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The UN Report on the IDF Role in the Kafr Kana Incident
Dateline: Monday, May 6th 1996
As teachers gather in the staff room for coffee this morning or as Jewish
students meet in the library or Hillel house, many will be asking themselves
how to deal with the morality of the incident as it and the report are
presented in the media.
Whatever human error caused this terrible tragedy, which has been publicly
regretted, deplored - and even protested - in Israel, there never has
been and never will be an IDF policy of firing at civilian targets knowingly.
Hizbullah, however, makes no secret that its Katyusha fire on northern
Israel is deliberately targeted at civilians.
Be that as it may, the UN now claims that the report's conclusions were
drawn, because no Israeli statement to any other effect was received.
Israel claims that it sent its chief artillery officer to assist with
the Inquiry.
Following is an excerpt from the text of a letter written by U.S. Secretary
of State, Warren Christopher to Prime Minister Peres on 30 April 1996,
concerning the prohibition on Hizbullah attacks and Israel's right to
self-defense in the recent agreements reached between all parties concerned.
[Courtesy: Israel Government Press Office and Prime Ministerial Spokesperson.]
"With regard to the prohibitions on the use of certain areas
as launching grounds for attacks, the United States understands that the
prohibition refers not only to the firing of weapons, but also to the
use of these areas by armed groups as bases from which to carry out attacks."
- What launching grounds and kinds of bases do you understand to be
prohibited under the arrangements?
- What does this imply about the immediate causes of the incident?
- Name other atrocities in the world currently under investigation and
say what is being done about them; give some idea of their scale.
- How does the proportion and speed of media response on this incident
compare with that accorded to atrocities in Bosnia, Turkey, Iraq, Chechniya,
Rwanda....?
Israel does not deny that the IDF perpetrated this act; it denies the
motive and brings charges against Hizbullah of deliberate abuse of a UN
facility and exploitation of civilian cover.
- Given that UNIFIL knew that Hizbullah had established itself a short
distance away from their base and firing Katyushas into Israel, while
the base itself was harboring refugees, did UNIFIL have a responsibility
itself to notify Israel: a] of the Hizbullah emplacement close by? b]
not to respond with fire because of the refugees being sheltered on
the base?
And so, back to the report itself at a more sophisticated level:
- In your opinion, do the UN Inquiry and its media coverage seem complete?
- As far as you know, what sort of procedure was used to ensure the
impartiality of the UN Inquiry?
- Are either or both of the following parties biased, as claimed by
various other parties:
- The US government for alleged support of Israel in trying to protest
[suppress?] the report's findings?
- The UN military investigator / Secretariat for presenting only
the complainant side in their findings?
Check it for yourself -- and let us know what you think!
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