Israel Matzav

Was Hezbullah shooting rockets from Qana?

Someone sent this video as an MPeg file, but after spending all too much time trying to figure out how to upload mpeg's to my blog (I can't even figure out how to upload YouTube files!) I found the same video over at Vital Perspective. Before you view the movie, read this (you'll find it there too):

If a location is a legitimate military objective, it does not cease to be one because civilians are in the vicinity. As Article 28 of the 4th Geneva Convention provides:

The presence of a protected person may not be used to render certain points or areas immune from military operations.

Clearly, the deliberate placing of military targets in the heart of civilian areas is a serious violation of humanitarian law, and those who chose to locate such targets in these areas must bear responsibility for the injury to civilians which this decision engenders. As international law expert Yoram Dinstein notes:

Should civilian casualties ensue from an attempt to shield combatants or a military objective, the ultimate responsibility lies with the belligerent placing innocent civilians at risk.

In light of that, examine this visual proof of rocket firing by Hezbollah from within Qana and the use of human shields throughout Lebanon by firing and hiding amongst the civilian population:

Make sure to watch the video (some of you may have seen part of it already - I had. This is a longer version).

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:27 AM