... if the government bothers Hezbollah so much, why don't they just withdraw? Being "part of" the government brings with it certain limits to behavior, which Hezbollah has surpassed several times ...
Going over my emails today I noticed that the timestamp on one of them was 17:01.
Considering that this is just one of a "long line" of coincidences (such as this), I believe that the Gods - yes, all of them - are trying to tell me something ...
First, a comment: the current majority has to choose between upholding "democratic ideals" and pushing for their version of a "state." The recent unexplained dismissal of proposals given by Michel Aoun sheds light on intentions of the ruling majority with respect to "democracy" - ignoring of course, the irony of undemocratic parties/players vying for a democratic state. The current attempt to dismiss the democratic process resembles an attempt several decades ago when the major political / social players also decided to dismiss the democratic process, which they viewed as temporarily dispensable in order to put forth their views.
But moving on ...
The Daily Star attempts to explain the mystery behind the bombing of Liban Lait here . A war over milk? Who knew? ...
Sectopolitics is the mobilization of sects on a political basis. It is an ideology that incorporates communal feelings, values, symbols, and the perceptions of an outside threat. It is the political articulation of status interests (sect/religions), and thus seeks to organize political competition between groups along strictly sectarian lines.
...
Sectopolitics does not operate in a vacuum; it has agents, such as the state, church, parochial schools, media organizations, research centers, universities, and of course political parties, that participate in making it the dominant ideology in Lebanese society.
(Richani, Dilemmas of Democracy and Political Parties in Sectarian Societies, p.15)
Recent events have led me to reread Naim Qassem's Hizbullah: The Story Within, since much has changed between date of publication and today. Although there are several passages worth noting here, the one that was of particular interest to me reflects Qassem's take on the July 1993 Aggression, which to a certain degree has an eerie resemblance to recent events.
---------
The enemy then launched another grand assault on the morning of July 25, 1993 that lasted for seven continuous days and ending on the night of July 31. The operation was labeled 'Accountability', and had a twofold objective as declared by Israel's foreign minister Shimon Peres:
To attack those who directly attack us, especially Hizbullah, and to alert the population of Lebanon and the concerned governments to the necessity of terminating the activity of Hizbullah.
Israeli Chief of Staff Ehud Barak warned the Lebanese government that it should 'disarm Hizbullah or watch Israel do it.' The objectives of the July 1993 aggression clearly revolved around:
1. Disarming Hizbullah and rendering it inactive by way of a fierce military offensive targeting the Party's infrastructure; 2. Breaking the Party's relationship with the populace, and providing the latter with a reason to exercise public pressure, thus building a civil cordon around the Party. 3. Exerting pressure on the Lebanese government, forcing it to take the necessary steps to impede resistance activity.
...
The enemy's army intelligence estimated that Hizbullah possessed around 500 rockets that would be depleted in the span of a few days, following which military control would completely be in the hands of the Israeli army. Hizbullah would then succumb, according to these calculations ... however, the enemy soon felt Hizbullah's serious readiness for a long war, and understood that annihilating the Resistance was not feasible.
...
Israel's aggression resulted in the death of 140 civilians ... thousands of homes were completely or partially destroyed. But the Resistance, and Lebanon, came out victorious. The enemy was unable to achieve its direct objectives.
I am slightly amused by the attention being giving to Mona Fayyad as a dissenting voice within the Shia community. Her article was a condescending rant, and an unconstructive one at that, which individuals are claiming as a positive step within the Shia community, which is also a condescending attitude. Change will not be instigated by her. Mona Fayyad will have no effect on thought within Hezbollah's circles, and championing her on will not lead far, as it could eventually create an intellectual pariah out of her within the very community she is thought to have a potential effect on. To really change the stream of thought within this community, a more powerful voice is needed, someone who already has gained the respect of groups within the community, and who does not generalize with the sarcasm implicit in Mona's writings.
However, I may be wrong. Maybe her voice is the one to cultivate.
I am no longer suprised by the verbal splurges some of our so-called-leaders utter. A certain "group" (of a sectarian nature) of politicans (consisting of some war-criminals) have questioned another political party (also consisting of some war-criminals) if they have a plan for a Shia state in Lebanon. Not only is this a rhetorical question of no value and of a purely dogmatic nature, it is also representative of how the former group will never rise to power simply because they continue to play the new political game with outdated rules ...
In other news, a the son of a president who was assassinated 24 years ago has declared that this president was the solution to Lebanon during a commemoration. We will never know, although I'm willing to bet that things will only advance once we stop seeking a single solution. However, I must admit, it is quite interesting to see Nadim point and wave his finger the same way his father once did ...
Apparently Syria has claimed that it will stop supplying Lebanon with electricity. The Childish Games continue. Pierre Sadek's take on that was quite amusing ...
Anyway, regardless of all the endless details, one this is for sure: Interesting times are ahead of us.
For now, we can make do with some Ziad Rahbani. "Angry Arab" has linked to a letter Ziad wrote to Saad ...
The Beirut Center for Reasearch and Information has released a new public opinion survey consisting of five questions. As I could not find the original report, I have collected their results from Al-Akhbar (which only presented the general statistics for the questions), and "Angry Arab", who provided the sectarian makeup of the answers for only a few of the questions.
Q1: Do you believe the resistance has emerged victorious from this war?
Two years ago (June 2004), the same center released the results of another survey concerning Hezbollah. I'm only referencing the relevant questions, and I'm ignoring the sectarian makeup of the answers.
Q1: After Hezbollah's success in freeing the prisoners, do you support the the resistance in freeing Shebaa Farms?
> Yes: 70% > No: 23% > Unknown: 7%
Q2: If negotations between Hezbollah and Israel with regards to the release of Samir Qantar fail, do you support Hezbollah in capturing Israeli soldiers in order to release him?
> Yes: 66% > No: 20% > Unknown: 14%
Q3: Do you support the Lebanese government acquiecing to American demands with regards to the resistance, if the USA threatens to penalize Lebanon both economically and politically?
> No: 68% > Yes: 9% > Answer depends on demands: 13% > No comment: 10%
----------
I cannot verify the results presented as I am not familiar with the center's methods. However, I have an issue with the desire to quantify opinion among sects only, as opposed to grouping individuals among geographic location, age groups, etc. Myths in several other countries regarding the effects (not to be confused with correlation) of race and class on "life" were dissolved once a different grouping was studied (and a more quantifiable causality was discovered); it is possible that this would also hold true with Lebanon. It is time the "common-sense" assumption that sects supercede other groupings be challenged.
I've found it challenging to comment on the ongoings of the past week considering the skewed potential of round two eventually striking Lebanon. The notion that the war "ended" faded almost immediately after the ceasefire, partly due to the blockade, and since then, partly due to the raids over the past several days. Several acquaintances who have a relatively solid finger on the pulse of life within the Levant even labeled me as an optimist when I entertained a chance in which all would end well - that is, as well as it could end considering all that has happened.
That said however, I would like to point out the contradiction in statements shelved out by those parties concerned with respect to the non-state attributes of Hezbollah, especially when the strength of the said parties exists because they are also non-state entities. If those parties - rather, those figures - are truly seeking national positions within Lebanon, as opposed to just reaching out to their constituents, which is the most probable explanation of their behaviour, it would be apt for them to also criticize other blaring examples of non-state powers within Lebanon. It would also be apt for them not to hide the faults of Lebanon under the idea of the Lebanese state, especially in consideration that the Lebanese state simply "is not."
That's done with. Not fully explained, but as I said, it's been hard to get in the mood of blogging.
On another note, I finally took some advice offered on this blog with regards to Man'oushe. Got some dough, put zaatar on it, shoved it in the oven, and voila. Not perfect, but good enough.
A while back, I wrote about Ibrahim Al-Amine, who used to work in Assafir, and the pressures he faced during those days. He went off to open another newspaper, and was joined by Joseph Samaha, etc. Anyway, Al-Akhbar can be accessed here for those of you who haven't read it yet (it's been out for around a week). Of course, as most of the other agencies around, it has its own set of financers. However, due to its unique voice, it is a must read, even if you do not agree with its perspective.
The main reason for this post, however, is not Al-Akhbar per se, but rather Samaha's latest editorial. Read it here.
The breeze blew fine dust across graves where 29 people killed in an Israeli airstrike — half of them children — were buried, as the ground was opened for funerals in south Lebanon on Friday, the Muslim holy day.
Women in black robes, their heads hidden by black scarves, held pictures of the dead and threw rice and rose petals on the plywood caskets in the village of Qana, struck during the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war. Twenty-six coffins were draped in the Lebanese flag and three in the yellow Hezbollah flag.
To the east, the Lebanese army symbolically took control of a first border village from withdrawing Israeli forces, as two soldiers drove slowly through Kfar Kila in a jeep. And in a bid to prevent more arms from reaching Hezbollah fighters, the government vowed to take over all border crossings nationwide, including 60 known smuggling routes from Syria.
Although there is much to comment on, I'll put that aside for now ... I do however, want to point out the following story:
Lebanese general was ordered arrested Wednesday for appearing in a videotape drinking tea with IDF soldiers who had occupied his south Lebanon barracks during their incursion of the country.
Adnan Daoud was summoned and ordered held for questioning, Interior Minister Ahmed Fatfat said in a statement. Daoud is commanding officer of the 1,000-strong joint police-army force that had positions in southern Lebanon and was based in Marjayoun.
Apparently, this video was played on Al-Manar TV and on NEW TV. Frankly, I think his behaviour was a tad odd considering the circumstances ...
While various leaders peddle in tears and petty press conferences, Hezbollah announced on the first day of the ceasefire that they will compensate those who lost their houses, etc. ...
Is anyone really surprised why Hezbollah has the support it does?
i'll postpone comments on the ceasefire till later, since i'd rather wait and see. however, i just want to ask: who will be responsible for reconstruction? the same people who siphoned off millions the last time we had to reconstruct? or will there be some type of financial accountability implemented this time around?
"Operation Just Reward" / "Operation Change of Direction" / "Operation ?"
This is a list of civilian deaths/injuries. If numbers have changed, please let me know, and I will update ASAP. This post is staying at the top of this blog.
Note: I have not had access to Internet over the past two days, so I am going to open the comments section. I will not accept any comments that have nothing to do with the reason of this post: keeping a cold tally of the number dead and wounded in the two countries. Please, if you have different numbers, or updated ones, post them below in the comment section. Any other comments will be deleted.
Final note: These statistics are only for Lebanese and Israeli CIVILIANS. Do not include Hezbollah or IDF dead.
Lebanese Dead: > 100 Lebanese Wounded: ? (no accurate info available now) Israeli Dead: 4 (Jerusalem Post, Reuters) Israeli Wounded: ~ 300 (Reuters)
July 16, 2006:
Lebanese Dead: > 150 (Reuters. Other news agencies reported more, so I chose the minimum amount. Will correct this with more accurate information.) Israeli Dead: > 12 (AP)
and 7 Canadians were murdered by IDF in Lebanon.
Also, I've taken off the statistic for the wounded. There is not much reliable information on that.
FYI: Almost as many Lebanese civilians have been killed in less than a week as were killed in Operation Grapes of Wrath (Spring, 1996), which included the ignored Qana Massacre.
Ok, I may not have Olmert's streak of "genius", but could not the following have happened on July 12, 13 or 14?
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday met with the parents of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldiers Eldad Regev and Udi Goldwasser and told them that Israel will negotiate with Hezbollah over their release. Defense Minister Amir Peretz also attended the meeting.
And since Olmert's streak of "genius" could cause him to lose his job, I wonder who would be next. Netanyahu? Now that is an ingredient for peace ...
The UNSC passed the resolution, and the respective (and not respected) parties will vote on them within the next couple of days. In the meantime, the IDF will continue its kind incursion in Lebanon.
The situation at the gas stations is getting worse and worse. My sister wasn't able to fill gas for the past several days, mainly because she didn't have the need to wait more than an hour in line (although she was able to fill some today after a half hour wait). Yesterday, after she saw that the line stretched all the way to the autostrade, she curved back in to go home. Another car sped past her, and cut right in front, essentially aiming at the front of the line without waiting for long. The guys at the station started talking to him, but as is expected in such situation, talk morphed quickly to shouts, to pushing, to a slight fight, until he decided to finally drive off. That is nothing compared to what happened at the station near her school, when the computer teacher went to "fill" his tank, and came back after 15 minutes since he heard a gun being fired at the station. In addition to the 1000 lives that have been removed from this world, nerves have been shot. People have been bussed out of Chiah after the kind warning Israel gave them, and TV stations are announcing that there is a 75% unemployment rate. It was announced that Tyre will run out of food in the next several days. Eventually the number of people who resort to crime - since they have to "eat to live and steal to eat" - will increase, and the pressure on an already crushed country will compound without bound. That is, of course ignoring the 1e6 people who don't even have homes. The 1e3 at my mother's school are already troubled with "hair issues", which is further proof of the speed with which diseases can spread. Hospitals are running out of fuel. Even if the war ends tomorrow, these problems won't disappear Winter will set within a few months, and who knows how that will end. Unfortunately, our impotent political class has done very little to ease the pains of a nation, not that they were expected to since they have been a failed lot since as long as I can remember. Will they lose their standing in Lebanon? Probably not. And that is Lebanon's loss. As it always is.
Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow; I am the diamond glints on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain; I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush. I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft star that shines at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there; I did not die.
There are many things to write about, much to criticize, and even more to mourn, but all those words will not change the current "outcome" of this conflict. It will have to be seen whether Seniora's tears and his recent stance contain enough impetus to change the situation, or whether Olmert's immature obsession with killing will be satiated. (As a sidenote, Olmert needs a lesson in causality. i.e. cause and effect aren't always interchangeable. Someone please tell him that.) I doubt that anything will happen soon, since the US vetos resolutions it does not like with knee-jerking alacrity.
If only I could count the number of times when individuals, faced with nothing else to say about the criminal pogrom Israel is carrying out, state so wisely that "Might is Right." Thanks for stating something so wise and un-cliche. You see, Hitler had also stated something of the sort back in the day. I wonder how many people agree he was right.
Of course, in all the past four weeks, I've received emails from Israelis who wanted to carry out a "dialogue." I've stopped replying to some of them, because I can only chew on a certain number of repetitive statements before I turn green. It is worth quoting one of the lines written, since it was hilarious. I'm quoting verbatim, "it is not the IDF's fault that civilians place themselves in front of missiles."
Except that its not so funny considering that ~1000 people have been murdered by a killing machine that has decided to kill even more. But hey, Israel just want peace.
"We're still pressing for a vote on a resolution as early as we can, but we've got to reach agreement and there are still a lot of issues that need to be considered. So, when will the vote be? It's hard to say at this point."
- John "Deaths of Innocent Lebanese Not Equivalent to the Deaths of Innocent Israelis" Bolton
"Fog of War Is No Cover for Causing Civilian Deaths ", by Kenneth Roth
(published on August 4. I do not have a link for it, so I am posting the article in its entirety. And thanks to H. for sending it to me!)
Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.
The awful bloodshed and intense emotions of war are not conducive to careful moral reasoning. With Hezbollah rockets raining down on northern Israel, an honest reckoning of the conduct of Israeli forces in Lebanon is difficult.
Facile arguments and serious misconceptions, like those listed below, are too easily accepted. But given the stakes, it is especially important to cut through these misunderstandings. Here's one attempt to do so.
"The Israeli military exercises great care to avoid harming Lebanese civilians."
Not always. Human Rights Watch investigators in Lebanon have recorded an appalling number of incidents in which civilians and civilian objects were hit with no apparent military justification: 12 civilians, including nine children, killed in Dweir; at least 16 civilians, including nine children, killed while fleeing Marwahin; nine civilians, including four children, killed in Beflay; as many as 42 civilians, including many children, killed in Srifa; some 60% of nine square blocks of southern Beirut, composed mostly of eight- to 10-story apartment buildings, destroyed; and now the tragedy of civilians, many of them children, killed at Qana.
The list goes on. With hundreds of Lebanese civilians killed in three weeks of bombing, Israel clearly isn't doing enough to avoid such loss of life.
"But Israel should be given more latitude because it's responding to an abusive and aggressive force like Hezbollah which wants to wipe Israel off the face of the earth."
Wrong. Human Rights Watch has condemned Hezbollah for firing both indiscriminately and intentionally at Israeli civilians, calling these serious breaches of international humanitarian law and war crimes. But that doesn't change the rules governing Israel. Nor does the question of who started the conflict, or how nefarious an opponent's intentions are.
The obligations to respect international humanitarian law, including to refrain from deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians and to take all feasible precautions against civilian casualties, persist regardless of the conduct of one's opponent. Grave breaches remain war crimes. Otherwise, it would take just one side's charge of abuse, one side's claim to have been the victim of aggression, to return to the era of total war in which all civilians are fair game.
"The Israeli military issued repeated warnings asking Lebanese civilians to evacuate. If any Lebanese are still around, they must be Hezbollah combatants."
No. To begin with, many Lebanese civilians who want to leave, can't. They might be old or infirm, unable to afford exorbitant taxi fares, or terrified at the prospect of becoming one of the many roadside victims of Israeli military attacks.
In any event, while international humanitarian law strongly encourages warnings — and Israel should be commended for issuing them — the failure to heed one does not create a free-fire zone. If it did, Palestinian militant groups might "warn" all settlers to leave Israeli settlements and then be justified in treating as legitimate targets those who remained.
"Hezbollah should bear responsibility for civilian deaths because it mixes its fighters and arms with the civilian population."
Not so quick. International humanitarian law does prohibit the deliberate use of civilians to shield fighters and military assets, and it requires all parties to do everything feasible to station their forces away from civilians. Clearly Hezbollah sometimes is violating these prohibitions, but despite the Israeli military's claims, that doesn't begin to account for the high Lebanese death toll. In many cases, Lebanese civilians who have survived air strikes on their homes or vehicles have told Human Rights Watch that Hezbollah was nowhere nearby when the attack took place.
In any event, even the use of civilian structures alone isn't enough to justify an attack. They become legitimate military targets only if Hezbollah troops or arms are present at the time, and the military value of their destruction outweighs the civilian cost. Human Rights Watch's research shows that repeatedly that wasn't the case.
"But Lebanese civilians deserve what they get because their government tolerated the Hezbollah militia in its midst."
Hardly. Leaving aside the question of whether the Lebanese government had the capacity to rein in Hezbollah, a government's misdeeds never justify attacks on its people. Otherwise, Israeli civilians might become legitimate objects of military attack for what many in the region view as their government's repressive occupation.
"Even if it's wrong to deliberately target Lebanese civilians, the Israeli military can certainly squeeze them by targeting their infrastructure."
No, it can't. International humanitarian law permits attacks on infrastructure only if it is making an effective military contribution, and the military benefits of its destruction outweigh the civilian costs. That case is difficult, if not impossible, to make for the extensive attacks on electrical facilities, bridges and roadways throughout the country.
"Why do these rules matter? No one enforces them anyway."
Don't be so sure. Anyone ordering or committing war crimes should be prosecuted in Israeli courts. If they aren't, they could be pursued by any national court exercising universal jurisdiction or, upon Lebanon's invitation, by the International Criminal Court. The same goes for Hezbollah's war crimes.
Moreover, enforcement aside, the many civilian victims of Israeli bombing have been a political boon to Hezbollah, cementing loyalty among its followers. Is Israel really better off fighting the war with such reckless disregard for the fate of civilians?
Kenneth Roth is executive director of Human Rights Watch.
> It is 28 days since Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers, prompting a ground and air assault on Lebanon by the Israeli army. In that time, 932 people have been killed in Lebanon, with 75 missing, presumed dead.
> 29 Lebanese Army soldiers have been killed. 3,293 Lebanese have been wounded. 45 per cent of the casualties have been children. 913,000 Lebanese have been displaced (300,000 of whom are children). 94 Israelis have been killed and 1,867 wounded.
> 10,000 Israeli soldiers are currently fighting Hizbollah in southern Lebanon. 3,000 rockets have been fired at Israel by Hizbollah. The average number of rockets fired daily by Hizbollah in the first week of the conflict was 90. Over the past five days, it has been 169.
> Israel has flown 8,700 bombing sorties, destroying 146 bridges and 72 roads. Damage caused to Lebanon's infrastructure is estimated at $2bn. Up to 30,000 tons of oil have spilled into the Mediterranean since an Israeli air strike on Jieh power station.
> The international community (apart from Britain and the US) has called for an immediate ceasefire. As yet, the number of UN resolutions: 0
"I understand that both parties aren't going to agree with all aspects of the resolution. But the intent of the resolutions is to strengthen the Lebanese government so Israel has got a partner in peace."
"I hope that we can all work together to realize the dreams of the people of Lebanon."
thanks. thanks ya david welch, for a comment that should have been MADE three weeks ago.
and as for the security council "agreeing" on a text ... which "calls for a full cessation of hostilities based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks and the immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operations" ... which by the way, has not been agreed upon yet by Israel or Hezbollah (according to AP, so things may change) ... i have one question: what was the point of withdrawing from south lebanon six years ago if a buffer zone is going to be REINSTATED and israeli troops will still be in lebanon?
considering that the bridges bombed were not the ONLY means to travel from location "a" -> location "b", israel should really be slightly more selective in their targets, otherwise, people may begin to believe that it wasn't only after hezbollah.
for example:
-> the bsalim transformer station. it already has been bombed several times before in israel's self-defense parades.
-> antelias bridge.
-> jal eddib bridge.
-> corniche dbayeh.
-> a store in rabieh. the owner, although a phalangist supporter, is actually a hezbollah militant in disguise. i would tell you his name, but i'm sure you already know.
-> dunes/concorde cinema (among others). you know ... children watch war movies there and get inspired.
ok, that should be enough for today. now get to work.
----------
note to lebanese: please stop gloryfing hezbollah. the lack of clarity, which is needed now more than ever, is getting repulsive.
hezbollah has killed 500+ israeli civilians (depending on the sources), while israel has killed < 30. hezbollah has destroyed most of northern israel - people had to run for their lives and got bombed by hezbollah while driving away. hezbollah has shelled buildings and bridges all over israel, targeted red cross ambulances, various trucks, has created the seige of israel in which not enough fuel reaches the people and hospitals, and has directly caused over 700,000 displaced israeli civilians.
oh ... wait ... something seems wrong in the above.
BEIRUT (AFP) - Nasrallah is a bad surname to have in Lebanon, as Israel tries to break the militant group Hezbollah. ADVERTISEMENT
Fourteen-year-old Mohammed Hassan Nasrallah found out the hard way when Israeli airborne commandos seized his father and four other men in eastern Lebanon, even though they are unrelated to Hassan Nasrallah, the firebrand head of the Shiite Muslim movement.
Mohammed was asleep, together with his father, mother, brothers and sisters, when Israeli elite troops broke into his home on August 2, breaking the doors and shattering the windows of their home in Hay al-Osseira near the eastern city of Baalbek.
"They started shouting, they took us out one after the other and tied our hands behind our backs," he told an AFP correspondent in the Bekaa Valley.
My mother has been going to school / displacement camp for the past two weeks now. Or at least trying to. Driving what in "peace" took 20 minutes, and having to wait 15+ minutes just to fill gas (which is being rationed right now) isn't always appealing when not having slept at night. Coupled with the fact that my 83 year old grandmother now has a broken hip, life in war can get "slightly" overwhelming.
But enough complaining. Apparently, some are looking forward to winning. Not sure what that really means considering all that has happened. If it all ended now, on the condition that we lost, then so be it. I would just rather it ends.
Besides the fact that the salaries of both my mother and my sister have been slashed (as have all those working in the school), daily working with the displaced doesn't bring any smiles. The displaced get plain bread in the morning, a small portion of lunch at 2pm, and no dinner. According to some people, the displaced should just view that as a diet, whatever that's supposed to mean. My mother is worried that some of the children aren't getting any milk, so several days ago she went out and bought NIDO powder. Some of the children have been getting sick, but sadly, medicine is lacking. And then there's the question of what will happen when this is all over. Where will everyone go?
Eventually ... eventually, and I don't know when ... this will be over. A "new middle east" will be created, but it isn't going to be the one the protagonists of this war believe will be "born". At this moment in time, it doesn't look good, but I may be blinded by all the deaths and wounded and destruction and displaced. I may eventually be persuaded that it was "all for the best", but I highly doubt that. Wars are always hell. And this war of choice is no different.
Once again, the IDF, and its supporters, have proven that they are no better than Hezbollah.
Propaganda is part of every war, just like bombs and soldiers. Still, it's remarkable how professionally Israel deals with foreign journalists, catering conscientiously to all their needs. Lunch included.
comment: "Please forward the web article to anyone you know who cares about AUB & the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. The more "clicks" and message postings the article gets the more leverage it gives to get the story on TV, where millions will see it."
(Annahar)
The breeze blew fine dust across graves where 29 people killed in an Israeli airstrike — half of them children — were buried, as the ground was opened for funerals in south Lebanon on Friday, the Muslim holy day.
