AC writes:
Amnesty International
is reporting on the ransacking and destruction of Palestinian homes by
the IDF. "Gazans have had their houses looted, vandalized and
desecrated. As
well, the Israeli soldiers have left behind not only mounds of litter
and excrement but ammunition and other military equipment. It's not
the behaviour one would expect from a professional army…"
The report
makes clear that the IDF were occupying and fighting from Palestinian
civilian homes, either after civilians had fled or had been expelled,
or even while they were barred fleeing. "In most cases, the families
had fled or were expelled by the soldiers.
In some cases, however, the soldiers prevented the families from
leaving, using them as 'human shields'." Finally, the report has more
on the messages left behind by the IDF. One read "We came to annihilate you" in Hebrew.
Here, CNN interviews Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch on Israel's illegal use of weaponry; he recently wrote an article on willie pete [white phosphorus] that was published in, of all places, Forbes.
On an unrelated note, Al Jazeera English has produced two documentaries on recent Iranian history, one about the Shah (parts 1 & 2) and the other about Ayatollah Khomeini (parts 1 & 2).
They are of value to students of history seeking a visual explanation
of the subjects or those with a general interest in international
politics or the region. But they are noteworthy alone for their
existence on a news channel. Who other than perhaps PBS in America
would broadcast such quality historical documentary work (for free
access), let alone on a Middle Eastern country whose past and present
are made relevant nowadays by a steady campaign to barbarize it with
the aim of attacking it? Perhaps an example or two can be found (but
where? Cooper? Olbermann? O'Reilly?), but they would still be the
exception to the rule. Furthermore, while Americans have lost interest
in the two wars their government has ordered and their fellow citizens
are prosecuting in the Middle East, Al Jazeera English maintains a weekly program on Iraq and the war's proceedings. Isn't that something?
