Demonstrators in London yesterday

Thousands gathered in London's Trafalgar Square yesterday to protest against Israel's attacks on Lebanon. The photographs below were taken by me.

More photos of the demo can be found here.

Hassan Nasrullah interview

Here's a full, translated transcript of Al Jazeera's interview with Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrullah.

Israel's real intentions in Lebanon

Israel's bombing of Lebanon enters its third week, with the most intense bombing yet taking place on Tuesday.

The effect of Israel's air strikes on Lebanon is utterly devastating and is in violation of humanitarian law. 13 Lebanese were killed early this morning; most of Lebanon's cities have been attacked by Israeli war planes; entire villages in southern Lebanon have been 'flattened'; the Lebanese infrastructure has been severly damaged; and a humanitarian crisis looms as Israel deliberately targets food and medical supplies.

Approximately 600 have been killed in the last two weeks; the vast majority of these have been lebanese civilians. Four United Nations peacekeepers were killed in an Israeli air strike earlier this week; it turns out that the UN urged Israeli troops no less than 10 times not to open fire on the post.

Israel's response to the kidnapping by Hisbullah of two soldiers is hugely disproportionate. The attacks on Lebanon, have, in fact, been planned for over a year, and the kidnapping of the Israeli troops by Hizbullah was an event that catalyzed these plans.

So, if the taking of hostages by Hizbullah is not the real reason behind this war, what are Israel's real intentions in Lebanon?

Israel intends to gain control of the Litani, a river in southern Lebanon. Water is the most essential substance for all forms of life on Earth, and will soon become a valuable commodity. Israel is one of the most arid countries in the world, and it desperately needs water.

To this end, Israel has stated that it intends to control a 'buffer zone' in southern Lebanon. This buffer zone could penetrate as much as 20 km into Lebanese territory.

Israel's military strategy appears to be to pound southern Lebanon so hard that all those who normally inhabit the buffer zone decide to abandon their homes.

The Litani river rises west of Baalbek, emptying into the Mediterranean north of Tyre. It is a major water supply for southern Lebanon. On its southward course, the Litani bends westwards and comes within 4km of the northern Israeli border.

Control of the Litani was an underlying motive for Israel's invasion of Lebanon in 1982. Israel claimed that the reason for its 1982 invasion was the attempted murder of Shlomo Argov, the Israeli ambassador in London, by the PLO. It was in fact another faction, Abu Nidal, who were responsible for the attempt on Argov's life.

Israel tries to justify civilian casualties

The Evening Standard ran this dispicable front page last week.

In an attempt to justify the civilian casualties it has inflicted, Israel claimed that it believed Hizbullah was using Lebanese children as sandbags.

It doesn't surprise me that the Standard jumped on Israel's statement, but can intelligent people actually be fooled by this nonsense?

The Standard's front page is but one example of biased reporting of the Middle East in the British press. Israel, and Jews in Europe and the U.S., claim that the british media is openly anit-Israeli. The truth, however, is that the British media is very pro-Israeli.

Israel is routinely reported as being a David waging war against the Arab Goliath. Whereas Israel has one of the mightiest armed forces in the world, the Palestinians have no army at all. None of the Arab states surrounding Israel, all of whom apparently would like to destroy the Jewish state, have an army that can be compared to Israel's.

Israel in Lebanon

WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

Israel continues to pound Lebanon and kill innocent civilians.

Shine on you crazy diamond

Syd Barret, founder and lead singer of the legendary Pink Floyd, has died at the age of 60 of diabetes-related complications.

Apologies for my absence

Regular readers of this blog (if there are any!) will notice that I haven't posted anything for about 2 weeks.


I've been preoccupied with other things recently, but normal services will resume soon!