9th Anniversary of Qana Massacre

on 18.4.1996. It is "Operation Grapes of Wrath", conducted by PM Shimon Peres and "Defence" Minister Ehud Barak. The headquarters compound of the Fijian battalion of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) come under fire by Israeli artillery. At the time, more than 800 Lebanese have sought refuge inside the compound, which is located in the village of Qana. An estimated 100 persons are killed and a larger number wounded, including four UN soldiers.

Israel, obviously, claims that it was just an accident; that it was not aware of the large number of Lebanese civilians in the compound; that it had no aircraft flying above the area before or during the shelling. UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali orders an investigation, headed by Dutch military advisor Major-General Franklin van Kappen.

Van Kappen's report dismisses Israel's outrageous claim about not being aware of civilians, reminding that a UN compound was not a legitimate target, whether or not civilians were in it. Moreover, the report stated clearly that "The distribution of point impact detonations and air bursts makes it improbable that impact fuses and proximity fuses were employed in random order, as stated by the Israeli forces" and that "Contrary to repeated denials, two Israeli helicopters and a remotely piloted vehicle were present in the Qana area at the time of the shelling."

The US urged the Secretary General not to publish the incriminating report. SG Boutros-Ghali insisted. The Clinton administration put pressure on the UN to soften the language, hoping to turn it into a useless "Israel-maintains-this-and-others-allege-that" kind of paper like the one on Jenin. Boutros-Ghali refused, and published the embarrassing report as is. It was on the 7th of May, 1996.