Study could acquit Israel of war crimes

[oberliner]

A think tank with strong ties to the IDF has compiled a thick dossier of evidence accusing Hizbullah of using civilians as human shields during the war in Lebanon - a study the authors say can be used to rebuff war crime allegations over Israel's pummeling of residential areas.

The study was prepared by a team led by military intelligence expert Reuven Ehrlich, a retired lieutenant colonel who now heads the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. The private think tank, which maintains an office at the Defense Ministry, compiled the report in conjunction with lawyers from the army and Foreign Ministry.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1164881823793&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[Double T]

1. A dossier compiled by a RW think tank with strong ties to the IDF.......

has ZERO credibility. ALL atrocities of war lead to attempts at whitewashing or covering up the truth.

[oberliner]

4. Israel shows proof of Hezbollah war crimes

JERUSALEM, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- In response to claims it fired into Lebanese civilian areas in a 34-day war, the Israeli military has released videos showing Hezbollah fighters in those areas.

More than 1,000 Lebanese died in 34 days of fighting in July and August, and Israel was accused by Lebanon and human rights groups of targeting civilians.

A report by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center at the Center for Special Studies in Jerusalem contains declassified photographs, video images and prisoner interrogations that refute the claims, a New York Times correspondent reported Tuesday.

The report describes videos transmitted by Israeli missiles as they approached missile-launching targets secreted in residential areas, which is also a war crime.

Retired Lebanese Gen. Elias Hanna told the Times Israel's allegations against Hezbollah were accurate.

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20061205-084451-4956r

[furman]

2. NYTimes (Page 1): Offering Video, Israel Answers Critics on War

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/world/middleeast/05mideast.html?ref=todayspaper
video link: http://nytimes.feedroom.com/?fr_story=bd59f99c8db08f027497ecc61168970d6166a9d8

Offering Video, Israel Answers Critics on War
By GREG MYRE
Published: December 5, 2006
(Nada Bakri contributed reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.)

JERUSALEM, Dec. 4 — Israel’s military, which has been accused of abuses in its war against Hezbollah this summer, has declassified photographs, video images and prisoner interrogations to buttress its accusation that Hezbollah systematically fired from civilian neighborhoods in southern Lebanon and took cover in those areas to shield itself from attack.

<snip>

Elias Hanna, a retired Lebanese Army general, said of the Israeli allegations, “Of course there are hidden invisible tunnels, bunkers of missile launchers, bunkers of explosive charges amongst civilians.”

He added: “You cannot separate the southern society from Hezbollah, because Hezbollah is the society and the society is Hezbollah. Hezbollah is holding this society together through its political, military and economic services. It is providing the welfare for the south.”

Asked whether Hezbollah should be seen as responsible for the deaths of Lebanese civilians in the war, he replied: “Of course Hezbollah is responsible. But these people are ready to sacrifice their lives for Hezbollah. If you tell them, ‘Your relative died,’ they will tell you ‘No, he was a martyr.’ The party’s military preparations from 2000 till 2006 took place in their areas. They were of course done with complete secrecy, but in accordance with the civilians.”

<snip>

Like many Hezbollah fighters, he traveled by motorbike, but they were frequently the targets of Israeli forces. While transporting missiles, hidden in cloth, in and around the southern village of Aita al Shaab, “I carried a white flag,” Mr. Srour said.

Hezbollah operated freely from homes in the village, with the permission of residents who had fled. The departing residents either left their doors unlocked or gave their keys to Hezbollah, he said. Mr. Srour acknowledged that homes used by Hezbollah were more likely to draw fire.

<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/05/world/middleeast/05mideast.html?ref=todayspaper
video link: http://nytimes.feedroom.com/?fr_story=bd59f99c8db08f027497ecc61168970d6166a9d8

[applegrove]

3. No doubt Hezbollah built it weapons caches and bunkers underneath villages.

All they needed to do was build them 500 feet away from Lebanese towns and farms...and it would have saved lives. They are responsible for how it was all set up. It was their plans. Their site were well chosen. Israel had very little say in it. And I think held back after the UN warned them not to hit civilians.

[Amused Musings]

5. I Thought

this was self-evident?

[msmcghee]

6. Self evident?

Welcome to I/P.

:hi:

[bemildred]

7. New York Times on Israeli War Crimes

A front-page New York Times article by Greg Myre (12/5/06) covered a new report from an Israeli research group defending Israel against accusations of war crimes in its recent war with Lebanon. But instead of critically examining the report's claims in the light of international law and the findings of independent human rights groups, the Times for the most part chose to pass on the research group's spin unquestioningly.

As Myre explained the crux of the debate, the war crimes accusations are that "Israel fired into populated areas and that civilians accounted for a vast majority of the more than 1,000 Lebanese killed," while "Israel says that it tried to avoid civilians, but that Hezbollah fired from civilian areas, itself a war crime, which made those areas legitimate targets."

While this is perhaps the way the research group—led, as the Times notes, by a retired Israeli intelligence officer—would like to see the issue framed, it's quite misleading. While the new report purports to show examples of Hezbollah fighters or arms in civilian areas, it fails to prove that all—or even most—attacks on Lebanese civilians involved any Hezbollah fighters. In fact, the evidence weighs against Israel in many of the attacks that have been investigated by independent human rights groups (Human Rights Watch, 8/3/06; Amnesty International, 11/21/06).

But even if Hezbollah fighters were present at all civilian locations attacked by Israel forces, that does not absolve Israel from its legal duty to minimize civilian casualties—as readers would have known had Myre taken the journalistically obvious step of interviewing independent experts on international law and human rights. While he quoted from reports issued by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the quotes he selected were general or not directly relevant.

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3015

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. here is a link to the extremely detailed Amnesty International report

regarding the the war in Lebanon. It does include a detailed report on Hezollah and well as Israeli actions:

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE020332006?open&of=ENG-2D2