Israel Matzav

Just wondering about Qana

Over at the Power Line Blog, John Hinderaker asks an interesting question:

This AFP photograph shows Beirut demonstrators with a giant poster of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that was used in a rally protesting the accidental killing of civilian human shields, along with terrorists, in Qana:

What seems odd about this is that the banner was unfurled within hours after the Qana attack took place. The building where the civilians died was bombed on Sunday morning, and the demonstration took place during daylight hours, later the same day. I have no idea what kind of facility it takes to produce a 30-foot-high banner like this one. It is obviously professionally done. It would be interesting to know where this banner was produced; who designed and paid for it; and how its production was expedited so that it was ready for use, on the street, within hours after the event being protested.

John has more questions too, so make sure to read the whole thing.

Hat Tip: Kranky (in the civilized world)

Naomi Ragen, in a mailing to her list last night, also asked whether Qana is "more Pallywood:"

Hat Tip: Harvey in Efrat

1. Tonight, an IDF spokesman showed aerial photos of rockets being fired from residential areas in Qana. It showed the portable rocket launchers being parked beneath residential buildings. The spokesman said that the bombs dropped on Qana were dropped at 1 a.m. The reports of the building collapse took place at 7 a.m. Also, no bombs actually hit the building. So, who was responsible for the collapse of that building? Could Hezbollah weapons have exploded, destroying the building? Was it deliberate, a way to pressure Israel into a ceasefire the same way they did last time, in exactly the same spot? And why is no one in the media picking up on this time gap and asking questions? [Well, the bloggers sure are. Many of us posted it last night. CiJ]

2. The number of those injured is being supplied by Lebanese sources, and being quoted by all the news stations. So far, only 26 bodies have been recovered. [Even I wasn't aware of that. CiJ] But news reports are saying the number was twice that, and half are children. That too is supplied by unknown sources and repeated by the major media.

For those of you who think that Naomi is being far-fetched, recall that IDF Brigadier General Amir Eshel hinted at the same thing last night, and recall that just last month, an explosion at a Gaza beach that was blamed on Israel turned out to have been caused by explosives being stored by Hamas on the beach.

Unfortunately, the world's mind is made up, and even if this is eventually determined to have been an instance of 'Pallywood North,' most of the world will still blame Israel, as is the case with the Gaza Beach incident, and as was the case with the Muhammed al-Dura incident six years ago. But maybe the United States and a couple of other countries will acknowledge the truth - if we are lucky and convincing.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:42 AM