It seems like so long ago, but it was just Saturday night when NATO fighter jets killed Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, Muammar's youngest son, and his three children.
Here's Libyan television broadcaster Yousuf Shaqir reacting to the bombing by threatening the United States. He goes a little berserk....
In an earlier post, I reported that Seif al-Arab Gadhafi and his three sons, a son and three of the grandsons of Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi, were killed on Saturday night in a NATO attack on one of the Gadhafi family compounds. On Sunday, the Libyan leader exacted his revenge, letting his supporters loose on various NATO countries' embassies in Tripoli. Among the embassies attacked was Britain's. The destruction may be seen in the pictures above and below, which I screen-captured from a BBC video which can be viewed here. The Brits, who didn't seem too phased when they discovered that they had been duped into releasing Pan Am 103 hijacker Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, finally decided enough was enough. They have given the Libyan ambassador to the UK, Omar Jelban (pictured below), 24 hours to leave the country.
"I condemn the attacks on the British embassy premises in Tripoli as well as the diplomatic missions of other countries," said the foreign secretary, William Hague. "The Vienna convention requires the Gaddafi regime to protect diplomatic missions in Tripoli. By failing to do so that regime has once again breached its international responsibilities and obligations. I take the failure to protect such premises very seriously indeed."
The statement went on: "As a result, I have taken the decision to expel the Libyan ambassador. He is persona non grata pursuant to article 9 of the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations and has 24 hours to leave the country."
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The Gaddafi regime appears to have mounted a symbolic attack on empty diplomatic residences and embassies in Tripoli. There are no British diplomats in the Libyan capital.
Other foreign residences were also targeted, as the UN announced it was taking all its remaining international staff out of Tripoli.
The Italian foreign ministry said its embassy and several others in Tripoli were damaged by vandals and accused the Gaddafi regime of failing to take measures to protect foreign missions.
Here's a report from al-Jazeera on the expulsion of Libya's ambassador to the UK. Let's go to the videotape.
Let's see if anyone thinks twice about sending an ambassador back when things die down.
Gadhafi son and three grandsons killed - will those responsible be prosecuted for 'war crimes'?
During the night, Muammar Gadhafi's youngest son, Seif al-Arab Gadhafi (who was not his more famous brother Seif al-Islam Gadhafi) was killed along with three of his children who were under the age of 12. Muammar Gadhafi and one of his wives were in the son's house when the NATO planes attacked.
Let's go to the videotape.
The house in Tripoli was destroyed by the strike, with a massive crater where the house used to be. At least one unexploded bomb could be seen.
The building was in a residential area of Tripoli, according to Ibrahim, who insisted that Saif al-Arab Gadhafi was a student in Germany who was not deeply involved in Libya's military and government. The 29-year-old was the sixth of Gadhafi's eight biological children.
Ibrahim railed against NATO after the fatal strike, calling it an illegal act and a "war crime." He vowed revenge.
Speaking at a rally, Ibrahim told fellow Libyans, "Every one of you are Saif al-Arab."
Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, commander of NATO's military operations, said in a statement he was "aware of unconfirmed media reports that some of Gadhafi's family members may have been killed.
"We regret all loss of life, especially the innocent civilians being harmed as a result of this ongoing conflict," Bouchard said. "NATO is fulfilling its U.N. mandate to stop and prevent attacks against civilians with precision and care -- unlike Gadhafi's forces, which are causing so much suffering."
The NATO commander stated that all targets "are military in nature and have been clearly linked to the Gadhafi regime's systemic attacks on the Libyan population ... We do not target individuals."
A senior official in President Barack Obama's administration said the U.S. government is "very aware" of the reports, but cannot confirm who, if anyone, died in a strike until they see the evidence.
Might I remind you that several European countries, many of whom are NATO members who are involved in the fighting in Libya (e.g. Britain), have attempted to prosecute Israeli officials for 'war crimes' in connection with the killing of Hamas terror chieftain Salah Shehadeh in 2002. In that case, Shehadeh had gathered family members around him as human shielfs, and many of those family members were killed along with him.. Unlike Seif al-Arab Gadhafi, Salah Shehadeh was very much involved in planning terror attacks.
So does this mean that those NATO countries will attempt to prosecute those responsible for the deaths of Seif al-Arab Gadhafi's children? Don't hold your breaths. No one cares when Arabs are killed unless they are killed by Jews.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
