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Toxic air a major health hazard

17 August 2006


Chemicals and dust from the buildings hit during Israeli air strikes on Lebanon have badly polluted the air and land, local nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) and government officials have warned. “With all the dust and smoke in the air, it is unbearable walking around the southern suburbs of Beirut,” said Marie Claire Feghali, a journalist with An-Nahar newspaper. “Even while wearing face masks, my colleague and I struggled to breathe. In fact, she has not stopped coughing since our return to the office several hours ago.” The destruction has released large amounts of chemical and dust particles into the atmosphere. 

Palestinians anxiously await return to Lebanon

17 August 2006


On an ordinary August afternoon, the Al-Quds school on the outskirts of Damascus would be empty, its pupils enjoying their summer break. But this year it is playing host to dozens of Palestinian families who fled the conflict in Lebanon. As thousands of Lebanese refugees return home from Syria, the Palestinians here remain cautious. “We will wait a few days to see what the situation is. It’s too early to go back yet,” said Fadi Hussein Khalil. The conflict began on 12 July after the armed wing of the political party Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers, and Israel responded a large-scale offensive and a blockade. 

Public Security Minister Avi Dichter refuses Supreme Court recommendation to cancel promotion of Benzi Sau

17 August 2006


On June 1, The Committee of the Victims’ Families of October 2000 presented an appeal to the Supreme Court against Benzi Sau and Public Security Minster (former head of the Shabak) Avi Dichter. The appeal called to cancel the promotion of Benzi Sau for the post of Head of Operations to the Public Security Minister (considered high-ranking in the Public Security Ministry). Benzi Sau was one of the most prominent high-ranking officers on the scene during protests of the Arab minority in the October 2000 events, and particularly so in Umm el-Fahm. 

Israeli rocket launching bases and army training camps deliberately constructed near Arab towns and villages

17 August 2006

During the War on Lebanon, the Israeli army installed rocket launching bases near Arab towns and villages in the north, in some cases only a few metres away. The Arab towns of Fassuta, Tarsheeha, and ‘Arab al-‘Aramshe were all subject to this deliberate military policy. These rocket launching bases are a serious threat to the residents of nearby towns and villages for a number of reasons. First, launching the rockets and firing is ongoing throughout the day and continues into the night. Second, there exists the possibility of misfiring which puts the lives of residents in danger. 

EI's Nigel Parry on Free Speech Radio News

17 August 2006


“There’s been a war going on for Palestine at some level for the last 100 years and as technology changed from telephone and faxes to email and the Internet, … those have been appropriated into the battle for public opinion. Because in the end, this is not going to be decided by who the superpower is or how many weapons Israel has and the balance of power in the region. It will be decided by public opinion, as was South Africa.” EI co-founder Nigel Parry spoke with Free Speech Radio News on August 15th about how communications technology plays a role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

A Resistance to War

Ramzi Kysia south Lebanon 25 August 2006


Last week, I made my first trip to South Lebanon since the war began. Having traveled a fifth of the world, and been present during “wars” in Iraq, Palestine, and New York - I can honestly say that I have never seen such complete devastation in my entire life. The only thing that even comes close are the pictures I’ve seen from World War II. Much of South Lebanon simply lies in ruin. In the South, Israeli warplanes occasionally break the sound barrier, rattling people as they fly off on God knows what missions. Israeli drones constantly fly overhead. The low, insistent hum of their engines serves as a continual reminder that Lebanon is not yet safe. 

Israeli Cluster Munitions Threaten Civilians

17 August 2006


NABATIYEH — United Nations deminers beginning emergency survey and clearance work in the south of Lebanon have identified 10 locations where Israel used artillery-delivered cluster munitions during the recent hostilities, Human Rights Watch reported today. Human Rights Watch researchers in Lebanon have inspected two of those sites in the village of Kfar Roummane. Dangerous unexploded submunitions, duds that fail to detonate on impact but are still live and at risk of exploding, are present in areas of Nabatiyeh, Tabnine and Beit Yahoun, as well as areas adjacent to the 3km road connecting Tabnine and Beit Yahoun, U.N. demining officials said. 

The creation of "Hezbollywood"

Andrew Ford Lyons 16 August 2006


I’m always fascinated with the birth of a meme. A new one recently surfaced amid the vitriolic rhetoric that gets dished out by the neoconservative punditry of the Internet: “Hezbollywood.” Google it and be in awe of its (as of this writing) 131,000 results. I’m almost surprised that Google even bothers to ask, “Did you mean: Hollywood?” Of course not. Right now, right-wing word herders are singing “Hooray For Hezbollywood!” And why not? In one simple word, they can summarize an entire paranoia. 

Resolving Lebanon's post-war housing crisis

Nasser Yassin 16 August 2006


As soon as the UN resolution 1701 became effective on the morning of Monday 14th of August, partisan journalists embarked on propagandising the victory; politicians ran debates on performance and political outcomes of this war, military experts turned to assess the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of their weapons, and diplomats continued to debate the meaning of each word in the UN resolution. Lebanese civilians, however, were left to face the harsh reality of this destructive war. 

Photostory: Protesters challenge US-Israel weapons flights through the Netherlands

16 August 2006


AIRPORT, AMSTERDAM — Today, fifty protesters staged a “die-in” at Schiphol Plaza, the main entrance of Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam to demand an end to the transit of US arms through the Netherlands to Israel. There have been 76 cases of arms transit via the Netherlands to Israel in 2005 and 23 cases in the period between June and July 2006. The “die-in” symbolized the more than 1,000 casualties of the Israeli war on Lebanon and more than 150 casualties of the Israeli war on Gaza.