Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Israel uses experimental genotoxic weapon against civilians in Gaza


Just as the Nazi atrocity at Guernica was a testing ground for using new weapons against civilian populations, now Gaza is being used by the Israeli Zionists to test their new weapons of destruction and terror. This new type of weapon is referred to by the acronym DIME which stands for Dense Inert Metal Explosives.

Here is an article from 2006 when Israel first used these "genotoxic" weapons against Gaza.

DIME bombs produce an unusually powerful blast within a relatively small area, spraying a superheated “micro-shrapnel” of powdered Heavy Metal Tungsten Alloy (HMTA). Scientific studies have found that HMTA is chemically toxic, damages the immune system, rapidly causes cancer, and attacks DNA (genotoxic).

The first reports about ‘Israel’s new weapon’ came from Dr Joma Al-Saqqa, chief of the emergency unit at Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa. Dr. Al-Saqqa said that Israel was using “a new ‘chemical’ weapon” and its siege was “a live exercise on a new ammunition that, so far, has resulted in killing 50 Palestinians and injuring 200.” He observed that, “despite the damage in internal soft tissue in the bodies of injured people, the fragments were not detected by X-ray. In other words, they had disappeared or dissolved inside the body.”

“There were usually entry and exit wounds,” Dr. Al-Saqqa reported. “When the wounds were explored no foreign material was found. There was tissue death, the extent of which was difficult to determine…. A higher deep infection rate resulted with subsequent amputation. In spite of amputation there was a higher mortality.” The effects of the weapon seemed “radioactive”.

According to Palestine News Network, Dr. Al-Saqqa “confirmed that there were dozens of wounded legs and arms. Many of them had been burned from the inside, and distorted to the point that they cannot return to life again.”

“When the shrapnel hit[s] the body, it causes very strong burns that destroy the tissues around the bones…it burns and destroys internal organs, like the liver, kidneys, and the spleen and other organs and makes saving the wounded almost impossible. As a surgeon, I have seen thousands of wounds during the Intifada, but nothing was like this weapon.”
Compare this with the statements of Doctor Mads Gilbert a Norwegian who is currently assisting the wounded in Gaza. This interview is from the Iranian PressTV.



I was first alerted to some highly unusual injuries occurring in Gaza by this quote from Father Manuel Musallam while writing a post a few days ago. I translated the text from a Portuguese newspaper and here is what I uncovered.
"According to the director of the main hospital in Gaza, the bodies arrive at the hospital with injuries never before seen in Gaza."
Why isn't this being reported in the US press? The same Catholic Priest has been interviewed in US publications, but they never carried this kind of quote. Only the international press is carrying the story. The Iranian PressTV has been particularly diligent in bringing this story to the attention of the world.

Here is an article from PressTV which contains a transcript of the interview in the video above.
Dr. Mads Gilbert:
"The power of the explosion dissipates very quickly and the strength does not travel long, maybe 10 meters, but those humans who are hit by this explosion, this pressure wave are cut in pieces."

"This was first used in Lebanon in 2006, it was used here in Gaza in 2006 and the injuries that we see in Shifa [Hospital] now, many many of them I suspect and we all suspect are the effect of DIME weapons used by the Israelis."

"On the long term, these weapons will have a cancer effect on those who survive. They will develop cancer we suspect. There has been very little research on this but some research has been among other places in the United States, which show that these weapons have a high tendency to develop cancer. So they kill and those who survive risk having cancer."
...
"Almost all of the patients we have received have these sever amputations. They seem to have been affected by this kind of weapon. Of course, we have many fragment injuries and burns but those who have got their limbs cut off, constitutes quite a large proportion."
Sadly, I have to also report that this weapon was developed by the US military. This is from the same article I quoted at the top of this entry.
DIME is an LCD (“low collateral damage”) weapon developed at the US Air Force Research Laboratory. Publicly, it is slated for initial deployment in 2008.

DIME is part of the Air Force’s Focused Lethality Munitions (FLM) program, which is expected to “allow” the targeting of “terrorists” wherever they are, even in places "previously off limits to the warfighter." [40]

The ideal of FLM is to reliably kill every human within the blast zone—one way or another. It is ‘total war’ on a 50-foot circle, within which deaths are not admitted as collateral, but purchased as insurance.

Israel’s new weapon “slices” off its victims’ legs, leaving “signs of heat and burns near the point of the amputation”. It’s “as if a saw was used to cut through the bone”, according to Dr. Habas al-Wahid, head of the ER at Gaza’s Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital.
So this weapon is designed to be a highly targeted anti-personnel weapon. But the way that Israel is using it seems to be anything but targeted. Why didn't the Israelis use something like this to take out a Hamas leader recently instead of bombing a whole multi-story apartment building?

Israel is clearly using this weapon indiscriminately and as a terror device. It is being used against children, whereas the whole stated purpose of this type of weapon is to be able to target combatants without injuring surrounding civilians. The benefit for the bloodthirsty Israelis is the horrific type of wounds that this weapon causes. This is the modern equivalent of cutting off your enemies head and placing it on a stake for all to see. Or the Romans use of crucifixion. The intent is to terrorize the population into submission.

There are pictures at this Italian newspaper site from 2006, showing the type of injuries that are described here. I warn you that the images are truly horrible and I did not dare post the images directly in this article for concern over the reaction of my readers.

http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/inchieste/10102006_gaza_foto.asp

14 comments:

Unknown said...

Israel is really something from hell. I hope Iran can develop the atomic bomb fastly and use it inside the Israel walls to finish this blood suckers!

Anonymous said...

Silly imbesils if you believe anything of this page without getting it verified from sources who are less one-sided.

Anonymous said...

“There were usually entry and exit wounds,” Dr. Al-Saqqa reported. “When the wounds were explored no foreign material was found.

So if there was an Entry and EXIT wound why would foreign material be found? Doesn't that mean the material would have EXITED through the back of the wound via the EXIT wound?

I am not a fan of what the IDF is doing in Gaza, but the spin train is running at full speed here on the internet.

Anonymous said...

Hell...these people target civilians whats so wrong if a few of their die? maybe Hamas should stop using civilians as human shields (very coward like). Keep it up Isreal. Kill 'em all the world will be a better place for everyone if that entire part of the world was gone!!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous... well, what a surprise! You'll need to be a bit more subtle than that! Isreal is obviously making one last ditch effort to finish off Palestine while they still have Cheney in the WH. I mean, look at the evidence-11 people, to date, have died in Isreal as a result of the lastest batch of rocket firings. I think the Palestinian toll was at 699 at that time. Is it really such a stretch to believe that the weapons they use may be a little worse than others? and that, SHOCK, HORROR, The USDOD made them??? that little podunck weapons outfit headed up by cheney, rumsfeld, et al??? No, can't be! Sounds like a Conspiracy Theorist to me! Proof of the pudding...

Palestine in Words said...

Anonymous... are all the international organizations currently crying war crimes against Israel one-sided? Is the UNERWA one-sided? Is the International Committee for the Red Cross one-sided? Is the UN Human Rights Council one-sided? Is all the media, or whoever of them Israel allows into the area for coverage, one-sided? Are all the people protesting in the streets of their respective countries ALL over the world one-sided?

Israeli representatives themselves have admitted the use of cluster bombs and white phosphorus, both illegal weapons, against the Palestinians in Gaza. So what makes this so hard to believe?

Please research your facts before you make uneducated comments. For starters, visit this site: http://usa.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/38389 It lists over 60 external links to support this argument. I doubt that they can all be classified as 'one-sided'!

Case Hardwell said...

For anyone actually looking for a study on this compound http://carcin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/1/115

Yes, this stuff is bad for you. Its about as bad for you as...deplete uranium?

Yes, this should probably be outlawed by some convention.
I will warn anyone who came here to read a NEWS article that this is an editorial piece.

Frank Hope said...

This page has become one of the top links returned from a Google search of "DIME weapon". Thanks to everyone who has linked to this page. It has received over 1,000 hits from all over the world.

Please continue spreading the word about Israel's War Crimes on the internet and through protests. It is the least we can do to support the Gazans that are suffering a brutal assault from one of the world's most powerful militaries. Israel claims to be a civilized country, but it is acting like barbarians.

Besides the use of DIME weapons, there have also been reports that Israel has used White Phosphorous (sometimes called Willie Pete) and Depleted Uranium (DU) against the civilian population in Gaza.

Links:

Israel 'using white phosphorus'

Depleted uranium found in Gaza victims

Anonymous said...

I just wonder....if the rockets had stopped falling like the agreement said, if Hamas had not gotten power and Abbas had kept it......? These aren't civilized times. Be-headings of hostages, kidnappings, suicide bombers, WP, DIMES, and anything else. Israel fights when cornered. Most of the world corners Israel. The weapons used are no better for either side. Kids die on both sides. Not good. Suffering occurs on both sides. Ground must be given in the realm of co-existence. Whether or not Israel has a right to exist is not for the Muslim world to decide. Regardless of the history, today is what we have to deal with. As ugly as it is.

Anonymous said...

How many of you really think Israel have the time to keep developing such weapons? Where would their test field be? To me it makes more sense the US is developing those and other weapons, just waiting for the right time and place to test it, before cataloguing it and giving an attractive name such as Sidewinder, Sparrow, Fat Boy...
I have read the US citizens are not reading such news, why would it be so?

Frank Hope said...

Dr. Mads Gilbert has repeated his allegations that Israel is using DIME weapons in Gaza. Once again PressTV is one of the few news organizations reporting his statements.

Israel turns Gaza into weapon testing lab?

"There's a very strong suspicion I think that Gaza is now being used as a test laboratory for new weapons," Gilbert told reporters at Oslo's Gardermoen airport upon his return home on Monday.

I also saw that DemocracyNow! has picked up on this story.

Israel Accused of Testing Experimental Weapons in Gaza

Citizen S said...

"So if there was an Entry and EXIT wound why would foreign material be found? Doesn't that mean the material would have EXITED through the back of the wound via the EXIT wound?"


NO, because DIME weapons produce micro-shrapnel, like a powder. Ha'aretz wrote about these weapons in 2006. That's an Israel paper, for those who think they are "biased".
I want to know who is making the DIME weapons. Are they made in the US?

Yes, Israel really is something from hell.

cyberneticsurferboy said...

Israel is Natzies. They are doing to Gaza what happend to them in ww2. When we turn our back on the needles killing of childern we turn our back our own freedom. Protect and defend the constitution yea right. America needs to wake the fk up!

Frank Hope said...

@ Citizen Shelly

As indicated towards the end of the article, DIME weapons were developed by the US Air Force. They were slated for deployment in 2008. I would speculate that Israel acquired the weapons from the US and are doing "field testing" in Gaza. In which case you would expect Israel to share data on the results with the US military.

@ Anonymous

Some of you may not be aware that Israel is ranked around the 4th most powerful military in the world. They have nuclear capabilities on a par with England or France. They are one of the largest exporters of arms in the world. They have participated in joint development with the US on a variety of weapons systems. The Israel Lobby is constantly pushing for this type of joint development. At one time they were developing a fighter plane called the Lavi. That plane was scrapped when Washington withdrew its support. The plans were sold to China and is the basis of China's most modern fighter plane.

Israel's role in China's new warplane

See also my article on US cruise missile technology that Israel sold to China.

Israeli missiles target US Aircraft Carriers