Before and After images of Beirut coastline documenting extent of oil spill (NASA Observatory)
The chickens are finally coming home to roost. After a failed war that ended up killing 1,000 Lebanese and 150 Israelis and caused billions in damage to both Israel and especially Lebanon, a partial bill has been presented to Israel by the UN:
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will demand that Israel pay Lebanon $1 billion in compensation over damages caused during the Jewish state’s 2006 war against Hizbullah, Lebanese media reported Saturday.
According to the report the sum, based on World Bank appraisals, is aimed at covering the environmental and material damages caused by the Second Lebanon War to neighboring countries as well.
The fundamental part of the compensation demanded is for the damage caused to the Lebanese coast due to an oil spill following an Israeli bombing of a southern Beirut power plant, which the Lebanese said had caused “an ecological disaster.”
According to the report, Ban plans to submit a report to the United Nations General Assembly at the end of the month, stating that damage Israel caused to the oil reservoir polluted Lebanon’s coast, and that the pollution spread to neighboring countries, especially Syria.
…The oil spill, which was defined the greatest natural disaster in Lebanon’s history, took place after Israel Air Force planes hit a power plant and caused some 110,000 oil barrels to leak into the Mediterranean Sea.
The report said that the UN wants Israel to compensate the countries harmed by the oil spill and restore the environmental situation along the Lebanon coast.
By way of comparison, the Exxon Valdez disaster spilled 250,000 barrels of oil. The UN has basically called Israel the Joseph Hazelwood of the Mediterranean, with the only difference being the skipper of that boat didn’t set out to cause an environmental disaster while Israel arguably did. Or at the very least didn’t give a fig if it happened.
I’m pleased that an international body like the General Assembly will take up this matter. One can argue from the left or right whether Israel deserves to be brought up on war crimes charges for its behavior in Lebanon. But it’s much harder to make this particular claim into a political one. The damage was done and it is quantifiable. The author of the damage is not in doubt. The only item at issue is whether Israel can be made to own responsibility for this environmental crime.
Interestingly–and speaking of the Exxon Valdez–Richard Steiner, University of Alaska professor and environmental conservation specialist, makes a strong case that the Jiyeh bombing WAS a violation of the laws of war. But one needn’t even go this far in order to assign culpability to Israel for the disaster. Prof. Steiner also published an extensive report on the oil spill for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
I say this monetary claim is a good thing because the Israeli people need to know that war waged in their name which ravages an entire region will have a price not just in human life, but in cold, hard cash. And if Israel does not pay, then it will face the opprobrium of the international community not just for its military actions, but for the ecological disaster it caused.
If one thinks back, the last Middle Eastern leader to cause such an environmental disaster was Saddam, who blew up Kuwait’s oil wells. Does Israel want to be thought of in the same breath with him?
NOTE: I subsequently found a far more comprehensive and well-reported article on this at The National.
Silverstein has published Tikun Olam since 2003, It exposes the secrets of the Israeli national security state. He lives in Seattle, but his heart is in the east. He publishes regularly at Middle East Eye, the New Arab, and Jacobin Magazine. His work has also appeared in Al Jazeera English, The Nation, Truthout and other outlets.
Not to worry. Israel can now borrow the money from Fannie or Freddie Mae. The lobby put the pressure on Paulson just for that purpose!!!
Without doubt there should be an international system to compensate the destruction caused by an disproportional revenge / war. Naturally Israel will claim that it did not start the war, but considering the countless cross border attacks by Israel to Lebanon that “claim” has little rationality. USA (and others) claimed furiously that Russia used disproportional force in Georgia. The most of those countries did not complain of Israel’s use of force in the Israeli response.
Considering the circumstances in which the Georgian attack happened and how many Russian soldiers died and got wounded (not to mention the civilians), Russia’s answer with force was rather proportional. Israel or USA would in such an event have flattened the whole country. Russia did not.
If Israel would by some miracle pay for the environmental catastrophe it caused, it would probably demand the money from the from the big brother and naturally EU. And the bankrupt US government would have lend the money from Russia and China.
The so called democracies should finally understand that this policy of “do not behave as we do, do behave as we say you have to behave” is rather amusing. USA and Israel are the last countries to order others to respect other nations sovereignty.
[comment deleted per comment rules]
I cant believe how false this post is. all you have to do is read the linked article from an israeli new website (who in turn reports something that the lebanese media reported and who know where that links to…) and see that there is no bill presented to israel by the UN.
“when you lie you kill a part of reality”. I hope the author of the post reads the comment and think twice next time before posting fiction as news.
Disappointed reader
Where does it say a partial bill has been presented to Israel by the UN? The report quotes Lebanese media and says Ban Ki-moon WILL demand compensation and PLANS to submit a report at month’s end.
Please be more careful with the facts. You have made a number of sloppy errors of late, and I am beginning to lose trust in your blog.
Israel can justifiably claim that 1. Hezbollah started the war. 2. the UN did nothing since Israel’s pullout in 2000 to prevent such an occurence (and therefore they’re also partially liable). 3. the money would just go to Hezbollah so why bother, and 4. that not bombing power plants in times of war to limit the enemy’s capablities – for any country capable of doing so – would be tactically stupid, suicidal and unprecedented.
I predict Lebanon (who Israel will claim backed Hezbollah completely) won’t see a dime coming from the Jewish state.
On a related topic, relatives of victims of Palestinian terrorism are suing the Palestinian authority in US courts. I think Palestinians should react in kind–is there any moral reason why Palestinian victims of Israeli state terror shouldn’t be able to sue? I don’t know what legal issues are involved, but if the PA can be sued, why not any government involved in atrocities?
link
@Mona: I see Mona, Lior & the international hasbara brigade have been monitoring us. Mona, yr losing trust in my blog (really what a laugh) really makes me lose sleep at nights.
It is true the report comes from Lebanese media (which are equally reliable as Israeli media generally), and that Ynetnews in a bit of irresponsible journalistic sloppiness didn’t provide the source. I did some further research and found a far more comprehensive media rpt. on this at The National which is now linked in the post. The reporter confirms the story not only through the Lebances media but through UN sources as well. He also talks directly to a Lebanese gov’t minister. So I think yr claims that the story is dubious are simply out of gas. But we’ll have to wait a month & see whether the UN does what this report claims it will. If it does I’ll expect you to return & admit the error was yours & not mine. Will you?
No, Israel can claim that Hezbollah launched an illegal cross border raid to which it had a right to respond. But a raid is not a war. Israel chose to launch a war.
Besides Israel need not have torched Beirut’s main power plant in order to respond to the cross border raid. This choice was Israel’s & Israel’s alone & so it will have to bear the price for its ill-fated choices.
No, bombing civlian power plants is a violation of international law. And I didn’t realize that you were an Israeli general & so capable of expounding at length about what Israel’s tactics should or should not be.
lol….. the micetrap blog… he’s loving what he can call “the hasbara crowd” coming into his micetrapped den…
@Benjamin Bratt: Indeed. I have a mousetrap for cant and partisan ideologically motivated rhetoric like that of Lior, Mona & yrself.
just wondering if the UN is going to demand Syria pay back the Billions it annualy steal in graft, monopolies, and mafia murder and intimidation? No? how bout that?
Ok surely then Egypt, Saudi Arabia or China may have some small part to pay for in the wholesale genocide they are supporting and protecting in Darfur and prior in Southern Sudan? No? hmmmm…..
Ok ok I got it now… Surely…. Russia is DEFINITELY going to have to pay for the pre-planned and purposefully exectuted actions in Georgia? I mean if ever an example of “overreaction” was to be on display…. welll surely this would be it? (espec in light of reports that Georgia did not bait Russia with an overagressive move as was put out by the Russian propoganda pros in the Kremlin)….
You know and even if the UN misses those for whatever reason…. I for one am certainly glad that there is such a monumental human being as Richard Silverstein to hold that moral compass to Israel and force them to pay billions to Lebanon…. bcs he is only after Peace and Tikun Olam and as long as that is the case whatever hypocrisies may arise are insignificant in comparison….
Just hop aboard and close your mind and enjoy the Kool Aid driven Tikun Olam….
@Benjamin Bratt: As usual yr arguments are completely beside the pt. The issue at hand is Israel’s bombing of Beirut’s oil refinery causing a regional environmental catastrophe.
It is part of the Hasbara handbook that you deflect criticism of Israel by noting all the other nasty countries of the world which are supposedly getting away with murder. Only when the world takes care of these bad apples does it have a right to call Israel to task.
What narischkeit!
A warning: your insults have long since passed into snarky ad hominem territory. The next one that does so (which is bound to be yr very next one I’m sure) will consign you to my commenter Hall of Shame: permanent banning.
To richard
This is in response you yoru comments here and at
http://www.israelpalestineforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=559&p=4288#p4285
I’m amazed at how you could tell all that much about me just from reading my one post and my comment in your website
I ask you:
You said : “I did some further research and found a far more comprehensive media rpt. on this at The National which is now linked in the post. The reporter confirms the story not only through the Lebances media but through UN sources as well”
But you provide no evidense or reference .
The so called “far more comprehensive media rpt” simply tells the same story as the YNET article. i Quote from this new link “UN leader to demand $1bn damages for Lebanon”
thats a bit different from what you have written in your post .
I would really like you to have the oprtunity to show us all that you do not post unverified infoprmation so, please refer us to a source that could verify your original claim In your post that “a partial bill [b]has been presented [/b]to Israel by the UN”.
If you fail to do it then you must agree with my claim that you post information that is unverified at best, or worse, untrue.
I’m sure you will respond to THIS comment and with a more informative response. one that will advance the conversation without calling each other names as you did on that other forum (troll? garden variety right-wing Israeli?)
Of course you can chose to ignore me or dismiss me as “we’ve seen this before , how boring…”. but that will say more about you and the valadity of your arguments then it would say about me.
Thanks
Lior
Amazing how false items one small post can observe! None of the “facts” are real. In any case, Israel had been attacked by Lebanese and acted in order to defend itself. All results of the war lay upon the Lebanese’ shoulders. If some has to pay is Lebanon to Israel. But we acquaintance with the ProPALganda machine of Anti Israel war mongers and stay smiling while you’re eating the hat.
And no opprobrium and no opera bellum! The next time Lebaon will be raized from the face of the earth!
Richard,
I am not part of the “the international hasbara brigade”, so get your facts right. I am someone who keeps an open mind, but has very little tolerance for sloppy fact-checking.
My main point was not that the story was dubious. It was that you blogged that a partial bill HAS BEEN PRESENTED. Neither of your links show this to be the case. The stories claim that the UN WILL demand that Israel pay compensation.
Instead of being rude to readers who take you to task for errors, why don’t you just admit when you are wrong?
@Lior: I don’t know you personally from Adam. But given there are 11,000 comments in this blog I’ve heard pretty much every argument that can be made including ones similar to yours. So yr political views are quite familiar despite the stealth way in which you attempt to present them in the Forum thread you originated.
Generally when a reporter for a reputable newspaper as The National is writes that he has personally confirmed a story through UN and Lebanese media sources, you can trust that he has done so. In addition, the reporter actually interviews a gov’t minister who is quoted on the record confirming the story. So much for “providing no evidence.” You actually mean the story provided no evidence YOU were willing to trust. Yr standard is a bit diff. than all the rest of us I’m afraid.
And the story does NOT “tell the same story as the Ynet article.” In fact, it is quite longer & includes added sources referenced above. Also, his story is not based on an unnamed Lebanese publication as Ynet’s is. This reporter actually did the spade work himself.
You’re carping. I wrote slightly mistakenly that a bill HAS been presented to Israel. Actually, I should’ve written that a bill WILL BE presented to Israel within 30 days. Big deal. Only someone with yr prejudices would take umbrage as the mistake in tenses. THe information is verfied and true. The only problem was the tense.
I didn’t call you a troll. In fact, I said I didn’t think you were a troll. But you’re certainly a right-wing Israeli. That’s not “calling names.” It’s merely descriptive. Should anyone doubt yr right wing views they only have to visit yr comment thread in which you disparage Palestinian nationalism & blame Palestinians for not creating their own state before 1967. Right-wing through & through.
A warning: I’m not getting into an argument here about these views of yours about Palestinians which are puerile in my opinion. If you wish to debate someone about them there are myriad online venues to do so. Not here.
@Mona: My oh my. Pardon me. Since you raise virtually the same argument as Lior in almost the same words, you’ll have to pardon me for thinking that the 2 of you coordinated yr participation in this blog. I’m sure such a thing has never happened before in all the annals of hasbara online organizing. Just for the hell of it did you coordinate with him in any way?
If you think the fact that I wrote that the bill had been presented when in fact it WILL BE presented within 30 days is a monstrous error, then perhaps you’ve never written yr own blog & can be forgiven for being a back seat driver.
You can interpret my attitude toward you any way you like. I don’t write this blog for you though you’re welcome to visit & say what you will. Just know that I will respond to you in the same manner in which you respond to me.
If you carp I will carp back.
@Abe Bird: We’ve been joined by yet another member of the Hasbara crowd. THey must coordinate their talking pts before they fan out across the internet doing their bit for truth, justice & the right-wing Israeli way.
I have published this comment so my readers can see for themselves the type of Islamophobic hate that lurks in the alleged minds of the Israel uber Alles crowd. Alas, for violation of my comment rules, poor Abe won’t be publishing any further comments here.
Richard,
So let me understand. More than one of us notices you did not represent correctly the linked story, so therefore we must have coordinated our comments? Oh please.
I am beginning to see what the critics of this blog are talking about.
@Mona: Yes, precisely. The 3 of you noted the same issue & wrote about it in virtually the same way. Abe seems a bit more bloodthirsty than you & Lior in that he’d be happy to see Israel level Lebanon & you haven’t gone that far. The pattern in yr comments is more than coincidence & you haven’t denied you have any connection to the other 2 I note.
And don’t play the innocent card with me. You ARE a critic of this blog. You came here as a critic. You wrote as a critic though you pretended to be an unbiased observer. You’re still a critic. The only reason you pretend a certain degree of moderation is because you want my readers to think you have no axe to grind when nothing could be farther fr. the truth.
Yes I do deny I have any connection with the other commenters.
And don’t presume to tell me what I am or why I came. I have been reading this blog for a while and have been a lurker. I felt the need to comment on this post since what you wrote was just plain wrong. And instead of correcting your post, you have launched a rather childish attack on me.
@Mona: I’ll presume to comment on what you write in any way I choose. Just because you’ve been reading this blog & been a lurker doesn’t mean you didn’t come here as a critic. Admit it. You don’t agree w. my views. Seeing the way I slightly mischaracterized the Ynet story gave you the opening you were seeking to attack my work. The fact that you can’t own up to yr own partisanship is rather sad.
Richard writes :
“You’re carping. I wrote slightly mistakenly that a bill HAS been presented to Israel. Actually, I should’ve written that a bill WILL BE presented to Israel within 30 days. Big deal. Only someone with yr prejudices would take umbrage as the mistake in tenses. THe information is verfied and true. The only problem was the tense.”
Point.Match.
Kudos for admitting a mistake was made. as for the explenation that the mistake is meaningless?
Richard says im venting over nothing. that using the past tense instead of the future one is an “editors error” something to overllook and that it carries no weight over the validity of his arguments.
hmm lets try something
–An exercise in using richards common sense starts here —
A Palestinian state has existed for some time now – therefore – ALL palestinians claims about current occupation and a denial of their right to their own state are untrue and void!!!
oh my, did i write has existed ? i meant will exist sometime in the future ( I used that lebanese journalist crystal ball for it)
Bah no matter. Richard says that tense usage isnt really important in analyzing an arguments validity.
–An exercise in using richards common sense ends here —
As they say in the US of A, Pa-Lease.
Can’t say I’ve ever been to a “hasbara” meeting as such, and I’d imagine being in your fanclub would be much more exciting and interesting.
No the argument is much more complicated than that… the fact that Israel is the 1 country that is picked on to make an example of by an organization as corrupt and hateful as the UN is the point. I suppose it would be like Quadaffi or Castro lecturing to me about human rights and democracy which actually essentially happens in the UN Human Rights Committee or whatever they changed the name to now.
BTW you made that future-past tense mistake twice! what a coincidence!
Once in the title
“DEMANDS” using present instead of future
and once in the article
“Has been presented” using past instead of future
And i see you have not yet re-edited your post
Oh well… it is YOUR blog. nothing i can do ’bout it eh?
🙂
@Lior: Look, this isn’t a chess match or pilpul. This is life and death. You’re satisfied with “catching out” yr opponents in supposed errors in order to supposedly prove they lack credibility while I’m focussed on Israel’s disastrous war in Lebanon & the bill that already has been paid in lives & the bill they will be paid in cold hard cash.
I’m expecting you to return here in 28 days when the rpt. is issued to then acknowledge that that all tenses match & Israel is being given the bill for a $1 billion environmental disaster. Will you?
@Lior: Tell me this isn’t how you spend all yr time counting up errors in verb tenses made by bloggers whose views you disapprove of. Did I say “carping?” How ’bout “petty?”
And as for the snark, I don’t have time for it. THis is a warning. I’m moderating yr future comments & if any display the kind of feeble snark you’ve written here your privileges will be history.
@Benjamin Bratt: Complicated? Your argument isn’t complicated. It’s simple–& full of distortion & lies.
The UN Security Council is deliberating sending the bill to Israel. It has nothing to do with the UN Human Rights Commission. Though it’s perfectly convenient to yr ideological propaganda to confuse the two. In the eyes of propagandists like you there’s no difference. The UN is one big cancerous anti-Israel cesspool. That is pretty much what you believe, isn’t it?
I didn’t confuse anything and why can’t you EVER……. make a point without your over the top meaningless accusations and name calling… as if you need to try and demean others in order to blow yourself up [sic] and feel better… lol…
Are you trying to insinuate that the UN is not an anti Israeli organization as a whole and/or that Durbin [sic] for example was not? a cesspool where the hate came crawling out in the open?
Why wouldn’t the UN make a PC “resolution” as it always does in the reverse… you know a mealy mouthed nothing stating that Israel and Hezbollah were culbable [sic] and then try and quantify the meaningless Res with a %?
Meanwhile, what Syria has robbed and is still robbing today in corruption and mafia graft etc… is 10x the Billion you’re asking for and last time I checked Lebanon Christians were not going across Syria and kidnapping Syrians, or shooting rockets into Damascus…
yes, the UN is an Orewellian joke… hey but your [sic] the one who puts up his shingle claiming to spread only “peace love and tikun olam” so I guess hashem has not only given you clearvoyance [sic] but the annointed right to be arrogant towards those who disagree with you.
Why should I admit something that is utterly wrong?
Your “derech eretz” is disgraceful. I quit wasting my time on you and your blog.