Liveblogging the War: Monday July 24th

11:00PM: According to a Guardian poll, 61% of the British public believe Israel’s military response to the kidnapping of two soldiers by Hizbullah is “exaggerated,” 22% believe Israel’s response is proportionate, and 30%. agree with the stance of Prime Minister Tony Blair who backed Israel’s military response.

I wonder what the 61% would say if the IRA fired from Ireland rockets at English cities, including London.

10:45PM: Besides the 2 helicopter pilots who were killed today, 2 soldiers were killed and 18 soldiers injured in exchanges of fire between ground forces and Hizbullah terrorists.

Meanwhile, Hizbullah are boasting that they downed a helicopter and killed a dozen IDF soldiers.

10:30PM: This next story is dedicated to those who cling to the false belief that civilians are dying in Lebanon because Israel hates Arabs, and not because Hizbullah is purposely operating in civilian areas.

A 47-year-old unidentified Lebanese woman was admitted to Ziv Hospital in Safed on Saturday afternoon as she was brought to the Israel-Lebanese border suffering from severe injuries from a high-velocity gunshot wound in the back.

According to her son, who accompanied her to the border and to Ziv, they had been fleeing from the area of conflict. The pair is said to have been brought to an area near the northern border of Israel by a Lebanese physician and rescued under fire by Israel Defense Forces operating in southern Lebanon. The IDF transferred them to an ambulance that rushed to Safed, which itself has been under Hizbullah missile attack since the beginning of the war.

Doctors in the trauma unit administered lifesaving procedures, according to hospital director Dr. Oscar Embon and deputy director Dr. Calin Shapira. She was found to have a large, deep wound across the right side of her back, contusions in the right lung and fractures in several ribs. She was hurried to the surgical theater for treatment of the wound and a closer examination of the injured area.

Shapira said on Saturday night that the woman was in serious condition, attached to a respirator and under anesthesia. It was the first report of Israeli medical facilities treating any of the many Lebanese who have been wounded in the Israeli action in Lebanon.

“All that we ask the American administration is to take a moral stance toward the Palestinian people, and the Palestinian suffering and to bear its responsibility as a superpower in this world,” he told The Associated Press in an interview. He called on America “to restrain the Israeli aggression and stop it.”

“An army that fights with excellent forces and tanks with the assistance of an air force cannot got into a village directly on the border except after a battle that has continued for days with great losses against a number of opposition fighters is a failed and defeated army.”

A high ranking IAF officer told The Jerusalem Post that an initial report that the helicopter got entangled in an electrical wire was false, saying that the helicopter was flying at an altitude that was much higher than the electric cable.

 

The officer said that the IDF was looking into the possibility that the Apache helicopter was shot down by Hizbullah anti-aircraft fire.

4:00PM: The victims of yesterday’s Katusha attacks.

Habib Isa Awad, 48

 

Awad, a Christian Arab, was married and the father of four: two daughters, aged 7 and 15; and two sons, 11 and 13.

 

Habib Hajj, a close friend and relative, said that Awad wanted only to provide for his family. “He was a good man, in every sense of the word, who cared only about taking care of his wife and children, nothing else interested him and certainly not regional politics.”

 

Awad was one of the most senior employees at the Siboni carpentry shop, the place where he was killed. Owner David Siboni said that Awad was a dedicated and trustworthy employee, who was devoted to his work.

 

Shimon Glikblich, 60

 

Shimon Glikblich worked in the Spanish nursing home in Haifa’s Neveh Sha’anan neighborhood. He immigrated from Moscow with his wife, Paulina, and daughter, Yulia, 15 years ago.

 

Yulia, who is in her twenties and is studying social work, said yesterday: “He was a good father, he liked to help people. Everyone knew him. Until it happens to you, you don’t believe that something like this can happen.”

 

Paulina said that for Shimon, “his daughter was his whole world, he loved her so. He was on his way home from work when it happened. He went to work because people hadn’t been coming the past several days and we tried to go on as usual. He didn’t think about the missiles and continued to work.”

 

A neighbor who was friendly with Glikblich added that “he was a very industrious person. He left for work every morning at five, he was very attached to his family. The family is very nice and quiet. It’s just terrible what happened.”

1:20PM: Here’s more on Arnie at the pro-Israel rally:

Governor Schwarzenegger told of his many visits to Israel, and recalled that his first trip abroad after being voted into his role was to Israel.

He offered support for the Israeli people and especially northern residents under attack and forced to sit in bomb shelters.

All of California stands by Israel in its just struggle against extremist Islamic terror organizations who oppose all peace arrangements, said the former Hollywood star.

People of Arab countries, especially the Lebanese and Palestinians, have been held hostage for a long time in the name of “resisting Israel.” Arab governments have been caught between political obligations and public opinion leading to more corruption in politics and economics. Forgetting the interests of their own countries the Hamas Movement and Hezbollah have gone to the extent of representing the interests of Iran and Syrian in their countries. These organizations have become the representatives of Syria and Iran without worrying about the consequences of their action.

 

Recently Hamas kidnapped an Israeli soldier and bombed Israeli settlements with locally manufactured missiles. Soon Hezbollah followed suit, kidnapping two Israeli soldiers. Both these organizations claimed they had kidnapped Israeli soldiers to exchange them for Arab prisoners who are being held in Israeli jails. The fact that Hamas and Hezbollah gave the same reason for kidnapping Israeli soldiers gives us a glimpse their agenda, which is similar to the one followed by Syria and Iran in their conflict with the United States.

 

While the people of Palestine and Lebanon are paying the price of this bloody conflict, the main players, who caused this conflict, are living in peace and asking for more oil from Arab countries to support the facade of resisting Israel. With the Palestinian Authority close to collapse and the Lebanese government beginning to give up responsibility for what is happening in its territory, Saudi Arabia has been forced to come out of its diplomatic routine and indirectly hold Hezbollah responsible for what is happening Lebanon.

 

Without mentioning Hezbollah by name Saudi Arabia blamed certain “elements” inside Lebanon for the violence with Israel and said “it is necessary to make a distinction between legitimate resistance and uncalculated adventures adopted by certain elements within Lebanon without the knowledge of legal Lebanese authorities.” While reiterating its support for Palestinian and Lebanese resistance against Israeli occupation, Saudi Arabia has clearly said it is against irresponsible adventures undertaken by certain elements in the region without consulting the legal authorities putting all Arab nations at risk. The Kingdom has also said “these elements must take responsibility for their irresponsible actions and they alone should end the crisis created by them.”

 

This angry response from Saudi Arabia has politically isolated Hezbollah and Hamas besides holding them responsible for their actions.

 

This attitude of Saudi Arabia, which has been doing all it can to protect the Arab world from Israeli aggression, is enough to unmask the adventurers, who have violated the rights of their own countries and tried put their people under the guardianship of foreign countries like Iran and Syria. A battle between supporters and opponents of these adventurers has begun, starting from Palestine to Tehran passing through Syria and Lebanon. This war was inevitable as the Lebanese government couldn’t bring Hezbollah within its authority and make it work for the interests of Lebanon. Similarly leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas has been unable to rein in the Hamas Movement.

 

Unfortunately we must admit that in such a war the only way to get rid of “these irregular phenomena” is what Israel is doing. The operations of Israel in Gaza and Lebanon are in the interest of people of Arab countries and the international community.