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2006 Lebanon War

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2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
(Arab-Israeli conflict)
Part of the 2006 Middle East conflict
File:54995.jpg
An IDF M109 self-propelled howitzer fires into Southern Lebanon
Date12 July 2006 — present
Location
Lebanon and northern Israel
Result Ongoing
Belligerents
File:Flag of Hezbollah.svg Hezbollah Israel Lebanon
Commanders and leaders
Hassan Nasrallah (Secretary General/Spiritual Leader) Dan Halutz (CoS)
Moshe Kaplinsky [1]
Udi Adam (Regional)		 Michel Sulaiman (CoS)
Casualties and losses

Hezbollah militia:
58 reported by Hezbollah
165 confirmed by IDF, 300+ estimated [2][3][4] and 20 captured
(Israeli government and Hezbollah reports)
Amal militia:
8 killed [citation needed]
PFLP-GC militia:
1 killed

[5]		 Civilians:
41 killed[6][7]
1,293 injured (of which 1,200 lightly injured or treated for shock) [8]
300,000 displaced [9]
Soldiers:
81 killed[10][6][7]
252 wounded [11]
2 kidnapped		 Civilians:
732 (including 1/3 children)[12]
3,400 injured [13][14][15]
One million displaced [16][17]
Soldiers:
35 killed,
80 wounded [18]
For other casualties see Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Military operations of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is an ongoing military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel, primarily between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), with the Lebanese Army marginally involved.[19] The conflict began two weeks after the start of the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict.

Triggered by a cross-border Hezbollah raid and diversionary shelling which resulted in the kidnapping of two and killing of three Israeli soldiers, Israel initiated an air and naval blockade of Lebanon, massive airstrikes across much of the country, and ground incursions into southern and eastern Lebanon.[20] Hezbollah has engaged Israeli forces on the ground with hit-and-run guerrilla attacks and frequent katyusha rocket attacks into Northern Israel.[21]

The conflict has killed hundreds of people, caused widespread infrastructure damage in Lebanon, displaced more than a million people, and disrupted normal life across all of Lebanon and the northern part of Israel. Attacks by both sides on civilian population centers and infrastructure have drawn sharp criticism internationally.

Beginning of conflict

Main article: Zar'it-Ayta al-Sha`b incident

At 9:05 AM local time (04:05 UTC), on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah initiated a Katyusha rocket and mortar attack on Israeli military positions and on the towns of Even Menahem and Mattat, injuring 5 civilians[22]. At the same time, a ground contingent of Hezbollah attacked two Israeli armored Humvees along the Israel-Lebanon border with anti-tank rockets, capturing two Israeli soldiers, and killing three.[23] Five others were killed later on the Lebanese side of the border on 12 July during a mission to rescue the two captured soldiers.[24] In a report the Lebanese police force stated that the Israeli soldiers were attacked and captured on the Lebanese side of the border on 12 July during a mission to infiltrate the Lebanese town of Ayta al-Sha`b,[25] though the U.N, EU, G8[26], and prominent news agencies[27] have characterized the Hezbollah action as "cross-border". In an interview with the London Times, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: "The war started not only by killing eight Israeli soldiers and abducting two but by shooting Katyusha and other rockets on the northern cities of Israel on that same morning. Indiscriminately."[28]

Hezbollah's attack was named Operation Truthful Promise, after a "promise" by its leader Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah to capture Israeli soldiers and swap them for Samir Kuntar and other Lebanese prisoners held by Israel.[29][30] Later on, Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah declared: “No military operation will return them… The prisoners will not be returned except through one way: indirect negotiations and a trade of prisoners.”[31]

Israeli action

File:Lebanese Areas Targeted 7-15 to 7-27.jpg
Areas in Lebanon targeted by Israeli bombing, 12 July to 27 July 2006.
Main article: Israeli military action in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Operation Sharp and Smooth

Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert declared the attack by Hezbollah’s military wing an “act of war,” and promised Lebanon a “very painful and far-reaching response.”[32] CNN reported that "The Israeli Cabinet authorized "severe and harsh" retaliation on Lebanon . . . Israel's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Dan Halutz, told Israel's Channel 10, "If the soldiers are not returned, we will turn Lebanon's clock back 20 years."[33] Retired Israeli army Col. Gal Luft, a former commander in the town of Ramallah, explained the rationale behind the attack: "Israel is attempting to create a rift between the Lebanese population and Hezbollah supporters by exacting a heavy price from the elite in Beirut. The message is: If you want your air conditioning to work and if you want to be able to fly to Paris for shopping, you must pull your head out of the sand and take action toward shutting down Hezbollah-land."[34]

Prime Minister Olmert and other officials declared that Israel held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, as it was carried out from Lebanese territory[citation needed]; in response, Prime Minister Fuad Siniora denied any knowledge of the raid and stated that he did not condone it.[35] An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position.[36]

Satellite photographs of the Haret Hreik neighborhood [Dahieh district] of Beirut, Lebanon, before and after 22 July 2006. Reports [37] state that the neighborhood was a Hezballah property fenced off from the Lebanese civilians. See also high resolution photographs before and after.

Early on 13 July 2006 Israel sent IAF jets to bomb Lebanon's international airport near Beirut, forcing its closure and diverting its arriving flights to Cyprus. Israel subsequently imposed an air and sea blockade on Lebanon,[38][39] and has bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.[40]

The Israeli Air Force has carried out nearly 2,000 bombing sorties across Lebanon,[citation needed] especially targeting transportation infrastructure such as roads and bridges.[41] According to the IDF official website, these missions were essential for weakening Hezbollah's rocket-launching capability.[42]

On 23 July 2006 Israeli land forces crossed into Lebanon in the Maroun al-Ras area, which overlooks several other locations said to have been used as launch sites for Hezbollah rockets.[43]

On 25 July IDF forces attacked Bint Jbeil, an important Hezbollah stronghold opposite the Israeli border. On 27 July, Hezbollah ambushed the Israelis and killed 8 soldiers, though Israel says it also inflicted heavy losses on Hezbollah.[44] By 29 July, the bulk of the combat had ended, and Israel withdrew its troops and left the town.[45]

On 1 August Israeli commandos landed in Baalbeck.[46] Troops had landed near Dar al-Himkeh hospital west of Baalbeck as part of a 'widescale operation' in the area.[47]

Less than a week later, the IDF destroyed the last bridge across the Litani river, completely cutting off an estimated 70,000-130,000 civilians remaining in southern Lebanon from food and fuel supplies from the north. [48]

Hezbollah action

Main article: Hezbollah rocket campaign in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Hezbollah rocket force
File:Haifa apartment building after attack July 17 2006.jpg
A Haifa street following rocket attack 17 July 2006

According to Haaretz newspaper, "the IDF is not fighting a small guerrilla organization. It is dealing with a trained, skilled, well-organized, highly motivated infantry that is equipped with the cream of the crop of modern weaponry from the arsenals of Syria, Iran, Russia and China, and which is very familiar with the territory on which it is fighting. In such a showdown, even when you have tanks and fighter planes, the going is very slow, and, sadly, you must also pay a heavy price in terms of casualties." [49] Hezbollah has fired rockets at civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Hadera, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula[50] Kiryat Shmona, Beit She'an, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages, as well as the northern West Bank.[51][52] It also hit a hospital in Safed in northern Galilee on 18 July, wounding 8.[53]

On 14 July, following Israeli bombing raids on Lebanon that killed 60 civilians [54] Nasrallah addressed Israel, saying "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."[55]

After the initial Israeli response, Hezbollah declared an all-out military alert, and said it had 13,000 rockets capable of hitting towns and installations far into northern Israel. As a result, Defense Minister Peretz told commanders to prepare civil defense plans and many of the nearly 1,000,000 civilians living in Northern Israel have been sent to bomb shelters or fled their homes to other parts of the country.[56] Hezbollah continued to fire hundreds of Katyusha rockets into northern Israel's towns and cities, including Nahariya, Safed, Hatzor HaGlilit, Rosh Pina, Kiryat Shmona, and Karmiel, and numerous small agricultural villages.[57]

Map showing some of the Israeli localities attacked by rockets fired from Lebanese soil as of Monday 7 August.

Hezbollah attacks have hit as far south as Hadera in central Israel, as well as Israel's third largest city, Haifa, and the Jezreel Valley cities of Nazareth and Afula. Al-Manar has reported that the Hezbollah attack included a Fajr-3 and a Ra'ad 1 liquid-fuel missiles, developed by Iran.[58][59] One of the attacks hit a railroad repair depot, killing eight workers; Hezbollah claimed that this attack was aimed at a large Israeli fuel storage plant adjacent to the railway facility. The plant has not been hit to date. Haifa is home to many strategically valuable facilities such as shipyards and oil refineries. [60] [61]

On 3 August, which saw eight Israeli civilians killed by rocket attacks, Nasrallah warned Israel: "if you hit our capital we will hit your capital Tel Aviv" (This is an issue of controversy; Israel considers Jerusalem to be its capital). Israel has yet to strike central Beirut.[62] IBA military correspondent cited a "most senior IDF source" who stated in response that "if Tel Aviv is attacked, the national infrastructure of Lebanon will be destroyed." [63] In his 3 August speech, Nasrallah stated for the first time, however, that if Israel ceases aerial and artillery strikes of Lebanese towns and villages, Hezbollah will stop its rocket campaign. [63] On 4 August Israel attacked the southern outskirts of Beirut, and later in the day, Hezbollah launched rockets at the Hadera region, its southernmost rocket attack to date. [64]

On 7 August the Israeli Air Force shot down over the Mediterranean Sea an Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launched from Lebanon, apparently by Hezbollah.[65] The UAV could carry explosives for a long range.[citation needed]

On 9 August 15 Israeli soldiers were killed in the worst yet loss in a single day. Fourteen of these were killed when a rocket slammed into a building occupied by them. See ref 10.

Hezbollah also engages in ground combat with the IDF, especially guerilla-type hit-and-run tactics by small, well-armed units have caused more of an ongoing nuisance and created additional casualties for the IDF than any serious military defeat.[66]

Strikes in civilian areas

File:Tyre Mass Graves (PBS NewsHour).png
Mass graves for civilians following Israeli airstrikes in Tyre, Lebanon, 21 July 2006. The half-length coffins are for children.
A car in Haifa following rocket attack 17 Jul 06 showing result of anti personnel shrapnel

Strikes on Lebanon's civilian population and infrastructure include Beirut airport, residential buildings,[67] ambulances,[68] fleeing civilians,[69] United Nations posts and personnel,[70] ports, a lighthouse, grain silos, bridges, roads, factories, medical and relief trucks,[71] mobile telephone and television stations, fuel containers and service stations, and the country's largest dairy farm Liban Lait.[72] Hezbollah has fired rockets, sometimes at a rate of more than 150 per day[73], at civilian targets throughout the conflict, landing in all major cities of northern Israel including Haifa, Nazareth, Tiberias, Nahariya, Safed, Afula[74] Kiryat Shmona, Karmiel, and Maalot, and dozens of kibbutzim, moshavim, and Druze and Arab villages.[75]

Louise Arbour, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed “grave concern over the continued killing and maiming of civilians in Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.” She suggested that the actions of Israel and Hezbollah may constitute war crimes.[76][77] Arbour called for Israel to obey a “principle of proportionality” and said, “indiscriminate shelling of cities constitutes a foreseeable and unacceptable targeting of civilians.…Similarly, the bombardment of sites with alleged military significance, but resulting invariably in the killing of innocent civilians, is unjustifiable." [78]

Amnesty International also condemned both sides for attacks on civilians.[79]

Human Rights Watch has issued many reports documenting indiscriminate use of force against civilians by both Israel and Hezbollah. After investigating over 20 attacks that killed more than 150 civilians in Lebanon, they blamed Israel for systematically failing to distinguish between combatants and civilians, which may constitute a war crime. They also accused Hezbollah of committing war crimes for the deliberate and indiscriminate killing of civilians by firing rockets which cannot be aimed at military targets into populated areas, which killed over 30 civilians in northern Israel.[80]

Israeli position

Article 28 of the Fourth Geneva Convention makes it clear that “[t]he presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.” Further, Article 29 states that “[t]he Party to the conflict in whose hands protected persons may be, is responsible for the treatment accorded to them by its agents, irrespective of any individual responsibility which may be incurred.” Therefore, Israel has defended its position by arguing that as Hezbollah are firing weapons from amidst the civilian population and using them as "human shields", they are responsible under international law for any civilian deaths caused by Israel, so long as Israel is aiming at military targets.[81]

In a security cabinet meeting headed by prime minister Olmert on 27 July, Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that "Everyone in southern Lebanon is a terrorist and is connected to Hizbollah" and therefore Israel should "[..] employ huge firepower before a ground force goes in. [..] Our great advantage vis-a-vis Hizbollah is our firepower, not in face-to-face combat. [..] In other words: a village from which rockets are fired at Israel will simply be destroyed by fire."[82]

Hezbollah position

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah defended the rocket attacks, saying "In the beginning, we started to act calmly, we focused on Israel[i] military bases and we didn't attack any settlement, However, since the first day, the enemy attacked Lebanese towns and murdered civilians—Hezbollah militants had destroyed military bases, while the Israelis killed civilians and targeted Lebanon's infrastructure."[83]

On 24 July Hossein Safiadeen, Hezbollah envoy to Iran, told a conference that included the Tehran-based representative of the Palestinian group Hamas and the ambassadors from Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Authority "We are going to make Israel not safe for Israelis. [..] We will expand attacks. The people who came to Israel, (they) moved there to live, not to die. If we continue to attack, they will leave." [84]

Advance warnings of attacks by Israel

File:QanaLeaflet.jpg
A leaflet (authored by the IDF's psychological warfare unit) dropped by the IAF on Southern Lebanon. It reads: “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 was forced to respond immediately against these activities, even within your villages. For your safety! We call upon you to evacuate your villages immediately and move north of the Litani River. The State of Israel”

Israeli officials have defended the bombing raids, explaining that the IAF drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks[citation needed]. It was claimed by the Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon on 26 July that any civilians remaining in South Lebanon after being issued such leaflets should be considered "terrorists".[85]

These advance warnings have come under criticism for being used as an excuse to kill citizens who didn't leave. According to the Human Rights Watch organisation, "in Qana and other villages in southern Lebanon, thousands of residents have been unable to leave the area because they are sick, wounded, do not have the means to leave or they fear Israeli attacks on vehicles."[86] The International Committee of the Red Cross said in a 30 July statement on the IDF's attack on Qana, "Issuing advance warning to the civilian population of impending attacks in no way relieves a warring party of its obligations under the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. In particular, the principles of distinction and proportionality must be respected at all times."[87]

In an opinion column in the International Herald Tribune online, Senior Emergencies Researcher for Human Rights Watch Peter Bouckaert went even farther in denouncing the Israeli policy, writing that "In Lebanon, Time after time, Israel has hit civilian homes and cars in the southern border zone, killing dozens of people with no evidence of any military objective."[88]

Allegations of Hezbollah's human shield usage

Still shot of what the Israeli Defence Forces identifies as a rocket launching from Qana village area.

Hezbollah has also faced criticism for alleged attempts to deliberately maximize civilian casualties in Lebanon by using the Lebanese civilian population as "human shields." Upon his visit to Lebanon, United Nations Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland accused Hezbollah of “cowardly blending…among women and children. I heard they were proud because they lost very few fighters and that it was the civilians bearing the brunt of this. I don't think anyone should be proud of having many more children and women dead than armed men.”[89][90]

BBC World News displayed a video on 8 August, provided by Israel, which apparently shows a Hezbollah rocket being launched from the roof of a civilian building, thus making that building a target for the Israelis. [91]

Use of weapons with wide blast patterns

Of Israel, the Human Rights Watch has said that there is evidence that Israel has used cluster munitions on civilians[92], describing them as "unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable weapons when used around civilians" and asserting that "they should never be used in populated areas". Human Rights Watch has accused Israel of using cluster munitions in an attack on Bilda, a Lebanese village, on 19 July [93] which killed 1 civilian and injured 12, including seven children. HRW took photographs of those weapons in the arsenal of Israeli artillery on the Israel-Lebanon border. The photographs show M483A1 Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions, which are U.S.-produced and -supplied.[94]The Israeli ambassador to Moscow dismissed the reports as "Hezbollah propaganda".[95]

Of Hezbollah, Human Rights Watch has concluded that "The warheads used suggest a desire to maximize harm to civilians" because they "contained hundreds of metal ball bearings that are of limited use against military targets but cause great harm to civilians and civilian property. The ball bearings lodge in the body and cause serious harm."[96] Human Rights Watch is of the view that the warheads are banned by international law and the attacks utilising them constitute "probable war crimes." [97][98]

Reports of Israeli pilots refusing to bomb civilian areas

According to a report published in The Guardian, at least two Israeli fighter pilots have deliberately missed civilian targets in Lebanon and that this refusal has come amongst reported discontent in the Israeli military about flawed intelligence.

Yonatan Shapiro, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot dismissed from reserve duty after signing a "refusenik" letter in 2004, said he had spoken with Israeli F-16 pilots in recent days and learnt that some had aborted missions because of concerns about the reliability of intelligence information. According to Shapiro, some pilots justified aborting missions out of 'common sense' and in the context of the Israeli Defence Force's moral code of conduct, which says every effort should be made to avoid harming civilians.[99]

Environmental consequences of attacks

Wikinews has related news:
  • IDF strikes on the Jiyeh power plant on 13 July and 15 July caused 25,000 tonnes of oil to spill into the Mediterranean and constitutes an environmental disaster for the region. As of 1 August a 10km wide oil slick covers 80km of Lebanon's and 20km of Syria's coastline, moving north towards towards Turkey and Cyprus.[100] The slick is reportedly causing breathing problems, killing fish, and threatening the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle.[101]
  • Hezbollah rockets have caused numerous and fierce forest fires inside northern Israel, particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona.[104] As of 8 August as many as 9,000 acres including 3,000 acres of Israel’s few forests, have been damaged by fires caused by Hezbollah rockets, and at least one forest has lost nearly 75% of its trees. Estimations claim it will take at least 60 years to rehabilitate the forests.[105]
  • IDF bombing targeted at irrigation canals, open water channels, and underground water diversion pipes which run Litani River water to more than 10,000 acres of farmland, villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley have been criticised as an attempt to "lay claim to Lebanon's prime watersheds."[106]

Historical background

See also: 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict § More background
See also: Roles of non-combatant State and non-State actors in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Israeli-Lebanon conflict

The history of conflict between the two countries began with the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. After the 1967 Six Day War, and following the Black September in Jordan, over 110,000 Palestinian refugees migrated to Lebanon, making up over 400,000 refugees today. [107]. By 1975, they numbered more than 300,000, creating an informal state-within-a-state in South Lebanon. The PLO became a powerful force and played an important role in the Lebanese Civil War. In response to numerous attacks launched from southern Lebanon, Israel invaded in 1978 in an attempt to rout out Palestinian militants. As a result the United Nations passed UN Resolutions 425 and 426, which called for the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces and an end to military action in Lebanon.[108]

At the end of the operation, Israeli forces withdrew from Lebanon, leaving behind a UNIFIL force. Israel invaded again four years later in 1982, forcing PLO forces out of Lebanon (mostly to Tunisia), and Israel occupied the southern part of the country. A US brokered peace treaty was ratified by the Lebanese parliament in 1983, but President Amine Gemayel decided against signing in 1984. In 1985, Israel withdrew its forces from parts of Lebanon and remained in a 4–6 kilometre (2.5–3.75 mi) deep[109] strip of southern Lebanon, described by Israel as a "security zone" which it justified as a protective measure to defend its northern towns against Hezbollah attacks. This occupation lasted until 2000. On 24 May2000 after the collapse of the South Lebanon Army and the rapid advance of Hezbollah forces, Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon.

The SLA's equipment and positions in South Lebanon largely fell into the hands of Hezbollah, which has put considerable effort into fortifying the former security zone and establishing new firing positions. Since then, Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked Israeli military positions, whilst Israel has carried out numerous attacks aimed at striking Hezbollah bases (see Hezbollah activities).[110]

On September 2, 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1559 calling for the disbanding of all Lebanese militias, among other things, and an armed Hezbollah in South Lebanon is seen by many to be a contravention of the resolution, though the Lebanese government differs on its interpretation, and the United Nations has not ruled on this matter.[111][112]

Previous prisoner exchanges

See also: Israeli MIA prisoner exchanges

Over the last 30 years, Israel has released about 7,000 prisoners to secure freedom for 19 Israelis and to retrieve the bodies of eight others. In October 2000, Hezbollah captured three IDF soldiers who were killed either during the operation or in its immediate aftermath at Shebaa Farms, and kidnapped an Israeli businessman who was a former army colonel Elchanan Tenenbaum in Kuwait. A prisoner swap was carried out on 29 January 2004: 30 Lebanese and Arab prisoners, the remains of 59 Lebanese militants and civilians, 400 Palestinian prisoners for Tenenbaum and the remains of the three soldiers. Hezbollah requested that maps showing Israeli mines in South Lebanon be included as part of the exchange. [113][114]

Hezbollah

Main article: Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi'a Muslim Islamist organization formed in 1982 "primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation"[115]; its political stance has consistently called for the destruction of Israel.[115] It is classified to differing degrees as a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. The European Union has no organizational listing, but does list Hezbollah's senior intelligence officer Imad Mugniyah.

Hezbollah has a military and civilian wing, the latter participating in the Lebanese parliament, currently with 18% of the seats (23 out of 128) and the bloc it forms with others, the "Resistance and Development Bloc", a little less than 30% for a total of 35 seats (see Lebanese general election, 2005). It is a minority partner in the current Cabinet.

Casualties

Main article: Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Attacks on United Nations personnel during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Position of Lebanon

Main article: Position of Lebanon in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

While Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible for the Hezbollah attacks due to Lebanon’s failure to implement Resolution 1559 calling on it to disarm Hezbollah, Lebanon disavows the raids, stating that the government of Lebanon does not condone them, and that in any case Israel has its own history of disregarding inconvenient (or impossible) UN resolutions.[35] An emergency meeting of the Lebanese government reaffirmed this position.[36] Almost immediately after hostilities began, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called for a ceasefire. On 14 July, following a phone call between Siniora and President Bush, the Prime Minister’s office issued the statement that “Prime Minister Siniora called on President Bush to exert all his efforts on Israel to stop its aggression on Lebanon, reach a comprehensive ceasefire and lift its blockade.”[116]

The next day, in a televised message to the Lebanese people, and afterwards in an interview with CNN, Siniora said “We call for an immediate ceasefire backed by the United Nations.”[117]

Meanwhile some Lebanese consider the conflict a chance to restore the sovereignty of the Lebanese government over its territory. Lebanese journalist Michael Béhé writes "... Thus almost all of these cowardly politicians, including numerous Shia leaders and religious personalities themselves, are blessing each bomb that falls from a Jewish F-16 turning the insult to our sovereignty that was Haret Hreik, right in the heart of Beirut, into a lunar landscape. Without the Israelis, how could we have received another chance--that we in no way deserve!--to rebuild our country?..."[37].

Negotiations for ceasefire

Main article: Negotiations for ceasefire in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Terms for a ceasefire have been drawn and revised several times, yet have not been successfully agreed upon by the two sides. Hezbollah has maintained that it insists on an unconditional ceasefire [118], while Israel has insisted that it will agree to a ceasefire only under certain conditions, including the return of two captured Israeli soldiers.[119]

The United Nations Security Council frequently rejected pleas from Lebanon that it call for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported the U.S. was the sole member of the 15-nation UN body to oppose any council action at all at this time.[120]

On 27 July Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora presented the 7-point Siniora Plan at a 15-nation conference in Rome, calling for a mutual release of Lebanse and Israeli prisoners and detainees, a withdrawal of the Israeli ground troops behind the Blue Line, and that the disputed Shebaa Farms area is placed under UN jurisdiction until the ownership issue has been settled [121].

On 4 August the United States and France proposed a United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution that calls for the disarmament of all groups in Lebanon besides the Lebanese Army and an international force that would protect the border with Israel.[122] Lebanon has rejected the proposed resolution, as it does not call for immediate Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, nor for an immediate ceasefire. [123] Syria has also rejected the resolution, with their foreign minister saying that it is "a recipe for the continuation of the war." He also has said that "If Israel attacks Syria by any mean, on the ground, by air, our leadership ordered the armed forces to reply immediately." and that "Syria is ready for the possibility of a regional war if the Israeli aggression continues." [124][125]

International reaction

Main article: International reactions to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: International reactions to the 2006 Qana airstrike
Lebanese protest in Sydney

International reactions to the conflict have included widespread concern over current damage and over the possible escalation of the crisis, as well as mixed support and criticism of both Hezbollah and Israel.[126] A number of governments, including the United States,[127] United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Canada, have asserted Israel's right to self-defense. Further, the United States authorized Israel's request for the expedited processing and shipment of precision-guided bombs to Israel. The United States did not announce the shipment publicly.[128] The majority (10) of the UN Security Council members have demanded an immediate cease-fire through a UN draft resolution, which was vetoed by the US and abstained from by 4 nations (UK, Peru, Slovakia, Denmark).[129]

The EU has warned Israel about disproportionate attacks against Lebanon.[130] In addition spokespersons from the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of Islamic Conference and an assortment of human rights organizations have condemned Israel for its “disproportionate” response to Hezbollah’s attacks.[131]

Neighboring Middle Eastern nations have been split in their response. Iran, Syria and Yemen have voiced strong support for Hezbollah,[132] and the Arab League has issued a statement condemning Israel's response. Iran has been reported as promising to supply a steady supply of weapons `"for the next stage of the confrontation". [133] In addition, Tehran reportedly sends Hezbollah $60-100 million per year. [134] In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan criticized Hezbollah's actions,[135] as well as Iran and Syria for extending support to the organization,[136] although they are under pressure to change their stance.[137]

Protests and demonstrations have been held worldwide, mostly appealing for an immediate ceasefire on both sides and to express concern for the heavy loss of civilian life, but some also showing support exclusively to Lebanon or Israel. In addition there have been numerous newspaper advertising campaigns, text and email appeals [138] and on-line petitions [139]

Various foreign governments have stepped in to assist in the evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon.[140]

The Israeli bombing of an apartment building in Qana on 30 July has led to widespread condemnation from around the world. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed the Unites States' desire for a mutually acceptable ceasefire as soon as possible but declined to call for an immediate halt to hostilities.[141]

References

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  10. ^ "15 reservists killed in Lebanon battles". Ynet. 2006-08-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ "Israel hits hard but suffers 15 deaths". AP. 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "You go a bit crazy when you see little body after little body coming up out of the ground". The Guardian. August 2 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "40 killed in strike on Lebanese village". AP. 2006-08-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Lebanon counts human cost of 23 days in firing line". The Guardian.
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  99. ^ "Israeli pilots 'deliberately miss' targets". The Guardian. 2006-08-06. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  100. ^ DLR: Oil Spill at the Lebanese Coast
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  103. ^ "Hezbollah chain of command still intact". Jerusalem Post. 2006-07-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  104. ^ %5b%5bBBC News%5d%5d "In pictures: Conflict enters fourth week: Picture 8: "Some Hezbollah rockets have started forest fires in Israel"". 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  106. ^ Murphy, Kim (10 August 2006). "Old Feud Over Lebanese River Takes New Turn". The Environment. LA Times. Retrieved 2006-08-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  122. ^ "Draft truce calls for 'full cessation of hostilities'". Reuters. August 4 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  123. ^ "Mideast violence rages, UN resolution nears". Reuters. August 4 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  124. ^ "Syrian Minister Rejects Cease-Fire Plan". Associated Press. August 6 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  128. ^ Reuters (2006-07-22). "US Rushes Precision-Guided Bombs to Israel". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  131. ^ "Malignant Neglect". Front Page Magazine. 7-24-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  136. ^ "Arab world fed up with Hizbullah". The Jerusalem Post. 07-17-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  141. ^ "Rice says 'time to get to a ceasefire' in Lebanon - UPDATE". Forbes. 2006-07-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

See also

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