Few days ago, on May 24th, Lebanon commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Israeli partial withdrawal from its southern territory. This was the only withdrawal made without negotiations and under internal Israeli pressure due to mounting casualties provoked by guerilla warfare against Israeli Occupation Army in the south. Even the south lebanese army, a militia paid by Israel to fight against anti-Israeli resistance in the south, had to withdraw with the Israeli army. Those Lebanese live now in Israel, they were granted citizenship last year and there are talks between Lebanese factions to let them return to Lebanon.
Recent tensions are due to the fact that through UN, Israel wants Lebanese militia Hezbollah disarmed. However, because of its victory against the Israeli occupation, shiite Hezbollah is well regarded in Lebanon, even by Lebanese from other religions and factions. Talks about its disarmament have been going nowhere...
Israel has always something to say in Lebanese internal affairs, as Lebanon hosts resistance against Israel and as it hosts the Palestinians, those whom Israel wants to get rid of by any means. Yesterday, Israel killed two members of Islamic Jihad by a car bomb device in the south. Consequently, Hezbollah, the only active armed resistance operating against Israel in neighbouring Arab countries and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine exchanged fire with the Israeli army in an escalation that led to Israeli planes raiding the western part of south Lebanon. Al-Jazeera reported today casualties on both sides.
Lebanon's capital Beyrouth was the only Arab capital occupied by Israel (1982). Israel has always crossed the lebanese airspace whenever it suited them; during the 1967 and 1973 wars, in between and even before and after.
I remember, as a child, having to use minimum light during the night and even paintaing our light bulbs in blue in order not to be subjected to Israeli spare bombing when tossing tons of bombs on Palestinian camps. I remember the fear I had as a child. I remember the shade of Israeli planes flying the Lebanese airspace over Beyrouth. I remember my parents talking about the casualties in the morning. I remember my father promising to take me in a trip to Jerusalem at the end of my primary school years if I did well. And I remember him discussing why it was not possible to keep up his promise.
I remember Israel's later involvement in the Lebanese civil war, training Christian factions and helping in the killing of yet more Palestinians.
And when I read in the news about tensions between Israel and Lebanon, those are the first thoughts and memories that come to my mind...
5 comments:
On the latest US-sponsored Israeli atrocities committed in Lebanon’s second largest city, while the country’s hapless Harirista prime minister went golfing with the American ambassador in Beirut, blogger M. Moussa makes an interesting point:
“Why weren’t the FBI asked to investigate this explosion in Saida yesterday like they were asked to do with the other ones before? Those killed yesterday were Lebanese too”
Maybe, but they were real Lebanese citizen, as opposed to subsidized Saudi stooges working for Herr John Bolton and other Koreytem-based kollaborators!
“Al-Haqiqa” is in the eye of the beholder as someone once said…
Hi Victor,
Oui, Bolton, l''envoyé' d'Israel aux Nations Unies et qui a été fêté par les libanais il y a quelque temps. Ce qui m'étonne, C'est que les libanais persistent à croire que Israel et ses amis sont un moyen pour atteindre des objectifs politiques alors que ce sont les libanais qui sont 'un moyen' pour israel et ses amis.
Arabe un jour, arabe toujours. Je pense qu'il y a du racisme dans l'attitude des États-Unis et Israel à ne jamais 'considérer' l'amitié intéressée certes des arabes et des libanais mais ceux-ci ne comprendront jamais cela. Il suffit de voir comment les États-unis ont traité leur alliés arabes après la guerre froide, quantité négligeable mon cher, Ayyrab as you say...
Israel has withdrawn from all Lebanese territory. The Shaba Farms are Syrian territory.
If it is 'Syrian territory' why don't you give it back ?
Israel should give it back to Syria. The point was that it was not a "partial withdrawal" from Lebanese territory, as you called it. Israel no long controls any Lebanese land.
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