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August 1, 2006
In its lead story [1] today (August 1), the Hebrew edition of Haaretz Online reported that the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) claim that Hezbollah missile launchers and Hezbollah fighters were in and around the building in Qana which they shelled early Sunday morning was false.
Oddly, this article which points to Israeli culpability and recklessness in what some are calling the IDF's second massacre in Qana (the first was in 1996), has been largely ignored in the international press.
According to the newspaper, the IDF decided to attack houses in a specific radius of a place that was used in the past to launch missiles. The article states that the tactic of choosing buildings as targets that are near areas from which rockets were launched in the past has been used before.
Initially, Israeli military sources had reported [2] that the deaths in Qana where caused not by the Israeli air attack early Sunday morning, but by an accidental explosion, many hours later, of Hezbollah ordinance which was stored inside the building. According to the Haaretz article, this is not true. Israeli Air Force sources have admitted, according to Ha'aretz that the deaths in Qana where caused by the Israeli shelling. Between 30 and 60 deaths were reported as a result of the building collapse. Many bodies are still believed to be buried beneath the rubble.
Additionally, the claim of the IDF that leaflets were dropped on the weekend which warned of an attack were also untrue. The leaflets were actually delivered "some days" before the weekend, according to military sources.
[1] Ha'aretz Online, August 1, 2006, "Call For A Official Commission to Investigate the Explosion at Qana" http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/745130.html
[2] Jerusalem Post, July 30, 2006, "Kana Collapse Was Hours After Attack," http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1153292036218&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Israel Defense Forces had said after the deadly air-strike that many rockets had been launched from Qana. However, it changed its version on Monday.
The site was included in an IAF plan to strike at several buildings in proximity to a previous launching site. Similar strikes were carried out in the past. However, there were no rocket launches from Qana on the day of the strike.
Most relevant, the IDF report stated that the site had been used for rocket launches in previous days, but there were no confirmed launches on the day of the strike itself. Furthermore, the IDF modified its own statement, rather than having somehow been exposed - this is a common occurrence when militaries trace back through the chain of command to try to find out exactly what happened and why; they are now conducting their report on Qana; "lied" implies intentional deceit - here this seems clearly not to be the case.
"ZAHN: Nic Robertson, appreciate the update. Thanks so much.
Now, tonight, the Arab world is outraged over the Israeli bombing that killed at least 54 Lebanese civilians in Qana. Israel says it targeted Qana because Hezbollah was firing rockets from there. Residents deny that, and many are calling it a massacre.
The anger spilled over in Beirut streets, as protesters broke into U.N. headquarters there, injuring three U.N. workers. Qana survivors have fled, looking for shelter elsewhere. And, today, the town is deserted, buildings now just rubble. Israel calls this a tragic mistake.
Joining me now, Lebanon's consul general here in the United States, Mohamad El-Harake.
Thank you so much for joining us.
The Israelis have expressed their sorrow for the loss of innocent loss in Qana. Do you really think the Israelis targeted those civilians?
MOHAMAD EL-HARAKE, CONSUL GENERAL OF LEBANON: I know that the Israelis are very proud of their military powers. And they are good in targeting Palestinian activists, so they can hit a car among the 20 cars, and save the other cars. So...
ZAHN: So, you are saying there's no doubt in your mind the Israelis are so good at this that they would have intentionally targeted civilians?
EL-HARAKE: Here, we're talking about smart bombs, about military expertise, very advanced, and we're talking also about, let us say, well-mapped area. They know everything. And, supposedly, there was Hezbollah fighters near this building, as they are claiming. Why...
ZAHN: Let's show some pictures, before you go any further... EL-HARAKE: Yes, sure.
ZAHN: ... because the Israelis have provided us video from the IDF of an aerial view of the area.
Let's look at this closely together. It shows the proximity of the missile launching sites very clearly here to the civilian population in Qana.
Do you deny that they put their rocket launchers close to civilians to use them as shields?
EL-HARAKE: Yes, at first, we should verify this video by expert to see if exactly it reflects the same building that was targeted."
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0607/31/pzn.01.html
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