Press Release 22 November 2006

Uncorroborated, Contradictory Information at Core of Amnesty International
Report on Lebanon War

Report Fails to Name Israeli Civilian Casualties

Vague, narrow interpretations of international law and unverifiable accounts
contradicted by wartime media and UN reports form the foundation of Amnesty
International's concluding report on this summer's Lebanon War released
Tuesday. In the report, Amnesty accuses Israel of indiscriminate attacks,
deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure and war crimes.
Providing little or no detail on how it conducted its 'investigation' in
Lebanon and relying on scant or no military expertise, the organization
levels serious, unsubstantiated accusations against Israel.

Professor Gerald Steinberg, Editor of NGO Monitor: "Amnesty's report is
called 'Out of all proportion' - but what is the 'proportionate' response to
Hezbollah's July 12 cross-border attack, its kidnappings, murders, its
arsenal of tens of thousands of missiles and genocidal objectives? Amnesty
doesn't say."

An NGO Monitor review of Amnesty's report concludes that rather than
shedding new light on the conflict, the report is a one-sided condemnation
of Israel. While quick to accuse Israel of "collective punishment" or the
deliberate targeting of civilians, Amnesty's report lets Hezbollah off easy,
referring to its stockpiling of weapons in homes and mosques and launching
attacks from heavily populated civilian areas as "unclear" "in terms of
international humanitarian law."

The report fails to name a single Israeli victim of Hezbollah rocket fire
compared to detailed biographical information on Lebanese casualties.
Lengthy chapters on the impact of Israeli military strikes on Lebanon,
civilians killed, and detailed reports of property, economic and
environmental damage starkly contrast the paltry few paragraphs that gloss
over loss of human life, economic and environmental consequences on the
Israeli side caused by 4,000 Hezbollah rockets fired on the country's north.
Despite UN, media and even its own reports identifying the Lebanese villages
of Bint Jbeil, Marwahin, Sifra and al-Khiam as areas where Hezbollah was
conducting military operations, Amnesty condemns IDF strikes and destruction
of homes in these villages. Among IDF attacks deemed "grossly
disproportionate" were those in the Beirut neighborhood where Hezbollah had
its headquarters.

NGO Monitor promotes critical debate and accountability of human rights NGOs
in the Arab-Israeli conflict:
www.ngo-monitor.org.

Further details: Anne Herzberg, 054-816-1828, anne.herzberg@ngo-monitor.org