Red Cross: 'No Hezbollah Rockets Fired from Qana'

[leftchick]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0801-02.htm

<snip>

'No Hezbollah Rockets Fired from Qana'
by Dahr Jamail

QANA - Red Cross workers and residents of Qana, where Israeli bombing killed at least 60 civilians, have told IPS that no Hezbollah rockets were launched from the city before the Israeli air strike.

The Israeli military has said it bombed the building in which several people had taken shelter, more than half of them children, because the Army had faced rocket fire from Qana. The Israeli military has said that Hezbollah was therefore responsible for the deaths.

"There were no Hezbollah rockets fired from here," 32-year-old Ali Abdel told IPS. "Anyone in this village will tell you this, because it is the truth."

<snip>

Qana had been a shelter because no rockets were being fired from there, survivors said. "When Hezbollah fires their rockets, everyone runs away because they know an Israeli bombardment will come soon," Abdel said. "That is why everyone stayed in the shelter and nearby homes, because we all thought we'd be all right since there were no Hezbollah fighters in Qana."

Lebanese Red Cross workers in the nearby coastal city of Tyre told IPS that there was no basis for Israeli claims that Hezbollah had launched rockets from Qana.





A Red Cross rescuer worker walks past dead bodies after Israeli air strikes on the southern Lebanese village of Qana. An enraged Lebanon was plunged into mourning for the 52 victims of an Israeli bombardment on the southern village of Qana, as the press lashed out at the "butchery" of the raid.(AFP/Nicolas Asfouri)

[QuestionAll...]

1. gee, I wonder if this will be 'investigative' enough for some people here.

or would a few dozen lawyers and officials working on a report that may take a few months to complete be the proper way to go?

[meisje]

29. It's all many need

[Jim__]

2. Somehow I am more inclined to believe the Red Cross and the Lebanese than

the IDF.

[babylonsister]

3. Careful, Red Cross, or you too will become a victim of

the disinformation we're receiving at a mind-numbing rate.

[orwell]

4. The truth...

...is the first casualty of war...

[breakaleg]

5. I did see yesterday on CNN that

reporters on the ground were filming the wreckage and showed part of the Israeli bombs. They said they saw no evidence of any Hezbollah missiles or launch pads. They should have seen something, had it been there.

Let's hope this gets enough press.

[ThomCat]

6. Does everyone get this now?

Now the red cross is confirming that Israel targetted a civilian population, and it was not in self defense. The Israeli military then lied and claimed they had been fired on in an attempt to make their deliberate slaughter of civilians acceptable. This time, they're actually being called on it internationally.

So now Israel's military will investigate itself. What are the chances that it won't be a whitewash?

[bvar22]

7. Bizarre.

Yesterday, the IDF offered video of rockets being fired from ANOTHER LOCATION as a justification for the massacre at Qana. The video was shown repeatedly on USCorpoMedia, sometimes with the statement that THESE pictures were NOT from Qana, but another location.
Why bother showing this video while reporting on Qana?

The IDF ALSO said they would release video of rockets being fired from Qana later in the day.
They NEVER did, but the images of the rockets being fired WILL STICK in many minds.

Pure Propaganda with willing participants in the US CorpoMedia. :scared:

[malaise]

11. Not just with statements but

with US Military men spewing the disinformation.

[laura888]

20. Exactly. Good post. n/t

[uppityperson]

8. K&r for the children and for honest reporting.

[malaise]

9. They have been exposed

by several neutral witnesses.

[bluerum]

10. The Red Cross normally does not comment on military or politcal

positions/actions. I would be skeptical of this information coming from them. I suspect it was a Lebanese or ME Red Cross worker speaking while on the job.

[leftchick]

12. well I am skeptical of any reports from the IDF

thanks but I will always repect and believe anything that Dahr Jamail reports on from the Middle east. He goes where most other reporters do not have the courage to. Remember Fallujah? Dahr gave the very best account of that war crime by the US.

[bluerum]

27. My only point was that the IRC does not make official comments

about such thing - qualified with "normally."

The bombings almost certainly took place - I am just questioning the attribution to the IRC.

[JudyM]

13. Right. The article states that a Lebanese Red Cross member made at least

one of the statements. Likely most of the Red Cross workers are Lebanese, no fans of Israel to begin with. Just saying... remember Israel's "massacre" in Jenin? It never happened, but that ultimate truth was relegated to a small paragraph in the back pages while the original allegation got days of front page coverage. In this case, I'd prefer to wait for a more objective assessment.

[Karmadillo]

19. No "massacre" in Jenin--just civilians "killed willfully and unlawfully"

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/may2002/hrwa-m10.shtml

<edit>

HRW were able to establish that at least 52 Palestinians were killed during the IDF operation. Of these, some 22 were civilians, many of whom “were killed wilfully or unlawfully”. These include children, physically disabled and elderly people. It also found numerous instances in which the IDF breached international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians and their property, denying medial aid and emergency supplies, and summary executions.

<edit>

HRW states that, based on the evidence and research undertaken, “during their incursion into the Jenin refugee camp, Israeli forces committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, some amounting prima facie to war crimes”.

The human rights group rejects Israeli assertions that the apparent presence of some 80 armed Palestinians (in a camp of 14,000 people) gave it the right to abrogate international humanitarian law. “The rule of military necessity does not allow for military measures to be taken that violate the laws of war or that do not have a military purpose... The degree of autonomy granted to military planners by the concept of military necessity is subservient to the rule of proportionality and other ‘laws and customs of war’, ” HRW explain. It cites numerous instances in which IDF forces committed grave breaches of the Geneva Convention and international standards of warfare during its “Operation Defensive Shield.”

The most fundamental principle of the laws of war, HRW states, “requires that combatants be distinguished from non-combatants, and that military objectives be distinguished from protected property and protected places”. This was breached on several occasions. Israeli forces fired indiscriminately upon civilian homes and property, without warning. Several civilians were killed in their homes, whilst asleep, by helicopter fire and missile strikes, despite the absence of any combat in the vicinity.

HRW also document incidents of reprisals against civilians. Fourteen-year-old Muhammad Hawashin was shot twice in the face and killed on April 3, as he walked with a group of women and children towards the local hospital.

Wheelchair bound Kamal Zghair, 57-years-old, was shot and run over by IDF tanks on April 10 as he wheeled himself down the road to his home, equipped with a white flag.

Afaf Disuqi, an unarmed civilian, responded to a knock on her door on April 5 and was killed by a bomb thrown by IDF soldiers. Eyewitnesses reported that the soldiers were laughing as Disuqi was horribly mutilated by the blast.

more...

[JudyM]

24. First, the front page reports by the Arabs were that over 500 people were

killed. Second, the official UN investigation report absolved Israel of any war crimes in Jenin. Third, many of the deaths were caused by homes booby trapped by the Arabs. Fourth, the Israelis went in on foot specifically to limit the death of innocents. Fifth, the reports of soldiers laughing and killing innocents outright were made by the Arabs (again). Sixth, the Israelis went in only after more than 90 of their own citizens had been killed by bombs fired into their living centers. My point is that the reports of what is happening ought not be believed unless there's objective evidence or objective persons reporting, because those reporting want to do damage to Israel. After all, the express aim of Hezollah is not only the destruction of Israel but also the destruction of Jews worldwide, which has been publicly stated by its leader.

[Karmadillo]

26. Media Distortions and The UN Report On Jenin

I agree with you that objective evidence is preferable. It does seem Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch make the better case since they actually sent investigators to Jenin (unlike the UN).

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2187

<edit>

Israel not only blocked the Jenin investigation, but refused repeated requests by Annan for it to submit written testimony for inclusion in the report. Hence while having done everything possible to block, discredit and undermine an investigation into Jenin, the Israeli government is today citing the same report as vindication. The Israelis cannot have it both ways. If Israel claims that UN reports are not credible when they criticize Israel, it cannot then claim that they suddenly regain legitimacy when they appear to "exonerate" it.

The UN report does repeat the findings of several international aid and human rights agencies that Israel used excessive and disproportionate force in civilian areas, blocked medical treatment for wounded civilians for days, and prevented access to the camp to humanitarian aid and journalists.

Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, which unlike the UN team, actually sent investigators to Jenin, reported that these actions by Israel may constitute "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" among other serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

Media Distortions: The Myth that Palestinians claimed that 500 were killed in Jenin

'There was no massacre' is the main headline coming from most media organizations reporting about UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's report about the Israeli attack on Jenin refugee camp last April.

In fact, Annan's report does not use the word "massacre" at all. The report does state:

"Fifty-two Palestinian deaths had been confirmed by the hospital in Jenin by the end of May 2002. IDF also place the death toll at approximately 52. A senior Palestinian Authority official alleged in mid-April that some 500 were killed, a figure that has not been substantiated in the light of the evidence that has emerged."

Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat was widely cited in press reports as having said that 500 people were killed in Jenin. Yet, despite an extensive search, I have been unable to find any directly quoted statement from any Palestinian official, including Erekat, using that figure for the death toll in Jenin. None of the reports which cited Erekat said where he allegedly made the claim, and some provided conflicting accounts of when he allegedly said it. For a claim that is so widely cited, it should not be so difficult to find a direct quote.

more...

[bluerum]

28. No question that the event took place. I am just pointing out that

the IRC probably did not issue official statements and that the reports probably came from a Lebanese IRC worker speaking as a civilian and not representing the IRC.

[KoKo]

14. thanks for the heads up....hopefully more will come out from observers

who were there...

[rman]

15. kick

[Canuckistanian]

16. It's a simple procedure to show if Qana was the source of rocket attacks

What range do those missiles have? I heard it was 15 miles, tops. If the IDF can show any Israeli rocket damage within a 15-mile radius of Qana, they MIGHT have a case.

Othrwise, there needs to be a serious investigation.

There should be one, regardless.

[Scurrilous]

17. K & R

:thumbsup:

[Swamp Rat]

18. Really?

:wow:

Why would the IDF bomb Qana then? :shrug:

[TahitiNut]

21. Tradition.

[Swamp Rat]

22. I dig Chagall

:hi:

[TahitiNut]

23. {Ding-ding-ding!} You get TahitiNut's astuteness prize for today!

For Chagall, the fiddler (on the roof) was emblematic of the precariousness of life at decision points - what we often view as the "law of unintended consequences."

[Nikki Stone 1]

25. predictable

nt

[JackNewtown]

30. The Red Cross is clearly anti-Semitic

The Red Cross is so anti-Semitic they don't even have a chapter in Israel. :mad:

I sincerely hope the Ministry of Truth prevents its media outlets from spreading such lies.

[AzDar]

31. Is it a war crime YET??? n/t

[Bretttido]

32. No, our freak Bolton in the UN will block all war crimes inquiries