[sadie_sabot]

a friend of mine put this together...

Some Post Lebanon Cease-Fire Stats and Quotes

Numbers of people killed (7/12-8/14):
Lebanon: nearly 1,300 civilians confirmed killed while bodies are still being dug up from under the rubble*****
Israel: 43 civilians, 114 soldiers killed**

Destruction in Lebanon (7/12-8/14):
15,000 homes**
29 ports, airports, water and sewage treatment plants, power plants*
630 roads*
23 fuel stations*
73 bridges; 7,000 private homes; 900 businesses and farms. Estimates of Hizballah fighters killed range from 100 to 600. (from both sources below)*

Destruction in Israel (7/12-8/14):
Dozens of homes, public buildings, businesses, and forests*

Rebuilding and Relief in Lebanon
· Hezbollah handed out bundles of $12,000 in cash on 8/18 to people whose homes were wrecked by Israeli bombing**
· Hezbollah will provide money to all of the families from the 15,000 destroyed homes at a cost of at least $150 million**
· Lebanon's reconstruction chief said Israeli bombardment had inflicted a "disastrous" $3.6 billion worth of physical damage on Lebanon from which it could take years to recover.**
· Al-Fadl Shalaq, head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, said the devastation from the 34-day conflict exceeded that caused by Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.**

Who is responsible?
· Sheikh Nabil Kaouk told mourners at a mass funeral in Qana, "Americans, American administration: you are partners in massacres, you are partners in killing us, partners in destroying our country," he declared.**
· Israel's assault on Lebanon was planned even before Hizbullah attacked and was aimed at driving a wedge between the different faiths that have been living in harmony in the country, a delegation from the World Council of Churches said on their return from a visit to Beirut and Jerusalem. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the Conference of European Churches, said Hizbullah was a scapegoat. "It is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not the role and actions of Hizbullah that is at the heart of the present crisis."******

Ongoing attacks on Palestinians:
· Since June 25, Israel has killed nearly 200 Palestinians, including at least 42 children***
· Israeli soldiers killed three Palestinians in Gaza on 8/9, including a three-year-old girl****
· Israel killed an elderly Palestinian and his son in Khan Yunis on 8/16 when an Israeli plane leveled their house with a bomb****
Sources:
* http://imeu.net/news/article001649.shtml
** http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...1-ArticlePage1)
*** http://imeu.net/news/article002584.shtml
**** http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exer...0468E7E39E.htm
***** http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...cle1219684.ece
***** http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1154525888240
****** http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...=1154525888240

 

[BelovedBird]

So sad.

Keep praying for peace!

 

[timneh_mom]

:

 

[mykdsmomy]

The sources seem pretty biased. I'm sure we could find Israeli based sources with data favoring their "side".

 

[mahdokht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy The sources seem pretty biased. I'm sure we could find Israeli based sources with data favoring their "side".

Did you even look at the articles she posted? Since when was the Jerusalem Post anti Israel? The knee-jerk "Israel can do no wrong" response is in plain display here.

 

[mykdsmomy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahdokht Did you even look at the articles she posted? Since when was the Jerusalem Post anti Israel? The knee-jerk "Israel can do no wrong" response is in plain display here.

I NEVER said Israel can do no wrong. I was trying to point out that stats can be skewed either way depending on the source......that's all.

ETA: I would have pointed out the same thing if they were stats biased towards Israel fwiw

 

[sadie_sabot]

mykdsmommy, I think it would be very instructive if you can offer up some different stats, if indeed they exist. currently I have no reason tob elieve these stats are inaccurate, and I think the only reason for the accusation is that they come from sources that don't pretend to be "neutral."

Having an opinion, drawing coinclusions from the stats you offer doesn't make the stats themselves wrong.

in any case, now I'll add to the stats with some resources; these are from a crew of folks who did a teach in in nola.

TEACH-IN RESOURCES

VIDEOS:

1) "From Beirut to ... those who love us" - A stunning, beautiful, powerful
short video created by an artists collective in Beirut. Don't miss this.

4) "What Hamas is seeking" a Washington Post Op-Ed written by a
representative from Hamas:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...013001209.html

5) "A Just Peace or No Peace" - again, Hamas' beliefs in their own words,
this time written by Palestinian Prime Minister and Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Sto...743652,00.html

6) Points of Unity on the issue of Palestine by INCITE! Women Of Color
Against Violence:
http://www.incite-national.org/issue...inepoints.html

7) "What the Struggle Over a Cease-Fire Could Mean for US-Israeli
Unilateralism" a policy paper by the Institute for Palestine Studies:
http://palestine-studies.org/final/e...ls.php?bnid=13

8) Also, we feel it's important to quote extensively from the recent Human
Rights Watch report on Israeli Miltary Claims of Hezbollah "hiding in
civilian areas."

"The Israeli government claims that it targets only Hezbollah, and that
fighters from the group are using civilians as human shields, thereby
placing
them at risk. Human Rights Watch found no cases in which Hezbollah
deliberately used civilians as shields to protect them from retaliatory IDF
attack...In none of the cases of civilian deaths documented in this report
is
there evidence to suggest that Hezbollah forces or weapons were in or near
the area that the IDF targeted during or just prior to the attack."

The full report is online at:
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2006/lebanon0806/index.htm

9) Finally, we would like to conclude with a timeline of the roots of the
current conflict, featuring many events that the corporate media has
ignored.
The timeline is printed below.

BRIEF TIMELINE OF ISRAELI CONFLICTS IN LEBANON AND PALESTINE

I. Palestine

1) September of 2000, the second Palestinian Intifada ("uprising") begins
with mass nonviolent protests in response to Ariel Sharon's visit to the
Al-Aqsa Mosque with over 100 Israeli soldiers. The Israelis respond with
overwhelming force to these nonviolent protests, firing over one million
bullets over the following two months. In November of 2000, two months into
the second Intifada, and after Israelis killed 140 Palestinians in the
previous month, the first suicide bombing of the Al Aqsa intifada was
carried
out in Israel.

2) The Israeli military has killed almost 4000 Palestinians from September
2000 through June 1, 2006. During that time, 643 Israelis were killed by
Palestinians.

3) In February of 2005, the Palestinian party Hamas announces a unilateral
ceasefire. During the following sixteen months, until June of 2006, Hamas
abides by this ceasefire. During this time, the Israeli military steps up
its policy of assassinations and kidnapping of Palestinians, specifically
targeting Hamas. This is one of several ceasefire initiatives announced by
Hamas over the years - none have been responded to by Israelis.

4) In January of 2006, After the Palestinians elect Hamas to a majority of
seats in its parliament, Israelis (with US support) begin a crushing
blockade
of the Palestinian economy.

5) June 9, 2006. An Israeli gunboat fires seven artillery shells at
Palestinian families on a picnic on the beach, wiping out one family-a
mother
(Ra'eesa Ghaila), a father (Ali Issa Gahlia), and five children (Haitham,
Hanadi, Sabreen, Ilham, Alia)-prompting the military wing of Hamas to call
off its 16-month-old cease-fire with Israel.

6) On June 13, 2006 an Israeli plane fires missiles into a busy Gaza City
street and kills 11 people, including two children and two medics who came
to
the scene to help.

7) On June 21, Israeli missiles kill a 35-year old pregnant woman, Fatmeh
Ahmad and her brother Zachariya Ahmad

8) On June 24, 2006, Israeli soldiers kidnap two Palestinians to join the
nearly 10,000 Palestinians abducted from Palestinian territory whom Israel
is
holding hostage in Israeli prisons.

9) On June 25, 2006, Palestinians take an Israeli tank soldier prisoner in
an
attack on a checkpoint in occupied territory. They offer to exchange him for
about 400 Palestinian children and 100 women imprisoned in Israeli prisons,
most without charges. Between Israelis and Palestinians there have been many
prisoner exchanges over the years.

10) On June 27, 2006, the Israelis re-invade Gaza with 5,000 troops and bomb
Gaza's only electrical generating station, depriving about a half a million
people of electricity. This action also sparks a humanitarian crisis, as
electricity is essential to power the water system, sewage treatment, and
medical services.

11) On June 28, 2006, Israelis kidnap more than 20 members of the
Palestinian
elected government and at least 40 other Palestinians.

II. Lebanon

1) In March of 1978, Israelis invade Lebanon, killing 2,000 people,
destroying 82 villages, displacing 160,000 people, and occupying 10% of
Lebanon in response to a PLO killing of 35 Israelis. UN Security Council 425
calls for a cease-fire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese
territory - a resolution that Isarel is still in violation of through its
occupation of the Shebaa Farms in South Lebanon and its current invasion.

2) On June through September 1982 - the 2nd Israeli Invasion of Lebanon -
Israel invades civil-war-torn Lebanon to install an Israeli- friendly
government and push foreign armies from Lebanon virtually destroying much of
Lebanon and kiling 15,700 people (350 Israelis were killed in the fighting).
For 11 months before the invasion, not a single Katyusha rocket (nor a
single
shot) had been fired towards Israel over the border.

3) September 1982: Sabra and Shatila Massacre - Lebanese Christian
Militiamen
with the approval and cover of occupying Israeli forces killed 2,000 men,
women, and children in two days in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra
and
Shatila in Beirut. An Israeli court finds Israeli general Ariel Sharon
indirectly responsible for the massacre.

4) 1983: After U.S. and French planes and warships interfered in support of
one faction in the Lebanese Civil War, another faction bombed U.S. military
headquarters in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. soldiers and 59 French troops. It
is
important to note that Hezbollah did not exist at this time, despite
attempts
by the U.S. media to link them to this bombing.

5) February of 1985: Hezbollah is founded.

6) 1992: Israelis assassinate Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyid 'Abbas
al-Musawi, along with his wife and 5-year-old son.

7) April 1996: During Israel's "Grapes of Wrath" offensive in Lebanon,
Israel
shells and kills 106 Lebanese civillians, mostly women and children, who
were
taking shelter from the bombing in a UN compound, in addition to targeting
other civilians. Human Rights Watch later declared, "The particular tragedy
at Qana was that this incident was not unique in its general features. As
this report indicates, the Israeli military on previous occasions had
violated the laws of war by not taking precautions to spare Lebanese
civilians from death and injury prior to launching attacks, and indeed by
showing an appalling willingness to conduct military operations in which
civilians would bear the brunt of the suffering." The UN General Assembly
adopted a resolution (UNGA Res. A/RES/50/22 C) on April 25, 1996
characterizing Israel's actions during the "Grapes of Wrath" offensive as
"grave violations of international laws relating to the protection of
civilians during war."

8) In 2000, most of Lebanon is liberated from the 18 year Israeli
occupation.
Hezbollah's defense of South Lebanon is seen by many as the primary factor
in
Israel's withdrawal.

9) From 2000 through 2006, Israelis continue to occupy the Shebaa Farms,
Israeli fighter jets have repeatedly violated Lebanon's airspace, and
Israeli
military units have infiltrated Lebanon at will. Israel has violated the
United Nations-monitored "blue line" on an almost daily basis, according to
UN reports. Hizbullah's military doctrine, articulated in the early 1990s,
states that it will fire Katyusha rockets into Israel only in response to
Israeli attacks on Lebanese civilians or Hizbullah's leadership; this indeed
has been the pattern. In the process of its violations, Israel has
terrorized
the general population, destroyed private property, and killed numerous
civilians. Israel has assassinated its enemies in the streets of Lebanese
cities and refuses to hand over the maps of mine fields that continue to
kill
and cripple civilians in southern Lebanon more than six years after the war
supposedly ended.

10) In February of 2006, U.N. investigators confirmed that Israeli soldiers
shot and killed, in unprovoked Israeli cross-border fire, 15-year-old
Lebanese shepherd Yusuf Rahil as he tended his flock in southern Lebanon.
-----------------------------------

We also encourage anyone seeking more information to check out both
http://www.electronicintifada.net/lebanon/ for the latest updates and
analysis from Lebanon, and http://www.electronicintifada.net for the latest
from Palestine.