31 thoughts on “Israel, Hezbollah, Sworn Enemies, Have Vested Interest in Lying About Beirut Attack – Tikun Olam תיקון עולם إصلاح العالم
task-attention.png
Comments are published at the sole discretion of the owner.
 

  1. 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.

    1. @ 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.

  2. 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.”

    1. @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.

  3. 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?

    1. @ 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.

  4. 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

  5.  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.

    1. @ 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.

  6. @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.

    1. @ 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.

  7. 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)?

    1. @Jael:

      you believe Israel was looking forward to admit to the escalation.

      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.

  8. 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.

  9. 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/

  10. [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.]

  11. 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

  12. 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

  13. Hello Richard,

    I’m lost at sea.

    What warehouse did Israel attack first, which then set in motion the explosion at Warehouse 12?

  14. <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.

  15. @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.

    1. @ 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.

  16. [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.]

  17. @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?

  18. 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…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *