A year after violence broke out in Lebanon, members of the Montreal Lebanese community and local activists gathered together last night to remember, unite and heal.
A group of more than 200 supporters took part in poetry readings, first-hand testimonials, discussions and a dinner at the Cote des Neiges Community Centre at 6 p.m.
MONTREAL (CP): The Hezbollah flag could well figure prominently when Quebec’s Lebanese community marks this weekend’s one-year anniversary of the Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon.
In a city that lost an entire family to Israeli bombs, supporters of the outlawed terrorist group have increasingly flouted the ban and become more vocal in their support.
“Who is Hezbollah? What have they done? What is their history and where do they come from? That’s what we should be talking about,” said Hussein El-Akhras, whose nephew died in the bombings. The man’s wife and children also died.
One year ago, Israel launched a military assault on Lebanon, commencing a 34 day war that left more than 1300 Lebanese civilians dead, large parts of the national infrastructure destroyed and southern Lebanon littered with over one million unexploded cluster bomblets.
The United Nations has transmitted messages to Israel in recent weeks that the organization’s mapping experts have determined that the controversial Shaba Farms on Mount Dov near the Lebanese border, now controlled by Israel, is Lebanese territory. The UN, which has communicated to Israel that the disposition of the Shaba Farms should be dealt with as soon as possible, has proposed to senior government officials that Israel withdraw from the area and that it be considered international territory to be controlled by UNIFIL.
SIDON: The number of people harmed while defusing bombs and extracting mines left by the Israelis following last summer’s war has reached 205, including a reported 30 deaths.
The large number of casualties comes as a result of the massive volumes of unexploded ordinance and cluster bombs left behind by Israel across Southern Lebanon in the days immediately preceding a UN-sponsored cease-fire which brought hostilities to a halt.
Britain’s Transport and General Workers’ Union has called upon its 800,000 members to boycott Israeli-made products based on what they term Israel’s “criminal policies in Palestinian territories.”
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert Saturday sent back the list of Palestinian prisoners slated for release to the Shin Bet and Justice Ministry, demanding the removal of several dozen names. Olmert ordered that a new list be drawn up of prisoners with more time remaining on their jail sentences.
