Israel Attacks Lebanon (12 July 2006-)
Lebanon for Beginners
Following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizballah on July 12th, Israel brings its campaign of collective punishment and excessive use of force to Lebanon, with "Operation Just Reward". Dawn air strikes on south Lebanon on 13 July 2006 claimed the lives of at least 44 civilians, including over 15 children, and wounded over 100. Israel bombed bridges linking the north and south of the country and all three runways of Beirut's commercial airport. The Israeli army's Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz, promised that "nothing is safe in [Lebanon], as simple as that."
Opposition Demonstrations in Lebanon (1 December 2006-)
The political future of Lebanon came into question with the anti-government demonstrations that have been ongoing in downtown Beirut since December 1. The opposition, comprised largely of Hezbollah supporters and the secular Shiite Amal and Christian Aoun movements, are calling for the inclusion of more opposition posts in the cabinet or the resignation of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. The Prime Mister's government, backed by the US, has not met the opposition's demands and has been met with mass strikes.
"Live from Lebanon" Diaries
"We all just feel so helpless. How exactly does one face indiscriminate attacks from the air, land and sea?"
"A sense of claustrophobia overcame me when all routes out of Lebanon were being cut off, one after the other..."
"My solution? Call a friend living abroad - how trapped can I be if I can still communicate with the outside world?"
"As trite as that might sound, it worked. The magic of psychology"
— Maha Damaj, writing from Beirut, 16 July 2006.
Blogs & Views from Lebanon
Though their voices may be underrepresented by the Western corporate media, many in Lebanon are making themselves heard through their blogs. Some use their blogs as a means of letting their friends and family know they're OK, while others report the devastation happening around them, and many are providing their own political analysis of the situation. Speaking of the power of citizen journalism enabled by advanced communication technology, British Foreign Office minister Kim Howells said after visiting wartorn Lebanon, "Every person who has got a mobile phone, every person who can take a photograph of somebody being blown to bits, or a child with a limb missing, is a reporter now."
Opinion, Editorial and Commentary
"Israel is raining destruction upon Lebanon in a purely defensive operation, according to the White House and most of Congress. Even some CNN anchors, habituated to mechanical reporting of "Middle East violence," sound slightly incredulous. With over 300 Lebanese dead and easily 500,000 displaced, with the Beirut airport, bridges and power plants disabled, the enormous assault is more than a "disproportionate response" to Hizballah's July 12 seizure of two soldiers and killing of three others on Israeli soil...Entire villages in south Lebanon lie in ruins, unknown numbers of their inhabitants buried in the rubble and tens of others incinerated in their vehicles by Israeli missiles as they attempted to escape northward." - MERIP Editorial (21 July 2006)
Audio, Podcasts & Multimedia
"Israel is complaining now that its sovereign territory was violated by Hizballah... When did Israel ever respect the sovereign territory of any of its neighbors? Israel occupied Southwest Syria. There are 30,000 Israeli settlers cultivating wine and enjoying the Golan Heights and claiming God gave it to them."
-- Ali Abunimah, Flashpoints Radio, 13 July 2006, discussing the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. On July 13th, Israeli fighter jets stuck deep inside Lebanon killing over 50, including 15 children and a family of ten.
Human Rights and Development
As of 1 September 2006, the casualty figures in Lebanon are 1,187 killed and 4,092. However, more civilians are perishing every day as a result of the hundreds of thousands of unexploded ordnance fired on Lebanon during the final 72 hours of conflict, also severely hindering recovery efforts. Human rights organizations have condemned Israel's disproportionate use of force and targeting of civilian infrastructure during its attack on Lebanon. Meanwhile, Lebanon remains under a blockade as Israel continues its siege over Lebanon's sea and airspace.
International Reaction & Protest
The UN's Emergency Relief Co-ordinator Jan Egeland has condemned Israel's "disproportionate response" to the capture of two of its soldiers as a "violation of international humanitarian law," while UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour has found that "A large and steadily increasing number of persons have been forcibly displaced. The most basic human rights of the population are at risk or are being violated, including their rights to life, health and food." Despite such warnings, the US once again uses its veto in the UN Security Council to protect Israeli interests. However, citizens of conscience the world over are pouring into the streets to make known their objections to Israel's campaign of collective punishment and destruction in Lebanon.
Media Analysis and Freedom of the Press
The fury of Israel's offensive in Lebanon has more than a few observers shaking their heads. The vast majority of Western media reports do not accurately portray the fact that the vast majority of the dead are civilians, most of them women and children. A Reuters dispatch this week described Israel's choice of targets as "puzzling," but for the most part Western television viewers, newspaper readers, and Web surfers are reading highly sanitized versions of the news, spun in such a way as to dilute the brutality of the Israeli onslaught and especially to ensure that blame is placed squarely on Lebanon in general and Hizbullah in particular.
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