Laboratory tests conducted on a piece of soil brought from Gaza to Turkey by a human rights association revealed that Israel used phosphorus bombs against Gaza during its three-week war starting in late 2008, the Vakit daily reported yesterday.
İstanbul’s Yıldız Technical University, which conducted the laboratory tests on the soil brought from Gaza by the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER) found particles of phosphorus bombs, which are prohibited under international conventions. More than 1,300 people, including children and women, were killed, and thousands of others were injured during the 22-day Israeli attacks on Gaza, which drew worldwide protests and international condemnation.
Following the laboratory results, MAZLUM-DER filed a criminal complaint against Israel at the İstanbul’s Prosecutor’s Office yesterday. The use of phosphorus bombs against civilians was banned (by signatory countries) in the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons Protocol III. Phosphorus bombs, which include toxic materials, cause burns on the body and damage the liver, kidneys and heart.
Source: TODAY’S ZAMAN, 18 February 2009