UN Mid-East 'war crimes' warning

The UN Human Rights Council has voted to have an enquiry into Israel's attacks on civilians in Lebanon.

The council approved the resolution, brought by Islamic countries, by 27 votes to 11.

Eleven countries - many of which criticised the proposal for not condemning Hezbollah as well - voted against the move, while eight abstained.

Louise Arbour, the UN's Human Rights Chief, was scornful of both Israel and Hizbullah warning:

"Israeli attacks affecting civilians continue unabated," she told a special session of the UN Human Rights Council.

"Also unrelenting is Hezbollah's indiscriminate shelling of densely populated centres in northern Israel," she said, warning that commanders on both sides could face prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

She also warned that war crimes may be committed "even by those who believe accurately or not that their combat is a just one and their cause a worthy pursuit".

"Within a human rights framework, the inquiry should be primarily concerned with the plights of victims. It should address all violations by all parties, and it should lay the foundation for possible measures of reparation and accountability," she said.

More than 1,000 Lebanese, most of them civilians, have been killed in the month-long conflict, Lebanon says. Some 123 Israelis, most of them soldiers, have also been killed.

I have to say, critical as I have been of Israel, that I think both sides should be investigated for any violations and not just the Israelis as Hizbullah have been firing into civilian areas.

However, the Israelis have more firepower at their disposal and have produced far greater civilian casualties than Hizbullah.

More worryingly, as the leaflets dropped over Hay al-Selloum, Bourj al-Barajneh and Shiyah districts show, the Israelis are now blatantly ignoring the Geneva Conventions by stating:

"Each expansion of Hizbollah terrorist operations will lead to a harsh and powerful response and its painful response will not be confined to Hassan's gang of criminals".

This is clearly a threat to the civilian population.

I do though think that both sides should be investigated, not just the Israelis.

I also believe that the Israelis should be investigated for the wanton destruction of Lebanese property and not just for civilian deaths. Wanton destruction of property is also a war crime.

Anyway, there's hardly any point getting into a state about this as I'm sure the Americans will squash it at the first chance they get.

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Tags: Olmert, Bush, Blair, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Hamas, Hizbullah, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, UN resolution,