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Lebanon’s Descent into Hell Mike Whitney
…Bush and Olmert agree that the “real enemy” is Arab nationalism and Muslim solidarity; the 2 vital threats to the US/Israeli occupation strategy. The same solution applies to Lebanon as Iraq; divide and conquer; pit one group against the next until the whole society is torn apart in a paroxysm of bloodshed. Will Israel succeed in inciting chaos and civil strife or will they have to jump-start the process by packing explosives in the trunks of cars and detonating them ! in marketplaces and mosques like counterinsurgency operations in Iraq? We’ll have to wait and see. Lebanon is at the beginning of a long descent into hell. Every opportunity for peace has been foreclosed by the Bush administration. The failures in Iraq and Afghanistan have done nothing to slow the machinery of state terror. The ghastly specter of mutilated corpses crushed beneath the twisted iron and powdery debris of bombed-out buildings only whets the appetites of the imperial warlords. They won’t be happy until the fire they stared in Iraq consumes the entire Middle East in a pyramid of flames…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25604
Starving Babies and Making Lebanon Dark Kurt Nimmo
It should be obvious by now Israel intends to ethnically cleanse southern Lebanon, all the way up to the Litani River where the United Nations proposed rebuilding a bridge in order to deliver humanitarian aid. “UN officials contacted the Israeli army to inform them that a team of Chinese military engineers attached to the UN force in Lebanon intended to repair the bridge on the Beirut to Tyre road to enable the transport of humanitarian supplies,” reports the Gua! rdian. “According to the UN, Israeli officials said the engineers would become a target if they attempted to repair the bridge”…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25582
Bush’s Sham ‘Ceasefire’ Resolution Is A Plan For More War and Aggression Naim I. Farhat
It is now clear that tens of thousands of people are coming to Washington, DC on August 12 to condemn the U.S.-Israeli assault and show solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon. Now is the time for the people of the United States to stand up and be counted. The whole world is condemning the U.S. and Israeli war that has made nearly one-quarter of Lebanon’s entire population, 800,000 people, refugees in their home co! untry. The Israeli military, supplied and supported by the United States government, has destroyed the infrastructure of a nation, deprived families of water and left them starving and foraging to keep alive, and slaughtered hundreds of people, burying children and parents under their homes or in shelters where they have desperately sought refuge…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25591
Bush Wants Wider War Robert Parry, GlobalResearch.ca
George W. Bush and his neoconservative advisers saw the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah as an opportunity to expand the conflict into Syria and possibly achieve a long-sought “regime change” in Damascus, but Israel’s leadership balked at the scheme, according to Israeli sources. One Israeli source said Bush’s interest in spreading the war to Syria was considered “nuts” by some senior Israeli officials, although Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has generally sha! red Bush’s hard-line strategy against Islamic militants. After rebuffing Bush’s suggestion about attacking Syria, the Israeli government settled on a strategy of mounting a major assault in southern Lebanon aimed at rooting out Hezbollah guerrillas who have been firing Katyusha rockets into northern Israel…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25594
Israel to expand ground offensive Aljazeera.net
Israel has ordered an expansion of its ground offensive in Lebanon aiming to strike harder at Hezbollah and curb its cross-border rocket attacks. The decision was announced on Wednesday by the office of Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, after the cabinet voted to send soldiers deeper into Lebanon, possibly as far as the Litani river, up to 20km north of the border. The statement said: “The security cabinet approved the recommendations of the defence establish! ment for the continuation of operations in Lebanon.”…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25595
Israeli war crimes aimed at “cleansing” south Lebanon
Bill Van Auken, WSWS
On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes struck the southern Lebanese town of Ghaziyeh, killing at least 14 people. Missiles demolished civilian homes just as some 1,500 mourners were participating in a procession to bury 15 of their relatives and neighbors slain just the day before. The explosions sent the crowd running in panic, dropping shrouded corpses in the street. Ghaziyeh’s normal population of 23,000 has reportedly been swelled by a wave of ! refugees. It is a predominantly Shiite town near Sidon, a region where most of the population is composed of Sunni Muslims. Many people from further south had fled there to stay with relatives and friends…
Read the full article: www.uruknet.info/?p=25586
Israel “warns” journalists
Siege of Lebanon
To members of the foreign press, The IDF has announced a limitation on travel in any kind of vehicle in all areas south of the Litani River in Lebanon. The limitation took effect at 22:00 on August 7, 2006, and will remain in effect until further notice. Information regarding the limitations was communicated to the population in southern Lebanon via media outlets and leaflets as well as through local channels. Passage of humanitarian convoys continues throughout all of ! Lebanon in coordination with the IDF. We would like to stress that these limitations apply to journalists as well…
Read the full article www.uruknet.info/?p=25602
Kind Regards, The State of Israel Lenin’s Tomb
Via Angry Arab, Israel’s leaflet promising massacres and translation: It reads: To the Lebanese citzens residing south of the Litani River. Read this document with full comprehension and do as it orders. The IDF will escalate its activities and will hit with the most excessive force terrorist elements that uses you as human shields and fires rockets/missiles from inside your houses in the direction of the state of Israel. Every car including any type that moves! south of the Litani river will be bombed because it is suspected in transporting rockets/missiles and military and ruining equipment It is your duty to do so as every person in any car is placing their life in danger. State of Israel…
Read the full article www.uruknet.info/?p=25585
Tomgram: Dahr Jamail, The Damage in Lebanon — and Beyond Tom Engelhardt & Dahr Jamail
…According to statistics provided by the Lebanese Government on July 24th, there had already been well over $2.1 billion of damage to the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon — all three of its airports and all four of its seaports had by then been bombed, and in the weeks to follow it was only to get worse. By estimates that go quickly out of date as the brutal bombing campaign continues, there has already been nearly $1 bill! ion of damage done to civilian residences and businesses, with over 22 gas stations as well as fuel depots bombed and the major highways along which fuel resupply would take place badly damaged. Scores of factories, worth over $180 million, have also been damaged or destroyed. Red Cross ambulances, governmental emergency centers, UN peacekeeping forces and observers, media outlets, and mobile phone towers have all been bombed, each a violation of international law. Mosques and churches have been hit; illegal weapons such as cluster bombs and white phosphorous used; and, as far as can be told at this early point, over 90% of the victims killed have been civilians. As of this writing, the Lebanese government had already announced at least 900 deaths, and that number is now certainly well over 1,000…
Read the full article www.uruknet.info/?p=25600
15 soldiers killed Wednesday in south Lebanon
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
Fifteen Israel Defense Forces troops were killed on Wednesday, the IDF
announced late Wednesday night, as fierce fighting with Hezbollah
guerillas raged in the southern Lebanon villages of Ayta al-Shaab and
Debel. The 15 IDF soldiers were killed in a series of firefights across
the front. In the most serious incident, nine reserve paratroopers were
killed and 11 wounded by antitank missiles fired on a house in the
village of Debel, in the central sector. Four reservists from an
armored brigade were killed in a tank explosion, apparently caused by
antitank missiles, in the town of Ayta al-Shaab.... Twenty-five
soldiers were wounded in Wednesday's actions, six seriously. Two of the
seriously wounded were members of the standing army; the rest of the
wounded were reservists.
Security cabinet okays decision to expand ground operation in
Lebanon
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
The security cabinet approved Wednesday a broader ground offensive by
the Israel Defense Forces in Lebanon, authorizing troops to push at
least up to the Litani River some 30 kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon
border. The IDF's goal is to significantly reduce Hezbollah's
short-range rocket launching capabilities. Most Katyusha rocket
launches take place from within this area. The cabinet authorized Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz to widen the
offensive and to determine its timing. The offensive would not begin
for two or three days so as not interfere with ongoing efforts to
broker a cease-fire at the United Nations, said one minister in the
meeting.... During a break in the cabinet meeting, Olmert telephoned
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to provide her with an update
on the situation.
U.S. and France fail to reach resolution on Lebanon at UN
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
Chirac expressed himself bluntly, saying that "the U.S. opposition to a
cease-fire is immoral. " -- Talks between officials from the United
States and France over a joint draft resolution appeared to be in
crises on Wednesday after a meeting described by observers at the UN
headquarters as a "last-ditch effort" failed to yield results. U.S.
Ambassador John Bolton expressed caution, telling reporters late on
Wednesday, "We are getting closer on the way to resolving some of this,
but I don't want to underestimate the central and operational
difficulties. " "There are areas where we are still not in agreement," he said. "I don't want to appear to minimize that. " The Americans made
a palpable effort on Wednesday to diminish the impression of a crisis
in their relations with France.
Nasrallah backs troops in South, warns of 'graveyard' for
enemy
The Daily Star
8/10/2006
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced support Wednesday for the Lebanese
government's offer to deploy the army to the South to help alter a UN
resolution and urged Arab residents of Haifa to evacuate. The Hizbullah
leader's speech came hours after Israel's Security Cabinet agreed to
expand the ground war in Lebanon, amid warnings the conflict could last
another month or more. Eleven Israeli troops were killed in fighting
Wednesday, while nine Lebanese civilians, including six children, lost
their lives in Israel's air strikes. Nasrallah said the Lebanese
government's seven-point planwas the least the country should accept as
part of a draft resolution to end the fighting. "The government has
announced the decision to deploy 15,000 soldiers in the South. This
will help Lebanon and its friends in adapting the UN draft
resolution... "
Attacks stall aid delivery in Lebanon
AlJazeera 8/9/2006
Aid agencies have appealed to Israel for safe passage -- Humanitarian
efforts in southern Lebanon has stalled for a second successive day as
aid workers try to reach the area, avoiding artillery and air strikes
after Israel banned movement there. On Sunday, Israeli warplanes
destroyed a makeshift bridge over the Litani river, the last main route
for aid agencies to reach the port of Tyre and the rest of the south.
Israel also imposed an indefinite ban on movement south of the river,
saying its forces might attack moving vehicles that were not approved
convoys, on the grounds that they might be taking supplies to Hezbollah
fighters. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has asked Israel since
Monday for safe passage to rebuild the crossing and look for a new
route to the south but has had no luck in either case.
Israel seizes south Lebanon town
BBC 8/10/2006
Israeli troops have seized the southern Lebanese town of Marjayoun, a
day after the cabinet decided to expand ground operations, eyewitnesses
say. Troops entered the town, 9km (5. 5 miles) into Lebanon, as well as
nearby villages overlooking the Litani river. On Wednesday the Israeli
cabinet backed a push towards the river, which lies up to 30km (18
miles) from the border. Israeli forces also advanced on the southern
town of Khiam, in a move to quell Hezbollah rocket fire there. Israel
says the objective of its planned wider offensive is to destroy
Hezbollah positions in the region and prevent the group from firing
rockets into Israel. Wednesday saw fierce fighting in southern Lebanon,
with 15 Israeli soldiers killed in action - the highest number in a
single day since the conflict began almost a month ago.
UNIFIL Warns Fuel Shortages May Put its Positions at Risk of
Closure
An Nahar 8/9/2006
The UN force in Lebanon warned Wednesday that the continued operation
of some of its forward positions could be at risk if they are not
re-supplied with fuel in the next 48 hours. "UNIFIL forward positions
in the eastern sector are facing critical shortages of fuel and the
ability to re-supply them in the next 48 hours is vital to maintaining
these positions," said the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. All
of Lebanon faces chronic fuel problems, owing to the Israeli sea
blockade of the country. Two ships anchored off Cyprus carrying crucial
supplies have not docked in Lebanon. On Saturday, an Israeli army
spokesman denied Israel was blocking their entrance, saying "they
decided to remain off the coasts apparently because they were afraid to
be targeted by Hizbullah fire. " [end]
Israel in new deadly strike on grieving Lebanon village
The Daily Star
8/9/2006
TYRE, Lebanon, Aug 8, 2006 (AFP) - A deadly Israeli bombing raidstruck
a southern Lebanese village Tuesday close to the funeral forthose
killed in an attack a day earlier as its army and Hezbollahfighters
remained locked in bloody clashes inside the border. At least six
people were killed and 28 wounded in two raids onthe village of
Ghaziyeh, close to the city of Sidon, 500 metres(yards) away from the
funeral procession of 14 people killed there aday earlier, police said.
Five other civilians were killed and four wounded when Israelijets
later fired missiles on a convoy of trucks carrying fruits ineastern
Lebanon, near the border with Syria, police said. Although there was a
relative lull in bombardments around theregion of the port city of
Tyre, the Israeli air force carried outdozens of raids in 20 different
locations across the border region.
Hezbollah gunners fire rockets at Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
Hezbollah gunner renewed their attacks on northern Israel on Thursday
morning, firing four rockets at Nahariya and two at Kiryat Shmona.
There were no reported casualties. Some 160 rockets were fired at
Israel from Lebanon on Wednesday, with 66 landing in the area of Kiryat
Shmona. According to military sources, six long-range rockets landed in
open fields west of the town of Beit She'an, causing no injuries but
sparking a blaze that was extinguished by firefighters from the Jezreel
Valley. In total, eight long-range rockets were fired Wednesday, of
which one landed in the Palestinian Authority, close to the village of
Faquah, which was also hit by a Hezbollah rocket last week. Haifa was
also targeted by at least one long-range rocket, a piece of which was
found in the city.
Friendly fire kills one IDF soldier, may have caused other
fatalities
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed Wednesday by friendly fire
from a tank in the eastern sector of south Lebanon. The IDF will also
be investigating whether one of the two paratroopers killed on Tuesday
in Bint Jbail was also hit by friendly fire. Wednesday's incident took
place in the village of A-Taibeh. A reserve paratroopers force had
taken up position in a home in the village and was mistakenly
identified by an IDF tank crew as a Hezbollah cell. The tank then
opened fire on the house, killing one of the soldiers. A second soldier
was seriously wounded in the incident; one other soldier sustained
moderate wounds and eight were lightly hurt. The wounded were evacuated
to Israeli hospitals during the course of the day.
Midday Roundup: Israeli Bombardment Unabated Amid Lack of
Diplomatic Progress
An Nahar 8/9/2006
Israeli bombardment pummeled Lebanon Wednesday as a high-ranking U.S.
State Department official arrived on a surprise visit to Beirut amid
intense but slow diplomatic efforts to bring an end to the four-week
conflict. Prime Minister Fouad Saniora said after meeting U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch that
there was still no progress in the negotiations. Meanwhile, additional
bodies were pulled out from under the rubble of a building in Beirut's
southern district of Shiah, destroyed Monday by an Israeli airstrike,
raising the death toll to 41, security officials said. The number of
wounded in that attack are 61, they added.... Another statement on
Hizbullah's Al-Manar TV said guerrillas fired a barrage of Khaibar-1
rockets at Beit Shean, deep inside Israel.
VIDEO - Off the Battlefield, Hezbollah Provides Aid
Washington Post
8/9/2006
Video by: Travis Fox -- A huge international aid effort is beginning to
take shape to assist people displaced by the war in southern Lebanon.
But one of the largest aid operations is already underway. It comes
from the same group currently fighting Israel, Hezbollah.
Photos - Panoramas from Qana, Lebanon
Washington Post
8/9/2006
Panoramic photo viewer -- Deadly Attack in Qana | Israeli Airstrikes
Hit Qana | Bint Jbeil Attacked | More from Lebanon |From Gaza -- Qana,
LebaPanoramic Composite by: Travis Fox / washingtonpost. com.
IDF's new weapon: Snipers who fought in Cechnya
YNet News 8/9/2006
Golani fighters joined by snipers hailing from states that fought in
Chechnya, Afghanistan -- Fighters of the 51st Battalion of Golani
received aid from an unusual source Tuesday. A group of snipers hailing
from states that had fought in battles in Chechnya and Afghanistan the
joined the battalion as it entered Bint Jbeil for the second time after
it suffered a serious blow two weeks ago when eight of its soldiers,
including the deputy battalion commander, were killed. The snipers were
called up in an emergency draft to the war.... They were active in the
past in operational activity in the Gaza division, but at a certain
point finished their service in the division once the impression was
created that they were "trigger happy".
Photos - Emerging From Rubble
Washington Post
8/9/2006
Flash presentation, vivid photos -- Traumatized Lebanese emerge from
their shelters after nearly three weeks of bombardment. -- [FireFox
users: Use Internet Explorer or Netscape to view this presentation.
Alternatively, advance to the next photo by changing the end of the URL
(page address) from "startat=1" to "startat=2", "startat=3", etc. ,
ending with "startat=12". - Ed. ]
Hezbollah denies Iranian fighter report
AlJazeera 8/10/2006
Hezbollah has denied that Iranian fighters were among its forces
battling Israeli troops who have begun to advance deeper into southern
Lebanon. Israel's Channel 10 television reported on Wednesday that
members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard force had been found among dead
Hezbollah members killed by Israeli forces in the south of Lebanon.
Citing diplomatic sources, the report said the Iranians were identified
by documents found on their bodies, but gave no further details on how
many were discovered or when. Hezbollah said in a statement: "Hezbollah
categorically denies the lies and claims that the enemy is promoting
that Iranian fighters are present in the confrontations with the
occupation forces. "
'It's Dangerous, but Hezbollah Is Strong'
By Anthony Shadid,
Washington Post 8/9/2006
With Litani River's Bridges Destroyed, Lebanese Improvise to Supply the
South -- QASMIYA, Lebanon, Aug. 9 -- There are no more bridges along
the 90 miles of the Litani River, dividing besieged southern Lebanon
and Hezbollah's fighters from the rest of the country. One by one,
Israeli forces bombed them all. So a little ways from the Mediterranean
Sea, where the river's meandering waters eddy, then empty, about 20 men
heaved, pushed, pulled and coaxed -- with appeals to God in between --
two water-logged trucks carrying supplies Wednesday to regions bearing
the brunt of Israel's invasion. Over a few hours, Hezbollah's shadowy
organization emerged on the banks of the Litani. "Don't take pictures!" one of the men shouted.
UNEP: Lebanese Oil Spill Carries Cancer Risk
An Nahar 8/8/2006
An oil spill caused by Israeli raids on a Lebanese power plant poses a
cancer risk to the people of Lebanon and Syria, an Italian
environmental monitoring agency warned Tuesday. "The presence of the
fuel oil on the coasts of Lebanon and Syria exposes people in the zones
affected to a heightened risk of cancer," said Simonetta Lombardo of
Info-Rac, which monitors compliance with the so-called Barcelona
Convention. The Convention is a 1976 document drawn up by the UN
Environment Program (UNEP) designed to protect the Mediterranean and to
which 22 countries have so far signed up. An estimated 10,000 tons of
fuel oil spilled from the plant at Jiyyeh, 25 kilometers south of
Beirut, after Israeli warplanes attacked it on July 14, according to
Lebanese authorities, and a further 20,000 tonnes have subsequently
leaked out.
At least 10,000 residents to be evacuated from northern towns
Ha'aretz 8/8/2006
Some 10,000 to 14,000 residents of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona
and its surrounding areas will be evacuated in the next few days,
officials decided at a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office on
Tuesday. At the meeting, led by Director-General of the Prime
Minister's Office Ra'anan Dinur, officials decided the evacuation would
be implemented and funded equally by the Jewish Agency and the
Birthright program. Though Kiryat Shmona Mayor Haim Barbai had made
statements to the contrary, officials planning the evacuation told
Haaretz they believed any residents who wish to leave the town would
probably be evacuated. The Prime Minister's Office, the Jewish Agency
and Birthright have agreed to allocate NIS 2 million dollars to provide
for the evacuees' stay in a hotel for one week.
Bombing Obliterates Last Route Out of Tyre
By Anthony Shadid,
Washington Post 8/8/2006
Ambulances, Aid Stranded After Warplanes Strike Strip of Sand Over the
Litani -- TYRE, Lebanon, Aug. 7 -- The nine ambulances were parked
outside the Lebanese Red Cross. They couldn't leave -- neither by the
road north, which was bombed, nor the road south, which was shelled
Monday. Blasts thundered across the Tyre sky, and rumors flew with
almost equal vigor: No one could walk outside after 10 p. m. , no one
should stand in the street in groups bigger than three. That left Qasim
Chaalan, a gentle Red Cross volunteer, with a problem: He had promised
to take Khadija Tajj al-Din, a 74-year-old woman, in an ambulance from
the Jabal Amel Hospital to a school where her relatives had sought
refuge, a trip of a couple of miles.
Israel Threatens Anew to Liquidate Hizbullah Leader
An Nahar 8/7/2006
Israel will not miss a chance to liquidate Hizbullah leader Sayyed
Hassan Nasrallah, an Israeli minister warned in an interview published
Monday. "Nasrallah is the serpent's head and therefore must be
liquidated if possible. I do not think there is anyone on our side who
would miss an opportunity like that," Environment Minister Gideon Ezra
told the Haaretz newspaper. It is not the first time Israel has
threatened to kill Nasrallah, and its forces have bombed both his
headquarters and his home in the Hizbullah stronghold in Beirut's
southern suburbs during its massive offensive against Lebanon. Ezra, a
former number two in the Shin Beth internal security service, said that
Israel's ground operation should continue until forces reach the Litani
river, about 40 kilometers from Israel's northern border.
ANALYSIS: IDF still not in control of strip along Lebanon's
border
By Ze'ev Schiff,
Ha'aretz 8/10/2006
What happened in Bint Jbail recurred in Ayta al-Shab. -- The large
number and the location of the casualties that the Israel Defense
Forces sustained Wednesday indicate that the army does not yet control
the narrow strip along the border, although this stage of the ground
operation was supposed to have been completed already. The two battles
also reveal a great deal about Hezbollah's method of fighting. They
took place in two relatively small communities, Ayta al-Shab and Debel,
close to the international border, on territory that until May 2000 was
in Israel's Security Zone. The ground operation, dubbed "Change of
Direction 8," was intended to conquer this border strip. First it was
to be a two- to three-kilometer strip.
VIDEO - Electronic Lebanon Public Service Announcement
(Broadband Video)
Electronic Intifada
8/9/2006
Multimedia/PSA, Electronic Lebanon, 9 August 2006 -- In the weeks after
Israel launched it's attack on Lebanon, a team of New York-based
artists, designers, and multimedia producers converged on a warehouse
location in Brooklyn to create a Public Service Announcement for
Electronic Lebanon. The two minute PSA is intended for wide
distribution and public viewing. A laptop version of the PSA, for
projection, is also available for download. Activists and others
seeking broadcast-quality versions of the PSA are asked to contact EI.
ICRC Chief Wades Across Litani River to Reach Tyre
An Nahar 8/8/2006
The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jakob
Kellenberger, waded across the Litani River in south Lebanon Tuesday,
after the two bridges linking the banks were destroyed by Israeli
raids. "I crossed on foot. Fortunately there was not too much water," said Kellenberger, who was picked up by an ICRC car on the other side
and driven to the organization's headquarters in a hotel. The port city
of Tyre, 83 kilometers south of Beirut, was left completely cut off
from the rest of the country Monday after the Israeli bombardments. The
Israeli strikes targeted a bridge in Al-Qasmiyeh, north of Tyre and
artillery bombed the road linking the city to the south, witnesses and
police said. Kellenberger arrived in Beirut Monday to evaluate the
humanitarian situation in Lebanon, the ICRC said.
Partner closes Lebanon nursery after Israeli attack
ReliefWeb/Christian
Aid 8/9/2006
A Christian Aid partner in Lebanon has suspended work in a nursery it
runs for Palestinian refugees after an Israeli missile attack last
night. According to media reports, Lebanese and Palestinian officials
said an Israeli gunship shelled the Ein el-Hilweh camp on the outskirts
of the town of Sidon, south of the capital Beirut, killing at least one
person. The Israeli military said the attack was an air strike that
targeted a house in the camp used by Hezbollah guerrillas. Ein
el-Hilweh is the largest of Lebanon's 12 Palestinian refugee camps and
is home to about 75,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants who
were displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Some 350,000 Palestinians
live in refugee camps in Lebanon that have developed over the years
into shanty towns.
Support for Nasarallah skyrockets among young Palestinians
Palestine News
Network 8/9/2006
In the mobile phone obsessed Palestinian youth culture, the image of
Hassan Nasrallah has replaced Nancy Ajaram and Amr Diab as the
preferred screen image. The Secretary General of the Lebanese
resistance movement, Hezbollah, has inspired the young generation of
Palestinians for his non-compliance with occupation and his resolve to
fight back until the rights of the people are no longer up for grabs.
An older Qalqilia resident, a 50 year old man residing in the
northwestern West Bank, told PNN, “I have seen a lot of mobile phones
among the young people sporting Nasrallah’s image. Israeli soldiers
even arrested one right in front of me after attacking and destroying
the phone in ‘punishment’ for the image. ”
Palestinian poll reveals marked support of Hizbullah
Jerusalem Post
8/9/2006
A public opinion poll published on Tuesday showed that support for
Hamas and Hizbullah among the Palestinians has increased over the past
few weeks and that the number of those who believe in peace with Israel
has dropped sharply. The poll, conducted by the Ramallah-based Near
East Consulting group, covered more than 1,200 Palestinians living in
the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem. Its margin of error
is reported to be 3. 6%. The poll was held in the first week of August
and is an indication of the growing radicalization of Palestinian
society. Its findings also show that support for Hamas has not been
affected, despite US-led sanctions against the Hamas government....
Palestinians in the West Bank appear to be more radical in their views
against Israel than their brethren in the Gaza Strip...
Demands for recall of parliament growing
The Guardian
8/10/2006
More than 150 MPs, including a fifth of Labour's parliamentary party,
yesterday joined forces with 17 charities, including Oxfam and Amnesty
International, to urge the recall of parliament to discuss the crisis
in Lebanon. The move, revealed in the Guardian yesterday, came as Jim
Sheridan, the parliamentary private secretary at the Ministry of
Defence, resigned in protest at government policy on the Middle East.
Last night Mr Sheridan said: "I think there is a significant amount of
colleagues in the party, not just the usual suspects, but there are
loyal members of the party and indeed the government... who genuinely
believe we cannot dictate Middle East policy by using excessive force.
I think we are now in danger of embarking on an extremely dangerous
strategy... "
Israel will stay until international force arrives - American
envoy
The Daily Star
8/10/2006
BEIRUT: US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch told Lebanese
leaders Wednesday that Israel had rejected troop withdrawal until an
international force was in place. A senior government official said on
condition of anonymity that "Israel is still rejecting the withdrawal
and is refusing to talk about Shebaa Farms," adding that "Israel is
insisting on waiting until an international deterrent force is in
place. "Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said no progress had been made to
end the war, after he met with Welch twice on Wednesday. Siniora told
reporters there were contacts on several fronts to end the violence but "there is nothing new so far. "Asked if he expects the Security Council
to issue a resolution Wednesday, Siniora said: "I don't expect a
resolution will be issued today or tomorrow. "
Lebanese premier calls on UN to impose ceasefire
The Daily Star
8/10/2006
WASHINGTON, Aug 9, 2006 (AFP) - Lebanese Prime Minister FuadSiniora, in
a letter published Wednesday in the Washington Post,called on the UN to
end the fighting in his country, which heimplicitly blamed on Israel
without mentioning its enemy, Hezbollah. On possibly the eve of a UN
Security Council vote on aresolution on Lebanon, Siniora pushed his
seven-point plan to endthe war presented July 25, to which he added his
latest proposal todeploy the Lebanese military in southern Lebanon. "I
believe that a political resolution rooted in internationallaw and
based on these seven points will lead to long-termstability," said the
prime minister. He called a military solution to "Israel's savage war
on Lebanon... morally unacceptable and totally unrealistic," and called
on theinternational community to "end this folly now. "
Saudis, Jordanians chastise Israel for punishing offensive in
Lebanon
The Daily Star
8/10/2006
Saudi Arabia and Jordan have stepped up their rhetoric against Israel
for its attacks against Lebanon, with the Jordanian king saying that
Europe has a pivotal role to play in resolving the Mideast crisis. "Perhaps the biggest proof of how our world is full of danger is the
Israeli aggression that brotherly Lebanon is subjected to these days," Saudi King Abdullah said late Tuesday at a banquet hosted in his honor
by Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. "Members of the international
community must engage in policies that are adventure-free, balanced and
farsighted," he added. Abdullah's trip to Turkey is the first visit by
a Saudi monarch to the secular state in 40 years and a sign of warming
ties between the two countries.
Egyptian officials, artists bring aid and a message of
solidarity
The Daily Star
8/9/2006
BEIRUT: An Egyptian military plane arrived in Beirut Tuesday morning
carrying President Hosni Mubarak's son Gamal, relief aid and 70
officials and figures from the country's illustrious acting community
who joined the trip to express their support for war-torn Lebanon.
Egypt's ministers of information, health, and industry and foreign
trade - in addition to the leaders of several opposition parties and
top actors - arrived to deliver medical supplies. They also met with
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister
Fouad Siniora and visited the wounded inhospitals before departing.
Siniora said that the delegation's visit enhances the support for
Lebanon shown during the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in
Beirut Monday.
Lebanon Calls up the Reserves to Bolster Official Decision to
Send Troops to the South
An Nahar 8/8/2006
The army has called up the reserves to bolster the government's
decision to deploy 15,000 troops in the south up to the border with
Israel once the Jewish state pulls out all soldiers from the area. "The
government asserts that it is ready to send 15,000 troops to the south,
with the Israeli withdrawal beyond the Blue Line," or Lebanon's U. N.
-drawn border with Israel, Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after
a cabinet meeting. Shortly after the decision the army issued a
statement calling up the reserves who were discharged from service less
than five years ago. They are to report to duty between Aug. 10 and 16,
the statement said. An official source earlier told AFP that the
Lebanese military has called up reserve troops as part of plans to
deploy the army to the border with Israel.
General sacked as Israel plans invasion
The Guardian
8/10/2006
Israel dramatically raised the stakes in the Middle East yesterday,
approving an invasion of southern Lebanon involving tens of thousands
of troops. At the same time, the army commander in charge of the
Lebanese offensive was replaced by another general with a more
aggressive reputation - a reflection of Israeli impatience about
military progress. The decision by the 12-strong security cabinet left
the door open to last-ditch diplomacy at the UN security council, but
the diplomats were only given a few days to produce an acceptable
compromise. That seemed as far away as ever yesterday, as the US and
France clashed openly over a ceasefire plan that is opposed by Lebanon
and other Arab states. Last night Tony Blair and George Bush discussed
proposing a small, rapidly deployable UN force...
TV news helping Hizbullah?
YNet News 8/9/2006
Senior member says "terror" group monitors Israeli, international
television news footage of scenes from rocket landings inside Israel
and has used broadcasts in past few weeks to more accurately target
installations in Israel -- A "senior terror leader" told WorldNetDaily
that Hizbullah monitors Israeli and international television news
footage of scenes from rocket landings inside Israel and has used the
broadcasts in the past few weeks to more accurately target
installations in the Jewish state. Israeli TV and international news
outlets such as Fox News, BBC, CNN and SkyNews have been regularly
broadcasting, many times live, from the aftermath of Hizbullah rocket
attacks on northern Israel. "Of course the constant stream of
television news is helpful for Hizbullah to know whether they hit
targets and the location of strategic facilities... "
Syria Isolated in Demanding Hizbullah Tribute at Arab Meeting
An Nahar 8/7/2006
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem was left isolated Monday at an
emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Beirut, after wanting to
pay tribute to Hizbullah in the final declaration. Prime Minister Fouad
Saniora cut in, saying "the Arab ministers came here to support the
unified position of Lebanon", a participant at the closed session of
the meeting told AFP, adding that the other ministers stood firmly
behind Saniora. On Sunday, Moallem said that "Hezbollah chief Hassan
Nasrallah and the resistance were defending Lebanon and the dignity of
the Arab Nation". "I put myself at the disposal of Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah and for the defense of Lebanon," he said.
VIDEO - George Galloway - Hizbollah Is Not A Terrorist
Organization
Information Clearing
House 8/6/2006
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter -- George Galloway
has spoken out in support of Lebanon, saying he believes Hizbollah is
justified in defending Lebanon against Israeli attacks. The Respect MP
also lambasted media coverage of the war and said the UN resolution
means nothing. 08/06/06 Runtime: 9 Minutes. --In case you missed it: Video:
Galloway v The US Senate
War's cost: NIS 7 billion
YNet News 8/9/2006
Treasury to transfer NIS 2 billion to Defense Ministry next week to
finance war in Lebanon -- The cost of the war in Lebanon so far,
according to defense establishment estimates and not including the
salary costs of reserve troops, is NIS 7 billion (roughly USD 1. 5
billion,) Finance Minister Abraham Hirchson said Wednesday. "We must
remember that the war forced on us has an economic price," he said. "This price must not come at the expense of economic stability…it's
important to remember that at wartime of all times the Israeli economy
is required to display its strength, and we must not undermine it. " However, the minister made it clear that the Treasury intends to fully
support the army's efforts in the North. "The Finance Ministry under my
leadership won't constitute an obstacle to the military's activity," Hirchson said.
Cabinet expected to okay NIS 2.8b in budget cuts to fund war
Ha'aretz 8/9/2006
The cabinet will be asked to vote Sunday on an NIS 2. 8 billion cut to
the 2006 state budget to fund the war in Lebanon. A special NIS 2
billion allocation will be transfered to the Defense Ministry in
addition to funds that will be disbursed to local governments and
emergency services in the North for war-related costs. Finance Minister
Abraham Hirchson cited Israel Defense Forces sources that the war is
costing NIS 7 billion thus far. Hirchson presented last night the
treasury's program for redistributing funds to pay for the war. He
reiterated previous promises not to raise taxes or impose special fees
to cover increased military costs. The finance minister stressed the
importance of fiscal responsibility in the face of the country's major
economic burden resulting from the war.
IDF awaits PM's green light to invade
Jerusalem Post
8/8/2006
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will wait to see in which direction the
diplomatic process is headed before giving the IDF a green light to
implement the expanded ground operation the security cabinet approved
at the end of a tense, six-hour meeting Wednesday, senior sources in
the Prime Minister's Office said. According to these officials, the
waiting period would be "very short. " The security cabinet, by a vote
of 9-0 with three abstentions, approved plans to expand the IDF ground
operation to the Litani, which at some points is 30 kilometers from the
border, in order to take out the Katyusha launchers that have wreaked
havoc on northern Israel over the past month. Vice Prime Minister
Shimon Peres.. ,Culture and Sport Minister Ophir Paz-Pines.. and
Industry and Trade Minister Eli Yishai.. cast the abstaining ballots.
Capital flight slows to trickle after initial rush to move
deposits abroad
The Daily Star
8/10/2006
Beirut: The currency conversion and capital flight that occurred during
the first two weeks of Israel's 29-day-old military campaign have
almost come to a halt and the local currency remains stable, four of
Lebanon's top banks say. Analysts offered different estimates of the
amount of local currency that was converted in the early days of the
conflict, but all estimates hover between 1 percent and 10 percent of
the Lebanese banking sector's $64 billion total pre-war deposit base -
30 percent of which was local currency. Most of the country's
commercial banks have also reported minimal levels of off-shore capital
flow. An adviser to the chairman of Bank Audi said that 4 percent of
Lebanon's total deposit base has been transferred outside the country,
but that two-thirds moved to European and regional branches of local
banks.
Poll: US Public Closely Divided Over Israel's War with
Hizbullah
An Nahar 8/8/2006
The traditionally pro-Israel US public is closely divided on the Jewish
state's battle with Hizbullah, a new poll showed. Forty-six percent of
Americans surveyed blame Israel and Hizbullah equally for the conflict,
whereas 39 percent blame Hizbullah alone, according to the ABC
News/Washington Post poll released late Monday. Israel itself has
blamed Hizbullah for starting the fight on July 12 when it kidnapped
two Israeli soldiers on the border between the two countries.... In the
poll, 47 percent said Israel was justified in its bombing campaign,
against 48 percent who were opposed.... Fifty-five percent said Israel
should halt its attacks only if Hizbullah disarms first, while only 35
percent thought Israel should agree to an immediate, unconditional halt
to fighting.
International support abounds as hundreds demonstrate against
Israeli war crimes in Peru
Palestine News
Network 8/9/2006
Hundreds of people from the Palestinian and Arab community in Peru
marched in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people
yesterday in the capital city of Lima in South America. Not only do
they object to Israel's onslaught of Gaza and Lebanon, but also the US
support for both. Included among Tuesday's participants were
representative from a large number of political parties and civic
organizations. The demonstrators carried banners and chanted slogans
condemning what they described as “the Israeli war crimes. ” Participants also condemned overt American support for Israel. They
demanded an end to Israeli attacks against innocent civilians in
Palestine and Lebanon, and called for the international community to
work for an immediate cease-fire.
Candlelight Vigils Held Across the World for Lebanon Ceasefire
An Nahar 8/8/2006
Demonstrators lit candles in cities across the world from Paris to Hong
Kong on Monday at peaceful vigils to call for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Vigils were reported to have taken place in Asian, African and European
cities as part of a series of events planned in 22 countries by
branches of the London-based global human rights body Amnesty
International. In the French capital, dozens of people dressed in black
lay down on the ground imitating corpses beside a fountain in the
central neighborhood of Beaubourg. Amnesty delivered a petition to the
door of British Prime Minister's office in Downing Street, London. It
asked for the conflict to stop on the grounds, Amnesty said, that it
violated international humanitarian law.
End This Tragedy Now
By Fouad Siniora, Washington Post 8/9/2006
Israel Must Be Made to Respect International Law
As the world watches, Israel has besieged and ravaged our country, created a humanitarian and environmental disaster, and shattered our infrastructure and economy, putting an intolerable strain on our social and economic systems. Fuel, food and medical equipment are in short supply; homes, factories and warehouses have been destroyed; roads severed, bridges smashed and airports disabled.
The damage to infrastructure alone is running into the billions of dollars, as are the losses to owners of private property, and the long-term direct and indirect costs due to lost revenue in tourism, agriculture and industrial sectors are expected to be many more billions. Lebanon's well-known achievements in 15 years of postwar development have been wiped out in a matter of days by Israel's deadly military might.
For all this carnage and death, and on behalf of all Lebanese, we demand an international inquiry into Israel's criminal actions in Lebanon and insist that Israel pay compensation for its wanton destruction.
Israel seems to think that its attacks will sow discord among the Lebanese. This will never happen. Israel should know that the Lebanese people will remain steadfast and united in the face of this latest Israeli aggression -- its seventh invasion -- just as they were during nearly two decades of brutal occupation. The people's will to resist grows ever stronger with each village demolished and each massacre committed.
On July 25, at the international conference for Lebanon in Rome, I proposed a comprehensive seven-point plan to end the war. It was well received by the conference and got the unanimous and full backing of the Lebanese Council of Ministers, in which Hezbollah is represented, as well as of the speaker of parliament and a majority of parliamentary blocs. Representatives of diverse segments of Lebanese civil society have come out strongly in favor, as has the Islamic-Christian Summit, representing all the religious confessions, ensuring a broad national consensus and preserving our delicate social equilibrium.
A wretched decision
By Ran Cohen, Jerusalem Post 8/10/2006
The decision to order a major ground offensive is wretched. The government has fallen into the trap that Hassan Nasrallah laid for it.
This is exactly what Nasrallah wants - IDF soldiers deep in Lebanon. He's got all the traps ready in familiar territory. We will discover that this dreadful decision will be very grave in terms of unnecessary bloodshed.
Instead of accepting the United Nations cease-fire and preparing to welcome an international force to help the Lebanese army clear southern Lebanon, we are plowing back into the Lebanese quagmire.
Surely anyone can recognize that even if we clean the last rocket out of Lebanon, without the Lebanese army and an international force, Hizbullah will rearm and return for another round.
So I urge the government, don't attempt to get rid of the last missile; work for an international force and it will clear out the missiles and keep them out.
And involve the Syrians in this. Syria can play a role in disarming Hizbullah. Return the Shaba Farms to Syria, and draw the Syrians in. This is a much more sensible path to a solution. [end]
The writer, a colonel in the IDF reserves, is a Meretz Knesset member.
Extraordinary Precision: Logic of Israel's War on Civilians
By Ramzy Baroud, Palestine Chronicle 8/9/2006
Regardless of its media utterances, Israel has committed yet another colossal strategic error, comparable in magnitude and consequence to the American debacle in Iraq.
A Sky News newscaster, interviewing British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett on Sunday, July 30 demanded an answer to this paraphrased question: if indeed Israel had precise intelligence that a Hezbollah operative was present in the village of Qana, in South Lebanon, how could it possibly fail to realize that the area was also crowded with civilians?
The question was prompted by Beckett’s insistence that while Israeli attacks that victimize uncountable civilians — like that in Qana which killed scores, mostly children — were "appalling", they resulted from tactical errors, and were never deliberate. In fact, she referred to the "apparent deliberate targeting" --as described by UN secretary Kofi Annan — of the UN peacekeepers compound in South Lebanon and the killing of four unarmed observers, as a "mistake."
In effect, Israel is hardly accused — at least in the Western narrative of the Middle East crisis, as exemplified in media coverage and political discourse — of deliberately targeting civilians, even among those who are daring enough to describe Israel’s response to Hezbollah’s "provocation" — the capturing of two Israeli soldiers on July 12 — as "disproportionate."
Israel often acknowledges — with "regret" — the high civilian tolls of its war; sometimes it goes as far as apologizing for such unintended "mistakes." The Israeli government however is adamant that it will continue to carry out such attacks; that it’s those who "hide among the civilian population" which deserve the blame, not Israel; that neither Hezbollah nor Palestinian resistance groups seem to care much for the life of Israeli civilians, while Israel does care for Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. In fact, and ironically, according to various Israeli politicians and media pundits, one of Israel’s objectives is to liberate its neighbors from the suffocating grip of terrorists. An objective journalist is expected to highlight both narratives, without pointing out the fallacies of one or the other.
Weapons of war: open season on journalists in the Middle East
By Lawrence Pintak, The Daily Star 8/7/2006
Israel's recent destruction of television transmission towers in Lebanon, which killed one employee of the LBC channel, and a subsequent attack on a convoy in the south of the country in which media people were circulating, were emblematic of a grim fact: the media have become targets - and weapons - of war.
The pen may be "mightier than the sword," but in recent years, the sword has left a trail of spilled ink - and blood. It is time for an international law banning targeted attacks on the media.
In the Middle East, the conscious targeting of journalists appears to have become an accepted part of war. The Israelis' destruction of the Lebanese transmission towers, including that of Hizbullah's Al-Manar television, and the convoy attack carry the markings of the ongoing campaign against news organizations by virtually all of the protagonists of the region's many conflicts. Its precedent was the 1999 NATO and American attack on Radio Television Serbia during the Kosovo conflict, killing 19 staffers.
The targeting of "enemy" broadcasts is nothing new. It dates back at least to World War II. Nor are reporters around the world strangers to retribution. The history of journalism in Lebanon itself is littered with the bodies of reporters who angered the powers-that-be. Even foreign reporters sometimes fall victim.
As a Beirut-based correspondent in the 1980s, I had to leave the country for a year after death threats from a pro-Syrian militia. One of my cameramen was literally blown in half, the sound technician killed and the driver crippled by an Israeli tank shell fired directly at them; and several of my friends ended up hostages of Hizbullah or its allies.
What do you say to a man whose family is buried under the rubble? By Robert Fisk
At least 17 civilians were killed, many of them children. A 12-year-old boy called Hussein Ahmed Mohsen lay dead in the mortuary of the Mount Lebanon Hospital, along with a woman who died just after being rescued when the missiles collapsed her home just after 7.30 on Monday night.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14432.htm
Hypocrisy and the clamor against Hizbullah By Jonathan Cook in Nazareth
The claim being made against Hizbullah in Lebanon — that it is “cowardly blending” with civilians, according to the UN’s Jan Egeland — can, in truth, be made far more convincingly of the Israeli army.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14435.htm
Destruction, Death, and Drastic Measures By Dahr Jamail
To grasp the unfolding events in Lebanon, you have to begin with an uncomfortable fact. Hezbollah, widely known throughout much of the West as a “terrorist organization,” is seen as anything but in Lebanon.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14453.htm
Arab TV Coverage Of Forgotten Massacre in Qaa, Lebanon
Video News Report
WARNING!
The follow video contain graphic images which may be offensive to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
Click here to view
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14445.htm
The Grave Consequences of Supporting War in Lebanon By Scott Ritter
One should not be fooled by the “false” diplomacy being waged by the United States, fronted by Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14448.htm
Concerns over Syria’s links to Hezbollah
BBC Video Interview
Stephen Sackur talks to Syria’s Ambassador to Washington about his country’s role in the Middle East and concerns over links to Hezbollah.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14468.htm
Was Israel’s Aim to Clear Path for US War on Iran?
Analysis by Gareth Porter
Israel has argued that the war against Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal was a defensive response to the Shiite organisation’s threat to Israeli security, but the evidence points to a much more ambitious objective — the weakening of Iran’s deterrent to an attack on its nuclear sites.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14421.htm
Uncensored News Reports From Across The Middle East
Israeli Jets Target More Lebanese Villages – Al Jazeera TV, Qatar
Israel Will Not Withdraw from Lebanon Without Completing Mission – Future TV, Lebanon
IDF Downs Iranian Made Drone – IBA TV, Israel
Israeli Artists Perform in Shelters – IBA TV, Israel
Amal Supports Hezbollah – NBN TV, Lebanon
Interview with Abdel Barri Atwan – ANB TV, England
Israeli Media Coverage of the War – Abu Dhabi TV, UAE
Anti-Israel demonstrations in Kuwait – IRIB TV, Iran
Warning
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
Click here to view
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14446.htm
40,000 soldiers await word to enter southern Lebanon:
A high-ranking IDF officer and member of the General Staff told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday that it would take the military at least one week to reach the Litani and beyond, and to set up position and begin taking control of the area
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14458.htm
IDF’s new weapon: Snipers who fought in Cechnya :
They were active in the past in operational activity in the Gaza division, but at a certain point finished their service in the division once the impression was created that they were “trigger happy.”
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14460.htm
Top US envoy tells Lebanese Israel has rejected troop withdrawal:
It was a top U-S envoy who carried the message to Lebanon that Israel is rejecting a troop withdrawal.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14440.htm
Israel isolates Tyre with threat to bomb all traffic :
No exemptions for humanitarian convoys says military
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14427.htm
Robert Fisk: Israel’s promise of humanitarian corridors is exposed as a sham :
Requests from humanitarian organisations for clearance from the Israelis are now being refused. Even the Red Cross admits there is now, in effect, a blockade on a vast area along the Lebanese border where thousands of civilians are still cowering in their homes.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14433.htm
Nasrallah Urges Arabs to Leave Haifa :
Nasrallah said Hezbollah was solidly behind a Lebanese government plan to deploy 15,000 soldiers in south Lebanon once a cease-fire is reached and Israel withdraws its forces.
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14456.htm
One minute video: Compassionate Conservatives:
FOX News Laughs at Lebanese Civilian Deaths
www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14469.htm
Fox Military Analyst on Syria:
‘We Can Talk To Them When We Line Them Up and Kill Them’
thinkprogress.org/2006/08/09/syria-fox/ |