Oppose Israeli War Crimes

by Paul G Tue Jul 25, 2006 00:41

Those photos really bring home the human cost of Israels invasion and exposes the lie of "surgical strikes". Its time to get feet on the street to stop Israel before the death toll mounts any further.

by daydo Tue Jul 25, 2006 09:46

Its good to see organisations coming out strongly against the current Israeli onslaught in the Leb and Palistine. Mass condemnation is needed by all of us against the tactics being employed by yet another imperialist state. The pictures really bring home the true horror of whats going on while most nations stand by and do nothing. The government here needs to get up off their backside and voice their revulsion to the Israeli bullyboy actions. Hopefully more orgs will follow suit and some real momentum can be gathered behind a campaign. Good to see this new group is not just a one issue group!

by Ned Tue Jul 25, 2006 17:56

In order to contain Iranian imperialist intensions, it's vital to reduce their sphere of influence. Hezbollah must be defeated, to allow Lebanon operate as a normal country.

by redjade Tue Jul 25, 2006 18:04

'Iranian imperialist intensions'

What countries have Iran invaded?

In Lebanon they have aided, assisted and armed Lebanese to wage war against Israel that has nuclear weapons aimed at Iran.

Its not something I support - but let's be honest, it is little different from what Reagan and Daddy Bush did with the Contras in Nicaragua and Afghanistan - not something I would support either.

by hmmz Tue Jul 25, 2006 18:20

errr...lebanon is not at war---a militia armed by iran and inserted into lebanon by Syria however is---very much like contra really if you think about it, a proxy force, the lebanese government has stated that they are not at war, its not their fault that they are too weak and bow to hezbollah--an organisation that was ordered to be disarmed in resolution 1559, instead they have been left to build up offensive weaponry---not defensive ---the majority of their armnaments are OFFENSIVE in all meanings of the word, so the old pretext of their excistance ---Defensive is shown also to be nothing but lies, their aim is to drive jews into the sea, basically a bunch of violent anti-semitic thugs

by redjade Tue Jul 25, 2006 18:26

'errr...lebanon is not at war'

Lebanon is at war by the fact that it is being invaded, bombed, and its children slaughtered by an external army. Duh.

Just because the Lebanese government is powerless to defend its own citizens doesn't mean its not a war. What is it now? a 10 to 1 ratio?

Why is it those who advocate war the most understand it the least?

by hmmz Tue Jul 25, 2006 18:54

Lebanon is at war by the fact that it is being invaded, bombed, and its children slaughtered by an external army. Duh.

DOH

incorrect, Southern lebanon is being invaded(well a mile deep anyhow)--Hezbollah control Southern Lebanon NOT the Lebonese government that control the North --a fact the lebonese govt. freely admit(they also freely admit that they are unable to control hezbollah), the Lebonese army have not fired a shot
Just like your tripe about contra, you have no idea what you are waffling on about

by Ali H. Wed Jul 26, 2006 11:56

"UNIFIL press release, 17th July (PDF): "There is also a growing concern about the safety of UN personnel deployed in the area. Yesterday, there were 17 incidents of firing close to UNIFIL positions, and two direct impacts inside UNIFIL positions. There was significant material damage, and one member of the Indian battalion with UNIFIL was seriously wounded"

"Irish troops on peacekeeping duties with UNIFIL spent 23 years in Lebanon and lost 47 members there (many of them killed by Israel and her proxies)"

http://www.irishblogs.ie/similar-to/ireland-unifil-and-...anon/

"To date UNIFIL has suffered 261 fatalities (of which 12 civilians) during the course of its deployment."

Not to mention the thousands of civilians killed and dissappeared by Israel and the allies, including the 100 civilians killed by an Israeli artillery strike on Qana which was being directed by an Israeli unmanned plane in realtime, ie the Israelis knew EXACTLY what they were doing as they did today!

You can add 4 more UN observers murdered by the Israelis to this figure.

The reason I say murdered is that they made the Israelis aware that they were taking Israeli fire and were hit 14 times by Israeli fire!

No doubt this is aimed at discouraging the EU from sending a peacekeeping force to Lebanon.

The lack of peacekeepers and a ceasefire serves Israeli war aims best, ie they can devastate Lebanon and reconstitute their facist ally the SLA in Southern Lebanon.

by LaLa Wed Jul 26, 2006 12:32

The whole world is beginning to see who the aggressor is in this "war".

The Israeli's have ever managed to piss off the Chinese by murdering one of their peacekeepers.

Their game is nearly up on this sordid little affair.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 26, 2006 14:38

Israel has put trigger happy racists in uniform and given them a license to fire modern weapons with impunity into unarmed families. This is what happens when you send a modern army to wage war against unarmed society.

This time a little boy and 57 year old lady and a bloody donkey.

Just war ? Purity of arms? Right to self defense ?

"The paramedics and witnesses could not differentiate between the pieces of flesh of the eleven-year-old Nadi al-Attar, and those of his grandmother, 57-year-old Khairiyya, or the donkey's, scattered on the branches of lemon and boxthorn trees on both sides of the dusty road in Beit Lahia, north Gaza."

http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5225.shtml

by Terence Wed Jul 26, 2006 14:39

People can see more graphic pictures of the horrendus attacks on the people of Lebanon of the dead and wounded and the scale of the attacks on their cities and infrastructure.

Almost nothing of this is appearing in the so-called main stream corporate press. People in the aggressor countries and those of their allies namely the US, UK, Ireland and many others are not seeing this and this is why Condi Rice on her recent visit to Israeli was able to insist that the United States did not support a cease-fire at this time. She said first, conditions must be created for a “lasting peace.” The US has a huge amount of influence over Israel to get them to stop and this one statement alone is enough to enable the industrial scale terrorism to continue on hundreds of thousands of people and to result in hundreds of more deads and many thousands of injuries and to push the country further back towards the stone age.

by PaddyK Wed Jul 26, 2006 15:42

American business provides these weapons.

Israeli soldiers fire them at these poor people.

The irish government remains dead quiet about it.

If this passes over and the Lebanese people find peace again what snivelling politican will be first to go out their again selling the "Cead Mile Failte" of our jolly little green sod. Sweeping this under the carpet. Shame on Dail Eireann for deserting these people.

What a grim nightmare we have entered into.

by Ali H. Wed Jul 26, 2006 16:25

The EU is Israel's largest trading partner accounting for 40% of Israeli exports and $6BN in trade surplus for Israel.

"The EU/Israel Action Plan allows for the possibility for Israel to participate progressively in key aspects of EU policies and programmes, to upgrade the scope and intensity of political co-operation, to encourage the approximation of Israeli legislation as a means to opening the EU internal market to Israel, and for the pursuit of greater liberalisation of trade, services and agriculture. "

Israel's priveleged status however is dependent on Israel playing by the rules.

"The Action Plan identifies inter alia as priorities co-operation in areas such as the Middle East conflict, counter-terrorism, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human rights, improved dialogue between cultures and religions, migration issues, fight against organised crime, human trafficking and police and judicial co-operation, transport, energy, environment, science and technology, and people-to-people contacts."

Israel's conduct against both Palestinians and more recently the Lebanese people is clearly in breach of specific requirements of the agreement, and obviously of the spirit of the whole agreement.

It is high time therefore that the EU suspend all trade with Israel under this agreement pending an immediate ceasefire and the payment of reparations to the Lebanese government and the Palestinian Authority for the wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure and loss of civilian lives.

I would suggest that all payments for Israeli goods and services also be diverted into a fund for the reconstruction of Lebanon and Gaza until further notice.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations/israel/intr...x.htm

by Ali H. Fri Jul 28, 2006 15:30

Israel has just shelled a humanitarian convoy organised by the Australian embassy despite agreeing to its passage ... purity of arms ... the worlds most "moral" army shows its true colours again!

"Two mortar rounds have struck a convoy of vehicles carrying civilians escaping the violence in southern Lebanon.

The BBC's Jim Muir, who is with the convoy, said two people - a driver and a television cameraman - were wounded.

The convoy, organised by the Australian embassy, was returning to the port city of Tyre from the border village of Rmeish, where hundreds of people have been trapped by the Israeli offensive. "

by hmmz Fri Jul 28, 2006 15:37

A mortar round is more likely to be hizbollah attacking, not the IDF, that article does not actually say who they think is responsible

by Ali H. Fri Jul 28, 2006 19:03

I suppose Hezbollah were responsible for killing the 4 UN observers too?

Cop yourself on would you!

by greenie ipsiphi Sat Jul 29, 2006 00:28

The Lebanese ministry of the Environment has issued a report which Beirut indymedia has reproduced & I'm adding here - it includes a warning for the citizens to stay away from polluted sites along the coast. Which is quite "twee".
Israel dropped them little orange leaflets a week ago telling them to feck off out of their country for ever. They now live in the EU in cyprus. lovely beaches - not enough jobs. Only one "A list" terrorist was officially caught in the evacuation. Easy to spot Imam who found himself locked out of the EU after he went home to stock up on T-shirts last Summer. Ask yourself and your neighbours and your commercial newspaper editors, and your political representatives :-

the squillion € question

To see the safe return of 2 Israeli soldiers, Israel has now destroyed all the bridges and roads of the southern province of Lebanon, and in Beirut the airport and half the suburbs, in the eastern province the military airport, and an army base and the "sort of a motorway". They also managed to hit one UN observer post, pollute one Sea (the mediterranean sea - which is very slow on emptying and takes 14 years to move all the pollution about - but ryanair do cheap flights there), quite probably drive one species into extinction - (the green turtle) and still we've no sign of either a Messiah or Plastic Jayzhus on a Cloud blessing Texas. We're simply looking not only at a country "bombed back 50 years in time as Israel threatened, but the Mediterranean Sea facing several decades of Eco-damage. & yep - that's illegal. But no-one goes to Jail.

At least 10,000 tons of heavy fuel oil have been spilled into the Lebanese sea, causing an environmental catastrophe with severe effects on health, biodiversity and tourism, environmentalists and the Environment Ministry said Wednesday. 15,000 tons are expected to leak into the Mediterranean from another tank that is still burning. Two weeks ago, Israeli bombs targeted the Jiyye power station, located on the coast 30 kilometers south of Beirut. Part of the oil in storage tanks has been burning ever since and the other part is leaking into the Mediterranean. "The pollution has affected around 70 to 80 kilometers of both public and private rocky and sandy beaches from Damour, south of Beirut, through to Chekka in the North," Berge Hadjian, the Lebanese Environment Ministry's director general said Wednesday. Another 15,000 tons of oil are expected to leak into the sea, he added. The expected 15,000 tons are from a 25,000-ton burning tank that has burned away 10,000 already.

Once the initial assessment was completed, the Ministry of Environment contacted the Kuwaiti and Jordanian Governments for assistance. The Jordaina Government is ready to send experts from the Akaba Area in Jordan to Lebanon to provide technical assistance. The Environment Public Authority in Kuwait is ready to send to Lebanon about 3 containers of material and equipment for fighting such a spill. The private sector in Lebanon that has less than modest capacity was also contacted. Minimal amounts of dispersants, booms, adsorbents, and skimmers are readily available; however, only enough for spills from tankers that are delivering fuel at ports or similar cases. They are not equipped for major environmental accidents (oil spills). REMPEC-MAP UNEP at the United Nations Environment Programme has also been contacted; however, they have provided minimal assistance untill now.

Reports detailing what was found were sent to the Lebanese Higher Relief Council and the Council of Ministers detailing the crisis and suggesting potential solutions. A pilot cleanup was speedily approved and carried out on the 24th of July at the Sporting Club – Ras-Beirut site. This site is facing technical difficulties due to a multitude of factors. Another cleanup was commissioned in the North of Lebanon at the Saint Antoine Sandy Beach Resort and is making modest success.

A complete oil spill cleanup operation will cost in the range of tens of millions of euros { = Cost for cleaning our European Sea :: 10,000,000€ every 2 months over 6 years, and knock on rise in fishing costs, redevelopment & dioxene analysis } and will span a long period of time.

The Ministry of Environment continues getting in touch with its partners and seeking legal, technical, & financial assistance from available Funds designated for such oil spills in the Mediterranean Sea. It also continues to monitor the situation and is reviewing operational responses and clean up programmes in addition to preparing contingency plans for impact assessment.

As this update is prepared, a team of officers from the Ministry are heading towards the North to scope out the oil spill impact on the beaches and shores of the North. We aim to assess the Southern coastline South of the Damour area as soon as cease fire is called and when safe passage to the South is ensured. The Ministry of Environment asks the Lebanese community to assist it in its work and has prepared a Ministerial brief along these lines.

.:. *· The marine ecosystem (fish species) is active in the summer and has been adversely affected, but the degree of damage cannot be estimated at this point in time. Thankfully, the bird migratory season had recently ended and therefore the numbers of birds effected is expected to be low.

.:. *· A small percentage of the heavy fuel oil might have evaporated due to exposure to the elements and does not have a lasting effect.

.:. *·A small percentage of the oil might be naturally decomposing because of the natural biodegradation process.

.:. *·A large percentage of the spill has emulsified and solidified along the Lebanese shore, clinging to sand, rock and stone as the following pictures will show.

.:. *·Some of the biological impacts after an oil spill can include:

.:. *·Physical and chemical alteration of natural habitats such as when oil is incorporated into sediments ( they're all going to grow tenticles )

.:. *·Physical smothering effect on the marine life ( its all going to die but you'll eat it anyway)

.:. * Lethal or sub-lethal toxic effects on the marine life ( told you! shell fish is off the menu)

.:. *· Changes in the marine ecosystem resulting from oil effects on key organisms e.g. increased abundance of intertidal algae following the death of limpets which normally eat the algae.

Impacts on Human Health ( not forgetting you. )

Some possible short term adverse effects might include nausea, headaches and skin (dermatological) problems in residents living close to the effected areas or in beach goers getting in touch with the oil. Plant crops and animal products from coastal farms close to the oil spill sites might have to be tested for hydrocarbon content to be declared safe for consumption. The Lebanese Ministry does not advise fishing off the quays and wharfs found along the coast from Jieh to Heri-Chekka until the complete scope of pollution is assessed. ( or the Israelis stop )

+++ Impacts on Tourism ( visit bibleland! find scrolls! Jesus didn't fish! )

The tourism industry has badly suffered. The acute impact of the war on this industry has been immediately felt by the nation. The chronic impact of the oil spill is disastrous on the tourism industry due to the length of time it is going to take for the clean up of the sand, the rocks, the shallow reef and the marine ecosystem as a whole.

Many public and private beaches have been heavily affected including boats/ships of fishermen and yachts and boats of tourists from all over the Arab world and the Mediterranean countries as well as boats of Lebanese nationals.

Beach-based tourism was a major economic activity in Lebanon and constituted a major part of the Lebanon’s gross domestic product (GDP).

+++ Impacts on Biodiversity & the Fishing Industry

It is not possible at this moment to evaluate the impact on biodiversity because of the need of more detailed technical assessments carried out under safe national conditions. (thats government speak for its all fucked - we're not a normal country anymore)
The siege on Lebanon by the Israeli army has prevented the Lebanese fishermen from going about their daily work. This oil spill has added to their crisis by destroying the immediate marine habitat of the fish species off the coast. However, it is well documented in the literature that the concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons will be elevated above background concentrations over a substantial area. Biodiversity will surely suffer as in Lebanon it is highly concentrated on the coastline.

by mark lydon Wed Aug 09, 2006 15:48

this war is as much a U.S war as a Isreal war. america has it little brother isreal throwing the first punches or looking for a reason for america to get involved .iran will be next on the list seen as it has a proven reserves of 89.7 billion barrels of oil ,fifh in the world my point being saudi arabia, united arab emirates kuwait and now iraq of corse are america friendly it suit america to have this a good excuse to start a war with iran. it is oil that gives a country power americans oil will be gone by the very latest 2025, it won ww2 with its own oil but will need these gulf countrys oil to stay a super power.it wrong to condem iran for suppiling wepons to hizbullah and not condem the united states for their seilfish part and ironically their suppily of wepons

by Issa Sun Nov 26, 2006 16:10

well,

1200 lebanese civilian were killed only 58 from hozballah, about 400 from isreal army and only about 100 civilian from isreal, that of course u will not have these numbers at your countries coz your country support isreal or america in a way or another

1200 civilian killed and the one who kills them is fight for Terrorism!!!! aloooooo where are you going, do u think thats true, do u think america is in iraq for the peace of iraqian, do u think america will kill about 3000 from its army to have peace in iraq, come on!! its all about trading, in iraq there is OIL, in lebanon there is new midel east that you america and europe need it, well we live in middle east let us choice the better for us. is'nt this democrasy or what??!!

leave us alone