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Amnesty Report- Israel/Lebanon

Deliberate destruction or "collateral damage"? Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure
"The civilian population in Lebanon and in northern Israel have been the biggest losers in this senseless cycle of violence that is now exactly one month old...Civilians were supposed to be spared and in this conflict they are not."


Jan Egeland, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, 10 August 2006


LIBRARY MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA MIDDLE EAST LEBANON
AI Index: MDE 18/007/2006 23 August 2006


Israel/Lebanon
Deliberate destruction or "collateral damage"? Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure
"The civilian population in Lebanon and in northern Israel have been the biggest losers in this senseless cycle of violence that is now exactly one month old...Civilians were supposed to be spared and in this conflict they are not."


Jan Egeland, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, 10 August 2006


In a country of fewer than four million inhabitants, more than 25 per cent of them took to the roads as displaced persons. An estimated 500,000 people sought shelter in Beirut alone, many of them in parks and public spaces, without water or washing facilities.

Amnesty International delegates in south Lebanon reported that in village after village the pattern was similar: the streets, especially main streets, were scarred with artillery craters along their length. In some cases cluster bomb impacts were identified. Houses were singled out for precision-guided missile attack and were destroyed, totally or partially, as a result. Business premises such as supermarkets or food stores and auto service stations and petrol stations were targeted, often with precision-guided munitions and artillery that started fires and destroyed their contents. With the electricity cut off and food and other supplies not coming into the villages, the destruction of supermarkets and petrol stations played a crucial role in forcing local residents to leave. The lack of fuel also stopped residents from getting water, as water pumps require electricity or fuel-fed generators.

Israeli government spokespeople have insisted that they were targeting Hizbullah positions and support facilities, and that damage to civilian infrastructure was incidental or resulted from Hizbullah using the civilian population as a "human shield". However, the pattern and scope of the attacks, as well as the number of civilian casualties and the amount of damage sustained, makes the justification ring hollow. The evidence strongly suggests that the extensive destruction of public works, power systems, civilian homes and industry was deliberate and an integral part of the military strategy, rather than "collateral damage" – incidental damage to civilians or civilian property resulting from targeting military objectives.

Statements by Israeli military officials seem to confirm that the destruction of the infrastructure was indeed a goal of the military campaign. On 13 July, shortly after the air strikes began, the Israel Defence Force (IDF) Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Dan Halutz noted that all Beirut could be included among the targets if Hizbullah rockets continued to hit northern Israel: "Nothing is safe [in Lebanon], as simple as that,"(8) he said. Three days later, according to the Jerusalem Post newspaper, a high ranking IDF officer threatened that Israel would destroy Lebanese power plants if Hizbullah fired long-range missiles at strategic installations in northern Israel.(9) On 24 July, at a briefing by a high-ranking Israeli Air Force officer, reporters were told that the IDF Chief of Staff had ordered the military to destroy 10 buildings in Beirut for every Katyusha rocket strike on Haifa.(10) His comments were later condemned by the Association for Civil Rights in Israel.(11) According to the New York Times, the IDF Chief of Staff said the air strikes were aimed at keeping pressure on Lebanese officials, and delivering a message to the Lebanese government that they must take responsibility for Hizbullah’s actions. He called Hizbullah "a cancer" that Lebanon must get rid of, "because if they don’t their country will pay a very high price." (12)

The widespread destruction of apartments, houses, electricity and water services, roads, bridges, factories and ports, in addition to several statements by Israeli officials, suggests a policy of punishing both the Lebanese government and the civilian population in an effort to get them to turn against Hizbullah. Israeli attacks did not diminish, nor did their pattern appear to change, even when it became clear that the victims of the bombardment were predominantly civilians, which was the case from the first days of the conflict.


International humanitarian law and war crimes

International humanitarian law governs the conduct of war, and seeks to protect civilians, others not participating in the hostilities, and civilian objects. In an armed conflict, military forces must distinguish between civilian objects, which may not be attacked, and military objectives, which, subject to certain conditions, may be. The principle of distinction is a cornerstone of the laws of war.

Military objectives are those that: "by their nature, location, purpose or use make an effective contribution to military action and whose total or partial destruction, capture or neutralization, in the circumstances ruling at the time, offers a definite military advantage." Civilian objects are "all objects which are not military objectives". Objects which are normally considered "civilian objects" may, under certain circumstances, become legitimate military objectives if they are "being used to make an effective contribution to military action". However, in case of doubt about such use, the object must be presumed to be civilian.

Direct attacks against civilian objects are prohibited, as are indiscriminate attacks. Indiscriminate attacks are those which strike military objectives and civilian objects without distinction. One form of indiscriminate attack is treating clearly separate and distinct military objects located in a city, town, village or concentration of civilians, as a single military objective. If two buildings in a residential area are identified as containing fighters, bombardment of the entire area would be unlawful.

Disproportionate attacks, also prohibited, are those in which the "collateral damage" would be regarded as excessive in relation to the direct military advantage to be gained. Israel maintains that the military advantage in this context "is not of that specific attack but of the military operation as a whole".(13)

This interpretation is too wide. Overbroad interpretations of what constitutes a military objective or military advantage are often used to justify attacks aimed at harming the economy of a state or demoralizing the civilian population. Such interpretations undermine civilian immunity. A legitimate military advantage cannot be one that is merely "a potential or indeterminate advantage". If weakening the enemy population’s resolve to fight were considered a legitimate objective of armed forces, there would be no limit to war.

Israel has launched widespread attacks against public civilian infrastructure, including power plants, bridges, main roads, seaports and Beirut’s international airport. Such objects are presumed to be civilian. Israeli officials told Amnesty International that the potential military use of certain items, such as electricity and fuel, renders them legitimate military targets. However, even if it could be argued that some of these objects could qualify as military objectives (because they serve a dual purpose), Israel is obligated to ensure that attacking these objects would not violate the principle of proportionality. For example, a road that can be used for military transport is still primarily civilian in nature. The military advantage anticipated from destroying the road must be measured against the likely effect on civilians, especially the most vulnerable, such as those requiring urgent medical attention. The same considerations apply to electricity and fuel, among other items.

Similarly critical is the obligation that Israel take "constant care to spare civilians, the civilian population, civilian objects, from attack". This requirement to take precautionary measures in launching attacks includes choosing only means and methods of attack "with a view to avoiding, and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects".

It is also forbidden to use starvation as a method of warfare, or to attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Some of the targets chosen – water pumping stations and supermarkets, for example – raise the possibility that Israel may have violated the prohibition against targeting objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population.

Israel has asserted that Hizbullah fighters have enmeshed themselves in the civilian population for the purpose of creating "human shields". While the use of civilians to shield a combatant from attack is a war crime, under international humanitarian law such use does not release the opposing party from its obligations towards the protection of the civilian population.

Many of the violations examined in this report are war crimes that give rise to individual criminal responsibility. They include directly attacking civilian objects and carrying out indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. People against whom there is prima facie evidence of responsibility for the commission of these crimes are subject to criminal accountability anywhere in the world through the exercise of universal jurisdiction.


The damage to the infrastructure

The long-term impact of the destruction of Lebanon’s infrastructure on the lives of the country’s men, women and children is incalculable. Many have lost their homes while having to cope with the deaths of loved ones or struggling to overcome severe injuries. Many more have lost their livelihoods. Records showing home and property ownership have been destroyed, adding to the difficulties of rebuilding lives.

The head of the country’s Council for Development and Reconstruction, Fadl Shalak, said on 16 August that the damage incurred amounted to US $3.5 billion: US $2 billion for buildings and US $1.5 billion for infrastructure such as bridges, roads, and power plants.(14) A survey compiled by the Council, based on on-site inspections in central and northern Lebanon and telephone calls to engineers and municipal officials in the south, showed the worst damage to the road network, with more than 120 bridges destroyed (a significantly higher figure than that reported by the government). Fadl Shalak said that replacing the bridge connecting Mount Lebanon to the Bekaa Valley above the Sulfi River on the road to Damascus would cost an estimated US $65 million. "A beautiful bridge, its columns 70 meters, it’s one of a kind in the whole Middle East. Why would they destroy such a bridge?" he asked. "They could have bombed the beginning and the end and stopped the traffic. But they made a point to bomb this bridge several times."(15) Another observer said, "This bridge is not used by Hizbullah since it lies in a mountain resort area of Mount Lebanon, far away from the south of Lebanon. Hence it has no strategic value for the Israeli fight against Hizbullah. But it was a beautiful bridge and was the symbol of the reconstruction of Lebanon after the civil war."(16)

For the report : http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde180072006

Machssomim

machssomim 2003 israel- gaza strip checkpoint
Yoav Shamir, Israel 2003

The West Bank and Gaza Strip, home to over three million Palestinians, have been under Israeli military authority since 1967. When they want to move from one village or city to another, to visit relatives or doctors, or to go to work, they must pass through one of dozens of heavily guarded Israeli checkpoints, set up after years of terrorist attacks. Filmed from 2001 to 2003, director Yoav Shamir has created an incredibly honest and moving vérité record of various occurrences at these checkpoints.

Reviews
“As a rare glimpse into the uneasy relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, there's no denying that Checkpoint excels. But the film is also tremendously entertaining, if occasionally infuriating.”

From Israel to Lebanon

Some say it is not the time to be sentimental, it is time to fight back the real terrorism in this world.

However, I cannot help the tears running down my cheek, and the sorrow breaking down my heart.

For in the name of which justice Israel had the right to love us so much?

For how can they ask their children to sign the gifts they are sending us to Lebanon?

For how can these human beings (if there is anything left out of humanity in them) can hurt the Lebanese so much, after being hurt so much?

The victim cannot turn to an oppressor. I refuse to believe that. I refuse to believe all Israelies are war criminals like their government. I refuse to believe that in the name of fighting terrorism we destroy the beautiful land where Jesus made his first miracle.

God, if you still have some faith in your creation, I call upon you… Reveal yourself, for peace is bleeding without your help. Human beings are becoming real savages, life is becoming much more then what we deserve to have.

You, the man above, look at the children of Lebanon…

FromIsraelToLebanon.com

Ronaldinho I hate you - Go to Hell

Ronaldinho : « Les enfants de Cana sont de futurs terroristes »

رونالدينيو : "اطفال قانا هم ارهابييوا المستقبل" رونالدينيو 22/08/2006 الاسباني الصحافه محرر ضد النجم البرازيلي واف سي برشلونه رونالدينيو ، وذلك ردا علي الاعلان الاخير عن الحرب في لبنان.... ع انه يؤيد اسراءيل في عدوانها على العراق من لبنان. ويضيف انه لا يجب ذرف الدموع علي اطفال قتلوا في وقت مذبحه cana. في نظره ، فهم فقط "ارهابيين في المستقبل" ، وهذا ليس كل شيء. فقد قام رونالدينيو بعرض لتقديم مساعده ماليه ضخمه الى أصدقائة الصهاينه وكذلك وغيرها من المعدات لاطفال haïfa

Ronaldinho
22/08/2006 La presse espagnole est déchaînée contre la star brésilienne du FC Barcelone, Ronaldinho, et ce, en réponse à sa récente déclaration sur la guerre au Liban. En effet, le sorcier des terrains a crié haut et fort qu’il soutient Israël dans son agression contre le pays du Cèdre. Il ajoute qu’il n’a versé aucune larme sur les enfants massacrés lors du carnage qu’a connu Cana. A ses yeux, ils ne sont que « Des futurs terroristes »
Et ce n’est pas tout. Le ballon d’or continue de narguer les pacifistes espagnols en offrant une grosse aide financière (pour armer le Tsahal ?) à ses copains sionistes ainsi que des maillots de foot et d’autres équipements pour les enfants de Haïfa « L’occupée »


Source : Le Temps

Translations :

Ronaldinho: "the children of Cana are future terrorists" Ronaldinho 22/08/2006 the Spanish press are unchained against the star Brazilian of the FC Barcelona, Ronaldinho, and this, in response to its recent declaration on the war in Lebanon. Indeed, the wizard of the grounds shouted high and strong that it supports Israel in his aggression against the country of the Cedar. He adds that he did not pour any tear on the children massacred at the time of the carnage which Cana knew. In its eyes, they are only "future terrorists" And it is not all. Does the gold balloon continue narguer pacifist Spanish by offering a large financial assistance (to arm Tsahal?) with his/her buddies Zionists as well as shirts of foot and other equipment for the children of Haïfa "the occupied one"

Source: Time

http://www.gnet.tn/html/redaction/a_la_une_sport/22_08_2006/rs02.html

Israel

Palestinians Must Pass through Israeli Chrckpoints Every Day To Get To Work And School

FREE LEBANON - FREE PLASTINE

Today I visit a intersting Blog ...
its a Blog that belong to some Lebanese people , guys and girls .
this Groupe writing about what happend at Lebanon after the Israeli attacks ...
I just wanna say to this Group , Do not stop writing ... keep doing ... coz maybe the war was Stop .. but it is the begining .. it is just battle , and the war just begin , so it is important to keep doing what you do .. to give us an clue for what happen in Lebanon .. the world need you .
and my last word to these rebels Groupe ... make the Glory 4 Lebanon , we at Plastine Hope that God wel bless you and Bless Lebanon . God with you .



link : http://july2006waronlebanon.blogspot.com/

From How Much you Raped The Arabic Soul it Got Pregnant And Delivered A Suicide Bomber

Draw on Bush

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YA BEIRUT - MAJDA EL ROMI

July War 2006 (Beirut, Lebanon)

To Lebanon With Love (More Time To Bomb)

Where the ARABS?!!!

Solidarity with Palestinian and Lebanese people

Joint statement by 63 communist and workers’ parties.

24-07-2006

We strongly condemn all aggressive acts by the Israeli army in Gaza and Lebanon with tragically consequences for the live of the Palestinian, Lebanese and Israeli people but also for people from other countries.

We reject and condemn the blames and threats by U.S and Israeli government addressed toward Syria and Iran and against other countries of the region. These threats reveal that the real aggressive and expansive force in the region is Israel.

We strongly protest the US policy which encourages the Israeli aggressiveness. We reject the hypocrisy shown by the G8 leaders andthe “equal distance” policy pursued today by certain forces.

We are highly concerned about and warn of the great dangers for a general spread of the crisis in the Middle East, for a new civil war and for a massive imperialist intervention in Lebanon under the pretext of “peace building measures”.

Only pulling out Israeli soldiers from Gaza and Lebanon and a just and viable peace would put an end to the bloodshed and guarantee the security for all peoples of the Middle East.

20 July 2006

The parties:

1. Communist Party of Albania

2. Communist Party of Australia

3. Communist Party of Bangladesh

4. Communist Party of Belarus

5. Workers' Party of Belgium

6. Communist Party of Brazil

7. Communist Party of Britain

8. New Communist Party of Britain

9. Workers' Communist Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina

10. Communist Party of Bulgaria

11. Party of Bulgarian Communists (former Bulgarian Communist Party “Georgi Dimitrov”)

12. Communist Party of Canada

13. Communist Party of Chile

14. Communist Party of Cuba

15. Communist Party of Bohemia & Moravia

16. AKEL, Cyprus

17. Communist Party in Denmark

18. Communist Party of Denmark

19. Communist Party of Equador

20. Communist Party of Egypt

21. Communist Party of Estonia

22. Communist Party of Finland

23. Communist Party of Macedonia

24. Unified Communist Party of Georgia

25. German Communist Party

26. Communist Party of Greece

27. Hungarian Communist Workers' Party

28. Tudeh Party of Iran

29. Communist Party of Ireland

30. Workers’ Party of Ireland

31. Communist Party of Israel

32. Jordanian Communist Party

33. Socialist Party of Latvia

34. Lebanese Communist Party

35. Socialist Party of Lithuania

36. Communist Party of Luxembourg

37. Communist Party of Malta

38. Party of the Communists, Mexico

39. Popular Socialist Party of Mexico

40. New Communist Party of the Netherlands

41. Communist Party of Norway

42. Palestinian People’s Party

43. Paraguayan Communist Party

44. Phillipine Communist Party (PKP-1930)

45. Communist Party of Poland

46. Portuguese Communist Party

47. Communist Party of Romania

48. Communist Party of the Russian Federation

49. Communist Party of the Soviet Union

50. Russian Communist Working Party – Russian Party of Communists

51. New Communist Party of Yugoslavia

52. Communist Party of Slovakia

53. Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain

54. Communist Party of Spain

55. Sudanese Communist Party

56. Syrian Communist Party

57. Syrian Communist Party

58. Communist Party of Turkey

59. The Party of Labour, EMEP, Turkey

60. Communist Party of the Ukraine

61. Union of Communists of Ukraine

62. Communist Party, USA

63. Communist Party of Venezuela

bye : http://www.wpb.be/

"Idiot Son of an Asshole"