Amnesty International unveiled in one of its reports that Israel used a large number of internationally-banned US and British weapons during its three-week war against the Gaza Strip at the end of last year. It also accused Palestinian Hamas movement of using Iranian weapons and called for a total embargo of weapons on Israel, Hamas and the other Palestinian armed factions. The London-based human-rights organization said it had evidence that Israel and Hamas used weapons coming from abroad against civilians. It also accused the two parties of perpetrating war crimes in Gaza. The report said Israeli forces used US white-phosphor grenades during, which posed a serious threat to the lives of those living in the Gaza Strip. It said this was a clear violation of international law and provided enough evidence that the Israeli forces perpetrated war crimes in the Strip. The report said that, although Hamas' rocket attacks against Israeli villages and towns were despicable, they were however less dangerous than what the Israeli forces did in their war on Gaza. "We urge the UN Security Council to impose an immediate and comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until effective mechanisms are found to ensure that munitions and other military equipment are not used to commit serious violations of international law," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty's Middle East director. "Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes," said Donatella Rovera, who carried out investigations in Southern Israel and Gaza. The report also unveiled that the Obama administration intends to export $30 billion of weapons to Israel within 2017 (25% more than under the Bush administration). Israel criticized the report and dismissed it as flawed. It said this report very much relied on information coming from Hamas, as journalists and people working for human rights organizations were not allowed into the Gaza Strip during the war. Meanwhile, Hamas commented on the report saying it was unfair to compare the sophisticated weapons used by the Israeli forces during the recent war on Gaza with those used by the movement itself. Meanwhile, 70 countries as well as some international and regional organizations announced that they would take part in the Gaza reconstruction conference due to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh on March 2. Ambassador Hissam Zaki, the official spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Egypt had invited both Syria and Qatar to the conference. He also explained that both countries had said they would participate and that the Syrian delegation would be led by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem while the Qatari one would be presided by Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim. In a statement yesterday, Zaki said the Palestinian Authority, which he defined as the legitimate and recognized Palestinian government, prepared a plan and would express its vision at the conference. He added that the conference aimed at giving enough international help to the Palestinian economy to enable it to rebuild what has been destroyed by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
