Civilians in Danger

The Location of Temporary and Permanent Military Installations Close to Arab Communities during the Second Lebanon War

IDF Response

The IDF Spokesperson stated in response: “The IDF utterly repudiates the content [of the report]. This is malign nonsense. The claims are completely groundless and attempt to create a false representation that does not reflect reality. During the Second Lebanon War, the IDF deployed various military installations throughout the Galilee in order to protect the residents of the north, including the Arab residents, from the firing of rockets by Hizbullah. The consideration applied in selecting the location of the installations was solely operational and did not reflect any other consideration.”

The IDF Spokesperson added: “Unlike the IDF, which directed its attacks during the war at legitimate military targets and took extensive steps to minimize the injury to uninvolved persons, Hizbullah acted deliberately throughout the war in order to harm civilians in the State of Israel; this constitutes a war crime. The claim that Hizbullah directed its attacks at IDF installations, and that solely for this reason civilian communities were hit, is completely without foundation. Hizbullah deliberately attacked civilian communities in the north of Israel, without distinguishing between Jewish and Arab communities, in order to cause injury to the civilian population and the destruction of its property.”