What follows is a statement in rebuttal to a Corriere della Serra article that claimed the Lebanese PM had called for Hezbollah’s disarmament:
“What the prime minister said is that the international community has not given the Lebanese government an opportunity to deal with the problem of Hezbollah`s arms, since the continuing presence of the Israeli occupation of Shebaa Farms is the reason for the weapons' location."
The Lebanese PM has some nerve saying that. For years he was well aware of Hezbollah’s activities in his country. They are part of the government too. Now that the situation is the way it is, he finds a way to twist it around and blame the Israelis for not letting him take care of it. What should Israel do, sit and wait for more soldiers to be abducted, more civilians to be shelled? If Siniora wanted to/could do something about Hezbollah, it would already have happened. So far, he has not even mobilized Lebanese soldiers in order to contain the mess Hezbollah created. Shame on him for blaming others for his own shortcomings. Who told him to bow to terrorists and terrorist-sponsoring governments such as Syria and Iran?
Ever since this situation started, I have been having trouble adjusting to the news that Israel is once again seriously clashing with neighbors. I am sad and enraged at the same time, but I would like to make it clear that I fully support the Israeli incursion.
To those out there who condemn the Israelis, think about it: would the United States ever stand still if Canadians decided to abduct two soldiers from the border area? No. Would the Americans be delicate about it? Absolutely not.
Also, while I do think it is very unfortunate that Lebanese civilians are being killed in the conflict, I must say that this is nothing but a direct consequence of the Hezbollah ‘s disregard for the local civilian population. I say this because it is a well-known fact that Hezbollah bases itself out of residential enclaves, therefore endangering the entire population. The Israelis have the decency to warn the civilians about impending strikes and no one seems to notice that - when has the Hezbollah ever warned Israeli civilians before they shelled them? On the contrary, they bomb civilians, period. And ithey do so with full knowledge: in Israel, all military targets are nowhere near residential areas.
Furthermore, to those out there who think Israel is using excessive force: again, wrong. If that were the case, the Lebanese would be wiped out. Israelis, with their superior arsenal, are being ultra-careful to monitor their targets because they can and they want to do so (hence the leaflets warning of impending attacks).
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a warning that war crimes may have been committed in the conflict so far. Obviously she means by Israel (the day will come in which a UN official will say anything remotely sympathetic about Israel). Among other things, she said the following:
“The 1949 Geneva Conventions aimed to end attacks purely or mainly against civilians, a tactic used heavily in World War II. Article 51 of the First Protocol to the 1949 agreements states: 'The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack.'
Article 52 adds: 'Attacks shall be limited strictly to military objectives...' Therefore, there is a war crime if civilians are specifically attacked as civilians. However, it is different if they are killed as a result of a strike against a military or a "dual-use" target.
Precautions to minimise casualties should be taken and one argument is about whether such precautions have been sufficient. Indiscriminate attacks that target a wide area just to hit a few objectives or which hit military and civilian targets "without distinction" are outlawed by Article 51.
Israel however is not a party to the First Protocol though many experts and states say that this should apply in any case. And it remains a standard by which actions can be measured.”
Fine. Now why is it that the Hezbollah attacks solely on civilians are not being mentioned as possible war crimes? And what else does she want Israel to do prior to an attack? Apparently she does not think that going through the trouble (and danger) of dropping leaflets onto the target areas as a warning is enough. She probably would like to see the locals being lifted up to safety by the Israelis themselves before they initiate their offensive, eh?
When will people wake up? This is a war, even if a local one at this point (and let’s hope it remains this way). The Hezbollah apparently has no trouble killing as many Israelis as they can, even Arabs (their bombing of Nazareth, largely Arab, was interesting to say the least; two Arab boys died). I am sickened by the media approach to the conflict, and I am appalled to see some of the comments out there by people of all kinds, from UN officials to regular Joes. It is all pretty depressing, and if one has doubts, check out the BBC’s “Have your Say” website. These people are crazy for the most part.
July 20, 2006
THE NERVE...
July 12, 2006
HEZBOLLAH AGAIN
The situation in Israel only got worse. Not only the Gaza incursion still has not produced the desired effect (that is, the release of Cpl Shalit), but now two other Israeli soldiers were captured by Hezbollah.
Hezbollah had been relatively quiet for the past few years since Israel left Lebanon, and especially after the assassination of Rafik Harari last year. This new move comes at a crucial time of tension between Israel and the Palestinians, and the consequences are and will be manifold.
First, this assault is an undeniable show of support for Hamas and Palestinians militants in general. After all, Hamas always considered Hezbollah a role model. Second, this is an obvious attempt to further destabilize the Israeli government and the area as a whole.
Third, one must not forget that Hezbollah is officially represented in the Lebanese parliament (with one minister) - which means the Lebanese government is held directly responsible and such terrorist actions might very well be considered acts of war against the Israeli state.
Fourth, Hezbollah and Syria are "pals"; their relationship was especially clear when Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah organized a massive demonstration in support of the Syrian government following the murder of Rafik Harari and the subsequent popular demonstrations against the 30-year-old Syrian meddling in Lebanese affairs. This relationship means, ultimately, that the Israeli government (and the American government too) holds Syria accountable in no small part for the situation now developing in Lebanon. The Syrians know it: they are convening with other Arab leaders right now in order to prepare for a possible Israeli invasion of Syria.
Fifth, Hezbollah has Iranian backing. As a matter of fact, Hezbollah was founded with Iran aid with the specific aim to fight Israel. Need I say more?
I understand that Hezbollah might find some comfort in the knowledge that back in 2004, the Israeli government did release some 400 Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners in exchange for a kidnapped Israeli businessman (and reserve colonel) and the remains of three Israeli soldiers. But, that was in 2004, and it took three years to accomplish.
This latest incident accentuates political and social divisiveness, a constant in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has been under international pressure to counter Hezbollah (and therefore Syrian) influence in the south, but so far it has been unable to do so. Given the situation, though, Lebanese Prime Minister Siniora's declaration that he knew nothing of the operation and his ensuing refusal to take responsibility for and/or endorse the soldiers' capture comes as no surprise at all.
Most interesting is the reaction in of the Lebanese people: singing and dancing to celebrate the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. One young Lebanese man (21 years old) said he was overjoyed. And again I find myself unable to believe my eyes as I read about candy giveaways in Beirut, street carnival etc. What is there to celebrate? How can people rejoice in all this? I think we are talking about two different planets here; maybe even two different universes.
July 11, 2006
ITALY'S STRANGELY ANTI-SEMITIC CELEBRATION
It turns out some Italians, overly excited by Italy's World Cup victory, decided to paint a few swastikas on the walls of Rome's ancient Jewish cemetery. I have yet to grasp the connection between winning the World Cup and vandalizing old Jewish graves (as if Jews in general represented a major football threat to the Azzurri), but apparently there exists one.
Maybe they think that Jews are behind the French team's prowess on the field - in which case they are wrong at least twice. First, because the French star and captain (Zidane) is Muslim, and Frank Ribéry is a Muslim convert. And second, because France does not have a particularly strong history of support for and tolerance of Jews. If in doubt, one can always remember the following: the Dreyfus Affair, Vichy France, and more recently the kidnapping and murder of Ilan Halimi.
But the Italians went all out: the Roman Jewish cemetery incident happened almost at the same time an Italian former minister decided to announce that the French squad was comprised of "Negroes, communists and Moslems". It seems that we Jews are in good company in Italy...
IN ANOTHER FOUR YEARS MAYBE
The cup is over and Brazil did not win. Heck, Brazil did not even make it to the semifinals, let alone the finals. My countrymen were a sorry sight running around the soccer field without ever kicking the ball to goal - it was indeed embarrassing. And during that game, Zidane shone.
And shine he did again during the final against Italy. That is, until he decided that whatever it is that Materazzi told him justified a headbutt in the other player's chest. Unbelievable.
My friends and I were sitting at the counter of this DC Italian bistro called Tomate (pretty good, actually, except for the manager's semi-rude imposition that we all watch the final on ABC as opposed to Univision) when all of a sudden images started to flutter and in front of our eyes we saw that godlike man Zidane deliberately attack the Italian player. I was in shock. We were all in shock.
And we all cheered when he was shown the door and had to leave the field.
Ok: of course I was rooting for Italy. As much as I am not crazy about the Azzurri, I could not in sane mind root for the French after they kicked us Brazilians out. But independently of that, and independently of anything else, the decision to expel Zidane was absolutely, 100% correct.
I don't care if Materazzi insulted Zidane's mother (which, let's face it, is most likely). Football players are constantly pushing each other's buttons; a considerable amount of physical and emotional abuse is part and parcel of any football match, especially a World Cup final. Zidane showed complete lack of sportsmanship and overall disregard for his teammates, the sport and all of us fans of the game.
Sure I feel sorry for Zidane, for losing his nerve at such a critical moment. But, I wonder if maybe he thought that his relevance and talent would shield him from being given a red card during not only the World Cup final but also his own final football game.
