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{{wikinews|Category:2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict}}
{{wikinews|Category:2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict}}
{{commons|2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict}}
{{commons|2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict}}
===Media===
===Neutral===
* [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon], including [http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unifil/unifilMaps.htm maps] of the UN deployment
* [http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unifil/index.html United Nations Interim Forces In Lebanon], including [http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unifil/unifilMaps.htm maps] of the UN deployment
* [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2006/mideast.crisis/ CNN News Website - Special Reports - Crisis in the Middle East]
* [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2006/mideast.crisis/ CNN News Website - Special Reports - Crisis in the Middle East]
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===Pro-Hezbollah media===
===Pro-Hezbollah media===
*[http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/News.aspx?language=en Al-Manar TV] - Hezbollah TV station.
*[http://www.almanar.com.lb/NewsSite/News.aspx?language=en Al-Manar TV] - Hezbollah TV station.

===Front-line photographs===
''Warning: Extremely graphic wartime imagery''
* [http://www.whylebanon.net/index6.php Photographs of the Lebanese Civilian Casualties (Children) Inflicted By Israel] — Photographs of civilian deaths and infrastructure damage
* [http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0607/gallery.israeli.airstrike/frameset.pics.exclude.html CNN Photographs of the Israel Airstrike on Qana] — Graphic photographs<ref>{{cite news|title=ISRAELI AIR ATTACK KILLS CIVILIANS|date=[[2006-07-30]]|publisher=[[CNN]]|url=http://edition.cnn.com/interactive/world/0607/gallery.israeli.airstrike/frameset.pics.exclude.html}}</ref> of Lebanese civilian casualties at the [[2006 Qana airstrike]]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=33.853346,35.508993&spn=0.010425,0.021415 Google map of Haret Hreik] — Satellite photograph of the [[Haret Hreik]] neighborhood in the [[Dahieh]] district of [[Beirut]], [[Lebanon]], before Israeli airstrikes.
* [http://www.digitalglobe.com/images/qb/beirut_harat_july22_2006_dgwm.jpg DigitalGlobe photograph of Haret Hreik] — Satellite photograph of the [[Haret Hreik]] neighborhood, [[22 July]] [[2006]].
* [http://fromisraeltolebanon.info/index2.php From Israel To Lebanon] — Photographs of Lebanese civilian targets and casualties.
* [http://abaleboosteh.blogspot.com/ Images of war in Israel] — Graphic photographs of Israeli military and civilian casualties.

===Blog reporting===
{{Unverifiable-external-links}}
====Israeli blogs====
* [http://muqata.blogspot.com/ The Muqata جميل في المقاطعة] — Israel@War: Special Edition at the [[Mukataa|Mukataa blog]]
* [http://israelnorthblog.livejournal.com/ Israel North blog] - A compilation of blogs of Russian-speaking residents of northern Israel, translated into English
* [http://kishkushim.blogspot.com/ Kishkushim] — Written mainly by Carmia, a resident of [[Haifa]]
* [http://pixane.net/blog/ Idan Gazit] — A New York born Israeli immigrant

====Lebanese blogs====
* [http://bloggingbeirut.com/ BloggingBeirut.com] — Finkployd's and other's regular war dispatches from [[Beirut]], as featured in the ''New York Times''<ref>{{cite news|title=Anne Frank 2006: War Diaries Online|date=[[2006-07-24]]|accessdate=2006-07-28|publisher=[[The New York Times]]|author=Tom Zeller Jr.|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/24/technology/24link.html?_r=1&oref=slogin}}</ref>
* [http://electronicintifada.net/v2/live-from-lebanon.shtml Live from Lebanon Diaries] — "Commentary, analysis, human rights and development information, and diaries from on the ground"
* [http://lebop.blogspot.com/ Lebanese Political Journal] — In-depth analysis on the political situation in Lebanon


==More background==
==More background==

Revision as of 12:40, 8 August 2006

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) Dan Halutz (CoS)
Udi Adam (Regional)		 Michel Sulaiman (CoS)
Casualties and losses

Hezbollah militia:
53-90 killed [1][2]
Israel claims 450 killed and 16 captured [3]
Amal militia:
8 killed [citation needed]
PFLP-GC militia:
1 killed [citation needed]		 Civilians:
39 killed [4][5]
1,293 injured (of which 1,200 lightly injured or treated for shock) [6]
300,000 displaced [7]
Soldiers:
61 killed [8]
206 wounded [8]
2 captured

Civilians:
515-879 killed,

3,400 injured [9][10][11]
One million displaced [12][13]
Soldiers:
35 killed,
80 wounded [14]
For other casualties see Casualties of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

The 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is an ongoing war in northern Israel and Lebanon principally between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The conflict began two weeks after the start of the 2006 Israel-Gaza conflict, which continues in parallel.

On 12 July 2006 Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on the northern Israeli border and shelled nearby Israel positions, in an operation which the guerrilla organisation called "Operation Truthful Promise".[15][16][17] Israel responded with a large-scale offensive, dubbed "Operation Just Reward" (later renamed as "Operation Change of Direction" [18]), against Hezbollah targets and strategic Lebanese infrastructure. [19]

The Israeli offensive has included numerous bombing raids by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), an air and Israeli Sea Corps naval blockade of Lebanon (especially southern Lebanon and Beirut), a force of tanks and armored personnel carriers, and some small-scale raids into southern and eastern Lebanon by IDF ground troops and special forces.[20] Meanwhile, Hezbollah has fired thousands of artillery rockets at Israel's northern cities and towns, including Haifa.[21]

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

See also: Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
See also: Military operations of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Beginning of conflict

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

According to Haaretz at 9:05 AM local time on 12 July 2006, Hezbollah initiated a rocket and mortar attack on Israeli military positions and on the towns of Even Menahem and Mattat, injuring 5 civilians[22]. A ground contingent of Hezbollah militants then attacked two Israeli armored Humvees on a routine patrol along the Israel-Lebanon border near the Israeli village of Zar'it 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 an initial 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

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, said: "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]

Israel said it held the Beirut government responsible for the attack, but 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. 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 is now imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon,[37][38] and has bombed the main Beirut–Damascus highway.[39]

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.[40] Israel says these missions are essential for weakening Hezbollah's rocket-launching capability.[41]Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said that the ground operations would be limited.[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 battle-weary 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]

See also: Operation Sharp and Smooth

Distributed propaganda effort

In response to international criticism, Israel has brought to bear its permanent hasbara propaganda campaign to explain its actions. Israel's Foreign Ministry has reportedly ordered trainee diplomats to track websites and chatrooms so that networks of groups with hundreds of thousands of Jewish activists can post messages and automatically flood internet polls in support of Israel. The World Union of Jewish Students has distributed so-called "megaphone software" as part of its efforts.[48]

Hezbollah action

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

According to Haaretz "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 said, addressing Israel: "You wanted an open war, and we are heading for an open war. We are ready for it."[55]

After the Israeli initial 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 explicitly warned Israel "if you hit our capital we will hit your capital Tel Aviv". Israel has yet to strike the central part of 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]

Targeting of civilian areas

Main article: Targeting of civilian areas in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict
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

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."[65][66]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." has also condemned both sides for attacks on civilians.[67]

Amnesty International also condemned both sides for attacks on civilians,[68] and has warned against the use of white phosphorus by the IDF: "There are reports that Israel has used incendiary weapons, such as white phosphorous shells, in attacks in Lebanon. The use of armor-piercing depleted uranium munitions by the Israeli Defense Forces has been criticised by Amnesty International because some studies suggest that they may pose a significant health risk.[69] Lebanon also accused Israel of using the weapons, in violation of international law (Protocol III of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons).[70]

HRW has been issuing many reports accusing Israeli [71] and Hezbollah tactics of being "war crimes". [72] Senior Emergencies Researcher for Human Rights Watch, Peter Bouckaert, states that "Not only has Israel failed to distinguish between military and civilian targets; its own officials suggest that they have decided any civilian still in the south is fair game."[73] [73]

Israel has also been accused of using cluster munitions [74] [74]

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 since Hezbollah are using civilians as human sheilds and hiding weapons among civilians, they would be responsible under international law for any civilian deaths caused by Israel, so long as Israel is aiming at military targets.[75][76]

Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon said that in order to prevent casualties amongst Israeli soldiers battling Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon, villages should be flattened by the Israeli air force before ground troops move in.[77]

Hezbollah position

File:Nasrallah on al-Manar television.jpg
Nasrallah on al-Manar television.

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."[78]

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”

Israel has defended its bombing raids, pointing out that it drops leaflets warning civilians to leave the area before it attacks. However, these advance warnings have come under criticism for being used as an excuse to kill citizens who didn't leave. 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".[79] But, according to the Human Rights Watch, thousands of residents in southern Lebanon do not have the means to leave or they fear Israeli attacks on vehicles.[80]

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"[81]

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 Blackhawk 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 avoiding harming civilians.[82]

Hezbollah using civilians as human shields

Still shot of what the IDF identifies as a rocket launching from Qana village area.

Hezbollah has also been criticized by Israel and others for what they claim is a Hezbollah attempt 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.”[83][84]

There have been other reports of Hezbollah using civilians as human shields. National Public Radio correspondent Ivan Watson reported that Hezbollah in southern Beirut were operating in civilian clothes and unmarked vehicles.[85] The Sunday Herald Sun printed pictures that were smuggled out of Lebanon showing Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons.[86]

New Republic reporter Annia Ciezadlo reported that Hezbollah kept Shia families in an abandoned underground parking garage in Haret Hreik, bringing them food and water, under the auspices of "keeping them safe from the enemy" but in actual fact preventing their evacuation from a combat zone. [87]

Environmental consequences of attacks

  • Hezbollah rockets have caused numerous and fierce forest fires inside Northern Israel, particularly on the Naftali mountain range near Kiryat Shmona.[88]
  • 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.[89] The slick is reportedly causing breathing problems, killing fish, and threatening the habitat of the endangered green sea turtle.[90]

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 Israel and Lebanon began in 1947, when Lebanon's founding Prime Minister Riad as-Solh sparked the Arab League decision to enter the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and sent his army into the disintegrating British Mandate of Palestine. The army was defeated, and retreated back into Lebanon, where it signed an armistice that lasted until shortly after the 1967 Six Day War.

After the war, and following the Black September in Jordan, over 110,000 Palestinian refugees migrated to Lebanon, making up over 400,000 refugees today. [91]. 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.[92]

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[93] 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).[94]

UN Security Council Resolution 1559

Main article: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1559

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.[95][96]

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. [97][98]

Hezbollah

Main article: Hezbollah
See also: Hezbollah rocket campaign in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shi'a Muslim Islamist organization formed in 1982 "primarily to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation."[99] Hezbollah's political stance has consistently called for the destruction of Israel.[99] Hezbollah 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.

It 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.”[100]

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.”[101]

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 [102], while Israel has insisted that it will agree to a ceasefire only under certain conditions, including the return of two captured Israeli soldiers.[103]

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 [104].

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.[105] Lebanon has rejected the proposed resolution, as it does not call for immediate Israeli withdrawal from Southern Lebanon, nor for an immediate ceasefire. [106] 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." [107][108]

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.[109] A number of governments, including the United States,[110] 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.[111] 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).[112]

Neighboring Middle Eastern nations have been split in their response. Iran, Syria and Yemen have voiced strong support for Hezbollah,[113] 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". [114] In addition, Tehran reportedly sends Hezbollah $60-100 million per year. [115] In contrast, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan criticized Hezbollah's actions,[116] as well as Iran and Syria for extending support to the organization,[117] although they are under pressure to change their stance.[118]

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 [119] and on-line petitions [120]

Various foreign governments have stepped in to assist in the evacuation of their citizens from Lebanon.[121]

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.[122]

References

  1. ^ "Israel hits hard but suffers 15 deaths". AP. 2006-08-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "Lebanon syas 1,000 dead or missing". Reuters. 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "חייל נוסף נהרג הלילה בכפר דבל; שלושה חיילי צה"ל נהרגו בקרבות בבינת ג'בייל". Ha'aretz. 2006-08-08.
  4. ^ "8 killed in rocket attacks". Ynetnews. 2006-08-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Hezbollah fires record number of rockets". AP. 2006-08-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  10. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1835306,00.html 'You go a bit crazy when you see little body after little body coming up out of the ground']
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  87. ^ "Entombed". TNR. 2006-07-20.
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  106. ^ "Mideast violence rages, UN resolution nears". Reuters. August 4 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  107. ^ "Syrian Minister Rejects Cease-Fire Plan". Associated Press. August 6 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  122. ^ "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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