Ghassan Makerem, an intellectual and activist in Beirut, provides context and an overview of initial reaction to the assassination of Lebanese Cabinet Minister Pierre Gemayel:
An interview with Ghassan Makarem on Gemayel Assassination: A view from Lebanon
For information on the Lebanese situation, you can go to:
The latest assassination in Lebanon has bolstered the US-backed government and weakened Hizbullah and the opposition
Charles Harb
Thursday November 23, 2006
The Guardian
The assassination of Pierre Gemayel, a Lebanese cabinet minister and scion of a ruling Christian Maronite family, in Beirut on Tuesday has sent shockwaves through the country’s establishment and is shaping the political feud raging throughout the country. Given the timing, location and method of the killing – a sophisticated shooting in the heart of Christian east Beirut at the height of a political crisis – there is already rampant speculation as to the identity and sponsors of the assassins. That will doubtless remain the case even after the criminal investigation is complete. The consequences of this for Lebanon and the wider Middle East are already starting to become clear.
MONTREAL: As Israeli continues its brutal assault on the Gaza Strip, Montrealers took the streets to voice solidarity with the Palestinian people. Hundreds of demonstrators marched through the heart of Montreal reflecting growing international outrage toward the latest attack on Gaza.
“Intifada! Intifada! Long Live the Intifada!” shouted demonstrators marching under rainy skies, in contrast to the silence of Canadian politicians in response to Israeli war crimes committed in the Gaza town of Beit Hanoun.
Move hailed as step on path to WTO
Daily Star – BEIRUT: The United States expects to finalize a new trade agreement with Lebanon by the end of November, marking progress in Beirut’s stalled bid for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Viewed as a prelude to a bilateral free-trade agreement between the two countries, the new Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) should eventually lead to Lebanon’s ascension to the WTO, US Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said in a speech at a dinner hosted by the Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
“What that means is economic opportunities for Lebanon,” Feltman said of the country’s anticipated inclusion in the world body.
Lebanon, which gained WTO observer status in 1999, has missed several target dates for ascension due to the governments’ failure to adopt the required legislation on a range of trade issues, including piracy, anti-dumping, customs duties and food safety standards.
Jamal Juma, Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, November 3rd, 2006
Jerusalem, November 3, 2006: In this dreadful Autumn of death and destruction, the Palestinian and Mexican people are united more than ever in a common history, mourning and struggle.
In Palestine in the last 48 hours a new massacre has been perpetrated. 20 martyrs from the refugee camp of Beit Hanoun have been added to the hundreds of victims that have been killed since June, when the Occupation forces launched another ruthless offensive in the Gaza Strip.
In the same way, since June the Mexican government has started to use all the destructive force of its military against the 70,000 educational workers in Oaxaca who struggle for their rights. The same government that followed the demands of the US government to send its soldiers to invade and massacre the Iraqi people today turns these weapons against its own people in defense of imperialist interests.
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From International Socialist Review (ISR), Issue 50, November – December 2006.
By HADAS THEIR
It looked as if a tornado had torn through the residential building and partments, ripping off balconies and roof supports, tearing down massive walls and collapsing whole blocks inwards upon their occupants. Many of the dead were sandwiched inside these ruins. In the streets, where Israeli bulldozers had swept away the rubble with military briskness, the people of Sidon walked in a daze.
– Journalist Robert Fisk describes the scene at Sidon, where many Lebanese and Palestinian refugees had fled to, trying to escape Israeli raids.(1)
They are all terrorists.
– An army officer when asked why bulldozers were destroying houses in which women and children lived.(2)
I was not even six when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, too young to be conscious of war and politics. My only memory of the war is the day that my uncle, then thirty-one, serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), died – my mother wailing in agony, the shattered expressions on my grandparents’ faces. I would sit with my grandparents for hours in the living room, gently stroking their arms, attempting to ease their pain. For the conquering army, death and suffering is an unavoidable consequence of resistance to occupation. In this case, the six hundred or so IDF deaths, led to a rare development of a peace movement in Israel. But for the conquered, their only crime was to be, by their very existence, in the way of the occupier’s ambition.
– The author
Canada: Peacekeeper. Humanitarian. Election monitor. Really?
The Dominion’s special issue on Foreign Policy takes a look beyond the official mythology to research and examine the actual role of Canadian mining companies, military operations, development agencies, NGOs, and diplomats. Articles look at Canada’s involvement in Guatemala, Venezuela, Somalia, South Asia, Afghanistan, Palestine, First Nations and others. It includes:
Selectively Terrified: How Hezbollah became a terrorist organization in Canada.
From: Heinrich Böll Foundation
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon between July 12 and August 14 caused almost 1,200 fatalities and the destruction of infrastructure and property to the cost of at least US $ 2.5 billion. But in addition to the loss of life and damage, the war caused several environmental problems that will have long-term consequences. This report will examine the following issues:
Aljazeera Online: Thursday 26 October 2006, 1:12 Makka Time, 22:12 GMT
Israel has denied that two of its air force fighter jets fired over a German naval ship patrolling the Lebanese coast.
A report in the Der Tagesspiegel newspaper quoted a German junior defence minister as telling a parliamentary committee that two Israeli F-16 fighters flew low over the ship, firing twice.
The jets also activated infrared countermeasures to ward off any rocket attack, the paper said, in an advance release ahead of Thursday’s edition.
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Despite the very minimal demands laid upon Israel under UN resolution 1701, Israel has been constantly violating the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Some of the more important violations:
Saturday January 27 2007
Eight people were hospitalized Saturday after inhaling toxic gases from poisonous balloons dropped by Israeli warplanes over Upper Nabatiyeh in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese National News Agency reported. NNA said among those who were rushed to hospital suffering from nausea and fatigue were a Lebanese staff sergeant, a recruit and An Nahar reporter Rana Jouni. The agency said Israeli warplanes dropped at least 10 poisonous balloons with Hebrew markings over Upper Nabatiyeh at about 9 am Saturday.
NNA said contacts have been made between the Lebanese army command and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon, which has instructed an Italian peacekeeping unit to take samples from the balloons for examination. The agency said the results are likely to come out on Sunday. NNA had earlier said that the Lebanese army’s engineering unit headed to the area and destroyed the balloons by explosives. The army, in a communiqué issued Friday, warned civilians against messing with the balloons and urged them to report finding them to the closest army unit. (Naharnet)
Thursday December 14, 2006
The Israeli Army carried out a brief violation of the UN-demarcated Blue Line, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) said. The NNA said two Israeli tanks and about 60 soldiers penetrated 3 kilometers inside South Lebanon and “opened fire” at two shepherds herding sheep near the disputed Shebaa Farms. The shepherds, identified as Omar and Hicham Abdul Al, took cover at Halta Farm, while some of their livestock were hit by Israeli gunfire.
Monday December 11, 2006
Israeli jets violated airspace in southern Lebanon Monday by flying at low altitude over areas where UN peacekeepers are stationed. The jets also flew over the cities of Tyre, Marjayun and Nabatiyeh. (DPA) (more…)
