7.20.2006

i'm curious - with the magnifying glass that is on the middle east right now (i mean in terms of scrutiny although you could argue also in terms of burning a hole in the map) why have these incidents not been reported in the western media even though it is in a UN press release:
Noting that the past month had witnessed one shooting incident and a subsequent exchange of fire across the Blue Line, he said that on 1 February, the Israel Defense Forces had shot a Lebanese shepherd in the Shab’a Farms area [emphasis added by me]. In response to that shooting, on 3 February, Hizbollah had fired two rockets in the direction of an Israel Defense Forces position in the area in which the shepherd’s body had been found. The Israel Defense Forces had responded with artillery, small-arms fire and two air strikes. Hizbollah had responded with small-arms fire and 15 Katyusha rockets. Three artillery rounds fired from unknown locations had impacted approximately 200 metres east of a United Nations position near Kafr Shuba. Israeli air violations of the Blue Line had continued, albeit less frequently, during the past month. According to Lebanese military and media reports, Israeli jets had violated Lebanese airspace on 14 February during the first anniversary of Hariri’s assassination, although they had not been observed by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The United Nations reiterated its call on the Israeli authorities to halt those breaches of Lebanese sovereignty and fully respect the Blue Line.

it is obviously relevant to recent events, so it is strange that it is only reported in the arab media. so much so that i was having my doubts as to its validity until i found it on the UN site...
i have only found two refs to it (at this time) - one in a canadian soldier's write-in piece and another in a new zealand opinion piece.

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