Israel using internationally forbidden weapons

Ivan Zhakata-Herald Correspondent

The Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Zimbabwe Dr Tamer Almassri has said Israel is using white phosphorus bombs that are internationally banned to kill Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

White phosphorus munitions are weapons that use one of the common allotropes of the chemical element phosphorus. White phosphorus is used in smoke, illumination, and incendiary munitions, and is commonly the burning element of tracer ammunition

In an interview, Ambassador Almassri called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its heinous actions against the innocent people in Palestine.

“We are in the 27th day of the Israeli genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and when we call it a genocide, we have the right because what is happening nowadays is like a new holocaust against our people,” he said.

“The Palestinian people up to now, we lost more than 9 000 people and more than 2 000 are missing under rubble and we cannot save them. 

“More than 3 700 children under the age of 16 were killed by the Israeli airstrikes, 2 350 women we also killed, some of them were pregnant and some were mothers.

“We also have over 23 500 Palestinians who are injured and most of them are in critical condition. The Israeli apartheid regime killed 2 550 students in schools where they were targeting 215 schools. 

“The Israeli forces are using the forbidden white phosphorus because most the Palestinians escaped from their homes and went to United Nations’ owned schools for protection.”

Amb Almassri said a total of 45 schools in Palestine were out of service and Israeli forces destroyed a total of 163 mosques and three churches one of which was the third oldest church in the world.

“The Israeli forces are targeting Muslims and Christians in the Gaza Strip. To date, more than 1,5 million Palestinians have been displaced.

“We understand that the Americans are supporting this holocaust 100 percent and even if they control the world, they do want to stop this genocide. They can change our area starting from the Gaza Strip, the very poor and crowded area.”

A significant minority of Palestinians are Christians who form with the Muslim majority the single cultural and linguistic Palestinian nation. 

The ambassador said the Israeli forces also destroyed 50 000 residential flats and over 200 000 flats and homes were partly destroyed and were no longer suitable for shelter.

“Unfortunately, the United Nations, in spite of their statements, cannot impose any real solution and the Israelis said because they are protected by the Americans and some colonial powers, they do not care about the international community,” Ambassador Almassri said.

“The Palestinian people will not leave our country and we will not give up. All the American propaganda and the Israeli propaganda will not achieve any success to change the minds of the free people.”