http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149192035866&path=%21news&s=1045855934842
Hezbollah accused by Israel
The Associated Press
Dec 6, 2006
JERUSALEM - An Israeli think tank with strong links to the military
released videos and testimony yesterday it said proved Hezbollah
guerrillas used civilians as human shields this year in Lebanon.
The report's authors hoped to challenge allegations that Israel
committed war crimes when it attacked residential areas during last
summer's war.
Although no formal war-crimes charges have been filed against either
side, Israel has taken the brunt of international criticism. Israel is
especially sensitive about the possibility of legal action because of
previous lawsuits and indictments abroad against Israeli leaders and
military officers.
Israel says its attacks against Hezbollah targets in populated areas did
not violate international law.
The 300-page report, compiled by a military intelligence expert who has
an office in the Defense Ministry, argues that Lebanese government and
media reports of the number of civilians killed in Lebanon were exaggerated.
The report, first released to The New York Times, said Hezbollah
operated from civilian areas to deter the Israeli military and gain a
propaganda advantage if an Israeli counterattack caused civilian
casualties. Guerrillas stashed weapons in hundreds of homes and mosques,
had missile transports closely follow ambulances and fired rockets from
positions near U.N. monitoring posts, the report said.
Much of the material was released earlier, but some was recently
declassified, including interviews with Hezbollah prisoners and aerial
photographs showing the Hezbollah buildup in civilian areas.
One video included in the report showed what it identified as a captive
Hezbollah guerrilla telling interrogators how the militia rented houses
in residential areas to secretly store missiles.
A Hezbollah official dismissed the Israeli report as untrue, saying it
was part of "a campaign to vilify Hezbollah and justify the unjustified
Israeli massacres in Lebanon."
"These allegations are part of Israeli propaganda aimed at protecting
Israel's generals and officials who face accusations of committing
massacres against Lebanese civilians during the summer war," said
Hussein Rahhal, Hezbollah's media chief.
The 34-day war left more than 1,000 people dead on both sides, according
to the U.N. and Israeli and Lebanese officials. Lebanon's Higher Relief
Council, a government group, says the majority of those were Lebanese
civilians.
Of the total deaths, 159 were in Israel, including 39 soldiers.
Israel claimed 800 Hezbollah fighters were killed, but that figure was
not substantiated, with the group only acknowledging 70 of its fighters
killed.
+++
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