs would go around Chicago and tell people and businesses there to give him a portion of their incomes, or, his men would take it from them, beat them or possibly kill them.
Then he’d use that money to buy some guns and kill a few other people. Or, he’d use that money to fund a smaller mafia group in another city, so they’d be loyal to his operation.
Were the people he stole from somehow responsible for his actions because they valued their lives?
Sorry Spooner. I guess I didn’t get my point across clearly. What I meant is that We the people of the United States, don’t have to put up with what we have in Washington.
But what we the people of the United States are doing is enabling the crooks by voting Party line. Therefore there will be no penalty for the crimes and they will keep on getting elected because we vote party line, and since there are no penalties they will keep on giving us the Al Capone treatment, because we don’t try to stop them.
My remedy is to start punishing. It would be very hard to start with Bush, Clinton, etc. But it could not be easier to shun one of the parties and ignore them until they are no longer relevant.
I sincerely think doing this would put fair warning to the other Political entities that we are ready to do the same to them if they don’t straighten up and at the same time we need to be pushing those surviving parties to bring an investigation forward to find if criminal activities can be proved.
Of course we could continue to do nothing and we will get the same result we have been getting. And we can keep on griping and doing nothing.
Nothing wrong with your analogy. We are being squeezed by thugs. I think we can do something about it.
I think you’ve touched on something important here about voting, Cliff.
you’re absolutely right that voting the party line is causing people in this country a lot of problems.
I’d take it a step further. The governmet, as it’s structured today, is a criminal organization. It steals, it kills, it threatens.
It’s my position that voting, in and of itself, is enabling this system and giving it further credibility. that’s what I think needs to stop.
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