Jenin - 60 killed = massacre
Nahr el-Bared - 40 killed = story? what story?
But of course. For a "massacre" you need outrage; for outrage, you need a "Western" player who is subject to judgement, e.g. Israelis. No Israelis, no outrage, so no big story. For example, which massacre of the Lebanese Civil War got the bigger story, Damour or Sabra and Shatila? You get only one guess which was the missing ingredient in Damour.
At least I'm hearing the BBC reporting the clashes as a serious conflict between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al Islam.
However, the fact that the Lebanese Army is shelling a Palestinian refugee camp is reported dispassionately, with none of the concern for civilian Palestinian life that is a staple of reports from Gaza. Indeed, the very next BBC story expressed concern for Gaza civilians endangered by IAF raids, even though the IAF raids are aimed with precision at Hamas targets, while the Lebanese artillery shells are fairly indiscriminate.
Update: Mirabile dictu, somebody on BBC radio is actually describing how miserable Lebanon makes the lives of Palestinian refugees: no citizenship, no work papers, enclosure in ghettoes, living on international aid, it was a"tragic loss" of the PLO for these refugees, the talking head says. Admits that Syria has an interest in fomenting troubles in Lebanon, but says it's unproved.
First time I've heard somebody admit the Dickensian conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon without blaming it all on Israel. |
