Why The Lebanese Army’s Assault Is Different Than The July War

It is time to set aside comparisons between the July war and the Lebanese anti-terrorist operation in Naher Al Bared.

cartoon (14march.org)

It is tempting to compare Israel’s July war on Lebanon with the Lebanese Army’s shelling of the Nahr el Bared camp. After all, both Armies were responding to an unprovoked terrorist attack and both armies were shelling hideouts filled with civilians. But this is where the comparisons should end.

During the July war, Hezbollah fighters were hiding among people who love, support and protect them. The multinational Fateh al Islam terrorists on the other hand are, by unanimous Palestinian testimony, outsiders who are not welcome. Palestinian civilians who are fleeing the camp are being embraced by Lebanese residents and aid groups in all Lebanese areas. I have word of mouths from people in Minieh, Tripoli and Akkar that many families, after hearing Seniora’s speech, are taking Palestinian refugees in their homes.

In the July war, Israel was shelling indiscriminate locations (like the bridges in Jounieh, which is an all-Christians area) while the Lebanese Army was careful to only target locations with militant presence, resulting in minimal civilian casualties. Also, Seniora’s pledging that he has nothing against our Palestinian brothers is much more believable that Olmerts’ claims that he cares about the Lebanese people.

As the showdown approaches, the Lebanese Army will have the unanimous support of Lebanese and Palestinians. Otherwise, why would Ass’aad bu khalil, the Aljazeera of the Blogosphere, lament:

I have never felt more isolation as someone who speaks out on Palestine as I have felt in the past few days. There is an overwhelming, unanimous competition by people and organizations to rally behind the Lebanese army and to pay tribute to the troops. Not a single political party in Lebanon has spoken out, none, against the indiscriminate shelling of the refugee camp