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September 16, 2006
Say What? Did The Pig Fly? Did Hell Freeze over?
Amnesty accuses Hezbollah of war crimes against Israel
LONDON — Hezbollah militants broke international humanitarian law by firing thousands of rockets into Israel and killing dozens of civilians during the recent conflict, an Amnesty International report charges.
The human rights group called for a United Nations inquiry into war crimes possibly committed by both Israel and Hezbollah, but their report focused on the actions of the Lebanese militants during the 34-day conflict.
Hezbollah launched nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel in July and August, killing at least 39 civilians.
The firing of rockets into urban areas in northern Israel violated international laws that call for distinction between civilian and military targets, Amnesty said.
"Targeting civilians is a war crime. There's no gray area," said Larry Cox, Amnesty's executive director in the United States.
Hezbollah fired inaccurate rockets packed with thousands of metal ball bearings that sprayed out to maximize harm to civilians, Amnesty said.
The report is Amnesty's most extensive condemnation of Hezbollah since the conflict began in July, and comes after Amnesty accused Israel of violating international law with indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks on civilian targets in Lebanon. The human rights group previously called on the Lebanese militia to release two kidnapped Israeli soldiers and abstain from targeting civilians.
Violence erupted between Israel and Hezbollah after the Shiite militia kidnapped the two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Ensuing fighting left more than 1,000 people dead, mostly Lebanese civilians about a third of them children, UNICEF said.
Israel launched a large-scale military offensive with aerial bombardment and ground troops, and Hezbollah fired rockets deep into Israel.
A U.N.-brokered cease-fire in August quelled the violence and Israel and Hezbollah have mostly complied with the order, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said this week.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said he had no doubt that the Islamic militia fired rockets in a premeditated way to kill a maximum number of civilians.
"It is also important to remember that the leaders of Hezbollah have spoken on many occasions about their desire to destroy the state of Israel," Regev said. "(Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah used the word 'obliterate,' and I think a call to this sort of genocide is problematic and must also be considered a fundamental breach of international norms and international law."
Amnesty plans to publish additional reports studying whether Hezbollah contributed to civilian deaths in Lebanon by purposely hiding among civilians, said Nicole Choueiry, a spokesman for Amnesty in Britain.
Whether either group of combatants will see the inside of a courtroom remains to be seen. Israel and Lebanon reject the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, making prosecution there unlikely.
Groups seeking prosecution might take the route of preparing a dossier of evidence that could be tailored for different countries' legal systems.
Suspected war criminals have been prosecuted under the judicial principle of "universal jurisdiction," which says that every country has the obligation to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity, wherever they are committed.
Posted by Wild Thing at September 16, 2006 01:55 AM
Comments
I had to read that a couple of times to make sure I was reading what it actually said! A little late but hey, think what it took for them to acknowledge it at all!
Posted by: yankeemom at September 16, 2006 12:44 PM
Thanks WT, It's rare, extremely rare for a group like Amnesty International to condemn the actions of their protégé's.When do you suppose the U.N. will step forward and acknowledge that Hezbollah acted indiscriminately? Koffi and a few of his henchmen need to experience a few 122mm rockets dropped around their homes to get a feel of what terror is like.
Posted by: Jack at September 16, 2006 02:17 PM
OK, now we wait another 1000 years for Amnesty International to get one right.
Posted by: TomR at September 16, 2006 05:00 PM
Yankeemom, I read it a few times too. I was so sure I was not getting it right. haha
Posted by: Wild Thing at September 16, 2006 07:43 PM
Jack I am still in shock about this. Like pinch me is this real. I agree with you, I am also waiting now to see if they really do anything more about it. I am not sure how this all works actually.
Posted by: Wild Thing at September 16, 2006 07:44 PM
Tom........LMAO exactly!
Posted by: Wild Thing at September 16, 2006 07:44 PM
