Israeli Attacks
I received this by email.
The impunity of Israeli attacks against Lebanese civilian infrastructure says something about Israeli objectives.
These objectives go beyond merely pressuring the Lebanese government into "reining in" Hizbollah. They are calculated to demoralize the Lebanese people and debilitate their economy. The attacks amount to collective punishment, in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
The ferocity of the attacks reveals how the Israeli government takes advantage of political and military weakness --not with restraint and reprieve, but rather with excessive force.
Israeli anger is misplaced. If the Israeli government truly wanted to debilitate Hizbollah and put a stop to its cross-border incursions, it would destroy military installations and transport facilities in Syria and Iran.
That Israeli military forces effectively punish Lebanese civilians who seek to disarm Hizbollah, deploy the Lebanese army in the South, and negotiate a peaceful settleIsraeli officials seem to justify the punitive effect, on several grounds:
(1) "Lebanon is a sovereign state," they point out. "Thus, we don't care about Lebanon's internal situation. That's a problem for the Lebanese."
(2) "Regional power politics have nothing to do with the current crisis," they propose. "Rather, it has something to do with the 'corrupt and flawed character' of the Leb
The Lebanese --ALL Lebanese-- should remember these days when the time comes to "normalize" relations with Israel. They should reflect long and hard on who are their true friends and allies. Certainly, they cannot be found in the government halls of either Jerusalem or Damascus.
social.culture.lebanon (newsgroup)
professor of Lebanese origin at the university of Austin TX
posted by Hilal CHOUMAN @ 4:16 PM
5 Comments:
From Philip I [viarecta.blogspot.com]
If you think the Israelis bomb civillians, roads and bridges for no other reason than spite and vengence, think again.
As for your claim that Israel should attack the Alawi regime in Syria - I totally agree.
Now this is bitchy
who said anything about the alawi regime?
1) Lebanon's militias were ordered disbanded by the U.N. years ago. As Hizb is a party in the government coalition, Lebanon itself bears a measure of responsibility. You can't expect to allow Hizb to continue its repeated attacks with impunity.
2) I am not a lawyer, but it doesn't appear that Lebanese civilians qualify as "protected persons" under the Fourth Geneva Convention, so its clause about "collective punishment" may not apply. "Protected persons" are civilians under the thumb of an "occupying power" (see Article 4).
3) Yes, Lebanese should reflect carefully on relations with Israel. But not too long, I think.
There are military reasons for what Israel is doing, they want to prevent Hezbollah from being resupplied and prevent them from being able to move their weaponry.
I'm no expert to know whether they do actually works, but people are saying that they should have limited their attacks to being closer to Hezbollah.
Look out for people who say that Israelis have only evil reasons - that's just the usual propaganda and lies. Listening to those fools are how you got into this mess in the first place.
Your analysis fails in explaining how does the "purpose" of destroying the Lebanese economy serves Israel.
Exactly. It's fortunate that propagandists are often too stupid to make their arguements logical. It makes the lies easy to spot.
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