HRW BLAMES ISRAEL, NOT HEZBOLLAH HUMAN SHIELD TACTICS, FOR CIVILIAN DEATHS

Israel censured over Lebanese civilian toll (JTA)
Israel, not Hezbollah, was to blame for most civilian deaths during last year's Lebanon war, Human Rights Watch said.

In a scathing report issued Thursday, the New York-based watchdog said its investigators had determined that Israeli air force and artillery shelling caused most of some 900 Lebanese civilian deaths during the July-August conflict. It rejected Israel's argument that Hezbollah invited the heavy toll by operating among non-combatants and thus turning them into "human shields".

Hezbollah made efforts to avoid populated areas, Human Rights Watch said, [ED. HOW DOES THIS JIBE WITH HRW'S EARLIER REPORT THAT HEZBOLLAH DELIBERATELY USED HUMAN SHIELDS?] although it noted several occasions of guerrillas "endangering" civilians by firing rockets from, or storing weapons in, Lebanese towns and villages. The report further faulted Israel for attack political and charitable arms of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia.

"Hezbollah fighters often didn't carry their weapons in the open or regularly wear military uniforms, which made them a hard target to identify," Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said. "But this doesn't justify the Israel Defence Forces' failure to distinguish between civilians and combatants, and if in doubt to treat a person as a civilian, as the laws of war require."

Israel disputed the report's findings, reiterating that its armed forces abided by rules of war. A Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that during the 34-day conflict a U.N. official censured Hezbollah for shielding among civilians.

Human Rights Watch has also condemned Hezbollah's wartime launch of 4,000 rockets into Israel.

Handling Criticism (BackSpin)
At a Jerusalem press conference later today, Human Rights Watch will release a report criticizing the IDF's attack on Lebanon as "indiscriminate. According to AP:

In a statement issued before the report's release, the human rights organization said there was no basis to the Israeli claim that civilian casualties resulted from Hizbullah guerrillas using civilians as shields. Israel has said that it attacked civilian areas because Hizbullah set up rocket launchers in villages and towns.

The full report will be online here.

Might be worth comparing Israeli and Hezbollah objections to HRW.

SEE ALSO: HRW's damage can't be undone (JPost)
During last year's conflict with Hizbullah, Human Rights Watch led the condemnation and political campaign against Israel, repeatedly using terms such as "indiscriminate attacks" and "war crimes," based on allegations that were unverifiable or false, and largely absolving Hizbullah.

This NGO superpower issued more statements and reports than any other group. One year later, HRW and Ken Roth, who heads this powerful organization, are still trying to answer critics, and to this end, they have published a 128-page report claiming to discover the details of the conflict. While it is heavily padded and repetitious - few people are apparently expected to read more than the summary and recommendations - the report tacitly acknowledges that the widely publicized claims made by HRW officials, including Roth, were wrong.

How did HRW make such fundamental errors during the war? Why were they so quick to condemn Israel without knowing the facts? Why did officials ignore Hizbullah attacks and obvious violations of the moral principles HRW claims to promote? And which officials are responsible for HRW's role in the demonization of Israel?