Hezbollah tactics put civilians at risk

FINTAN LANE of Anti-War Ireland was rather disingenuous in his reply to Lola Cohen and Joy Wolfe (Irish Examiner letters, August 15).

Both rightly brought him to account (Irish Examiner letters, August 12) for his initial condemnation of Israeli action, while completely ignoring the activities of the Hezbollah which led to that action.

For this, he accuses them of “disgracefully inferring” that Anti-War Ireland applauds Hezbollah’s rocket attacks. Who, then, is guilty of “wilful misrepresentation”, if not Mr Lane himself?

He states that Anti-War Ireland considers the “deliberate targeting of civilians to be a war crime”.

Hardly a controversial point of view, but in the Israeli context, who is responsible for this? The very Hezbollah that Mr Lane fails to condemn.

This group deliberately operates in heavily populated areas, ensuring that any Israeli response will be accompanied by civilian casualties. Again, Mr Lane fails to condemn this. And while it is now “completely wrong” of Israel to “murder” hundreds, of Lebanese civilians, it is merely “wrong” of the Hezbollah to fire rockets into built-up Israeli civilian districts.

What on earth does he think they are firing them for, if not to murder Israeli civilians and provoke an Israeli reaction that would lead to the deaths of many more?

James McGrath

Birchgrove

Hollyford

Co Tipperary