Here's the official reaction of the IDF to the tragedy of Quna where allegedly at least 50 lebanese civilians (among which about 20 children) have been killed in an Israeli airstrike which the whole world was quick to condemn and to blame Israel for. Make up your mind who's the real responsible party for these innocent deaths. Also, don't miss the footage showing Hezbollah firing rockets out of a civilian neighbourhod. (Communicated by the IDF Spokesman) Footage: [EDIT: Here's CNN's reporting on this] This morning, July 30, 2006, the IAF attacked missile launch sites in the area of the village of Qana, an area from which hundreds of missiles were launched towards the city of Nahariya and the communities in the western Galilee. The IDF will defend the citizens of Israel from attacks by the Hizbullah and the responsibility for any civilian casualties rests with the Hizbullah who have turned the suburbs of Lebanon into a war front by firing missiles from within civilian areas.Residents in this region and specifically the residents of Qana were warned several days in advance to leave the village. Eighteen Israeli civilians have been killed and over 400 have been wounded by these rocket attacks which have disrupted the lives of tens of thousands of Israeli citizens. The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians [ Hezbollah doesn't warn civilans beofre it strikes and rejoices in every harm to uninvolved civilians], but this is the result of Hizbullah terrorist organization's contemptible use of Lebanese civilians as human shields.
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IDF warns Lebanese citizens to evacuate villages (July 25): "To all citizens south of the Litani River
Due to the terror activities being carried out against the State of Israel from within your villages and homes, the IDF is forced to respond immediately against these activities, even within your villages. For your safety! We call upon you to evacuate your villages and move north of the Litani River."
Did you see these documents in your favorite Mainstream Media?
As a reminder, in 1996, the IAF (Israeli Air Force) already struck the same village. At that time, Hezbollah was hiding 350 meters from the .... UN Headquarter. Here's the legal opinion about it, written by Prof. Louis Rene Beres, from Purdue University in Indiana: Under pertinent international law, responsibility for the tragic Israeli artillery bombardment of UN protected civilian refugees in Lebanon lies preeminently with Hizbullah and its Islamic state mentors, Syria and Iran, as well as with Lebanon. To an extent, some responsibility must also be borne by the United Nations, for failing to ensure that Hizbullah not be allowed to fire Katyushas from a site some 350 meters from the UN Headquarters in Kfar Kana. Although it is certainly true that the Laws of War are intended, inter alia, to protect all noncombatants from the sort of Israeli shelling that killed and wounded so many innocents on April 18, these Laws also make it perfectly clear that responsibility for such actions must ultimately rest with the side that engages in "perfidy." Deception can be an essential and acceptable virtue in warfare, but there is a meaningful distinction between deception or ruses (stratagems or Kriegslist) and perfidy. The Hague Regulations in the Laws of War allow "ruses" but disallow treachery or perfidy. The prohibition of perfidy is reaffirmed in Protocol I of 1977 [I guess of the Geneva Conventions -ed.] and it is widely and authoritatively understood that these rules are binding on the basis of general international law.
Maybe someone should tell Kofi Annan to call on Hezbollah to respect "International humanitarian law"?
(Thanks to Gabrielle Goldwater for all the information)
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