Debbie Schlussel: Poetic Justice?: U.N. Peacekeepers Aided Hezbollah in 2000 Kidnapping of Israeli Soldiers

By Debbie Schlussel

We are not shedding too many tears over the accidental Israeli killing of U.N. "peacekeepers" (a misnomer if there ever was one).

While we are sorry for any innocents who lost their lives, it's a tad of poetic justice for the U.N. in Lebanon. Why?

Well, to those who forgot--apparently, that includes the entire mainstream media--the U.N. aided and abetted Hezbollah in the October 2000 abduction of three Israeli soldiers at Har Dov, Israel. They turned a blind eye to the kidnapping, and it is believed they provided Hezbollah with U.N. uniforms, insignia, and vehicles. The U.N. for months denied knowledge of the attack and kidnapping or that it had a tape, which it had all along and withheld, aiding Hezbollah.

Here's an excerpt from a 2001 article from Israeli newspaper Ha'Aretz, which is posted in its entirety at the International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers site:

Friday, July 6, 2001 Haaretz Daily Newspaper - English Internet Edition By Amos Harel, Yossi Verter and Shlomo Shamir

UN Admits it has a Videotape of Soldiers' Kidnap

Defense Minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer yesterday announced that United Nations officials last Friday acknowledged the existence of a video tape with information on the kidnapping of three IDF soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas at Har Dov on October 7, 2000. Israeli security sources suspect the tape has scenes recorded immediately after the abduction. In a strongly worded letter, the government demanded that the United Nations immediately transfer the tape to Israel.

Israeli officials had insisted for months that the cassette existed, but the UN adamantly rejected the claim. According to Ben-Eliezer, information about the existence of the tape was leaked from New York.

While it is still unclear what the recording contains, two pictures, showing UN tow trucks removing two vehicles used by the Hezbollah guerrillas during the kidnapping were shown last night on both Israeli television news channels.

The pictures were acquired by Shlomi Afrayat, owner of Topline in Kiryat Shmona, who has worked for months to make contact with the persons responsible for the recording. Afrayat is not in possession of the original tape.

"The scene was taped 18 hours after the abduction of the three soldiers", said Timor Goksel, spokesman for UNIFIL (UN interim force in Lebanon) peacekeepers in south Lebanon. "It contains footage of abandoned vehicles the Iran-backed Hezbollah guerrillas used in the attack," he added.

"Inside the vehicles, UN peacekeepers found UN insignia, uniforms and license plates along with weapons and explosives," Goksel said. . . .

Israeli security officials suspect that the UN soldiers witnessed the attack and may have turned a blind eye to Hezbollah preparations to carry it out.

So, as for the U.N. "Peacekeepers," our response is: War is hell. You chose to go. And to be involved in an organization that works with Hezbollah in a very friendly manner.

Read the whole account here.

Posted by Debbie on July 26, 2006 01:33 PM to Debbie Schlussel