MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: ISRAEL NAILED

There's no point in pulling punches, the 575 page report from the UN's fact find mission on the Gaza Conflict is a crock -- it's anti-Israel throughout. So let's take a quick look at a couple of examples.

Regarding so-called unconventional weapons:

49. While the Mission is not in a position to state with certainty that so-called dense inert metal explosive (DIME) munitions were used by the Israeli armed forces, it did receive reports from Palestinian and foreign doctors who operated in Gaza during the military operations of a high percentage of patients with injuries compatible with their impact. DIME weapons and weapons armed with heavy metal are not prohibited under international law as it currently stands, but do raise specific health concerns. Finally, the Mission received allegations that depleted and nondepleted uranium were used by Israeli forces in Gaza. These allegations were not further investigated by the Mission.

This is pure speculation from doctors who don't know that they've ever treated DIME injuries. And since the adverse health effects of depleted uranium are minimal throw in some speculation about "non-depleted" uranium, which must be highly toxic, except it isn't. Just for good measure make a vague meaningless reference to "heavy metals", which, as we all know, are really bad.

Despite a total lack of evidence of their use DIMEs come up again:

882. In the course of its inquiries, the Mission was made aware of the use of certain weapons by the Israeli armed forces. This chapter does not intend to present a comprehensive analysis of all the aspects raised on the kinds of weaponry used during the military operations. It is rather a summary of the Mission’s views on a number of issues that arise from the foregoing chapters in relation to the obligation to take all feasible precautions in the choice of the means and methods of warfare. Many of the issues brought to the Mission’s attention had already received scrutiny in the press or as a result of analysis carried out by a number of organizations.480 Among these issues was the use of white phosphorous, the use of flechette missiles, the use of so-called dense inert metal explosive (DIME) munitions, and the use of depleted uranium.

How can DIMEs be an issue if it's not known they were used? No matter, they keep coming up:

902. The Mission received reports from Palestinian and foreign doctors who operated in Gaza during the military operations of a strikingly high percentage of patients with severed legs as a result of the impact of projectiles launched by the Israeli armed forces. Dr. Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian anaesthetist, and Dr. Eric Fosse, a Norwegian surgeon, who carried out surgery in al- Shifa Hospital from 31 December 2008 to 10 January 2009,487 described to the Mission the characteristics of the wounds. The amputations mostly occurred at waist height in children, generally lower in adults, and were combined with skin-deep, third-degree burns, four to six fingers upward from the amputation. Where the amputation took place, the flesh was cauterized as a result of the heat. The patients with these amputations had no shrapnel wounds, but red flashes on the abdomen and chest. The excision of large pieces of flesh was not infrequent in these patients. Dr. Gilbert added that the patients also suffered internal burns. This description was confirmed to the Mission by Palestinian surgeons.

903. The Mission understands such injuries to be compatible with the impact of DIME weapons. DIME weapons consist of a carbon-fibre casing filled with a homogeneous mixture of an explosive material and small particles, basically a powder, of a heavy metal, for instance, a tungsten alloy. Upon detonation of the explosive, the casing disintegrates into extremely small, non-lethal fibres. The tungsten powder tears apart anything it hits. The impact of such weapons in general causes very severe wounds within a relatively limited diameter (compared to other projectiles) from the point of detonation. As the small heavy metal particles can slice through soft tissue and bone, survivors close to the lethal zone may have their limbs amputated and tungsten alloy particles embedded in their bodies. The probabilities of injuries to persons at a greater distance from the detonation point are reduced compared to more conventional projectiles. It is therefore also referred to as a “focused lethality munition”.488

904. The materials submitted to the Mission, including by the expert witness Lt. Col. Lane, point to specific medical concerns with regard to survivors of DIME weapon injuries.489 The tungsten alloy particles are suspected to be highly carcinogenic and so small that they cannot be extracted from the patient’s body. Dr. Gilbert noted that there had been no follow-up studies on the survivors of this type of amputation observed in Gaza and Lebanon since 2006 following Israeli military operations. There is some research suggesting that these patients might be at increased risk of cancer.

Mads Gilbert, now there's an unreliable source if ever there was one. And even though it's not known that DIMEs were used, the report is now speculating about an increased risk of cancer from their use. But there's more:

905. From the facts it gathered, the Mission finds that the allegations that DIME weapons were used by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza during the military operations require further clarification with regard to their use and, particularly, the health-care needs of survivors of the amputations attributed to DIME weapons.
488 The DIME munitions subject of discussion here are distinct from the missile described, for example, in the al-Maqadmah mosque case. In that case the missile had been fitted with a micro-shrapnel fragmentation sleeve. The micro-shrapnel consisted of tungsten or tungsten alloy cubes, which may have similar carcinogenic hazards as the powder or fibres in DIME.

906. The Mission notes that DIME weapons and weapons armed with heavy metal are not prohibited under international law as it currently stands. The “focused lethality” reportedly pursued in the development of DIME weapons could be seen as advancing compliance with the principle of distinction. The Mission also observes, however, that there remains a very high risk of harming civilians when using these weapons in built-up areas and that concerns have been expressed that DIME weapons could have a particularly adverse impact on the enjoyment of the right to health of survivors, which would go beyond the impact generally associated with being affected by anti-personnel weapons in an armed conflict.

So, Israeli's not only kill civilians, they aim to wreck the health of those they wound. The UN should be ashamed of this crap.

NOTE: Any commenting nonsense from Damian Lataan, or those responding to him, will be deleted.