British Baroness: Israel Committed War Crimes Against Gaza

"Both actions are against international law; they are war crimes. Many innocent civilians, many little children, have been killed by these obscenities." - British Baroness Jennifer Tonge

(SALEM, Ore.) - "The Israeli Foreign Minister, said that Israel would go wild in Gaza. They certainly did that, with the USA turning its usual blind eye. The UK and the European Union have behaved so feebly they were almost colluding in Israel’s actions."

Some people believe that if women were in charge of this world, we would have far less bloodshed. I have no trouble believing that. British Baroness Jennifer Louise Tonge's sharp words over Israeli policy this week, could be considered a shining example of sound and honest motherly thinking in the whir of an ever spinning political vacuum.

Baroness Tonge called out the weak willed western nations that constantly ignore and thus demean the military rampage and civilian death toll that the IDF dealt the people of Gaza late last year.

This is a city where Israeli soldiers watch the Palestinians from high towers and sometimes snipe children and other residents for apparent kicks. It really happens, most Americans have no idea the level that Israeli treatment of these people has sunk to.

Tonge knows that to condemn this treatment of Palestinian people is not a matter of religion-bashing, it has absolutely nothing to do with it. I state this because every story like this inevitably leads to accusations of being anti-Semitic, which is nothing less than false and ridiculous.

It was announced this week that the Palestinian Authority would not pursue a broadly supported draft resolution condemning Israel's attack on Gaza offensive last winter.

Rays of hope had become brighter when the Goldstone Commission report was released on Sept. 15, 2009, accusing both Israel and Hamas of war crimes. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated recently that any attempt to use "the Goldstone report to advance anti-Israel measures in the Human Rights Council or in international legal proceedings in The Hague, would deal a deathblow to the peace process," the Israeli news outlet Haaretz wrote Friday.

Tonge noted how Israel was careful to exclude the press and media coverage of the Gaza attack, "But the UN, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International all had people watching what was happening, as well as the Al-Jazeera cameras," she said.

Defence for Children International states that 348 children were killed during the Israeli military operations in Gaza last December and January. 13 of the children were considered "combatants" and maybe they were, but what about the other 335? Do these politicians ever wonder what it would be like to see 335 kids killed by American supplied military hardware? Unlikely, Palestinian people are treated like animals and Americans are blind and brainwashed.

Professor Alan Sabrosky, who also writes for Salem-News.com, said Tonge's words represent no earth-shaking consequences, "but they stood up and spoke out and were televised doing it, which is about 400% more than those political eunuchs in our Congress -- both houses, both parties -- have done. Where are women like that when we need them so desperately?"

We have written several times that Israel not only killed hundreds of totally innocent people in the attack, but used weapons and techniques that are illegal under international law in the process. Baroness Tonge agrees.

"One charge I wish to make concerns the use of white phosphorus in residential areas, where many people were injured by this obscene material. It is a crime. The injuries sustained by burning phosphorus are horrible and the suffering is unthinkable. The Israelis also used 155mm shells in residential areas, able to do damage over a range of 300 metres."

She recalls being assued by the Israelis that they were accurately targeting only those areas with Hamas installations.

"Really? With a damage range of 300 metres? What lies. Both actions are against international law; they are war crimes. Many innocent civilians, many little children, have been killed by these obscenities."

She wants the assurance that the British government and the European Union will not be content with Israeli offers of more self-policing.

"There must be an independent investigation through the United Nations Security Council. Israel stands accused of war crimes, witnessed by the whole world. What hope for Israels long-term future now?"

The next opportunity to raise these charges in the UN will not come again until March, according to Haaretz.

Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor.
Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), the first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several other awards including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website, affiliated with Google News and several other major search engines and news aggregators.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com