Read the full series of posts on the Beirut attack:
Israel, Hezbollah, Sworn Enemies, Have Vested Interest in Lying About Beirut Attack
Lebanese Intelligence Official: Beirut Explosion “No Accident,” Caused by Israel
Senior Israeli Opposition Leader: Hezbollah Arms Cache Caused Beirut Explosion
BREAKING: Israel Bombed Beirut
The massive explosion which leveled much of Beirut and made 250,000 residents homeless, igniting furious protests against the government, and resulting in the resignation of the cabinet, has found two sworn enemies with a common interest in hiding the truth behind the incident. As I’ve reported based on an Israeli official source, Israel attacked a Hezbollah weapons depot in the port. The initial explosion ignited a warehouse containing 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate, which caused the vast amount of damage to the city itself. Israel did not intend for the second blast to occur, and its intelligence service (likely the Mossad) had not performed due diligence to determine what was in the area of its initial target.
Israel and its apologists are spreading confusing, contradictory claims about what happened. They desperately seek to rebut reporting naming Israel as a culprit, that is buttressed virtually daily by further circumstantial evidence. Had the munition facility exploded without any further damage, Netanyahu would have been the first to schedule his celebratory news conference, pounding his chest like an Alpha Silverback gorilla. But he could not do that because taking credit would open Israel to torrents of anger both in the Arab world and the international community in general.
Similarly, Hezbollah has sworn on a stack of Qurans that it had nothing to do with it. Nasrallah says there were no weapons in the port. Hezbollah-affiliated journalists advanced a flimsy claim that welders sparked the explosion in the process of fixing a broken door of the warehouse. Had Israel only bombed its warehouse, Nasrallah could have held his own news conference and blamed the perfidious Zionist enemy and sworn vengeance. But because its arms cache ignited all the destruction that followed, Hezbollah too had to keep its role hidden. Had it blamed Israel, this would have brought down the wrath of all of Beirut against it. The militant group, as a key member of the ruling coalition already faced anger due to the dysfunction and economic disaster which beset the country over the past year. To find out that Hezbollah played a key role in the tragic explosion would perhaps have sealed the demise of the group.
Each party must lie and confuse in order that the truth not be known. So when you hear about welder’s sparks and fireworks and any number of other explanations, know that this is part of that plan. That doesn’t mean that everyone who raises these issues is part of the plan. But, as with Russian intervention in the 2016 election in favor of Trump, all it takes is priming the social media pump with lies; then regular unsuspecting users amplify them and do the rest.
One of the more offensive tactics used by Israeli apologists is to tell Lebanese that not only is Hezbollah responsible for their misery, but that such disasters will continue as long as they don’t free themselves from the bondage of the Islamist group. The American Jewish Committee joined the bandwagon, tweeting that international aid to the suffering country should be conditioned on dismantling Hezbollah. Though it deleted the tweet later, this is yet another example of the racism and heartlessness of the Israel Lobby.
I hope it’s clear that Israel’s responsibility in this tragedy does not excuse the callousness of Hezbollah in storing weapons in such a precarious location; or the corruption and incompetence of port authorities in permitting the ammonium nitrate to remain in warehouse 12 for six years virtually unattended or unmonitored. There is more than enough blame to go around for every party. But we must not forget that Israel started this disaster. And were it not for Netanyahu’s craving to humiliate Hezbollah on its home turf, what happened afterward would never have happened.
In the four posts I’ve published on the Beirut tragedy, I’ve pieced together parts of the puzzle of the narrative reported to me by my source. Today, Israel HaYom offered another persuasive piece:
Just several months ago, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency reportedly provided Germany with significant evidence of Hezbollah’s weapons storage, including ammonium nitrate. It was this information that led Germany to formally ban Hezbollah from operating in its country…Security experts have similarly indicated that it was an initial explosion of stockpiled weapons in an adjacent portside hangar that acted as the detonator for the large stockpile of ammonium nitrate.
Now, not only has an Israeli media outlet confirmed Hezbollah weapons ignited the subsequent explosion, but former defense minister Bogie Yaalon also reported the same to a Saudi news outlet. While Yaalon did not claim Israeli responsibility for the initial attack, Israel HaYom all but did when it noted that the Mossad (which likely planned the attack on the port) knew the group stored weapons at the port. This shows Israel had motive, means and opportunity to commit this horrid crime.
ראש הממשלה ציין כי על מנת למנוע אסונות מהסוג של נמל ביירות צריך להרחיק את חומרי הנפץ והטילים שחיזבאללה הטמין מכל ריכוזי האוכלוסייה האזרחית בלבנון.
ראש הממשלה הבהיר שאם בחיזבאללה חושבים שהם יוכלו לפתור את המשבר בלבנון ע”י יצירת משבר מול ישראל – זוהי תהיה טעות גדולה.
— ראש ממשלת ישראל (@IsraeliPM_heb) August 11, 2020
In this tweet Netanyahu writes:
“…In order to prevent catastrophes of the type which occurred at the Beirut port, Hezbollah must distance explosive materials and rockets which it conceals, away from civilian population centers. If Hezbollah thinks it can sold the Lebanese crisis through creating a crisis with Israel–it would be a huge mistake.”
The PM is conceding, as Yaalon did before him, that Hezbollah stored military munitions at the port. What he hasn’t conceded, but which my source has, is that Israel attacked the facility and caused the subsequent disaster.
Of course Hezbollah, as does Israel itself, has munitions stored, and military facilities located both amidst population centers and away from them. To deprive Hezbollah of military options which Israel itself maintains, is the height of hypocrisy. Hezbollah, like the pre-State underground, is an insurgent force which does not have the budget, infrastructure and command-control options the IDF has. So it has to use different storage methods and tactics than the IDF.
Critics have tried to rebut some of these reports by calling Yaalon a liar or saying Israel HaYom is a pro-Netanyahu propaganda outlet. All of this may be true. But every liar tells the truth sometimes. When a liar finds the truth is in his interest, he will tell the truth. When a propaganda sheet finds a fact advances its narrative, it will use it to its advantage. But a good journalist knows to sift through the trash to find the diamond within. That is what my four (now five) reports have sought to do.
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I can’t be the only one thinking that the Mossad, a extremely professional intelligence agency, wouldn’t have messed up this bad on an intelligence report of the port/weapon cache (especially one that is in the heart of beirut).
The 2700 Tons of Nitrate were brought to attention to several Lebanese government agencies and there were several documents (some of them public court documents) regarding the dangers of holding this substance. They sat there for six years. I find it highly unlikely that the Israeli Intelligence agency didn’t know the contents of this warehouse.
@ Dan: The Mossad is “an extremely professional intelligence agency,” except when it isn’t. Google here my posts about the botched assassination of Mahmoud al Mabouh and see how many fuck-ups you can count and how much damage they did to the Mossad around the world. The point is the Mossad under Yossi Cohen is a cocky, cocksure outfit knowing no restraint. When you become smug and self-satisfied you cut corners and believe you are invincible. That’s when you make the kinds of mistake Meir Dagan made and Yossi Cohen made. If you want to read about other similar messes Mossad created read Ronen Bergman’s book about its killing spree.
Mossad provided significant evidence of Hezbollah’s weapons storage, including ammonium nitrate IN SOUTHERN GERMANY. It was this information that led Germany to ban Hezbollah.
Confirmed by Arab source. https://gulfnews.com/world/mena/beirut-blasts-hezbollah-stored-ammonium-nitrate-in-germany-1.73050050
Similarly, Hezbollah stored ammonium nitrate in the UK, as mentioned in the Israel Hayom article.
“Similarly, The Daily Telegraph revealed in 2019 that UK intelligence agencies, acting on a tip from a foreign intelligence service (the Mossad according to a senior Israeli official), found some three tons of ammonium nitrate in a raid on four London properties back in 2015. The ammonium nitrate was stored in thousands of disposable ice packs.”
@Yoni: All red herrings. Hezbollah may store ammonium nitrate anywhere. I have not seen any report specifying the Mossad identified the port as a location for a Hezbollah stockpile of the stuff. Does it have ammonium nitrate at the port? Who knows? But you’re deliberately trying to confuse the narrative and it simply won’t wash. It isn’t persuasive.
How do you explain the fact no missiles were used if Netanyahu planned to take take responsibility for the attack? Why work hard and plant a bomb when you can do it with zero risk using IAF planes or missiles?
@ Jeal: Easy. Destroying the Hezbollah arms cache was a major escalation since Israel has not engaged in such an attack in Beirut for over a decade. If it used a plane it would be an even more provocative act requiring a Hezbollah response. Everyone can see a plane and know who did it. Doing the attack covertly as an inside job was a lot more subtle and allowed for Israeli denial, making it harder for Hezbollah to definitively prove who did it. Thus giving Hezbollah a chance to climb down should it not wish to escalate matters.
Saudi terror of 9/11 and al-Qaeda all but forgiven by the Americans. Oil wealth exploded to bizar proportions during Bush/Cheney crusade in Iraq. Israel and Netanyahu kissed and offered gifts – NSO Pegasus [https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-okayed-sale-of-pegasus-phone-spying-tool-to-saudi-arabia-report/] – to Prince Salman to rid the Sunni World of Mecca of terrible dissidents. Applause from the White House and US Congress … it’s provoking the Iranian Shia mullah’s now. No holds barred. John McCaine must be quite content.
Recent acts of sabotage causing many deaths in Iran are part of bringing democracy to the Persian World. Many western soldier authors are arising to bring regime change … Herald of a new peaceful world …
«Israeli» Ammonia Tank Threatened By Hezbollah Ordered Emptied — 2016
https://www.english.alahednews.com.lb/38651/389
Afshin Ellian
https://mobile.twitter.com/AfshinEllian1/status/1291686367093821441
“ Everyone can see a plane and know who did it.”
Not at all true. A F35 can fire a missile from over 100 miles and not be detected.
Why haven’t ‘bomb’ experts ascertained fragments of something which would have detonated the explosion?
Your reading of Yaalon’s statement was incorrect. He said it ‘the explosion’ was initiated’ he did not say it was Israel and your compass always seeing Israel as the magnetic north pole blames Israel with no concrete evidence at all.
@ Charlie: Israeli planes are visible to numerous countries monitoring the skies over the Mediterranean. The attack would be easily traceable to Israel. If Lebanon permitted munitions experts and an international investigation undoubtedly they would discover all the evidence needed to prove Israeli involvement. It’s unlikely this will happen unless the government decides it can afford to throw Hezbollah under the bus and leave it open to being blamed for the weapons storage which ignited the whole mess.
I never said that Yaalon blamed Israel. In fact I said numerous times just the opposite: that Yaalon can’t blame Israel without violating censorship. And that it wouldn’t be in his interest or Israel’s to do so. I said my official Israeli source said Israel was the culprit. Read my reporting include all posts linked here before making such inaccurate claims about my reporting.
@richard Sorry, your article implies that Israel Hayom article admits that Mossad knew about Hezbollah’s weapons storage, including Ammonium Nitrate in Beirut Port. It doesn’t. It says Mossad knew Hizbollah was storing Ammonium Nitrate in Germany and London. Your “source” to this article doesn’t say what you are saying it says, so your article is baseless.
@ Yoni: No. My own Israeli source says that the Mossad knew about the Hezbollah warehouse. And in fact my source says that Mossad did not know ammonium nitrate was stored nearby. I never claimed that Israel HaYom made this claim. Further, Netanyahu and numerous Israeli figures have previously claimed Hezbollah weapons facilities at the port. This is nothing new.
But you wrote “Netanyahu would have been the first to schedule his celebratory news conference, pounding his chest like an Alpha Silverback gorilla.” meaning you believe Israel was looking forward to admit to the escalation.
Another question, what do you believe caused the larger explosion? The ammonium nitrate or ammunition?
I wonder if any information would make you admit you were mislead (if you were)?
@Jael:
Bibi was looking forward to celebrating destruction of the arms cache. Not celebrating the destruction of Beirut. In fact, when that happened, he realized he had to radically change course and deny all involvement, which is what happened. The escalation I was referring to wasn’t the overall destruction of the city. It was the attack on the Hezbollah facility in Beirut, which in itself was a major escalation.
CUFI and the Telegraph
London “attack” one person arrested and later released without charges.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-said-to-have-covered-up-fact-it-foiled-2015-hezbollah-bomb-plot-near-london/
<i>”An instant cold pack is a device that consists of two bags; one containing water, inside a bag containing ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate or urea.”</i>
This incident has been kept secret by MI5 and the London MET for four years until the British media “discovered” this evil act.
Concerten effort towards an attack on Iran by neocons and right-wing extremists — timely choices for war, not peace … destruction of mankind. In my sixty years of attention to the Middle East, it’s been a roller-coaster ride where all parties used a fig leaf to cover-up instead of a palm or dove to rejoice the peace option. Too many die and are slaughtered by religious beliefs and differences. Read the Old Testament … from Genesis to Salvation … wait and see.
Failed London bomb plot exposes Hezbollah’s criminal activities in Europe
https://thearabweekly.com/failed-london-bomb-plot-exposes-hezbollahs-criminal-activities-europe
Always same voices … Hamish de Bretton-Gordon interviewed, paid by Abu Dhabi. What a farce … the British, Saudis and Emiratis destroying Yemen.
MEK: Free Iran Movement
https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/free-iran-global-summit-iran-rising-up-for-freedom/
[comment deleted: read the entire post before commenting. Your claim is specifically rebutted in the post and in another post I wrote in this series. There is no need to repeat your claim here without offering any new evidence, when I’ve already rebutted it.]
If the “accident” was caused by a mysterious “fireworks” then there is unanswered the question what did trigger the “fireworks” to explode. It is funny how pro-Israeli fanatics are demanding exact proof of claims that Israeli military actions were behind the “accident” and on same time are speculating without any proof that behind the violent explosion were “fireworks” or a spark from welding a door.
Israel has given itself the justification to attack any country and any “organisation”, which it claims is a threat to Israel. Israel has bombed and bombs normal harbours, airports, cities, research centres etc in numerous countries. Normally “they” say that it was done because of Hizbollah, Hamas or Iran (without ever presenting real proof for the need of the attack). If Israel is justified to attack in such ways, then “others” have equal lets say “rights” to attack Israel and pro-Israeli organisations around the world in the “Israeli preemptive style”.
The foreign ammunition Israel imports and uses against “others” are most certainly brought in containers to normal Israeli harbours and handled there among civilian freight. One the main harbours is Haifa. The port of Haifa has many military installations for Israeli and US sixth fleet, also most certainly there are large ammunition stocks for the fleets. Haifa has also very much chemical industries with large stocks of different chemicals. One of those producers is Haifa Chemicals which produces among others <b>potassium nitrate (KNO3)</b>. So if some foreign power attacks in a hidden way Haifa’s military installations in the port area and causes a terrible “accident” with the chemicals located there would we discuss about it in the style of what happened in Beirut?
http://www.israelagri.com/_uploads/extraimg/articlehaifa2.jpg
Dima Sadek: Lebanese blogger goes viral slamming Nasrallah as ‘worse than Israel’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lebanese-blogger-goes-viral-slamming-nasrallah-as-worse-than-israel/
<em>Sadek insisted, “It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hezbollah is worse for Lebanon than Israel. My problem with Israel isn’t political, but moral. I don’t agree with its treatment of the Palestinians.”</em>
Such wisdom to be shared with the world.
But, how did Dima really intent to portray the Jewish State??
https://mobile.twitter.com/DimaSadek/status/1292904282220638209
<em>When we criticize nassrallah it is an interior Lebanese debate.But one thing is obvious we lebanese will be united around the resistance against any Israeli attack!Israel is a c••••r and the Israeli apartheid system is a shame! </em>
*** common language for mutual destruction
LOL Failed propaganda both parties
Hello Richard,
I’m lost at sea.
What warehouse did Israel attack first, which then set in motion the explosion at Warehouse 12?
@ Scarabian: Warehouse 9, where Hezbollah’s weapons were stored.
Re: Philip Giraldi
https://mobile.twitter.com/richards1052/status/1293236075163344896
History will prove RS right … already the consensus is, it was pressure from President Obama that caused Netanyahu to desist. Furthermore Netanyahu didn’t get his Security Cabinet to approve the criminal act of unprovoked war. A leak to the media sealed Bibi’s defeat.
<i>Hezbollah leader Nasrallah clarified that if Netanyahu thinks he can solve the crisis with Iran by creating a crisis in Lebanon – it would be a big mistake.” </i>
Persiflage on <a href=“https://mobile.twitter.com/richards1052/status/1293240339176648704”>Bibi’s big words</a>, knowing the military might of Trump is at his disposal.
@richard Your latest response says “in fact my source says that Mossad did not know ammonium nitrate was stored nearby. I never claimed that Israel HaYom made this claim.”
This is inaccurate, your article did claim that Israel HaYom made this claim:
“While Yaalon did not claim Israeli responsibility for the initial attack, Israel HaYom all but did when it noted that the Mossad (which likely planned the attack on the port) knew the group stored weapons at the port.”
In fact, Israel HaYom did NOT make this claim, but your article did claim that Israel HaYom made this claim.
And now, you claim that your article did NOT claim that Israel HaYom made this claim, while your article DID make that claim.
So you are being inaccurate at least twice, on a central point in your article and this confirms that your article is baseless.
@ Yoni: You’re confusing the ammonium nitrate with Hezbollah weapons. Mossad did not know about the ammonium nitrate, which was not Hezbollah’s and not weapons. Mossad hit the Hezbollah warehouse which contained rockets and rocket propellant. Two different things.
You are done in this thread. No further comments here.
[comment deleted: you’ve stated your argument in an earlier comment. Here you’re restating it. Do not repeat yourself. As I wrote to Limey: you’re not going to get down in the weeds and distract from the real story. So no more comments in this thread.]
@Richard
“Warehouse 9, where Hezbollah’s weapons were stored.”
Super. Now I understand.
If Warehouse 9 was the target, than Israel may not have known about AN stored in Warehouse 12.
Is there a video that shows Warehouse 9 on fire or exploding before Warehouse 12 was on fire?
It is difficult to reconcile:
“Israel did not intend for the second blast to occur, and its intelligence service (likely the Mossad) had not performed due diligence to determine what was in the area of its initial target”
&
“”Just several months ago, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency reportedly provided Germany with significant evidence of Hezbollah’s weapons storage, including ammonium nitrate…””
Especially in light of the increasing evidence there may have been a second strike (see the video of the blast close up)
https://asiatimes.com/2020/08/planes-heard-seen-in-skies-of-beirut-before-blast/
A Lebanon precedent for a deliberate crime of magnitude is the Sabra & Shatila.
The social/cultural attitude recalls Ari Ben Menache:
“When I was young, I shared with many Israelis a deep nationalistic feeling — the self-righteous and arrogant belief that we were right and everyone else was wrong, that it was more important for Jews and Israel to survive than others, that we were — as the Bible says — the chosen people. I still believe that Jews are chosen. But no longer can I accept the premise on which the Iranian arms deals were based: ‘Better that their boys die than ours’ People are people. We are all chosen”
Perhaps also to be considered is the idea Hezbollah would have no choice but to repeatedly store weapons and munitions at the port simply for the fact of that’s how imports happen; but with the complication of having to move the cargoes clandestinely. Ship to port warehouse is simply part of what had likely been repeated process.
Finally, ‘Israel’ may not want a war with Hezbollah but that doesn’t mean ‘Bibi’ doesn’t want one…
It’s only been 10 years … a lot of water has flowed through the Khor Dubai
https://www.richardsilverstein.com/2013/03/24/zygier-case-revealed-in-failing-to-penetrate-iran-and-hezbollah-he-exposed-israeli-spies-in-lebanon/
US Counterterrorism Nathan Sales @AJC
Hezbollah stocks of ammonium nitrate across Europe
https://www.ajc.org/news/on-ajc-webinar-state-department-official-reveals-extent-of-hezbollah-terrorism-in-europe