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Ireland Foreign Affairs Committee Concemns Violence in Lebanon

4 August 2006


The fact that over 600 civilians, including many children have died in Southern Lebanon and in Israel in recent weeks; The damage done to civilian infrastructure in Lebanon on such a scale as to render over 750,000 people homeless; The indiscriminate attack on a United Nations outpost in South Lebanon, involving the deaths of four UN Peacekeeping personnel; Recognising the important role of Unifil and the Irish Defence Forces’ contribution to that body; Appalled at the most recent slaughter in Qana over the weekend just passed … 

Oil Spill Reaches Syrian Coastline

4 August 2006


The oil spill that has already polluted over 80 kilometres of the Lebanese coastline has reached the Syrian coastline and is spreading further north. Satellite imagery from the European Commission (EC) now shows that the oil slick has entered Syrian waters and has already contaminated approximately 10 kilometres of coastline north of the borders between Syria and Lebanon. “It is nearly three weeks since the bombing of the power plant and the initial satellite imagery unfortunately confirms that the oil spill is of a significant magnitude and spreading. …”, said United Nations Under-Secretary-General Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of UNEP, speaking from Nairobi. 

"Justice" Comes to Qana

Patrick McGreevy Beirut 4 August 2006


The attacks of 11 September 2001 gave many ordinary Americans a palpable experience of injustice. Addressing both houses of Congress nine days later, President Bush proclaimed: “Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.” By nearly conflating justice and revenge, the President - and, alas, the vast majority of Americans who applauded him - lost an opportunity to see with new clarity, justice itself cast into relief by the very experience of injustice. Instead, the United States launched an endless war, the first stage of which was to be called Operation Infinite Justice. 

We're still alive, despite last night

Hanady Salman Beirut 4 August 2006


We’re still alive, despite last night. They were busy bombing Gaza, South Lebanon and Baalback, until 3:14 am — that was when they started hitting the outskirts of Beirut. Twelve, thirteen air strikes? I stopped counting at the twelfth strike and fell asleep. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know. My husband and “my refugees” were out on the balcony trying to locate the new targets, but I stayed in bed. I had a terrible migraine and couldn’t even open my eyes. I’d open them only with every new explosion, and listen to the correspondent on TV specifying the number and targets of each. They were all falling on Ouzai, south of Beirut. 

Birth of the New Middle East?

Tanya Nasr Beirut 4 August 2006


At 7:00 am this morning the enemy’s air strike got us out of our beds, devastated. The Israeli air force hit the Maameltein bridge which is around 500 meters away from my house. The ceiling felt like it was going to collapse over our heads! Less than 30 minutes later, and while I was standing on my balcony still overwhelmed by the first bombardment, another strike hit the Casino Du Liban bridge right before my eyes. And in the hour that followed, they hit the bridges in this chronology, Maameltein bridge, casino bridge, Halat bridge (complete destruction), and Madfoun bridge (not to mention the rest of the bridges that connect Mount Lebanon, Beirut to the south and the Bekaa). 

Beirut: Before and after Israeli bombing

4 August 2006


The destruction of all three runways of Beirut International Airport and the airport fuel tanks took place in the early days of Israel’s attack on Lebanon. Before and after pictures of the destruction, as well as the destruction of the Harat Hurayk neighborhood in the southern suburbs of the city are shown in this multimedia piece authored by EI design team member Ken Harper. Sources: Digital Globe, Space Imaging. 

Palestinian Filmmakers, Artists and Cultural Workers Call for a Cultural Boycott of Israel

4 August 2006


We, the undersigned Palestinian filmmakers and artists, appeal to all artists and filmmakers of good conscience around the world to cancel all exhibitions and other cultural events that are scheduled to occur in Israel, to mobilize immediately and not allow the continuation of the Israeli offensive to breed complacency. Like the boycott of South African art institutions during apartheid, cultural workers must speak out against the current Israeli war crimes and atrocities. We call upon you to make your voices heard in calling for an end to this bloodshed and an end to this oppression that has lasted too long. 

And it gets worse ...

Zena El-Khalil Beirut 4 August 2006


Last night … last night … I don’t even know where to begin … It seems the bombs are getting louder. Perhaps they are the new ones from the US expedited delivery. They hit everywhere last night. Beirut, Jounieh, roads leading to the north, bridges in the north; the only highway left, leading to the north, the last escape route to Syria, was hit. We are all trapped now. Waiting … waiting … The bombs started around 1 am in Dahiye. We had some friends over. Everyone was in a state of panic. We waited a bit and then everyone made a run for it, to go home. 

Bombs and tanks in the night

Jenny Digi Nablus 3 August 2006


It’s taken me a while to get used to being back in Nablus and my sleep on the first few nights was broken regularly by bangs, explosions and the 4 AM call to prayer. Lying in bed on the first night, I moved my mattress away from the window, feeling too exposed to the soldiers who have a large base at the top of the hill. In 2003 there was safety in my nationality to some degree - the Israeli soldiers were not so likely to randomly shoot internationals. Now, this feeling of protection doesn’t feel quite so strong in the light of what the Israeli military have been doing in Lebanon, indiscriminately killing anyone regardless of nationality, status (civilian or combatant) and age. 

Mental hospital nearly out of medicine

3 August 2006


A mental hospital in south Lebanon is just days away from running out of the medicine used to treat its 250 schizophrenic patients, its director said on Thursday. “We have very little Epanutin left,” said Adela Dajani Labban, director of the private Al Fanar Mental Hospital in Zefta, a village 60km south of Beirut. Epanutin is an anti-convulsion drug that can be used to treat schizophrenia. Staff nurse Hossam Mustafa said doctors had been reducing dosages to patients in an attempt to conserve supplies. “If we do not get more medicine soon we will be faced with a very difficult situation. The patients will become very aggressive.”