I wonder if the detailed info in this article will be widely copied by mainline media? It makes it very unlikely that the attack was accidental. Perhaps the Israeli's want to gauge the degree of war crimes that are acceptable to the US.
Cheers, Ken Hanly 'They must have known what they were doing' Email Print Normal font Large font Ed O'Loughlin July 27, 2006 ABOUT 20 shells fell in or close to a UN base in south Lebanon before an Israeli aerial bomb penetrated the bunker killing all four foreign observers sheltering there, according to a UN military source. The source told The Age protests had been made repeatedly to Israel during the course of shelling that preceded the fatal bombing. The pattern of the fire made it clear that it came from the Israelis, he said, and only Israel possesses weapons heavy enough to penetrate the fortified bunker protecting the four observers. The only thing in doubt was how or why an Israeli aircraft came to bomb a clearly marked UN position that should have been exempt from attack. "This position has been there for twenty years. Israel knows these positions and they have had two weeks to zero in on this area and register targets and where you don't want to hit. That's standard behaviour," the UN source said. "They (the bunkers) are big white things you can see them for miles and they are lit up at night. Even if the Israelis just arrived cold from the moon two weeks ago, they have been firing there in that area regularly for two weeks. If you keep firing all afternoon into a position like that, then ultimately something will go wrong." The UN south Lebanon mission was the first ever peacekeeping mission, set up in 1948 to monitor ceasefire lines between Egypt, Lebanon and Syria and the new state of Israel. The base at Khiam was one of four observation posts along the Lebanon-Israeli border, two of which are currently closed because of earlier incidents. They are typically manned by teams of four, who patrol in clearly marked UN vehicles. In Lebanon, the organisation works in close co-operation with Unifil, a larger armed force introduced following Israel's 1978 invasion of Lebanon. Relations between the Israeli Defence Force and the UN missions have traditionally been strained. Many Israelis regard the UN with hostility, and accuse it of siding with their enemies.
