Lebanon

Jim Taggart interviews CfS activist and
veteran antiwar campaigner, Ali Syed.

Ali has had a long term involvement in solidarity with the Palestinian people. He is a founding member of the newly-formed Scottish Friends of Lebanon. On the 27th of August (shortly after the cease-fire) I spoke with Ali Syed regarding the Israeli invasion. I asked Ali to explain what lay behind the Israeli incursion and bombing but before he would answer that question, he first gave me a picture of Lebanese society.

AS. Lebanon is a beautiful country with a cosmopolitan population of about 4 million. Some 17 religions are represented: Druze, Shias and Sunni Arabs, Jews and Christians - Maronite, Orthodox and Catholic. According to their constitution the two main positions in government should be shared between the Maronite and Muslim communities; that if the President is a Muslim, the Prime Minister must be a Christian (or visa versa). All speak Arabic though the use of French and English is also widespread. Between the first and second world wars Lebanon was a French colony. In 1982 Israel invaded and occupied the south of the country which had given sanctuary to many Palestinian refugees. That year saw the massacre of the refugees in the camps of Sabra and Shatilla by Maronite Christian militias at the instigation of the Israeli occupiers.”

JT: But where does Hizbullah enter this picture?

AS: Hizbullah was founded in 1986. Most of its members are Shia and it is substantially supported by Iran.

JT. Can we now speak of the recent Israeli invasion and bombing?

AS. Since the Israeli bombing all communities have come together. Desperate people show great solidarity. There has been solid support for the refugees. Bombs don‘t distinguish between religious groups. Both churches and mosques have been bombed. The Katyusha rockets with which Hizbullah retaliated are crude weapons – Russian army surplus and some 30 years old. Israel, on the other hand, attacked with state of the art weapons and laser guided bombs.

JT. We know that Israel had an arsenal of illegally held nuclear weapons that, thankfully, were not used in the attack on Lebanon but were other illegal weapons used?

AS. Yes. Israel used phosphorous bombs, cluster bombs and depleted uranium tipped shells. This weaponry was imported from the US via British airports and air-bases. These cluster bombs were used by the US in Laos, the first Gulf War, and more recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Human Rights Watch consider that Israel’s use of these weapons in southern Lebanon violated international law. The failure rate of these American made bombs ranges from 14% up to 40% i.e. they fail to explode on impact and the unexploded bombs thus constitute an extremely severe violation of the basic principle upon which humanitarian law is based. Doctors in Lebanese hospitals were highly critical of phosphorus bombs used against civilians when they saw the casualties admitted with injuries, symptomatic with phosphorus weapons.

JT. The US, backed by Britain, resisted demands for an immediate cease-fire when the Israelis invaded; so what was US strategy?

AS. Their most important aim is to control the Middle East. Their philosophy is that Hizbullah could be caught transporting weapons from Syria and Iran. This would be an excuse to attack these countries. Fortunately things did not happen that way. Syria and Iran were very conscious of this so did not openly support Hizbullah. Seymour Hersh, the veteran investigative American journalist, wrote in the New Yorker that “Israeli Government officials travelled to the US in May, to share plans for attacking Hizbullah”.

JT. However, despite the fact that the war did not extend to Syria or Iran, the damage done to Lebanon is very extensive.

AS. 78 bridges were destroyed and another 70 badly damaged. Beirut airport was made unusable. Oil storage facilities on the coast were destroyed. The attack on Qana – a town in a very poor area near the border and which had not previously been politically militant – has made it now an active centre of resistance.

JT. Is this something that has taken place throughout the whole country?

AS. External aggression has united the whole country and all communities against the aggressor.

JT. And what about human casualties?

AS. On the Lebanese side about 1,300 people have died and almost 45% of them were children. Bodies are still being pulled out from the rubble. Much livestock has also been killed. Israel suffered about 167 casualties – 47 civilians and 120 soldiers. People are, of course, still dying from their injuries. Even the people in Israel are asking if the deaths of 120 soldiers and 40 civilians was worth 2 captured soldiers

JT. Is it fair to say that Hizbullah succeeded in stemming the advance of the Israeli army?

AS. Hizbullah sank a warship and shot down several helicopters. Yes, it is fair to say that Hizbullah held the Israeli advance. Now they are the ‘heroes’ in the eyes of all Arabs - much to the surprise of the Israeli forces.

JT. Is there a prospect of Israel being charged with war crimes in respect of the attack on the Lebanon?

AS. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) considers the force was: disproportionate, involved illegal weapons (phosphorus, cluster bombs) and indiscriminate (targeted civilians as well as combatants). Israel claimed only to have targeted Hizbullah. But Hizbullah claims only to have lost between 30 and 40 fighters – all the rest were civilian casualties. In the 1960s Britain exported plutonium and nuclear technology to Israel to enable them to the development of nuclear bombs. The US at that time had refused to do this.

JT Was there a possibility that Israel might have used a nuclear bomb against Lebanon?

AS. No, the danger of fallout on Israel would be too great. However, in respect of Iran, the situation could be different.