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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel denies using uranium-infused bombs during Gaza op |
| 2009-01-22 |
| Israel denied on Wednesday its armed forces used ordnance with depleted uranium during the Gaza Strip offensive, and said that could be proven by any United Nations investigation. Responding to a letter from Arab envoys, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Tuesday it would consult with member states on the diplomats' demand for a probe into whether Israeli attacks on Gaza might have featured the controversial munitions, which can leave dangerous radioactive debris. "I deny this completely," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said, adding that such allegations were "no more than a recurring motif of anti-Israel propaganda". The IDF, meanwhile, has begun investigating whether a reserve paratroops brigade made improper use of phosphorus shells during the fighting in Gaza. The brigade fired about 20 such shells in a built-up area of northern Gaza. According to senior army officers, the IDF used two phosphorus-based weapons in Gaza. One, the sources said, actually contains almost no phosphorus. These are simple smoke bombs - 155mm artillery shells - with a trace of phosphorus to ignite them. Depleted uranium is used in weapons because it can penetrate tanks and armour more easily due to its density and other physical properties. It is a particular health risk around impact sites, where dust can get into people's lungs and vital organs. It also has civilian uses in medical equipment and is used in radiation shields. Israel was accused of using depleted uranium during its 2006 offensive against Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas. Palmor said a UN investigation failed to find any evidence of that. "Should they decide to hassle the UN inspectors again, they'll get the same results," he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Suppose, for the sake of argument only, that Israel did use DU bombs. So what? Hamass already tried using HIV-contaminated suicide bombs, so this is only getting back what they gave before. Worst case: It's a wash, and Hamass looks like they can't take what they dish out. Best case: Israel didn't use DU bombs after all, and Hamass gets away with it. |
| Posted by: gorb 2009-01-22 16:00 |
| #3 so what if they did, boo hoo for the Egyptian Brotherhood and their Buddys the Iranians. Are there bigger COWARDS, I dont think so. |
| Posted by: Manly Man 2009-01-22 11:30 |
| #2 Mitch, you have an understandable misperception about DU. Lead and DU are nowhere near each other on the periodic table. This link will help http://www.theodoregray.com/PeriodicTable/Samples/092.1/index.s12.html |
| Posted by: logi_cal 2009-01-22 09:52 |
| #1 I'd give about 40% odds that the Israelis used DU in their bunker-busters. It does seem like the most efficient way to get deep-penetrators into the lower warrens of cave-bunkers. If I were the US military or the Israelis, I'd probably have been looking into heavy-metal alternatives to DU just to get past this idiocy, but heavy metals are generally poisonous, radioactive, or otherwise noxious on general principles, and rarer & more expensive on average than DU to boot... You know, lead isn't that much lighter than DU. Probably be easier to just bite the bullet & use a longer penetrating rod. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2009-01-22 09:07 |