Operational and political facts… before and after the incident
The Lebanese judiciary will remain subject to testing over the years, after it was devoured by politicization. The test of the past days with William Noun is one of the chapters and examples of the damages and repercussions that befell him from that politicization. The origin and source of the William Noun incident is the political decision that was taken to obstruct the investigation into the explosion that killed his brother in the port of Beirut, along with the rest of the 220 victims.
These tests will follow. The expected near test is the imminent completion of the investigation into the murder of the Irish soldier working within the framework of the United Nations Forces (UNIFIL) in the south, and the assault on him and his comrades by shooting and premeditated murder. Whatever the circumstances and circumstances, whether what happened in the town of Al-Aqibiya at 11:30 before midnight on December 14, was planned or the son of his watch came, there was a crime that occurred.
And the responsibility for it goes back to the continuous incitement for more than a decade against those behind the mobilization of the environment in which UNIFIL operates that its soldiers are “spies in the interest of Israel.” This is what previously led to incidents of attacks on patrols of international forces in the south. The Security Council is still calling on the Lebanese authorities to uncover them and bring the perpetrators to justice, whenever it meets to renew the mandate of UNIFIL.
Until the Lebanese side releases its findings in its investigations, it appears from the preliminary facts collected by the international side that their sequence could lead to the fact that the accident occurred without prior planning. However, determining whether or not this is true depends on the Lebanese judiciary completing its investigations.
Some of the Irish soldiers who were in the two cars that set off from the south to Beirut airport carrying two of their comrades in order to travel to their country for the sad reasons of a death in the family of each of them, had not been more than 3 weeks since they came to Lebanon to serve alongside the Irish unit, Among them was the dead soldier, Sean Rooney, meaning that they are new to the southern situation.
After their departure from the area of operations of the international forces and the completion of the routine procedures, which include informing the Lebanese army of the mission of the two cars, at its checkpoint at the borders of the Litani River, the two “Land Cruisers” cars continued their walking on the usual road, which ends, after a few kilometers, with a fork that takes them to the international road. which is usually used by UNIFIL mechanisms. The car in front took this road, but the second car that was carrying the victim, Ronnie and his companions, did not notice the behavior of the first car at this intersection.
The darkness of the road in that area contributed to the loss of vision, especially since the second car was traveling at a slower speed than the lead car. When the second car arrived at Al-Aqabiya, the soldiers who were in it were alerted that they had lost their colleagues, and they took another road, and they tried via the GPS device to return to the lane that takes them back to the international road, but they did not succeed in getting out of the side roads in the town. They took turns and then returned to the same place, that is, they took turns in the same geographical area, which they are completely ignorant of. Young men in the town, riding in a car, tried to stop them, but the fear of exposure prompted them to continue on their way, until a car was able to overtake them and block the road for them from the front, while a second car in which armed men were traveling surrounded them from behind, so the driver, Private Rooney, tried to escape from these people after they were screaming In his face, by not complying and maneuvering in driving, the “blue hats” car hit one of the two cars that chased them, and some of those inside fired at it, and one of the armed men opened its trunk and shot those inside.
The three soldiers were able to lower their heads, and their injuries came to their bodies, while the driver, Private Rooney, who was trying to evade his vehicle from the gunmen and the gunfire by taking it away from them, was unable to lower his head because he was forced to drive, and was hit directly in the head. The fact that the accident occurred quickly did not enable the three soldiers who survived to determine the number of gunmen who surrounded them (two were able to give their testimony because the third was in a critical condition and was transferred to his country for treatment later), and the number of those who opened fire.
Among the facts also is that the first car that crossed the intersection leading to the international road, from which the car that was shot in al-Aqabiya was separated from it, alerted the soldiers who took it, after a distance, that their colleagues had not caught up with them towards the international road, so they tried to go back to search for them, but by bad coincidences She wanted their car to malfunction due to a puncture in one of the wheels, which caused them to be late while their colleagues were lost in their attempt to take the way back to the South-Beirut highway, and what happened was a chase by armed youths…
enough facts?
Are these facts sufficient to assert the validity of the hypothesis that the accident was unintended and not planned in advance? It is derived from the two surviving soldiers, by international investigators who do not have the right to listen to the Lebanese who gathered around the two UNIFIL vehicles and the gunmen who chased them, and whose weapons fired bullets.
Circles familiar with the atmosphere of the “UNIFIL” leadership indicate that it was the first time that “Hezbollah” was the first to initiate contact with the leadership in order to inform it that it had nothing to do with the incident, unlike previous incidents that it did not care to do so, but this time it quickly condemned what happened. And the campaign of solidarity with the international forces expanded. Whatever the results of the Lebanese investigation, there is a moral responsibility for the “party” that it bears as a result of the continuous incitement against “UNIFIL” that it is spying for Israel, at a time when its leadership knows that the Hebrew state does not need the “blue hats” in order to do so as long as the “drone” She tours the south every day and takes pictures of all its regions. In parallel, there is a firm conviction that nothing happens in the south without the knowledge of the “party”.
These circles expect that the results of the investigation will be issued soon, provided that UNIFIL issues a statement in this regard, and that the Lebanese side in the content of the investigation give an explanation for this hostility through which the militants dealt with the Irish soldiers present in Lebanon since 1978 (in accordance with International Resolution No. 425) That is, since the first Israeli invasion of the south, and at the request of the Lebanese government to help it maintain stability in the south. The Irish army had already lost, since the late seventies until the date of the incident, about 46 soldiers who were killed while performing their duties in southern Lebanon. Nevertheless, Ireland remained one of the countries most sympathetic to Lebanon.
UNIFIL countries
Will the killing of the Irish soldier affect the positions of the participating countries in UNIFIL, some of which are members of the Security Council? There are no clear answers in this regard, but there is an urgent need for the Lebanese side to give answers before the visit of Irish Defense Minister Simon Coveney to Lebanon before the end of this month, to bring the investigation into the open. However, an incident of this kind must receive investment from some countries lurking in Lebanon, although the Israeli comment on it was “low” in tone compared to previous events. It is expected that the matter will become clear in the routine tripartite meeting between UNIFIL and the Lebanese and Israeli armies in Naqoura in early February.
It is believed among circles familiar with the position of the leadership of the international forces that the timing of what happened contradicts the positive climate that followed the agreement to demarcate the maritime borders with Israel, which paves the way for Lebanon to start exploring gas and oil fields in Lebanon’s exclusive economic zone, as the investing companies are in parallel with the start of operations at sea. It needs stability and calm, and that the weapons spread among the Lebanese will not affect its security and the security of those working with it, rather than the impression that it accepts a risk.
