Renounced Norwegian doctor Mads Gilbert on Sunday (7/13) accused the Israeli army of using internationally banned weapons in its ongoing offensive against the Gaza Strip.
Gilbert told a press conference in Shifa Hospital in Gaza City that examinations of the bodies of the Palestinian victims showed that they had been subjected to internationally banned weapons.
Unverifiable accusations like this one enhance Gilbert's celebrity among reporters, and the Independent yesterday published without any comment an article by Gilbert about the "rivers of blood" in Shifa Hospital (the hospital that is Hamas de facto headquarters.)
He's a doctor, he is in a war zone, he is a volunteer, UNRWA praises him, so who will question such a man?
But some of his statements can be verified as lies, if only the media would know enough to ask.
So, here is proof that Mads Gilbert is a liar (and that reporters are usually too lazy to check out the facts:)
Israel says it allows in medical supplies except for “dual-use” items — anything it suspects could be diverted by Hamas for military purposes — but won’t say what it has blacklisted.
Gilbert, the Norwegian volunteer, helps out at Shifa several times a year. This time, he brought headlamps, useful for surgeons, but says they are on Israel’s list of banned items.
A few months ago I published the official list from the IDF of everything banned to be exported from Israel to Gaza. Literally everything.
Needless to say, headlamps are not on the list.
Here it is, for reporters who don't want to bother asking the IDF themselves:
Missile equipment and munitions have been strictly forbidden from entering into Gaza as declared in the Defense Export Control Order of 2008.
Controlled Dual Use Items:
1. Fertilizers or any mixture containing choleric potassium with concentrations greater than 5%.
2. Fibers or textiles containing carbon (carbon fibers or graphite fibers), including:
a. Chopped carbon fibers.
b. Carbon roving.
c. Carbon strand.
d. Carbon fabric tape.
3. Glass fiber-based raw materials, including:
a. Chopped glass fibers.
b. Glass roving
c. Glass strand.
d. Glass fabric tape.
e. S-glass.
f. E-glass.
4. Vessels.
5. Fibers or fabrics featuring polyethylene, also known as Dyneema.
6. Retro detection devices.
7. Gas tanks.
8. Drilling equipment.
9. Equipment for the production of water from drillings.
10. Vinyl esther resins.
11. Epoxy resins.
12. Hardeners for epoxy resins featuring chemical groups of durable or reliable types, including:
a. DETA – diethylenetriamine.
b. TETA – thiethylenetramine.
c. AEP – aminoethylpiperazine.
d. E-100-ethyleneamine.
e. Jeffamine T-403.
f. Catalyst 4,5,6,22,23,105, 140, 145,150,179,190,240.g. D.E.H 20,24,25,26,29,52,58,80,81,82,83,84,85,87.
h. XZ 92740.00
13. Vinyl esther accelerants, including:
a. DMA-dimethylaniline.
b. Cobalt octoate.
c. MEKP – methylethyl keyone peroxide.
d. AAP – acetyl acetone peroxide.
e. CuHP – cumene hydroperoxide.
14. M or H type HTPB, hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene.
15. Water disinfection materials – solutions with a concentration of over 11%.
16. TDI - Toluene diisocyanate.
Dual Use Items for Projects (that may be imported into Gaza by NGOs such as UNRWA)
- Portland cement (bulk or bags or drums).
- Natural aggregates, quarry aggregates and all foundation materials.
- Prepared concrete.
- Concrete elements and/or precast and/or tensed concrete.
- Steel elements and/construction products.
- Concrete for foundations and pillars of any diameter (including welded steel mesh).
- Steel cables of any thickness.
- Forms for construction elements of plastic or galvanized steel.
- Industrial forms for concrete pouring.
- Beams from composite materials or plastic with a panel thickness of 4mm and thicker.
- Thermal insulation materials and/or products excluding roof tiles, plaster/mortar glue, mosaic tiles, building stone/coating stone/exterior stone.
- Concrete blocks, silicate, Ytong or equivalent (of any thickness).
- Building sealing materials or products which include Epoxy or polyurethane.
- Asphalt and its components (bitumen, emulsion) in bulk or in packages of any sort.
- Steel elements and/or steel working products for construction.
- Elements and/or products for channeling and drainage from precast concrete with diameters of over 1 meter.
- Trailers and/or shipping containers.
- Vehicles except for personal vehicles (not including 4X4 vehicles), including construction vehicles.
Everything not on this list can be imported into Gaza without restriction from Israel, as long as there is a Gazan willing to buy it.
The person in charge of the Kerem Shalom crossing told me that he has seen Jacuzzis and BMWs imported into Gaza through the crossing.
The facts are out there for anyone who tries to find them out. To bad the media is so willing to fall under the spell of a "humanitarian doctor" so much so that they don't check out whether he is also a liar.