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<font size=3><br><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2>This is really outrageous and probably
is one of the most evil things Israel has permitted itself to carry out.
The cluster bombs they used have left 100,000 unexploded bombs all over
Lebanon creating a gigantic mine field. The most disturbing thing was
that 90% of these bombs were dropped in the last 72-hours of the conflict
when it was clear that a cease-fire was eminent. <br>
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</font><font face="arial" size=5><b>
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1861606,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1">
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1861606,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=1</a>
<br>
</b></font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font face="arial" size=5><b>Cluster bombing of Lebanon 'immoral'
UN official tells Israel</b></font><font size=3> <br><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=3><b>·</b> Humanitarian chief says
civilians are killed daily <br>
<b>·</b> Annan urges Olmert to end Gaza blockade</font> <br><br>
<font face="arial" size=2><b>Rory McCarthy in Jerusalem<br>
Thursday August 31, 2006<br>
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk">The Guardian</a></b> <br><br>
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<img src="cid:6.2.5.6.2.20060831082708.02b0aeb0@freedomarchives.org.3" width=372 height=192 alt="7610ea.gif">
<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="arial" size=1>Frank Masche, from the Mine Advisory
Group (MAG) investigates an unexploded Israeli cluster bomblet found in
Tibnin, southern Lebanon. Photo: Sergey Ponomarev/AP<br>
<br><br>
</font><font size=3>Israel faced a stinging rebuke from the UN yesterday
when the world body's humanitarian chief expressed shock at the
"completely immoral" use of cluster bombs in Lebanon and Kofi
Annan called for a rapid end to the conflict in Gaza. <br><br>
Jan Egeland said civilians were facing "massive problems"
returning home because of as many as 100,000 unexploded cluster bombs,
most of which were dropped in the last days of the war.<br><br>
"What's shocking - and I would say to me completely immoral - is
that 90% of the cluster bomb strikes occurred in the last 72 hours of the
conflict, when we knew there would be a resolution," Mr Egeland
said. "Every day people are maimed, wounded and are killed by these
ordnance."<br><br>
Earlier, the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, called on Israel to end
its closure of the Gaza Strip and to halt the fighting that has claimed
the lives of more than 200 Palestinians in the past two months.<br><br>
Yesterday Israeli troops killed eight Palestinians in air strikes and gun
battles around the Shijaiyeh neighbourhood of Gaza City. One of the dead
was a 14-year-old boy who was in a crowd watching the fighting. At least
two others were militants, doctors said. The Israeli army said it found a
large tunnel for smuggling that ran 150 metres towards a cargo
crossing.<br><br>
Israel's military incursions into Gaza have been overshadowed by the
conflict in Lebanon. But Palestinian officials say more than half of
those killed in the past two months have been civilians - among them 39
children killed in July alone.<br><br>
"Over 200 Palestinians have been killed since the end of June. This
must stop immediately," Mr Annan said, after meeting Palestinian
officials in the occupied West Bank. "I have made my feelings known
in talks with Israeli officials. Beyond preserving life, we have to
sustain life, the closure of Gaza must be lifted, the crossing points
must be opened, not just to allow goods but to allow Palestinian exports
out as well."<br><br>
Crossing points into Gaza for cargo and pedestrians have been closed for
long periods in recent months because of what the Israelis say are
security concerns. Israel has defended its military operations in Gaza,
saying it is trying to find a captured Israeli soldier and stop militants
firing rockets into Israel.<br><br>
Mr Annan's visit was also intended to reinforce the ceasefire that ended
34 days of conflict between Israel and Hizbullah. Yesterday, after
meeting Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, he called on the Israeli
government to end its air and sea blockade of Lebanon, which he said the
Lebanese regarded as a "humiliation" and an "infringement
of their sovereignty".<br><br>
But Mr Olmert said Israel would not lift the blockade or withdraw its
soldiers, who are still deployed in their thousands in southern Lebanon,
until the UN ceasefire was fully implemented. A total of 15,000 Lebanese
army soldiers and another 15,000 international troops are due to take up
positions in southern Lebanon in the coming weeks as part of the
agreement. In the meantime, Israel says it wants to stop Hizbullah
rearming in the south.<br><br>
Mr Olmert said he hoped the ceasefire agreement might be the
"cornerstone" of a new relationship between Israel and Lebanon.
But the Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Siniora, said Lebanon "will
be the last Arab country that could sign a peace agreement with
Israel".<br><br>
Negotiations appear to be under way to secure the release of two Israeli
soldiers whose capture on July 12 triggered the Lebanon war. Mr Annan
said he believed the two were alive, although he did not know what
condition they were in.<br><br>
In Beirut yesterday Muhammad Fneish, one of two Hizbullah ministers in
the Lebanese cabinet, said the soldiers would only be freed in a prisoner
exchange. "There should be an exchange through indirect
negotiations," he said.<br><br>
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</font><font face="verdana" size=3><b>Amnesty International Report
Explores "Israeli Attacks on Civilian Infrastructure"<br><br>
<br>
</b></font><font face="verdana" size=2>Washington, DC | August 23, 2006 |
Amnesty International today released a report entitled, "Deliberate
Destruction or "Collateral Damage"? Israeli attacks on civilian
infrastructure". Amnesty International’s report documents the
disproportionate use of Israeli military force against the civilian
population and infrastructure of Lebanon during its recent conflict.
<br><br>
Over one thousand Lebanese people were killed by Israeli ground, air and
naval attacks and another 4000 people were injured. During the
bombardment a quarter of the country’s population was displaced as they
fled for safety from the Israeli attacks. The human rights group
determined that Israel deliberately targeted civilians and civilian
infrastructure, which as detailed in the report, amounted to war crimes
in some instances. <br><br>
Amnesty’s report concludes by calling on the United Nations to establish
an independent and impartial inquiry into the human rights violations
that occurred during the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict. <br><br>
Hon. Mary Rose Oakar, President of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination
Committee (ADC) said, "This report is thorough, insightful and well
documented. It is a continuing example of Amnesty International's work as
a leader on documenting and advocating against human rights violations
across the world." <br><br>
<a href="http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde180072006">Click here
to read the report</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
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