HRW: Hezbollah Rockets Targeted Civilians in 2006 War / Lebanon Reaction says it's one sided |
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Written by HRW | |
Thursday, 30 August 2007 | |
![]() Hezbollah Firing Rockets at Civilians, HRW says is a Violation of International Rules of War Hezbollah rockets, some carrying anti-personnel steel spheres, repeatedly hit populated areas in northern Israel. Human Rights Watch found that numerous rockets were fired in which there was no apparent legitimate military target in the vicinity at the time of the attack, indicating that civilians were deliberately attacked.
Attacks on Northern Israel Violated Laws of War (Beirut, August 29, 2007) – During the 2006 war, Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately and at times deliberately at civilian areas in northern Israel, killing at least 39 civilians, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Human Rights Watch said that Hezbollah’s justifications for its attacks on Israeli towns – as a response to indiscriminate Israeli fire into southern Lebanon and to draw Israel into a ground war – had no legal basis under the laws of war. The 128-page report, “Civilians under Assault: Hezbollah’s Rocket Attacks on Israel in the 2006 War,” presents more than 20 case studies based on extensive field research in northern Israel into rocket attacks that killed or injured civilians in Jewish, Arab and mixed villages, towns and cities. It also draws evidence of Hezbollah’s intent behind these rocket attacks from more than 100 Hezbollah communiques and declarations.
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/30/lebano16740.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lebanon Slams Human Rights Report on Hizbullah-Israel War The Lebanese government and Hizbullah on Wednesday lashed out at a report by the Human Rights Watch which criticized the Shiite group's attacks on Israel during last year's summer war, saying the document was a complete distortion of facts. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report due for release on Thursday focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the 34-day war, said a statement released by the New York-based group. But even before the release of the report and a planned press conference by HRW in Beirut on Thursday, Hizbullah and Prime Minister Fouad Saniora were scathing in their criticism. "During the attacks of July 2006, Israel violated all international conventions," Saniora's office said in a statement. "It killed nearly 1,200 Lebanese and injured thousands more and 72 hours after U.N. Resolution 1701 was adopted, it dropped 3.5 million cluster bombs in the south of the country," the statement added. Resolution 1701 which halted the devastating month-long conflict which began July 12 after Hizbullah launched a cross-border attack on Israel and kidnapped two soldiers, whose fate is still unknown. Hizbullah spokesman Hussein Rahal said Human Rights Watch should start by criticizing Israel. "We were the victims during this war and people have a right to defend themselves," he told AFP. "We did not target civilians but Israel on the other hand did target the civilian population in Lebanon." Nadim Houry, a researcher for Human Rights Watch in Lebanon, brushed aside the criticism, saying the report was aimed at shedding light on atrocities committed against civilians during the war. He said HRW planned to release on September 6 another report documenting Israeli attacks that killed civilians in Lebanon. "We don't take sides about who is right and who is wrong and our primary focus in this conflict has been to protect civilians," Houry told AFP. He said it was unclear, in light of the criticism and threats of demonstrations, whether HRW would still hold the press conference scheduled for Thursday. "Our main goal was to have a debate on this issue and it is distressing that we can't have this debate in Beirut," he said.(AFP-Naharnet) from Naharnet, Beirut, 29 Aug 07, 10:40 http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/NewsDesk.nsf/getstory?openform&41A42BECF845DCD4C22573470027CFED ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Siniora, Hizbullah criticize HRW report on 2006 war Daily Star staff BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch (HRW) canceled a news conference expected on Thursday to issue its report on Hizbullah's attacks on Israel during last summer's war following condemnations from the Lebanese government and Hizbullah. A statement issued by HRW said: "The press conference was canceled after reports by Hizbullah-controlled media about planned demonstrations to prevent the scheduled event at the Crowne Plaza hotel, and the hotel's decision to disallow the news conference. " The 128-page report focuses on the extent "Hizbullah targeted or indiscriminately fired its rockets toward civilians and civilian objects" during the war, according to a statement by the New York-based rights group. But even before the release of the report, Hizbullah and Prime Minister Fouad Siniora were scathing in their criticism. Hussein Rahhal, head of Hizbullah's media unit, said there was a "distortion of facts" in the report. "We were targeting soldiers and military bases principally but Israel's main direct targets were civilians. Civilian casualties inflicted by us were indirect," he said. Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora also criticized HRW. "It is impermissible to put the killers and the killed on the same level," he said in remarks published on Wednesday. The government also rejected recommendations in the HRW report that Hizbullah members be judged for war crimes. "It is unacceptable because this has no legal basis and this organization should not adopt such a stand considering it should remain impartial and objective," it said in a statement. "Hizbullah is trying to silence criticism of its conduct during the 2006 war," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division. "But the fairness and accuracy of our reporting will speak for themselves, whether we hold a press conference or not." "Our focus is on the protection of civilians wherever they may be, and not about taking sides in a conflict," said Whitson. In the report, HRW said it "found that numerous rockets were fired in which there was no apparent legitimate target in the vicinity at the time of the attack, indicating that civilians were deliberately attacked." Houry also brushed aside the criticism, saying the report was aimed at shedding light on atrocities committed against civilians during the war. He added that HRW planned to release on September 6 in Occupied Jerusalem a report critical of Israel's conduct in its attacks on Lebanon, a comprehensive follow-up to a report released during the war, titled "Fatal Strikes: Israel's Indiscriminate Attacks Against Civilians in Lebanon." The 2006 war killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and more than 160 in Israel, of them at least 39 civilians, according to HRW. "We don't take sides about who is right and who is wrong and our primary focus in this conflict has been to protect civilians," Houry said. He said it was unfortunate that those criticizing the report had failed to take into account the extensive work done by HRW on violations carried out by Israel during the war. "We were the first ones to document the use of cluster munitions by Israel," he said. "Our main goal was to have a debate on this issue and it is distressing that we can't have this debate in Beirut," he said. Hizbullah's Al-Manar television led its news broadcasts with reports containing scathing criticism of HRW. HRW sent to Al-Manar's editor a letter in response to what it called "the misinformation contained in today's newscast and on the Al Manar Web site." HRW said it "requests that the editor post online a correction of misinformation in the article, dated August 28, 2007, under the title "Who Has Incited the Holding of a Conference in Beirut to Criticize the Attacks by the Resistance?" HRW said that contrary to the article's claims, it "has no connection whatsoever - nor does it coordinate its actions - with any political party or movement in Lebanon or in any of the other 70 countries in which we work." It said that it "has scheduled a press conference on September 6 in Jerusalem to present a new report on laws of war violations during Israel's attacks in Lebanon during the 2006 war." HRW said that while preparing the report, it repeatedly sought meetings with Hizbullah officials and solicited information in writing, with no substantive response. - http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=84923 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/printable.asp?art_ID=84923&cat_ID=2 |
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