[WCUSP] Article: Lebanese Civilians Helped Thwart Israel's Plans

Sat Sep 2 13:24:07 CDT 2006

Per request from our Lebanese WILPF sister, Samira Khoury, I am forwarding
this to the Intl WILPF listserv and relevant US Section listservs. Please
forward widely within your WILPF section and other peace networks.

peace,
c.j.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Communicator <sefton at telus.net>
Date: Sep 2, 2006 11:27 AM
Subject: Re: Lebanese Civilians Helped Thwart Israel's Plans. [J.M. Leas]
(fwd)

The analysis presented in this article is vital for understanding and
responding to the recent conflict. It should be circulated to all WILPF
members/subscribers on e-mail. If Israel had succeeded in occupying this
territory, it would have gained control of the Litani River and tributaries.
Barbara

----- Original Message -----
From: "Samira Khoury" < sk05 at aub.edu.lb>
Subject: Lebanese Civilians Helped Thwart Israel's Plans. [J.M. Leas] (fwd)

hello all...since I cannot anymore post anything on wilpf-news I would
like first to be resubscribed both for me & for marjkanaan..I have asked
many times, to no avail...& I would
like also to ask U all to help disseminate this e-mail to ur lists...lots
of thanx...Samira

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 11:32:18 -0700
From: Communicator <sefton at telus.net>
To: Communicator < sefton at telus.net>
Subject: Lebanese Civilians Helped Thwart Israel's Plans. [J.M. Leas]

[a very important analysis of the present conflict from CanPalnet_news]

"Lebanese civilians helped thwart Israel's plans,"
by James Marc Lea
Posted by: "Edward C. Corrigan" ecorrigan at linkd.net edcorrigancanada Date:
Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:13 pm (PDT)

This is one of the best analysis I have seen of the latest Israeli invasion
of Lebanon. The article was published both on Counterpunch and on mwcnews.
The mwcnews version includes the hyperlinks which is included below. It is
written by an American Jewish peace activist, James Marc Leas. He is a
patent lawyer in South Burlington, Vermont. He is a member of the National
Lawyers Guild and is a board member of the Refuser Solidarity Network. He
has long been active with Jewish peace groups opposing the Israeli invasions

of Lebanon and occupation of Palestine.
Ed Corrigan

Lebanese civilians helped thwart Israel's plans
by James Marc Leas

http://mwcnews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8978
<http://mwcnews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8978 >

http://www.counterpunch.org/leas08252006.html

('http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Lebanon/5/devastated-homes.jpg','Image',250,199,1<http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Lebanon/5/devastated-homes.jpg%27,%27Image%27,250,199,1>
)

By simply returning to their homes Lebanese civilians played a key role [in]
thwarting Israel's plans in its most recent war in Lebanon. As the
Associated Press reported on August 14, immediately upon the start of the UN
sponsored cease-fire tens of thousands of Lebanese families defied orders
from Israeli commanders, took to the roads, and returned to their villages
in southern Lebanon . (see  here <http://www.nysun.com/article/37870>) Their
courageous action stifled any hope the Israeli government may have had for
accomplishing its grand vision for southern Lebanon with this war.

As the Los Angeles Times reported in an article, "Old Feud over Lebanese
River Takes on New Turn
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-litani10aug10,0,7409354.story?coll=la-home-headlines
>,"
August 10, 2006,  three of Israel's founding fathers, Chaim Weizmann, David
Ben-Gurion, and Moshe Dayan, all favored occupying and annexing southern
Lebanon up to the Litani River. Israel launched massive attacks on Lebanon
in 1978, 1982, 1993, 1996, and now in 2006, each time ultimately failing.

Features of Israel's most recent attack reveal a military plan similar to
that used in the 1967 war to acquire the Golan Heights from Syria. The
massive bombing of Hezbollah positions along the border was designed to
weaken or destroy Hezbollah's ability to resist Israel's coming ground
attack. The bombing of population centers and civilian infrastructure in
this region was designed to frighten and drive out most of the civilian
population that would support the guerrilla fighters. The mobilization of
30,000 reserve soldiers meant that Israel intended to invade and occupy the
region south of the Litani with sufficient ground troops to drive out
remaining civilians and isolate surviving Hezbollah guerrilla fighters from
support and resupply. Then those ground troops would destroy all remaining
isolated guerrillas, entirely clearing the land between Israel's northern
border and the Litani River. Finally, fully replicating Israel's successful
depopulation and repopulation of the Golan Heights, Jewish settlers would be
brought in to secure Israeli control of the land and guard against return of
Lebanese villagers so Israel could ultimately annex the region.

But Israeli bombing went much further than the region south of the Litani.
Israel also intensely bombed residential apartment buildings, schools, power
plants, bridges, roads, and hospitals in most other parts of Lebanon,
including in densely populated Beirut.

The bombing of the civilians and the civilian infrastructure south of the
Litani succeed[ed] in driving out 3/4 million people, nearly emptying that
region. But Israel aroused world-wide condemnation for its bombing campaign
that focused on civilians, particularly the seemingly gratuitous part of the
bombing extending far beyond the border region that seemed way out of
proportion. [Such] civilian targeting could only be explained by an Israeli
goal that was far more sinister then Israel's stated goal of retrieving its
captured soldiers or driving Hezbollah from Israel's northern border region.
The devastating bombing of houses, apartment buildings, power plants, fuel
storage [facilities], roads, and bridges as far away as Beirut, and the
killing of over one thousand civilians, was seen as intentionally directed
toward civilians throughout Lebanon. Its purpose appears to have been to
demonstrate such a level of ruthlessness as to discourage villagers from
returning to their homes in southern Lebanon once the expected UN cease-fire
was finally imposed.

While the depopulation portion of its bombing in southern Lebanon succeeded,

Israel found that its first two weeks of bombing did not dislodge Hezbollah
rocket launchers or substantially weaken Hezbollah's ability to resist the
coming ground assault. Thus Israel was forced to delay the ground offensive
while extending the bombing campaign. When Israel finally launched its big
invasion on August 11, intensely negative worldwide public opinion had
already forced the UN Security Council to impose a cease-fire and only three

days remained before that cease-fire took effect. Despite the month of
bombing Israel found that its tanks and infantry met fierce resistance from
Hezbollah, which inflicted heavy losses and kept most of the Israeli ground
troops locked in a region close to the border. Only by airlifting troops
with helicopters could Israel expand its presence to the region near the
Litani River but not in  sufficient numbers and not with sufficient supplies

and equipment to have any hope of both protecting themselves from guerrillas
and guarding the river to stop returning civilians.

Hezbollah's well executed guerrilla strategy combined with the massive
display of civilian courage crushed all hopes for Israel of getting any
benefit at all from this war.

Perhaps it was the inspiring ability of Hezbollah to withstand the bombing
and continue to resist. Perhaps tens of thousands of civilians just knew
that if they hesitated after the cease-fire, like the Palestinians, they
would become long-term refugees. Whatever the reason, despite the
pulverizing bombardment for 33 days, amazingly the civilian population was
not so shocked and awed that they were immobilized. By the tens of thousands

a flood of Lebanese civilians boldly took to the roads in an enormous act of
civil disobedience to the occupying Israeli troops.

Hezbollah's well executed guerrilla strategy combined with the massive
display of civilian courage crushed all hopes for Israel [to]get any benefit

at all from this war. The nearly solid Israeli support for the war shattered
immediately after the cease-fire began, and a powerful wave of criticism
exploded, especially among returning soldiers, many of whom announced
refusal to remain in the reserves. Extreme right-wing factions called for
resuming the war with even more devastating strategies for dealing with
Lebanese civilians. For example, an editorial in the August 20 right-wing
Gamla newsletter states, "The IDF could have crushed the resistance within
days. It is true that instead of 600-800 civilian deaths, there would have
been [many] more. But when you have in your hands the very future of our
people, you cannot think about how things will 'look' or what they will say
to you in the mainstream media."

Stopping the next war, whether it is again directed at Lebanon or whether it
is directed against Syria or Iran, will require a sustained world-wide
campaign calling on Israel to immediately withdraw all its forces from
Lebanon and abide by the cease-fire. Whether the next war can be prevented
depends on the ability of people all over the world to deny Israeli and US
attempts to find pretext[s] to destroy the cease-fire and resume or expand
the war. Because Israeli troops continue to occupy southern Lebanon and
[are] blockad[ing] its ports and because elite Israeli commandos continue
military attacks in defiance of the cease-fire resolution, Israel provides
ample grounds for building this worldwide campaign. Lebanese civilians have
already played a crucial role. Now its up to the rest of us.

James Marc Leas is a patent lawyer in South Burlington, Vermont. He is a
member of the National Lawyers Guild and is a board member of the Refuser
Solidarity Network. He has long been active with Jewish peace groups
opposing the Israeli invasions of Lebanon and occupation of Palestine./

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