Free Republic

JERUSALEM - An Israeli think tank with strong links to the military released videos and testimony Tuesday it said proved Hezbollah guerrillas used civilians as human shields during last summer's war in Lebanon. The report's authors hoped to challenge allegations that Israel committed war crimes when it attacked residential areas during the war. Although no formal war crimes charges have been filed against either side, Israel has taken the brunt of international criticism. Israel is especially sensitive about the possibility of legal action because of previous lawsuits and indictments abroad against Israeli leaders and military officers. The 300-page report, compiled...

Syrian-backed terrorists have vowed to escalate attacks on Israel from Lebanon, describing last Sunday's raid near Damascus as the "first round in a new Middle East war". Senior leaders of the Lebanese-based Hizbollah group warned that the raid, on an alleged Palestinian training camp, would inflame a border that had been relatively quiet for 30 years. Syrian president Bashar Assad said that the raid was an Israeli attempt to provoke war "It is wrong to bear an attack without a response. This changes the region," said Mohammad Raad, the deputy leader of Hizbollah...