1/3 of Lebanon Poisoned?

[Gouda]

Experts say, "if this is so" we've got a war crimes issue on our hands. Is this so? <br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Poisonous clouds of pollution spread after Israel air strike Lebanese minister says damage was deliberate, causing 'an even bigger disaster than the war itself'</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor<br>Published: 10 September 2006 <br><br>More people will die as a result of pollution unleashed by Israel's bombing of the Lebanon than perished in the month-long war itself, the Lebanese government believes.<br><br>Yacoub Sarraf, its Environment Minister, speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, said last week that a highly poisonous cloud spread over a third of the country - an area that is home to half its people - from a fire in a bombed fuel tank that burned for 12 days...<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Experts say that, if this was so, </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->it would constitute a war crime, in breach of both the Geneva Convention and the statute of the International Criminal Court. Israel retorts that any such suggestion is "very ridiculous"...<br><br>"Then in a couple of years every single citizen in Lebanon will definitely be subjected to poisonous matter in his drinking water." He expected more Lebanese to die from the pollution than the 1,300, overwhelmingly civilians, killed in the war. He added that studies have shown there would be <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>decreased fertility and higher rates of cancer. </strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END-->"This is a bigger disaster even than the war itself," Mr Sarraf said.<br><br>A spokesman for the Israeli government said: "We deny the minister's accusations. They seem to be very ridiculous.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article1433338.ece">news.independent.co.uk/wo...433338.ece</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>