Request for the ICC Investigation into the Islaeli War Crimes(국제형사법원의 이스라엘 전쟁범죄수사촉구)

[jaeyiewlee]

Source(출처): http://www.aks.ac.kr/aks/BBS/Debate_View.aspx?id=27&p=1

http://cafe.daum.net/FortheKidnapped

Jae-Yiew Lee

774-9 Bangbae-dong, Seocho-gu

Seoul 137-069, Republic of Korea

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Po Box 19519

2500 CM, The Hague

The Netherlands

January 18, 2009,

Dear Sirs,

Thanks for proceeding with the great international duties and affairs of crimes in the hectic and difficult processes.

I, as a Korean Graduate student of the Academy of Korean Studies, stringently request you to initiate the investigation on the war crimes, and to prosecute the related criminals that have committed the Israeli war crimes in the Gaza area of the Middle East as follows:

1. The related violation of the Elements of Crimes Article 8 (2) (a) (i) War crime of wilful killing in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

Elements

1. The perpetrator killed one or more persons.

2. Such person or persons were protected under one or more of the Geneva

Conventions of 1949.

3. The perpetrator was aware of the factual circumstances that established that

protected status.

Israeli troops attacked a lot of Palestinians including children into houses and buildings in Gaza, shelling the property and killing many civilians including more than 400 children, as shown in the following news materials -

(1) From Times Online

on January 9, 2009,

War in Gaza: Israel accused of shelling house full of children

The United Nations has accused Israeli troops of evacuating scores of Palestinians – including children – into a house in Gaza and then shelling the property 24 hours later, killing some 30 people.

In a report published today on what it called "one of the gravest incidents" of the 14-day conflict, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) complained that the Israeli Defence Force then prevented medical teams from entering the area to evacuate the wounded.

Citing "several testimonies" - but without identifying them - OCHA said that Israeli foot soldiers evacuated around 110 Palestinians into a house in Zeitun, south of Gaza City, on Sunday. Half of them were children.

"Twenty-four hours later, Israeli forces shelled the home repeatedly, killing approximately 30," OCHA said. "Those who survived and were able walked two kilometres to Salah Ed Din road before being transported to the hospital in civilian vehicles. Three children, the youngest of whom was five months old, died upon arrival at the hospital."

Related Links

◦ Israel rejects UN ceasefire call in Gaza

◦ Red Cross: Israel guilty of 'unacceptable' conduct

◦ UN calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Multimedia

◦ PICTURES: Gaza conflict

◦ IN DEPTH: the UN report

OCHA added that the International Committee of the Red Cross took several days to gain access to the area but managed to do so on Tuesday during the first daily three-hour humanitarian ceasefire. "Due to the limited time allowed, ICRC was not able to reach all houses in the area," it said. "In all, ICRC evacuated 30 Palestinians including 18 wounded."

The ICRC had already issued a statement on the Zeitun incident yesterday, accusing Israel of "unacceptable behaviour" and of breaching international humanitarian law. In that statement, the ICRC said its team had discovered four emaciated children living next to the corpses of their dead mothers in a house on which there were 12 dead bodies lying on mattresses.

In another house, they found 15 survivors of the Israeli bombardment, several of them wounded, and, in a third, three corpses.

An ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva said that she could not confirm‎ that the report referred to the same incident. The ICRC statement had made no mention of Israeli shelling Palestinian evacuees.

Responding to the OCHA report, the Israeli army said it had no knowledge of such an incident but was investigating.

The allegations risk further souring relations between Israel and the United Nations. The main UN aid agency in Gaza, UNRWA, said yesterday that it was suspending operations after two of its drivers were killed in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy.

Late last night in New York, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where some 800 Palestinians have been killed in a two-week Israeli offensive.

The 15-member council backed a resolution drafted by Britain in a 14-0 vote after the United States lifted its veto threat - infuriating the Israelis - but decided nevertheless to abstain.

The resolution "stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."

But the Israeli shelling continued unabated this morning, small plumes of white smoke rising every few minutes from the battered apartment blocks of Gaza City.

Israel carried out more than 50 air strikes in Gaza overnight, in which 12 Palestinian civilians were reported to have been killed. The Israeli military said that the militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and its allies fired more than 15 rockets into southern Israel, wounding one person.

Israel's security cabinet - comprising Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, the Defence Minister and the Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni - was to meet later today to consider a formal response the UN resolution.

But Ms Livni made Israel's position clear in a statement this morning in which she said: "Israel has acted, is acting and will act only according to its considerations, the security needs of its citizens and its right to self defence."

Hamas also rejected the ceasefire demand. "Even though we are the main actors on the ground in Gaza, we were not consulted about this resolution and they have not taken into account our vision and the interests of our people," one Hamas official said. "As a result we do not feel concerned by this resolution and when the different parties apply it they will have to deal with those who are in charge on the ground."

The source of information and evidences:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5480440.ece,

and

(2) From Times Online

January 9, 2009

War in Gaza: Israel accused of killing 30 after shelling safe house

{[PlugIn]:http://news.sky.com/sky-news/app/flash/SkyvideoWrapper.swf?playerType=}

Philippe Naughton, and Martin Fletcher on the Gaza border

The United Nations has accused Israel of evacuating scores of Palestinians into a house in the suburbs of Gaza City, only to shell the property 24 hours later, killing some 30 people.

In a report published today on what it called "one of the gravest incidents" of the 14-day conflict, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) complained that the Israeli Defence Force then prevented medical teams from entering the area to evacuate the wounded, including young children.

The Israeli military said it was investigating the claim but had no knowledge of the incident.

Citing "several testimonies" - but without identifying its sources - OCHA said that Israeli foot soldiers evacuated around 110 Palestinians into a house in Zeitun, south of Gaza City, on Sunday. Half of them were children.

Related Links

Israel rejects UN ceasefire call in Gaza

Red Cross: Israel guilty of 'unacceptable' conduct

UN calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Multimedia

PICTURES: Gaza conflict

IN DEPTH: the UN report

"Twenty-four hours later, Israeli forces shelled the home repeatedly, killing approximately 30," OCHA said. "Those who survived and were able walked two kilometres to Salah Ed Din road before being transported to the hospital in civilian vehicles. Three children, the youngest of whom was five months old, died upon arrival at the hospital."

OCHA added that the International Committee of the Red Cross took several days to gain access to the area but managed to do so on Tuesday during the first daily three-hour humanitarian ceasefire. "Due to the limited time allowed, ICRC was not able to reach all houses in the area," it said. "In all, ICRC evacuated 30 Palestinians, including 18 wounded."

The ICRC had already issued a statement on the Zeitun incident yesterday, accusing Israel of "unacceptable behaviour" and of breaching international humanitarian law.

In that statement, the ICRC said its team had discovered four emaciated children living next to the corpses of their dead mothers in a house on which there were 12 dead bodies lying on mattresses. In another house, they found 15 survivors of the Israeli bombardment, several of them wounded, and, in a third, three corpses.

The ICRC declined to comment on the allegations in the OCHA report but a spokeswoman said that Red Cross teams had returned to Zeitun yesterday and evacuated around 100 people.

An Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, quoted a Zeitun resident giving details of the alleged incident over the telephone but stressed that it was unable to independently verify the account.

Meysa Fawzi al Samuni, 19, said soldiers forced her and dozens of others to move into the warehouse-like home of another resident. Two men who left the house to pick up a relative were struck by "a missile or a shell," she said.

"My husband went over to them to help, and then a shell or missile was fired onto the roof of the warehouse. Based on the intensity of the strike, I think it was a missile from an F-16," B’Tselem quoted her as saying.

"After the smoke and dust cleared a bit, I looked around and saw 20-30 people who were dead, and about 20 who were wounded. As far as I know, the dead and wounded who were under the ruins are still there."

The allegations risk further souring relations between Israel and the United Nations. The main UN aid agency in Gaza, UNRWA, said yesterday that it was suspending operations after two of its drivers were killed in an Israeli attack on an aid convoy.

Late last night in New York, the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, where around 800 Palestinians have been killed in a two-week Israeli offensive.

The 15-member council backed a resolution drafted by Britain in a 14-0 vote after the United States lifted its veto threat - infuriating the Israelis - but decided nevertheless to abstain.

The resolution "stresses the urgency of and calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire leading to the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."

But the Israeli shelling continued unabated this morning, small plumes of white smoke rising every few minutes from the battered apartment blocks of Gaza City.

Israel carried out more than 50 air strikes in Gaza overnight, in which 12 Palestinian civilians were reported to have been killed. The Israeli military said that the militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and its allies fired more than 15 rockets into southern Israel, wounding one person.

After a meeting of his security cabinet, Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, rejected the resolution as "unworkable" today and said that Israel had "never agreed to let an external body decide its right to protect the security of its citizens".

"The firing of rockets this morning only goes to show that the UN decision is unworkable and will not be adhered to by the murderous Palestinian organisations," he added.

Hamas, the Islamic militant group which controls the Gaza Strip, also rejected the UN resolution.

The source of information and evidences:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5482850.ece

2. The related violation of the Elements of Crimes Article 8 (2) (b) (iii) War crime of attacking personnel or objects involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission,

the aforesaid article 8 (2) (b) (iv) War crime of excessive incidental death, injury, or damage,

the aforesaid article 8 (2) (b) (v) War crime of attacking undefended places,

the aforesaid article 8 (2) (b) (xix) War crime of employing prohibited bullets,

and of the aforesaid article 8 (2) (b) (xx) War crime of employing weapons, projectiles or materials or methods of warfare listed in the Annex to the Statute, in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

The Israeli troops attacked the main UN compound in Gaza by Israeli 'white phosphorus' shells, left burned and the UN peacekeeping pesonnels murdered as shown in the following news materials -

(1) From Times Online

on January 15, 2009,

UN headquarters in Gaza hit by Israeli 'white phosphorus' shells

{[PlugIn]:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00464/articleplayer_19025_464923a.swf}

The main UN compound in Gaza was left in flames today after being struck by Israeli artillery fire, and a spokesman said that the building had been hit by shells containing the incendiary agent white phosphorus.

The attack on the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) came as Ban Ki Moon, the UN Secretary-General, arrived in Israel on a peace mission and plunged Israel's relations with the world body to a new low.

Mr Ban expressed his "strong protest and outrage" at the shelling and demanded an investigation, only to be told by apologetic Israeli leaders that their forces had been returning fire from within the UN compound.

Related Links

◦ Hamas interior minister killed in Gaza

◦ Spent shells prove use of white phosphorus

◦ Strange burns increase phosphorus concerns

Multimedia

◦ PICTURES: fighting in Gaza

"The Israeli forces were attacked from there and their response was severe," Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister, told the UN chief, according to a statement released by his office.

"We do not want such incidents to take place and I am sorry for it but I don’t know if you know, but Hamas fired from the UNRWA site. This is a sad incident and I apologise for it."

UNWRA, which looks after around four million Palestinian refugees in the region, suspended its operations in Gaza after the attack, in which three of its employees were injured.

Chris Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, said that the building had been used to shelter hundreds of people fleeing Israel’s 20-day offensive in Gaza. He said that pallets with supplies desperately needed by Palestinians in Gaza were on fire.

"What more stark symbolism do you need?" he said. "You can’t put out white phosphorus with traditional methods such as fire extinguishers. You need sand, we don’t have sand."

The Israeli military has denied using white phosphorus shells in the Gaza offensive, although an investigation by The Times has revealed that dozens of Palestinians in Gaza have sustained serious injuries from the substance, which burns at extremely high temperatures.

The Geneva Convention of 1980 proscribes the use of white phosphorus as a weapon of war in civilian areas, although it can be used to create a smokescreen. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said today that all weapons used in Gaza were "within the scope of international law".

The attack on the UN compound came as Israeli forces pushed deeper into Gaza City and unleashed their heaviest shelling on its crowded neighbourhoods in three weeks of war. At least 15 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attacks, medical officials said, pushing the death toll up towards 1,100 — a level that Mr Ban described as "unbearable".

It was not clear whether the escalation signalled a new phase in the conflict. Israel has held back from all-out urban warfare in the narrow alleyways of Gaza's cities, where Hamas militants are more familiar with the lay of the land.

Black smoke billowed over Gaza City, terrifying civilians who said that they had "nowhere left to hide" from the relentless shelling.

"I am telling you that Gaza is on fire, everything is under attack. We cannot begin to answer all the calls for help, it is desperate. We cannot reach the people, everyone is trapped and we do not know how to help them," said Doctor Moussa El Haddad at Shifa Hospital.

Maha El-Sheiky, 36, said that she fled her home in the western suburbs of Gaza City two days ago, moving her family into a school in the centre of the city. "We thought it would be safer here. But now there is shelling everywhere. It is schools and mosques and hospitals. We don’t know what will be next," she said. "We are hiding, it is in God’s hands."

Related Links

◦ Hamas interior minister killed in Gaza

◦ Spent shells prove use of white phosphorus

◦ Strange burns increase phosphorus concerns

Multimedia

◦ PICTURES: fighting in Gaza

There were reports that the al-Quds hospital in the Tal El Hawa district, Gaza's second-largest, had been shelled, while more than 500 patients were being treated inside.

An explosion also blasted a tower block that houses the offices of Reuters and several other media organisations, injuring a journalist working for the Abu Dhabi television channel.

Reuters journalists working at the time said it appeared that the southern side of the 13th floor of the Al-Shurouq Tower in the city centre had been struck by an Israeli missile or shell. Reuters evacuated its bureau.

Several organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross and Human Rights Watch, said that they were "certain" that Israel was using white phosphorus shells in Gaza. Human rights workers said that the use of phosphorus in the densely populated Gaza City could constitute a war crime.

Israel launched the offensive on December 27 in an effort to stop militant rocket fire from Gaza that has terrorised hundreds of thousands of Israelis. It says that it will press ahead until it receives guarantees of a complete halt to rocket fire and an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza from neighbouring Egypt.

The attack on the UN compound prompted international protests.

Lord Malloch-Brown, the Foreign Office Minister, said that there was "absolutely no excuse" for the shelling, which, he said, reminded him of a similar attack on a UN observation post during the Israeli offensive into Lebanon in 2006.

He told peers: "With over 1,000 people now dead in Gaza, many of them civilians and children, the urgent need for a diplomatic solution is clear. A robust and immediate ceasefire is the only way the current situation in Gaza can be addressed."

William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "The shelling of the UN Headquarters in Gaza is unacceptable. This undercuts efforts to bring relief to the people of Gaza and is against Israel’s own interests. The UNWRA provides food and aid to over a million Palestinian refugees in Gaza.

"The suspension of its operations will bring more misery to civilians. We desperately need a ceasefire by both sides, not further escalation. Both sides must meet their obligations to protect aid workers at all times."

The conflict was also discussed at talks between Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, in Berlin. Aides said that Mr Brown was expected to speak to Mr Ban later today.

The source of information and evidences:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5521925.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2,

and

(2) on January 15, 2009,

Spent shells prove Israeli use of white phosphorus, Gaza doctors say

Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem

Remnants of an Israeli white phosphorus shell, identified by the marking on the outer casing — M825A1 — have been found in the village of Sheikh Ajilin in western Gaza.

Witnesses in Gaza said that the shell was fired on January 9 and was taken indoors as evidence. They recalled seeing thick smoke and smelling a strong odour in keeping with the garlic-like smell associated with white phosphorus.

Hebrew writing on the shell casing reads “exploding smoke” — the term the Israeli army uses for white phosphorus. Doctors who examined the shell said that it appeared to include phosphorus residue.

Residents said that they suffered burns on their feet when they walked where the shelling had taken place.

Related Links

◦ Gaza hopes rise but death toll passes 1,000

◦ Soldiers and army at odds on phosphorus

◦ Hamas interior minister killed in Gaza

A suspected phosphorus victim was taken from Gaza across the border into Egypt yesterday. Abdul Rahman Shaer, 16, was transferred to an Egyptian hospital from Rafah. He was suffering from severe chemical burns to his face and body. Paramedics from Gaza said that doctors at the hospital were sure the chemical agent was phosphorus.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reiterated that they would not comment on specific weaponry being used in Gaza but added that any ammunition used by the IDF was “within the scope of international law”.

The Geneva Treaty of 1980 stipulates that white phosphorus should not be used as a weapon of war in civilian areas but there is no blanket ban under international law on its use as a smokescreen or for illumination.

Human Rights organisations have criticised the use of it in Gaza, saying that it was impossible to avoid exposing civilians to the chemical because Gaza is densely populated.

Israeli security officials said that Palestinians were using phosphorus weapons of their own and that a phosphorus bomb exploded in the western Negev region of Israel yesterday. It was among 14 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. No one was injured in the attacks.

Human Rights Watch renewed its appeal to Israel to refrain from using white phosphorus shells. “This is a chemical compound that burns structures and burns people,” Kenneth Roth, the executive director of the Washington-based organisation, said. “It should not be used in populated areas.”

Mr Roth said that Human Rights Watch had experts in the region who had witnessed the use of phosphorus shells.

“Even if Israel might have some minor chemical variation of white phosphorus so that the thing they're using has a new name, the effect is absolutely the same,” he said.

He agreed there was no ban on using the chemical to protect troops. “But it should not be used in civilian areas because there's a parallel duty to take all conceivable precautions to protect the lives of non-combatants,” Mr Roth said.

The source of information and evidences:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5519433.ece

Yours truly,

Jae-Yiew Lee,

Completed in the doctorate course-works of the Academy of Korean Studies.