The Angry Arab does a vitriolic round-up of the Arab (and especially Lebanese) media’s coverage of the war, as always bereft of paragraph breaks. (I think that adds to his madness.) I doubt his assertion that al-Manar is the most watched satellite news station in Morocco, though. Perhaps we’ll know soon as Morocco just got its first real media monitoring firm recently.
Tag: israel/palestine
Mustafa al-Fiqi, pro-Hizbullah?
Watchers of Egyptian politics will appreciate this:
Just today, I watched an appearance by Mustafa Al-Faqi (chairperson of the Egyptian parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee). He spoke like a Hizbullah spokesperson. A Hizbullah guest on the show (Lebanese member of parliament Husayn Hajj Hasan who is such an ineffective propagandist for the party) noted that tone and that change, even from a few days ago.
Mustafa al-Fiqi? HA! Why is it that Egyptian politicians (although al-Fiqi, arguably the biggest cheater of last year’s parliamentary elections, probably doesn’t deserve to be called even a “politician”) change what they say constantly depending on who they’re talking to, even when their government has a pretty clear line it’s following?
The rest of the post linked to above at the Angry Arab is his reasons why Israel miscalculated. Too soon to tell, as I’m not sure Israel’s objectives are the ones it is stating publicly…
Random Lebanon notes
This (also here) is worth investigating. Based on early news reports, it claims it was Israel that invaded Lebanon first and then was ambushed by Hizbullah — not a Hizbullah excursion into Israel.
The original story, as most media tell it, goes something like this: Hezbollah attacked an Israeli border patrol station, killing six and taking two soldiers hostage. The incident happened on the Lebanese/Israel border in Israeli territory. The alternate version, as explained by several news outlets, tells a bit of a different tale: These sources contend that Israel sent a commando force into southern Lebanon and was subsequently attacked by Hezbollah near the village of Aitaa al-Chaab, well inside Lebanon’s southern territory. It was at this point that an Israel tank was struck by Hezbollah fighters, which resulted in the capture of two Israeli soldiers and the death of six.
If Israel was the one that started this war, then there is no justification for all the woe-is-me we must go after Hizbullah going around. But I remain doubtful: after all, didn’t Nasrallah confirm the excursion into Israel version of events and boast the operation took five months to plan? And why is it not denying the rest of the world’s version of events? If anyone knows different (original Arabic reports best) say so in the comments.
Nasrallah profiled, by the Nation’s Adam Shatz, who’s done good work before. He suggests Nasrallah has a death wish, I’m not so sure. I have a biography of Nasrallah in Cairo that I haven’t read, will do so next week when I get back.
The ICG has a report on the Israel-Palestine-Lebanon crisis. They say “an immediate Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire is necessary: pursuing a military knockout is unrealistic and counterproductive” and aren’t pushing 1559 as an urgent issue like the White House. This is perhaps the most respected think tank on earth, remember.
Today on the train to Casablanca I listened to yesterday’s Democracy Now radio show very interesting interview of Yonatan Shapira, a refusenik Israeli air force pilot, and former Palestinian resistance fighter Bassem Aramim, who co-founded Combatants for Peace with former Palestinian resistance members. It was a really moving interview, I highly recommend it.
From the longest-serving Conservative MP in Britain:
Sir Peter Tapsell, a Tory MP, said Tuesday that British Prime Minister Tony Blair was “colluding” with U.S. President George W. Bush in giving Israel the okay to wage “unlimited war” in Lebanon – a war crime he claimed was “gravely reminiscent of the Nazi atrocity on the Jewish quarter of Warsaw.”
AFP has an article about Egyptians making the parallel between Nasser and Nasrallah, mentioning an Al Arabi headline that said “Nasser 1956 – Nasrallah 2006.” For some reason it reminds me that the London Times (for which I work for) called Nasser (edit: originally wrote “Hitler) “Hitler on the Nile” in 1956, which makes you think about how some papers are describing Nasrallah now. But anyway, Nasrallah’s rising profile around the Arab world is one consequence of this war we may have to live with for a while…
Interesting juxtaposition: the New York Times finds resentment against Hizbullah in Iran but AFP finds that its government is very supportive indeed. I have no idea about Iran but I do find it a bit hard to swallow that there are no ordinary Iranians supportive of Hizbullah (at least none quoted in the NYT story).
This is a little bit old, but here’s the Aardvark on Al Jazeera’s war coverage.
Carnegie Endowment does a roundtable analysis on the current crisis, country-by-country:
One common point emerges clearly from all the analyses, however: the crisis cannot be solved by a single grand strategy that would broaden the conflict to Syria or even Iran and would change the face of the Middle East forever. As in all other crises in the Middle East, at the heart of the problem is the difficult task of negotiating coexistence in a small, overpopulated, and resource-poor part of the world among population groups that have strong identities, different cultures, conflicting interests, and seemingly irreconcilable goals. No grand strategy will alter this most fundamental of Middle East realities.
An Egyptian diplomat has told AFP that Egypt and Saudi Arabia will propose a ceasefire in Rome. The EU has said it will also push for one. As we know they will most likely be ignored. Condi Rice didn’t sound eager to have a ceasefire fast today:
So I will go to Israel, we’ll go to Rome, and I’ll go to Kuala Lumpur for the Asia Regional Forum. I have a little work to do there on North Korea. And I’m fully prepared to return to the region if that would be necessary or helpful. But I’m going to leave David Welch and Elliott Abrams in the region to continue to work on the humanitarian situation as well as the underlying conditions for a cease-fire.
Lebanon reports that four UN peacekeepers were killed today in an Israeli air strike. The UN has confirmed two for now. Kofi Annan says he’s “shocked.” Really, Kofi?
It’s being said that the war will last 10 more days. A lot can happen in 10 days.
Latest developments
Current death toll: 418 Lebanese, 42 Israelis dead. Still 10 to 1.
July 25, (Reuters) – Here are developments in the Middle East on the 14th day of Israel’s bombardment of Lebanon.
* Israeli air raid in south Lebanon kills four U.N. military observers in attack which U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan describes as “apparently deliberate.”
* Israel says it regrets deaths of U.N. military observers in southern Lebanon and will investigate air strike that killed them.
* Deaths come on eve of international conference in Rome where Arab and some European nations are expected to call for immediate end to war over U.S. objections.
New Lebanon pics
At the Flickr account. This time they come Arabic descriptions.
Cluster bombs used against civilian populated areas, HRW says
From the BBC…
Israel urged to shun cluster bomb
US-based Human Rights Watch says Israel has used cluster bombs in civilian areas during its assault on Lebanon.The group says an attack using the munitions on the village of Blida last week killed one person and injured 12.
It says the explosives – which disperse after impact – are “unacceptably inaccurate and unreliable”, and should not be used in populated areas.
The Israeli military says their use is legal under international law, and that it is investigating the Blida incident.
‘Outdated’
Critics say cluster bombs leave behind a large number of unexploded bomblets, which often kill long after they are fired.
“Our research in Iraq and Kosovo shows that cluster munitions cannot be used in populated areas without huge loss of civilian life,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The group believes that the use of cluster munitions in populated areas may violate the prohibition on indiscriminate attacks contained in international humanitarian law.
“They’re not illegal per se, but certain attacks may be illegal,” Washington representative Bonnie Docherty says.
“The law of war requires you to distinguish between soldiers and civilians, so when you are using an outdated, unreliable weapon in a populated area, it is likely that the attack violates international humanitarian law,” she told the BBC.
“We have researchers on the ground who are investigating them and will investigate other claims related to cluster munitions, as well as other incidents in the ongoing conflict.”
Continue reading Cluster bombs used against civilian populated areas, HRW says
SCF: Israel set war plan more than a year ago
An article from the San Francisco Chronicle, published last Friday
Israel set war plan more than a year ago
Strategy was put in motion as Hezbollah began increasing its military strength
Matthew Kalman, Chronicle Foreign Service
Friday, July 21, 2006Jerusalem — Israel’s military response by air, land and sea to what it considered a provocation last week by Hezbollah militants is unfolding according to a plan finalized more than a year ago.
Continue reading SCF: Israel set war plan more than a year ago
Who backs a ceasefire?
Shamelessly stolen from the Angry Arab.
New Lebanon pics on Flickr
More pictures have been posted to the Flick account. As always, be warned: some of the pictures are extremely graphic.
You should also check out the Save Lebanon group on Flickr, which I have just joined. They have a lot more pictures.
Incidentally, I’d like to thank the person behind Shootin’ the breeze, a photography website, for having donated a Flickr Pro account after seeing the picture. It will really help with the traffic the account is getting. And I’d also like to thank all the Flickr viewers who have emailed to express their dismay at the pictures. But the real hero of this story is Hanady Salman, the As-Safir newspaper editor who is sending the pictures. Let’s hope he and his family stay safe.
Palestinian boys sleep next to mock graves of Arab rulers during a protest in Rafah refugee camp against the lack of Arab support for Palestinians in Gaza and Lebanon July 23.
An injured woman from the village of al-Titi in South Lebanon.
Another innocent Lebanese victim.
Reem Shahrour, 18 months old, Rashidieh
ME Politics 101
Here’s an AP story building on the recent news reports about a new initiative whereby Egypt and Saudi Arabia would intervene to try to sway Syria away from its alliance with Iran and Hizbollah–in an very classic exchange for a promise from Washington not to give them any headaches about this annoying democracy thing.
Though the AP story was good quality reporting, the title was rather funny: “Moderate Arabs look to curb militants.� “Moderate Arabs�? AP’s standards for political “moderation� seem to lie in how close the regime is to DC. One regime may sodomize dissidents, the other beheads them, but still according to AP they are “moderates.�
Though the AP story was good quality reporting, the title was rather funny: “Moderate Arabs look to curb militants.� “Moderate Arabs�? AP’s standards for political “moderation� seem to lie in how close the regime is to DC. One regime may sodomize dissidents, the other beheads them, but still according to AP they are “moderates.�
Moderate Arabs look to curb militants
By Steven R. Hurst and Salah Nasrawi
CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt and Saudi Arabia – both with strained U.S. ties – are working to entice Syria to end support for Hezbollah, a move that is central to resolving the conflict in Lebanon and unhitching Damascus from its alliance-of-convenience with Iran, the Shiite Muslim guerrillas’ other main backer, Arab diplomats and analysts said Sunday.
The two Arab heavyweights were prepared to spend heavily from Egypt’s political capital in the region and Saudi Arabia’s vast financial reserves to rein in Hezbollah as well as the Hamas militants now running the Palestinian government. In return, Washington would ease pressure on its moderate Arab allies for broad democratic reform, the diplomats and analysts said.