Four die as Hizbollah raids Israel

[barb162]

Four die as Hizbollah raids Israel
Mon Nov 21, 2005 6:03 PM GMT

By Karamallah Daher

MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (Reuters) - Pro-Syrian Hizbollah guerrillas raided north Israel in a botched attempt to capture Israeli troops on Monday, triggering the worst round of fighting since Israel pulled out from south Lebanon five years ago.

Lebanese security sources said Hizbollah guerrillas raided Israeli posts in the Israeli part of the divided border village of Ghajar in an attempt to capture Israelis to exchange them for Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners.

Israel has in the past released hundreds of prisoners in exchange for Israeli detainees or the remains of dead soldiers.

Lebanese and Israeli security sources said three fighters and one Israeli were killed and 10 Israelis wounded.
snip














http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-11-21T180317Z_01_WRI080736_RTRUKOC_0_UK-MIDEAST.xml

[eyl]

1. According to later reports

all the dead were Hizbullah:

Four Hezbollah men killed attempting to kidnap IDF troops

11 Israelis hurt in North

(According to the Hebrew version of the YNet article, 5 Hizbullah men were killed)

[barb162]

2. I have been consistently reading for a few weeks that violence

would likely pick up there because of this:
"The defense establishment said it believes Hezbollah is considering intensifying attacks along the border in an attempt to draw attention away from the heavy international criticism of Syrian President Bashar Assad following the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri."

(from the link, Haaretz)

[bemildred]

3. Israeli jets raid Lebanon after shelling

More details ...

Israeli warplanes have bombed suspected Hizb Allah positions in south Lebanon after the Shia resistance group shelled an Israeli position in the disputed Shebaa Farms border area.

---

Witnesses said an Israeli border post in the Abbasiyeh area was set ablaze in the attack, in which Hizb Allah fighters used rockets, mortars and machine guns.

---

Hizb Allah fighters launched an attack on the village of Ghajar where the majority of residents opted to take Israeli nationality after Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967.

"Three or four" fighters died after storming the border village of Ghajar, exchanging fire with the Israeli garrison there, Israeli security sources said.

al Jazeera

[pelsar]

4. crossing an UN sanctioned border.....

...which hints at the fact that "recognized borders"...do not as a default make "peace"

[newyorican]

5. Just wondering...

how many times has the IDF crossed that self-same "UN sanctioned border"? Not counting the invasion of Lebanon, of course.

[Violet_Crumble]

12. I was wondering that myself...

n/t

[pelsar]

25. crossing the Lebanese border...

Lebanon sure isnt taking care of its own border...letting a miltia occupy and terrorize the local population, not to mention threats towards the country to the south, pretty much negates any "rights" that lebanon might claim about its sovereignty.

when they take back their land from hizballa, only then will they have something to say about any israeli incursions...until then it appears to be occupied by a bunch of religious gangsters.

i'm sure theres a legal term for it....

[Englander]

23. Dozens of times? Hundreds? Thousands?

From the UN;

'Lebanon - UNIFIL - UN Documents

United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

20 July 2005
For the period from 21 January 2005 to 20 July 2005

A fragile quiet prevailed in the UNIFIL area of operation during most of the
period under review, although the situation was often marked by tension. Violations
of the Blue Line continued throughout the past six months, most often in the form of
recurring air violations by Israeli jets, helicopters and drones as well as ground
violations, from the Lebanese side, primarily by Lebanese shepherds. There was, in
addition, one Lebanese air violation by a Hizbollah drone. Hostilities in the area
escalated in May with armed exchanges between Hizbollah and the Israel Defense
Forces (IDF) and with rocket firing by unidentified armed elements. The situation
deteriorated significantly on 29 June, when Hizbollah and IDF engaged in a heavy
exchange of fire in the Shab’a farms area, resulting in the death of one IDF soldier,
the wounding of four others and the death of two Hizbollah fighters.

>snip

The Israeli Air Force continued their air incursions into Lebanon, violating its
sovereignty and territorial integrity. The overflights occurred sporadically, but in
considerable numbers at times, disturbing the relative calm along the Blue Line. As
in the past, Israeli aircraft often penetrated deep into Lebanon, sometimes
generating sonic booms over populated areas. The pattern of air violations identified
in my previous reports continued, whereby the aircraft would sometimes fly out to
sea and enter Lebanese airspace north of the UNIFIL area of operation. Israeli
officials maintain their position that the overflights would be carried out whenever
Israel deems it necessary.

pdf document;
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/420/36/PDF/N0542036.pdf?OpenElement

[eyl]

15. Some of the responses on this thread are starting to remind me

of an old Dry Bones comic from 1978.

A conversation between two people, which goes something like this:

#1: Murder on the coastal road*, and the world says nothing.

#2: But they will, they will!

#1: When?

#2 After we retaliate.


*refers to the "Coastal Road Attack" - a PLO attack on a bus in 1978, where 37 people people were killed.

[Englander]

24. IAF planes drop anti-Hezbollah leaflets over Beirut

By Amos Harel, and Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondents, Haaretz Service and News Agencies

Israel Air Force planes dropped thousands of leaflets denouncing Hezbollah guerrillas over the Lebanese capital of Beirut and its suburbs early Wednesday, two days after some of the worst border clashes in southern Lebanon in several years.

Lebanese security officials said the roar of jets was heard over the city before dawn after which thousands of leaflets were dropped.

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasen/spages/649097.html

[bemildred]

6. Israel Govt Calls on Lebanon to End Hezbollah Artillery Attacks

Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Israel called on Lebanon's government to stop artillery attacks by the Hezbollah group after a day of violence in which four Hezbollah fighters were killed and 11 Israeli soldiers wounded.

``We see the Lebanese government as responsible for any activity carried out from its territory,'' Major General Udi Adam, chief of Israel's northern command, said in an e-mailed statement today. ``We haven't seen such a wide scale coordinated attack by Hezbollah in a long time.''

---

``Hezbollah used its full arsenal against us, mortar shells, Katyusha rockets, anti-tank missiles and sniper fire,'' Adam said. ``Hezbollah is attempting to recreate its image as a defender of southern Lebanon. Even now, projectiles launched by Hezbollah continue to fall in the Mount Dov area.''

After beginning artillery strikes, Hezbollah gunmen infiltrated an area near the Israeli military post Gladiola on Mount Dov where they fought Israeli soldiers, Haaretz reported. The army carried out patrols in the area late into the night to make sure all the gunmen had withdrawn, it said.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=aeyBkzFPrL0M&refer=top_world_news

[bemildred]

7. UN Council fails to agree on Hizbollah-Israel clash

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The 15-member U.N. Security Council failed to agree on how to condemn Monday's deadly clash between Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces, mainly because of disputes between the United States and Algeria, diplomats said.

---

After several hours of negotiations, Security Council members gave up trying to amend a statement, drafted by France, that would have condemned "military exchanges initiated by Hizbollah" as well as "Israeli violations of Lebanese air space."

The United States wanted the reference to Israel deleted and Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, objected to putting the blame on Hizbollah, according to participants at the consultations.

---

Gambari said the attacks again showed the importance of the Lebanese government extending control over all its territory, a reference to Hizbollah's domination of the south. The Beirut government has been unable to disarm Hizbollah as demanded by U.N. Security Council resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004.

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N21321562.htm

[pelsar]

8. what a joke...

Hizballa occupies southern lebanon..attacks a neighboring country....and the UN cant even condem it.....gosh what a surprise.

[barb162]

9. Yes, a total joke

It help explains the number of UN resolutions against Israel too. One Israel and how many Arab and/or Mideast countries that operate as a block against Israel?

Rockets fly into Israel: no problema.
Rockets fly from Israel: call the UN


:hi:

[Violet_Crumble]

11. Just curious...

Did the Security Council condemn Israel for occupying southern Lebanon and attacking another country back when that happened?

Violet...

[pelsar]

13. whys is that relevant?

Nov 21,2005 hizballa, which occupies s.lebanon attacked israel.....is there any reason why the UN shouldnt condem it, any reason why the lebanon shouldnt control s.lebanon...it is there country?

any reason why the people of S.Lebanon should be occupied?

i didnt bother to check if the UN condemmed israel when it was in lebanon, i assume they did, but its not relevant to the actions of the occupying hizballa forces.

[Violet_Crumble]

20. You can't see any relevance??

Because if the UN did condemn Israel for occupying the people of southern Lebanon and attacking a neighbouring country, then that'd be one of the UN resolutions that some folk would refer to as biased anti-Israel resolutions. I just found it kind of interesting :)

Anyway, the UN hasn't condemned Israel in this current instance....

Violet...

[eyl]

14. Yes, it did, actually n/t

It certainly called on Israel to withdraw more than once, the equivalent of which the UNSC doesn't seem prepared to do so far (though I'd wait a few days before concluding that).

[Englander]

16. lol

Do you read the same article as me? Because in the article I read,
there was this;

'After several hours of negotiations, Security Council members gave up trying to amend a statement, drafted by France, that would have condemned "military exchanges initiated by Hizbollah" as well as "Israeli violations of Lebanese air space."

The United States wanted the reference to Israel deleted and Algeria, the only Arab member of the council, objected to putting the blame on Hizbollah, according to participants at the consultations.

Members agreed to have further discussions but envoys acknowledged the momentum was lost.

The council's deliberations followed a statement issued in Jerusalem by the visiting U.N. undersecretary-general for political affairs, Ibrahim Gambari. He condemned the clash, which "according to available information began from the Lebanese side" and called on all parties to "cease fire immediately."

[pelsar]

17. read it....

yes i read it ...and i agree LOL....hizballa attacks....and the UN cant even condem them...they have to find somekind of watered down...gosh darn....lets blame israel for something so the "they" dont feel too bad....

and those over fights?...guess why...to get info on the attacks, since S. Lebanon is occupyied seems to me the first step is for lebanon to take back S.Lebanon, control their border and "no more flights"

[Englander]

19. Try again.

Read it slowly, if that helps any.

[pelsar]

21. read it slooowly....

perhaps this is the point:
military exchanges initiated by Hizbollah" as well as "Israeli violations of Lebanese air space."


whats wrong with saying the obviouse?

hizballa an armed group that has occupied S. lebanon attacked israel:....The UN condems hizballa for not only attacking israel but is occuyping lebanese land, increasing border tensions and are all round not very nice people.

[eyl]

22. IOW

"we won't condemn actions against Israel unles we can also condemn Israeli actions in the same breath"

[Andromeda]

10. The Security Council is a joke...

Israel defends herself and she's admonished. What a surprise.

[Englander]

18. The US & Algeria representatives are a 'joke'.

Read the article, it explains what happened, why there wasn't an
agreed statement. I'm curious, I looked at the Reuters article, and
there was no mention of Israel exclusively being 'admonished'. Are you
mistaken?

The statement by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Ibrahim Gambari, 'admonishes' both parties;


'Top UN political official condemns violence across Israel/Lebanon Blue Line

21 November 2005 – The top United Nations political affairs official today condemned the heavy exchange of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon which, according to the available information, began from the Lebanese side around 3 p.m. and resulted in deaths among both Israeli and Hizbollah forces.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari was wrapping up his visit to the Middle East today, meeting with UN staff in Israel when the exchanges, which continued through the afternoon, began.

Mr. Gambari called on all parties to cease fire immediately, to respect the Blue Line in its entirety and to exercise maximum restraint, bearing in mind that one violation does not justify another, according to a UN spokesperson.

"Today's violations show once again the importance of the Government of Lebanon extending its control over all its territory and exerting its monopoly on the use of force," the spokesperson said.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16638&Cr=middle&Cr1=east

[barb162]

26. self delete;wrong spot

[barb162]

27. Annan, deploring fighting, appeals for calm along Israel/Lebanon Blue Line

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=16651&Cr=middle&Cr1=east

Kofi Annan
22 November 2005 – Deploring "in the strongest terms" the exchange of fire across the Blue Line between Israel and Lebanon yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed for a return to calm and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint.

The hostilities, which resulted in the reported deaths of several Hizbollah fighters and an unconfirmed number of wounded on both sides, were initiated from the Lebanese side and quickly spread along the entire Blue Line with Israeli civilian areas reportedly being targeted, according to a UN spokesman.

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has brokered a ceasefire to prevent further escalation, he added.

"The Secretary-General appeals to all parties to respect the Blue Line in its entirety," the spokesman said. "He also calls on the Government of Lebanon to extend its authority over all of its territory in accordance with Security Council resolutions."
snip

[barb162]

28. UN Council criticizes Lebanon-Israel border clash

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23485185.htm
23 Nov 2005 20:36:56 GMT

Source: Reuters

By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The Security Council, after three days of deliberation, on Wednesday expressed "deep concern" over border fighting between Lebanon's Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli forces and said Hizbollah started it.

After prodding by the United States, the Council statement deleted any reference to Israel by name.

"I wanted to underline the importance of saying expressly that it was Hizbollah that initiated the attack," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton told reporters.

snip

In the end, members of the Security Council expressed "deep concern about the hostilities, which were initiated by Hizbollah"

snip

[barb162]

29. Wow, the UN SC admits Hizbollah started hostilities!