“They are treating us like meat in a butcher’s shop”
Shells and bombs continue to rain down on Lebanon
yesterday, targeting roads, bridges, buildings, homes, vehicles and people. Last
week, a leading Israeli hawk coined a new euphemism, describing the Israeli Air
Force's targets as Lebanon's 'material and human infrastructure'.
At noon on Friday there were a series of small explosions high in the air above the city of Tyre and thousands of little pieces of cheap yellow paper came fluttering to earth. ‘To the inhabitants of villages situated south of the Litani River,’ the leaflets read. ‘Because of terrorist attacks against the state of Israel, which come from your villages and between your houses, the Israeli army is forced to respond to these attacks even inside your villages. For your security you must immediately leave your village and go to the north of the Litani river.’
But most of Tyre’s 80,000 people had already gone by then, driven from their homes by days of Israeli shelling and bombing that has killed more than 330 innocent civilians and a handful of Hezbollah militants.
By yesterday afternoon, Tyre, cradle of the Phoenician civilisation, one of the ancient Mediterranean’s mightiest cities, a world heritage site and an archaeological jewel was almost a ghost town. Among those refusing to flee was the 70-year-old mayor, Abdul Musa Husseini, who defiantly remained in his office along with a group of aides and policemen.
‘I would rather die with dignity and honour in my own home than die fleeing on the road,’ he said. ‘This is much worse than in 1982. Then they attacked the Palestinians, Syrians, fighting men. Now they are just targeting civilians.’
‘The Israelis are treating us like meat in a butcher’s shop,’ shouted Sabah Safiabddin, 45.
The shells and bombs continued to rain down on Lebanon yesterday, targeting roads, bridges, buildings, homes, vehicles and people. Last week, a leading Israeli hawk coined a new euphemism, describing the Israeli Air Force’s targets as Lebanon’s ‘material and human infrastructure’.
With no real aerial defences, the Lebanese are powerless to resist the onslaught. Yesterday, it was reported that the US is speeding a fresh consignment of bombs and missiles to Israel to replace the ones it has already expended.
The whole world knows how one-sided US government policies have always been in the Middle East. Oh, yes — and 9/11 will be quoted somewhere to justify it all.
Posted: Mon - July 24, 2006 at 06:09 AM