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Beauty and Destruction in Beirut

George Bisharat 3 August 2006



It had always taken my breath away, cresting the ridge from the Beka’a Valley, and descending toward the sea, when I caught the first glimpse of the city of Beirut, framed like a cluster of lustrous pearls against the stunning blue of the Mediterranean. I had traveled that route many times, while studying at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in the early seventies, before the madness of the Lebanese civil war made travel there imprudent. Anything seemed possible in the Beirut of the seventies - one could meet people from all over the world, buy books in any language, swim in the sea in the morning, escape to the mountains and ski in the afternoon. 

Israel, not Hizbullah, is putting civilians in danger on both sides of the border

Jonathan Cook 3 August 2006



Here are some interesting points raised this week by a leading commentator and published in a respected daily newspaper: “The Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embeds his soldiers in Israeli communities, next to schools, beside hospitals, close to welfare centres, ensuring that any Israeli target is also a civilian target. This is the practice the UN’s Jan Egeland had in mind when he lambasted Israel’s ‘cowardly blending … among women and children’.” You probably did not read far before realising that I have switched “Israel” for “Hizbullah” and “Ehud Olmert” for “Hassan Nasrallah”. 

Fatal strikes: Israel's indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Lebanon

3 August 2006



This report documents serious violations of international humanitarian law (the laws of war) by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Lebanon between July 12 and July 27, 2006, as well as the July 30 attack in Qana. During this period, the IDF killed an estimated 400 people, the vast majority of them civilians, and that number climbed to over 500 by the time this report went to print. The Israeli government claims it is taking all possible measures to minimize civilian harm, but the cases documented here reveal a systematic failure by the IDF to distinguish between combatants and civilians. 

UN reports increase in Israeli shells fired into Gaza

3 August 2006



There has been a significant rise in the number of artillery shells fired by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) into Gaza, which remains tense, a United Nations spokesman reported today. With at least 1,050 shells fired in the last week, the UN remains “remain very concerned about the threat this poses to civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Ahmad Fawzi told reporters in New York. The IDF shelling of the northern Gaza strip continues to bring more fatalities and increased internal displacement, he said. In the latest round of violence a 24-year old woman and a 14-year old boy were killed east of Beit Lahiya by an artillery shell. Four other people were reported injured. 

Amnesty International: IDF inquiry into Qana a whitewash

3 August 2006



The investigation carried out by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) into the air-missile attack on Qana was clearly inadequate and reinforces the need for the urgent dispatch of the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission (IHFFC). “We cannot allow any investigation into the events in Qana to be a whitewash. What is needed here is an independent investigation which can look at all credible reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law taking place in this conflict. Any investigation needs the capacity to cross borders and talk to survivors of the attack as well as to the forces involved,” said Kate Gilmore, Executive Deputy Secretary General of Amnesty International. 

Beirut will never die

Zena El-Khalil Beirut 3 August 2006



Despite the threats of Beirut being blown up today, here were people working … here were everyday people, coming together to help in any way they could. I was filled with so much love, being around such passionate people. Something changed tonight. I guess when you are looking at death, straight in the eyes, you find a new kind of courage. You realize how important it is to hang on to what you have. You fight for life with a new kind of passion. I have spent the last three weeks mourning the loss of Beirut … mourning the loss of my dreams and my work. Now, it’s time to accept what is happening and take charge of the situation. Beirut, she will never die. 

EU Monitors at Rafah Contribute to the Strangulation and Deprivation of Gaza

3 August 2006



PCHR is dismayed by the position of the European Union (EU) monitors at Rafah International Crossing Point (Rafah Crossing) on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. This position falls in line with the Israeli position of imposing collective punishment on the civilian of the Gaza Strip by preventing travel in and out of the Strip. The Centre is worried that their role could lead to an escalation of violations of the rights of Palestinian civilians, especially their right to movement and travel in and out of the Gaza Strip. 

IOF Kill 8 Palestinians in Rafah, including a Child, and Injure 20 Others

3 August 2006



In another war crime of disproportionate use of lethal force, IOF have killed 8 Palestinians, including 6 unarmed civilians (one of them a child), and injured 20 others (5 of them children) in land and aerial bombardment. The bombardment accompanied a land attack on El-Shoka community that started during pre-dawn hours. PCHR’s fieldworker reported that most of the victims were torn and charred. The Centre is very concerned over this Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) escalation, which is part of an open aggression on the Gaza Strip that started at the end of June. 

A prisoner in my own land

Sami Hermez Lebanon 2 August 2006



I was just released from prison. It has taken me a few days to sit down and calmly write about this experience as I have been slightly shocked and dazed. For safety purposes I am choosing to leave out the details of my arrest. It is enough to say that the reason for my detention was that I was “suspected of being a spy for Israel.” The ultimate crime: treason. And who but me to be a spy for Israel! I have been trying to tell my story, what I was doing, why I had been here or there, all of it, but every time I begin writing I feel like I am speaking, again, to my interrogators; I don’t like that feeling. 

Video: Lebanon Telethon

4 August 2006



The narrator of this spot exclaims, “I was watching the news with my brother John and it was ba-ad! Israel was bombing the civilians and infrastructure of Lebanon! So we decided to do something. We decided to have a telethon to tell Israel not to bomb Lebanon. We called our favorite celebrities — Goldie Hawn, Michelle Kwan, Kofi Annan, Cheech and Chong, Pokemon, Celine Dion, Gengis Khan (maybe not Genghis Khan) …”