Lebanese army chief: Prepare for Israeli attack

**FL Patriot** · 11-21-2009

General says forces along border may soon have to 'handle what enemy is scheming against homeland'

November 21, 2009

Lebanon's army chief, Jean Kahwaji, called on his soldiers to be wary and to prepare defenses along the border for a possible Israeli attack, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported Saturday.

In a statement published in honor of Lebanon's Independence Day, the general said soldiers should prepare "to handle what the Israeli enemy is scheming against the homeland, and to continue the battle against its violations – in the air, water, and land – with all the tools at our disposal".

Last month reports said the Lebanese army and the UN force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL, had bolstered security in the country's southern region following a Katyusha rocket attack on Israel.

According to the reports from Lebanon, the UN deployed armored cars in villages near the border.

A few days later, sources in Beirut told the A-Nahar daily that they had received warnings from an international security force saying Israel was planning an extensive attack on Lebanon.

IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi recently warned the Knesset that Hezbollah is currently armed with thousands of missiles, some of which could reach the southern city of Dimona.

"Some of them have a range of 300 km and some of them have a range of up to 325 km," Ashkenazi said, adding that the missiles were ready for use.

"There is a paradox – one hand there is calm, but when you peek over the fence you can see armament and empowerment. If Hezbollah carries out a retaliatory attack for (Imad) Mugniyah it will force Israel to respond and this will lead to deterioration," he said.

**FL Patriot** · 11-21-2009

White phosphorus bombs on an UNRWA school in Beit Lahiya, January 17, 2009

Posted October 15, 2009

Thabet El Masri is the Director of the Intensive Care Unit at the Shifa Hospital, a public institution in the Gaza Strip. He replies here to the questions of Silvia Cattori about the recent increase in the number of babies being born with birth defects.

Silvia Cattori: In June, you started to be concerned by an increase in the number of babies born with birth defects. We would be very interested to have your medical assessment and to know the result of the study you made of this troubling phenomenon. Can you tell us the ratio of prenatal and postnatal birth defects ten months after the attacks on Gaza in comparison with the same period in 2008, in terms of the number of cases involved?

Thabet El Masri: Yes I have been following the continuing phenomenon of babies born with a birth defect. I have calculated the number of babies with congenital defects born in July, August, and September, 2009. I have compared these three months with the same months in 2008.

Here are the figures: In July 2009, there were in Shifa Hospital 15 such cases, compared to 10 in 2008; in August 2009, there were 20 cases, compared to 10 in 2008 ; and in September 2009, 15 such babies were born, compared to 11 in 2008. The average number of births in Shifa Hospital is about 1’100 per month.

Silvia Cattori: When this report came out it caused a lot of emotion and concern. Many people immediately attributed the increase in birth defects in aborted foetuses and newborns to the Israeli army’s use of white phosphorous shells. Do they have a case?

Thabet El Masri: We can suspect, but we cannot confirm, that it is the use of chemical weapons by Israel that caused this increase in birth defects.

Silvia Cattori: Are the babies with birth defects all from the refugee population subjected to Israeli shelling? Which area do the mothers come from?

Thabet El Masri: The babies suffering from birth defects come from all over the strip. But half of the women who gave birth to babies with problems come from the Jabaliya refugee camp.

Silvia Cattori: What can you do to reassure pregnant women in Gaza who are now very worried?

Thabet El Masri: Actually nothing. There is nothing we can do to guarantee that their babies will be normal. How could we prevent the presence of chemicals which can cause birth defects?

Silvia Cattori: Are there embryologists in Gaza who are able to make genetic tests?

Thabet El Masri: We are unfortunately not equipped to carry out genetic tests to see if birth defects are due to genetic factors alone and not to chemicals. In the end, it is a problem of genetics, but chemicals could well be responsible for the mutations.

Silvia Cattori: What about the international researchers who took samples in 2006 to be tested in European laboratories? Have there been any results yet?

Thabet El Masri: How can we solve this problem? If chemical factors are responsible, it is very difficult to prove. How can you prove that chemicals were at the root of the mutations? How can we be sure that the Israelis used prohibited substances?

Silvia Cattori: We understand that, as a doctor, you are deeply concerned and that, in the present desperate situation, you urgently need international support?

Thabet El Masri: Yes. I would like to suggest something that would help us, without draining our limited financial resources in genetic research, which requires a huge amount of money. Simply put, it would be extremely helpful to convince the Israelis not to repeat the chemical war of this past winter again.

Silvia Cattori: What kinds of pathologies do you observe in this summer’s newborns? Can you give us some examples of the birth defects?

Thabet El Masri: You find problems of the central nervous system, hydrocephalus, anencephaly and other defects like congenital heart disease and obstructions of the digestive tract. Kidney problems are very frequent. Visible malformations are rare: the problems are usually internal.

Now you see what problems we have to face. The mothers are helpless; we have no answers for them. They know that we are all alone in this situation. They can only pray. That is the only thing left to them.

Silvia Cattori: You have no contacts outside?

Thabet El Masri: We have absolutely no contacts outside. I have given you an overview of the main problem. As I said, there is a probability that chemicals might be one cause of the upward trend in birth defects because they have increased since the assault in December and January. However, this conclusion is impossible to prove.

Silvia Cattori: Thank you very much.

**FL Patriot** · 11-21-2009

Lebanese General Jean Kahwaj has ordered his troops on high alert, cautioning soldiers on the border region to prepare for an attack from Israel, according to published reports.

The comments first appeared in London-based Arabic language newspaper Alquds Alarabi, according to the Jerusalem Post.

"In a statement published in honor of Lebanon's Independence Day, the general said soldiers should prepare 'to handle what the Israeli enemy is scheming against the homeland, and to continue the battle against its violations – in the air, water, and land – with all the tools at our disposal,'" Ynet noted.

"Last week, a military court in Lebanon sentenced a Lebanese soldier and his wife to death, after the couple were found guilty of spying for Israel, Israel Radio reported," the Post added. "The court also sentenced the defendant's sister and her husband, who are reportedly living in Israel, to death."

Ynet continued: "IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi recently warned the Knesset that Hezbollah is currently armed with thousands of missiles, some of which could reach the southern city of Dimona."