Awaiting a reckoning - let alone justice

It's now almost a year since the Israel-Lebanon war. There were casualties on both sides - and Israel, in particular, severely bombed parts of Southern Lebanon and left behind cluster bombs by the thousands. People are still being maimed and injured from those cluster bombs - incidentally, supplied to the Israelis by the Americans.

And the outcome? Any real justice? - let alone a full investigation? No, says Amnesty International:

"A year on from the 34-day war between Hizbullah and Israel, its many casualties are still awaiting justice. Since last summer, there have been no steps to prosecute the perpetrators of war crimes and other grave human rights violations during the conflict.

Amnesty International published its findings on war crimes committed by both sides - only to be faced with a clear unwillingness to investigate the violations by all concerned parties. It has called on the UN to establish an independent inquiry, but the international community has lacked the political will to make this happen.

"Without a full, impartial UN-led inquiry - that includes provision for reparations to the victims - there is a real danger of history repeating itself," warned Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa programme."

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Mahler's Prodigal Son

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