Washington, DC—Exactly ten years have passed since the shelling of a UN Compound in Qana, Lebanon, which left 106 Lebanese civilians dead and hundreds wounded. Families of the victims – and the victims themselves – are still pursuing justice. Now, a decade after the April 18, 1996 massacre, a U.S. Congressman who represents many of the victims is introducing legislation on their behalf. A major U.S. rights group is litigating a class action lawsuit in the hope of bringing them closure.

Nearly 45 households with family members killed in the shelling presently live in Dearborn, Michigan. Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D, 14th-MI), plans on introducing a Congressional resolution to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the shelling on behalf of his constituents. Mr. Conyers said, “It is with great sorrow that we remember the events of April 18, 1996. On behalf of Michigan’s 14th Congressional District, my family and I offer our support and prayers to the Bitar family and to the many others who lost loved ones on that tragic day.”

Among his constituents is Haidar Bitar, who has been living in Dearborn for 13 years. In 1996, Bitar lost his two sons Hadi, 7 years old, and Aboudi, 9 years old, in the Qana shelling while they were on vacation in Qana visiting their ailing grandmother.

Bitar is a member of the class on whose behalf a lawsuit was filed against Moshe Ya’alon, a retired Israeli general who served as Head of Israeli Army Intelligence during the shelling. Filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the claims in the suit, Belhas, et. al., v. Ya’alon, include war crimes, extrajudicial killing, crimes against humanity, and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Judith Brown Chomsky, a CCR cooperating attorney, said, “There is no official in any country that is above the law. It is important that we have a single standard by which people of any country can be called to justice for the violation of human rights. It’s not just for petty dictators who are on the U.S. enemies list.”

Israeli military forces shelled the compound as a part of its military operation, “Grapes of Wrath,” which sought to quell the resistance to its occupation of Southern Lebanon. Deemed illegal by UN Security Council resolution 425, Israel’s occupation of Southern Lebanon lasted 21 years from 1978 until 2000.
CAPITOL HILL PRESS BRIEFING SCHEDULED

Chomsky and Bitar, and Bitar’s daughter will participate in a press briefing in the Capitol Building HC-7 on Tuesday, April 25th from 2-3 PM. The briefing, “Commemorating Qana and Still Seeking Justice Ten Years Later,” will discuss the suit, as well as the devastation and lingering effects wrought by the 1996 shelling. This event is co-sponsored by the Council for the National Interest and the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Council for the National Interest