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Photostory: Gaza protests Israel's assault on Lebanon

30 July 2006


Today, Palestinians in Gaza demonstrated against Israel’s military assault in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip in front of the European Union office in Gaza City. In Gaza Palestinian artists have painted a mural during the demonstration. The EU Council of Foreign Ministers will hold an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on Tuesday in order to assess the situation in Lebanon and to prepare further EU action following the International Conference on Lebanon in Rome on 26 July. Finland’s Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose country holds the current EU presidency, and EU Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner will report on their visit to the region. 

Extrajudicial execution: Israeli special forces kill two Palestinians in Nablus

30 July 2006


On Saturday evening, 29 July 2006, IOF extra-judicially killed a member of the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad, and a civilian who accompanied him. In the meantime, IOF have continued their wide scale offensive on the Gaza Strip for the fifth consecutive week, committing more crimes against Palestinian civilian and property. At approximately 08:30 on Saturday, 29 July 2006, an IOF undercover unit moved into Sheikh Musallam quarter in the old town of Nablus. IOF soldiers immediately opened fire from a close range from pistols equipped with silencers at two young men, who were sitting near a carpentry workshop. 

Qana again: Israel's war on civilians

Arjan El Fassed 30 July 2006


Today, when Israeli war planes attacked Qana, at least 54 civilians, including at least 27 children, were killed. It is the deadliest single strike since Israel unleashed its war on Lebanon. Israel, the US and several European governments are in no rush to reach a ceasefire. Dozens of other villages in the region around the southern port city of Tyre were also bombarded for two hours overnight with fire from the Israeli navy, air force and artillery. Israeli planes also tore up the Masnaa border crossing into Syria, leading to the closure of the main Damascus-Beirut route. Israeli bombardments have been directed at targets regardless of the consequences for civilians. 

Mass burial of unclaimed bodies in Tyre

29 July 2006


Lebanese authorities buried 32 unclaimed bodies in a mass grave in wasteland outside Tyre on Saturday. The Lebanese soldiers retch as they unload maggot-infested body bags into coffins laid out for the mass burial. The bodies had lain unrecovered for up to ten days in the burned-out shells of cars, or scattered around the devastated villages of south Lebanon. “We just cannot hold onto them anymore,” says Salman Zaynadeen, director of a hospital in the al-Bas Palestinian camp in Tyre, where the bodies of villagers recovered this week were taken for storage. Weeping over the pieces of rubble her family collected to mark the grave of their loved one, Mihal Watfa pleads for a ceasefire. 

Israel's cruel offensive

James Abourezk 29 July 2006


Israel has virtually destroyed the infrastructure of Lebanon. Instead of confronting Hezbollah directly (which I think they are afraid to do), they’ve bombed the civilian areas of Lebanon, hoping the Lebanese and Arabs will turn on Hezbollah. What’s interesting is that the Arab world is becoming more united than ever against what Israel, with American support, is doing to the Lebanese. Israel has bombed the milk factory in Beirut, the grain silos in Tripoli, hospitals, all the bridges in the country, the highways leading in and out of Lebanon, as well those leading in and out of the villages they are bombing. 

How Do we Sleep While Beirut is Burning? (Part Two)

Hamid Dabashi 30 July 2006


“On a daily and hourly basis, Beirut is now the target of an unsurpassed savagery from the air, from the sea, from the land. They are pounding Beirut. Their ships, their fighter jets, their artilleries, their unparalleled barbarity, pounding Beirut like there is no tomorrow, burning it to ashes, murdering its fragile peace, shredding its imperceptible harmony to pieces, its gloriously cantankerous and divided thinkers, journalists, artists, writers, historians, poets, photographers, filmmakers …” In part two of a two-part series, Professor Hamid Dabashi analyzes the state of affairs that allows the carnage in Lebanon to continue. 

First UNHCR relief convoy arrives safely in Beirut from Syria

29 July 2006


UNHCR’s first relief convoy - carrying 140 tonnes of emergency relief items for thousands of displaced people in Lebanon - arrived safely in Beirut on Saturday after making the journey from Syria. The supplies of blankets, mattresses and kitchen sets will be distributed rapidly in the mountain areas outside Beirut where tens of thousands of people are crammed into schools. “The arrival of this first convoy is really good news. We are relieved that our emergency supplies are finally able to enter Lebanon, and this is just the start,” said UNHCR’s representative in Lebanon, Stephane Jaquemet, as the convoy pulled into the Lebanese capital. 

Lebanon's Children: Voices of the Unheard

Ramzi Kysia 29 July 2006


“Israel made us refugees and destroyed our homes, and this is why we came here [to the refugee center] with our families… I saw bombing and I was so afraid… They are not bombing a certain place, they are bombing everywhere. I want to tell people in America to ask Israel to stop bombing because we didn’t do anything. We’re not the ones threatening anyone. Stop bombing because it’s not the fault of the children. Why are they bombing and killing children?… They are killing lots of children and they are bombing everywhere. Hezbollah is just trying to resist, and to defend from what Israel is doing…” 

Galilee and the Valleys Against the War

Residents of Galilee and the Valleys Against the War 29 July 2006


We, residents of the Galilee and the Valleys, Arabs and Jews, do not believe the government of Israel and the military who maintain that war is being waged in self-defense and for the purpose of releasing the captured soldiers. We do not believe them because it is now common knowledge that the military steps were planned a long time ago. We know that about a month before the Hizballah attack on the army patrol, a military exercise was conducted as a rehearsal for an attack on Lebanon. Similarly, the kidnapping of the ministers and Parliament members of the Palestinian Authority was planned weeks ahead of the capture of the soldier Gilad Shalit by the Hamas. 

What Exactly is an "Existential" Threat, Mr. Olmert?

Am Johal 29 July 2006


Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, by declaring the attack on Lebanon as an “existential” one, set forth a dangerous series of events which will only serve to do long-term damage to Israel. It was an overstep and overreaction which will have profound and deep consequences in the years to come. It will also bolster the case of churches, labour unions and human rights organizations which are calling for a divestment and sanctions campaign against Israel in an attempt to force the state to change its policies related to the occupation. “Existential” threats do not absolve Israel of the responsibility to comply with international law.