Israel has intensified its air strikes on Lebanon and in particular on Beirut, ahead of a visit on Tuesday or Wednesday by US envoy Hochstein, at which he will press Lebanon to accept a US/Israeli ceasefire plan.
This plan is touted as being based on UNSCR 1701, but in fact represents its abnegation.
You may have noted that neoliberal politicians and media pundits, who ignore and denigrate every other UN Resolution on the Middle East, are suddenly very enthusiastic about UNSCR 1701. This is because it mandates withdrawal of Hezbollah forces to the north of the river Litani.
But it also mandates, at operative paragraph 3, that the Government of Lebanon must have full sovereignty over Southern Lebanon and that only the Lebanese Army and UNIFIL might operate there.
3. Emphasizes the importance of the extension of the control of the Government of Lebanon over all Lebanese territory in accordance with the provisions of resolution 1559 (2004) and resolution 1680 (2006), and of the relevant provisions of the Taif Accords, for it to exercise its full sovereignty, so that there will be no weapons without the consent of the Government of Lebanon and no authority other than that of the Government of Lebanon;
The US/Israeli ceasefire proposal directly contradicts this, by giving Israel the right to invade Southern Lebanon with ground forces whenever Israel considers it necessary, and by giving Israel permanent military overflight rights.
The US/Israeli proposal is therefore incompatible with UNSCR 1701.
These are direct intrusions on the sovereignty emphasised by UNSCR 1701. They are of course terms no self-respecting nation could possibly accept.
In order to try to force Lebanon to accept these humiliating terms, Israel has substantially intensified its bombing campaign throughout Lebanon these last two days. Yesterday in Beirut alone there were nineteen waves of airstrikes, in addition to airstrikes in Tyre, Baalbek and throughout the South.
A new development in Beirut today was a definite move to bomb in Christian, as well as Muslim, areas. If you take one thing away from this article today, I want you to understand this.
The narrative portrayed in Western media, that Lebanese Christians support Israel and are egging on the destruction of the Shia community, is completely false. Only a very small and unrepresentative minority of Christians, related to the thankfully declined fascist movement, think in this way.
The large majority of Christians, including the major Christian political parties and politicians, are as horrified as the rest of the world by the genocide in Gaza and still more horrified by Israel’s genocidal attack on Lebanon.
I have spent the last three weeks living among the Christian communities here and I have found this same view, from wealthy businessmen, to students, to shopkeepers, to the families of very senior politicians.
I should acknowledge that I have met a couple of young men in a bar who were pro-Israel, but that really is it. It is also the case that, certainly in Beirut, the large majority of Sunni Muslims, including the large Syrian refugee population, are extremely horrified by the genocide mostly of their fellow Sunni Muslims in Gaza and the West Bank, and they are very anti-Zionist indeed.
I understand that in the far northern areas and along the Jordanian border there are pockets of Saudi-influenced Salafist anti-Shia sectarians who do support Israel against Hezbollah, but I am happy to say I have not come across them and it is not an important viewpoint in Beirut. These are the ISIS/Al-Nusra/Al-Qaeda/FSA crowd of CIA puppets.
Extreme fringes aside, the overwhelming majority of the people of Lebanon are no different to the majority of people the world over, horrified by the scale and depravity of the Israeli assaults.
In attacking Lebanon, far from reigniting civil war as they intended, Israel and the US have helped to forge a strengthened multicultural Lebanese identity.
Israel is simply unable to make meaningful progress on the ground against Hezbollah or to hold border villages for longer than a brief orgy of looting and destruction. In consequence we will see a repeat of the genocide in Gaza, with the great bulk of massacres carried out by bombs and long-range artillery.
Plainly the Gaza template is already being followed. Over 220 medics and paramedics have been killed in Lebanon – a deliberate massacre of healthcare providers that repeats Israeli actions in Gaza and testifies to genocidal intention.
Israel killed every single one of these civil defense workers in Baalbek, Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/GRzEqU6n9E
— sarah (@sahouraxo) November 15, 2024
The United States has a huge amount of influence within Lebanon. The economy is thoroughly dollarised; there are McDonalds, Dominos and Dunkin’ Donuts everywhere you go; there is a massive General Motors dealership, and indeed the Lebanese seem to have a higher propensity to buy US vehicles and other US-manufactured goods, than Americans themselves do.
The United States is building its second-largest Embassy complex in the world in Lebanon, a country of only 5 million people. Plainly that is not what is seems – why does Lebanon need a much bigger US Embassy than Germany or Japan or Russia?
It is due to US influence that the Lebanese army remains neutral as its own country is both bombed and invaded, which is a unique way for an army to behave. The bombs falling today on Lebanese children are not only US-manufactured, but the US has paid for those bombs and given them to the Israelis to kill Lebanese with.
Hochstein arrives here as his country carries out mass killing of civilians through its colonial settler proxy. The Lebanese should throw shoes at him en masse.
I hope and trust that the dignity of Lebanon is to be upheld by its politicians and outweighs personal corruption, and that a sharp answer is given to this vicious charlatan Hochstein pretending to talk peace.
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If anybody is foolish or bone-headed enough to argue against the genocide of Gaza, and now Lebanon, just point them in the direction of the always meticulous and detailed analysis that Forensic Architecture painstakingly gathers:
https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/a-cartography-of-genocide
An excellent, if stunningly shocking resource.
Indeed, thank you for this. Sadly however it is not about facts or persuasion. The deniers are the same people who reached immediately for the “G” word to describe Chinese efforts to suppress jihadism in Xinjiang. (0 killed). They are determinedly closed to evidence in both cases.
The Uyghurs are a much loved ingredient for current American-manufactured consent.
Well, as T points out, what you probably meant was ‘denied’. ‘Argue against’ would mean something completely different, like thinking it was wrong. Just the opposite obviously.
Doesn’t really matter. Nobody can seriously deny the genocide in Gaza. In Lebanon, ‘crimes against humanity’ seems more appropriate, since several ethnic groups are equally victims, hence genocide is slightly inaccurate.
Very interesting link you provided, thanks.
Dear Ian,
I reviewed the documents found in your link, specifically a summary:
https://content.forensic-architecture.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Summary-of-Findings_Spatial-Analysis-of-the-Israeli-militarys-conduct-in-Gaza-since-October-2023.pdf
1. The war described in these reports is between two sides, one is Israel, the other is Hamas, the ruling organization in Gaza, since “democratically” elected by Palestinians in 2006-7. I note that “Israel” is mentioned 58 times in the summary document; Hamas does not appear even once in the document.
2. To the best of my searching, I was unable to find even one reference to the practice of Hamas to place weapons, launch and fire weapons from within civilian-designated locations including hospitals, schools, and mosques.
My cursory review of the document you referenced is so obviously biased against Israel that the document falls within the category of propaganda, and maybe historical fiction.
If you feel that the document you referenced is an honest, unbiased account of the conduct of the war between Hamas and Israel, then I must wish you a complete recovery from your illness.
What a feeble attempt at denial. How interesting that you cannot read the first page of that document which is very explicit on the aims of the study, which is the systematic method of genocide that Israel is pursuing. Hamas is of course a useful diversion and excuse, itself created and nurtured by the likes of Netanyahu, precisely for the reason they now use them. There is no war as such, there is a deliberate extinction policy which is aimed at all Palestinians regardless of their age or gender. Forensic Architecture has an impeccable record of evidence-based research, gathered meticulously in the field from multiple sources. That is why you cannot rebut any of their finding, and instead use facile, facetious reasons, including crude insults in order to ignore the findings.
Typical Israeli bot behaviour which fools no-one. That you think this kind of lame, lazy response is likely to persuade anybody is an illustration of how deluded Israel and their supporters are. The worst of human behaviour, up there with the most notorious genocidal regimes in history, and all you can do is make puerile attempts at diversion and denial.
Support for Israel’s war on Gaza has dropped in Europe, poll finds
While the support for Israel have declined significantly in europe, there is still support for israel since the support for palestinians are even less:
* In the UK, more than half of those polled (51 per cent) said they did not support Israel, while less than half (44 per cent) said they did not support Palestine.
* In Germany, more than half said they did not support Israel (51 per cent), with its net favourability reaching 24 per cent. But disapproval almost doubles for Palestine, with 61 per cent of those polled saying they did not support it
* In France, the poll found almost equal disapproval of Israel (44 per cent) and Palestine (43 per cent).
Regarding Lebanon:
, only one in five people in the UK and France supported Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon. Only one in four did so in Germany
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2024/11/05/support-for-israels-war-on-gaza-has-dropped-in-europe-poll-finds/
Polling in america show that 36% support the israelis while just 17% say they support palestinians
https://x.com/YouGovAmerica/status/1849090970005987470
The anti-palestinian/pro-israeli narrating in the western MSM really showing off on the populace.
Sad news indeed Jack, even though 51% is indeed more than half, it is barely so. One MSM headline or favourable quote on the TV News could Flick that over in an instant. Looks like people with a working moral compass or wishing to stand on the right side of history are very thin on the ground indeed. Oh and while I’m at it, whatever happened to the Laws of Moses, supposedly cherished and meant to be obeyed especially with respect to Killing & Covetousness by Jews and Christians alike? I guess they don’t apply any longer.
“I hope and trust that the dignity of Lebanon is to be upheld by its politicians and outweighs personal corruption”
Very unlikely – which is why you have to be really careful. In my opinion, Lebanese politicians and military men are not much different to those in the West: they can be bought – and are bought. Pakistan is prime example of this, with Imran Khan now rotting in a cell for crimes he did not commit.
The Zionists – and their allies are killing the Lebanese children as well.
“UNICEF says more than 200 children have been killed and 1,100 others injured in Lebanon in less than two months since the Israeli regime escalated its deadly offensive in the country.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder made the remarks at a press conference in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday, while condemning the inaction of influential world powers on Israel’s ongoing violence against children.
“Despite more than 200 children killed in Lebanon in less than two months, a disconcerting pattern has emerged: their deaths are met with inertia from those able to stop this violence,” Elder said.
He went on to say that an average of three children have been killed every single day over the last two months, stressing that “for the children of Lebanon, it has become a silent normalization of horror.””
Blah, blah, blah. The UN speaks and states the bleeding obvious.
So f*ckin’ what ? What are you, the UN going to do about this ? Nothing.
Instead of keep taking the USA/Israeli/West’s money, why not eject the pigs from the UN ?
Stevie Boy.
Indeed the UN is afraid to upset the USA – so it resorts to sound bites – for me the only way the Zionists will be stopped from completing their evil genocide – is by force.
If there was any humanity inside of the UN building there should have been droves of people quitting their jobs there in protest of the western upholding the war. What is the purpose of the UN if it is going to be kept hijacked by the US anyway? Craig Mokhiber quit already in october last year. Where is everyone else? Was it really this that these UN workers dreamed of as kids? Working for an organisation that, in effect, enable a genocide?
Yes only force will stop Israel, no other state would get away with the crimes that Israel commit. It is unnatural, an abnormal situation where so many different actors fail to act.
I often remember these days how much west talked about “Responsibility to Protect” just a couple of years ago, but not anymore and now, today, they are themselves the perpetrators, enablers of acts of genocide disproving their “humanity” once and for all. Quite chilling how they could flip like that. Like westerners have no morals, principles at all.
When one take a step back one is really disgusted by the mentality of the west, the non-western world need to step up and break the western hegemony otherwise the world will just get messier if west is to keep ruling freely.
The Gaza war is the final nail in the coffin of R2P
The doctrine was always a la carte, evident in the silence of the most strident humanitarian interventionists today
From January of this year: https://responsiblestatecraft.org/responsibility-to-protect/
Another leaf out of their Gaza book that the Zionists are taking in Lebanon, as well as murdering children, is that they are using force directly against the UN itself. They have murdered more than 200 UN staff in Gaza. In Lebanon I don’t think they have killed any yet in this conflict, but they have used military force against UN positions and they have wounded UN soldiers.
The UN probably already has a morale problem in its own organisation – not the senior officials who take dozens of luxury flights every year, but the less senior people working in UN positions around the world. Basically their bosses are letting them get killed and not doing a damned thing about it.
Meanwhile, there is a high level of disinformation going on, right now, with regard to the use or possible use of US-supplied weapons against Russia. The British MSM (sorry for stating the obvious) is absolutely not to be trusted on this. Don’t forget that referendums were run in all six disputed territories, and all six are now officially part of Russia, so any report that the Russian government has said it will do XYZ if ATACMS are used against “Russian territory” meaning pre-2022 Russian territory are likely to be false. ATACMS have already been used by the Kiev regime in the Luhansk region, which has been Russian territory since 2022.
To check what US and Russian governments are saying, don’t ask Sulzberger’s rag the NYT either. Check the two governments’ websites. Both foreign ministries publish frequently updated news pages.
It’s not clear what has happened in Bryansk.
Sergei Lavrov has basically said he doesn’t take the sh*t that’s published in the NYT about what the US government has said as indicating that the US government has actually said it:
https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1982441/
It’s pretty clear who the adult in the room is here.
So Bryan, since as you say what just happened isn’t clear, what do you think is the most likely?
@Wilshire – I don’t have an opinion on it. Not enough info.
Thank you, Brian Red, for pointing out that ministries have their own official web-sites.
Re. Bryansk and Atacms:
Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has the site
https://mil.ru
The prefix ‘https‘ must mean that people can access it safely, but unfortunately when one tries to access it, one sees its SSL certificate isn’t valid, access denied.
SSL certificate (confirms the authenticity of the page and the safety of visiting it) is normally issued by certifying agents. Most known are GlobalSign (Belgium), DigiCert (USA), Symantec by Broadcom (USA).
I have a vague feeling that maybe these companies don’t want to certify the Russian MoD’s web page (though maybe I’m too paranoid. Maybe these companies strictly adhere to democratic values and would never restrict access to information. Surely it can’t be that large IT companies in the very heart of American and European democracy suddenly behave like totalitarian dictatorships? Perhaps the real reason is that the Russian MoD simply doesn’t have the money to buy a certificate?)
Anyway, thanks to Pavel Durov, people still can write freely on Telegram. So, Russian MoD has a channel there.
The Bryansk attack reported here
https://t.me/mod_russia/45908
At night 19 Nov. 2024 at 3:25, the enemy struck a facility in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles.
According to confirmed data, American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used.
The S-400 and Pantsir crews shot down five missiles and damaged the sixth.
Fragments of the shell fell on the technical territory of the military facility, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished.
There were no casualties or damage.
—
I don’t know if it’s a big news.
There are heated discussions on social media about distances and potential kill zones. Most agree that now the Ukrainian border will have to be moved so far that the missiles would not reach Russian territory.
According to all the maps and mathematics, Ukraine simply should not exist.
Nothing has changed. ATACMS have been used against Russia for some time. Russia has learned how to shoot them down. The US has just confirmed that NATO is ,in fact, fighting Russia.
These latest launches are only highlighted because of the MSM. The Russians may now provide targetting for Iran/Iraq/Houthis to damage more US assets, or may choose to hit more NATO personnel in Ukraine.
They won’t be rushed
Newest developments in Beirut talks
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/19/mixed-feelings-in-lebanon-as-anticipation-of-a-ceasefire-builds
To be noted, Hochstein has been given the green light by Trump and Kushner before flying to Lebanon. Chances are the ceasefire agreement will be achieved soon enough to be Bibi’s personal gift for the inauguration. Talk about loyalty!
It’s okay, Biden has responded to the looming threat of peace by authorising significant escalation vis-à-vis war with Russia. If he succeeds in pushing the Bear beyond the brink, he will no longer be remembered primarily as Genocide Joe but as Armageddon Joe.
An interesting analysis by Dr Doctorow today Tuesday 19th November on Judge Napolitano.
Dr. Gilbert Doctorow: Kremlin Reaction to US Escalation. (19 Nov 2024) – YouTube, 30m 28s
Ostensibly, Dr Doctorow advises that the Russian response will be proportionate to the targets hit by US directed munitions. A sliver lining for Dr Doctorow is that the Ukraine military forces will not have control of where the Tascam’s are targeted and therefore these munitions will not hit targets that would provoke an immediate and devastating response by Russia. Dr Doctorow hypothesises that this current escalation is potentially more about Democratic party politics for the next election cycle rather than an ardent desire for World War III (although in my opinion this is a huge and reckless gamble).
JohnnyOh45
Dr Doctorow is a very sober analyst. He is a Russophile and has a lot of knowledge about Russia. A very interesting commentator on the best Youtube Channel of Judge Napolitano.
The Judge is an ex Fox News presenter to boot.
It is strange that most of the sensible words are coming from the Conservative US Patriots whilst, live and let live( or should that be live and let die) Liberals are spoiling for further war and destruction.
I heard Trump’s speech yesterday and he nearly sounded like a Peacenik on a few occasions.
sad, i sincerely hope england and europe get a better taste of arab invasionist tendencies. in one generation their birth rate will tumble the democracies and become theocratic governments.
But David, would your fantasy be any worse than the zionist take over we are already experiencing ?
Further to the problem of genocide denial (not that it is considered a problem, or even an issue, by UK politicians or media)…
Top genocide scholar calls Starmer and Lammy ‘hypocrites’ over Gaza stance.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-genocide-scholar-calls-starmer-and-lammy-hypocrites-denying-gaza-genocide
“These people are hypocrites. They speak with a forked tongue. They do not interpret or apply the Genocide Convention in a consistent manner,” William Schabas, a Canadian academic specialising in international criminal and human rights law, told Middle East Eye.
“The statements of British parliamentarians vary depending upon whether they are referring to their friends or their enemies,” said Schabas, who is the former president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the author of more than 20 books on genocide and other international law topics.
Last week, Starmer was asked to share his definition of genocide and to outline what action he was taking to save the lives of people in Gaza.
In response, he said he was “well aware of the definition of genocide” and that this explains why he has “never described or referred to [the situation in Gaza] as genocide”.
His remarks followed similar denials from Foreign Secretary Lammy, who suggested that Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza because millions of people have not been killed.
Schabas noted that Lammy and Starmer voted in favour of a House of Commons motion in 2021 condemning China for genocide against the Uyghur minority.
“Although there is some evidence of persecution of Uyghur in China, there is no serious evidence of killings. Not millions. None. The treatment of Uyghur in China and that of Palestinian Arabs cannot be compared,” Schabas told MEE.
Hi Craig, a small comment: Lebanon has no border with Jordan. Surely you mean Syria?
Thank you for your excellent reporting and commenting. You’re always refreshing.
Daniel