Israel is facing searing international criticism after an Israeli F-16 dropped a one-ton, laser-guided bomb on a densely populated neighborhood in Gaza City. The bombing killed a Hamas leader as well as nine children and five other civilians.

Whitehouse spokesman Ari Fleischer said President Bush “believes the heavy-handed action does not contribute to peace.” But he also said President Bush has been and will continue to be the first to defend Israel, and he didn’t mention that the F-16 used in the attack was American-made.

But some people in this country are trying to hold the White House and US arms manufacturers accountable.

New York attorney Stanley Cohen recently filed a lawsuit against Israel and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, President George Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, several US arms manufacturers and a number of U.S. based churches and synagogues that have supported settlements in the West Bank.

The suit charges the defendants with a series of individual acts and conspiracies— some dating as far back as 1982 and the massacre at Sabra and Shatila in Lebanon. It will seek damages and injunctive relief for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and racketeering. The plaintiffs will include Palestinian Americans who have been killed, injured, and tortured; who have been denied medical treatment; whose businesses and homes have been destroyed and whose homes and lands have been taken to establish illegal settlements in Palestine.

Guest:

• Stanley Cohen, New York attorney for Palestinian plaintiffs.