HRW CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT INQUIRY INTO MILITARY, CIVILIAN ASSAULT THAT KILLED 2 PALESTINIANS IN LEBANON
DEMONSTRATORS WERE MAINLY REFUGEES FORCED TO EVACUATE CAMP AFTER BRUTAL FACTIONAL CLASHES THREATENED THEIR LIVES
6 July 2007

The New York based group Human Rights Watch has called on the Lebanese government to launch an independent inquiry into the violence that killed 2 and injured 28 Palestinian demonstrators in late June. Those killed are reported to have been civilians who were marching, unarmed, in a demonstration aimed at raising awareness of their situation and forcing a solution that might allow them to return to their homes in the Baddawi refugee camp.

Human Rights Watch reports that "On June 29, Lebanese army forces opened fire on Palestinian demonstrators who were marching from the Baddawi Palestinian refugee camp to the Nahr al-Bared camp, the scene of fierce fighting over the past six weeks between the army and the armed group Fatah al-Islam. The demonstrators, largely residents of the camp forced to evacuate due to the conflict, wanted an end to the fighting and to return to their homes."

The army's account holds that demonstrators attempted to "break through" a checkpoint blandishing weapons and that they had aggressively continued after repeated warnings by the army to halt their advance. But "two eyewitnesses, a Palestinian community activist and an international observer who monitored the demonstration, told Human Rights Watch that the demonstrators were peaceful and unarmed, and that no one had tried to break through the checkpoint."

Other eye-witness testimony is said to suggest that someone else, neither demonstrators nor military, had opened fire nearby, provoking the military to open fire on the demonstrators. Civilians joined in the assault on demonstrators, which leads some to speculate that armed Lebanese civilians may have opened fire on the Palestinian demonstrators. One eye-witness told HRW "Shooting occurred from civilian buildings, toward the civilian Palestinians. I didn’t see it with my eyes, but it was clear".

The army treated the gunshots as a sign of open conflict and retaliated against the demonstrators. Other eye-witness testimony says that after the Lebanese army opened fire, nearby civilians also began to assault the Palestinian refugees with "sticks and knives", and that security forces did not intervene to stop the attack on the unarmed Palestinian civilians.

Another account holds that "Activists from various Palestinian political factions tried to convince the demonstrators to go home, and a group of women sat down in front of the crowd, trying to calm them down. The crowd did not leave and, after about 10 minutes, the army opened fire."

Human Rights Watch wants a full, open and independent investigation, with the power to bring charges against any officials involved in what it describes as an "unlawful use of force". The army and civilian actions in the incident appear to represent growing tensions between refugees and those who blame their presence for the factional strife in Lebanon. [s]

• HRW: "Lebanon: Investigate Army Shooting of Palestinian Demonstrators"

BBC REPORTER JOHNSTON, HELD HOSTAGE IN GAZA, FREED UNHARMED
4 MONTHS AFTER HIS CAPTURE BY MILITANTS, ALAN JOHNSTON WAS FREED WHEN HAMAS NEGOTIATED HIS RELEASE
5 July 2007

Alan Johnston's ordeal became a global concern, when the BBC and his family organized a campaign to urge his immediate release. The release is a propaganda coup for the Hamas leadership, which after ousting Fatah from Gaza, has been stripped of its role in the Palestinian government. Former PM Ismail Haniyeh appeared with Johnston in a press conference at Haniyeh's Gaza residence and sought to project a new image of Hamas as keeper of law and order and responsible political leadership. [Full Story]