ON May 15, demonstrators on the Lebanese side of the Lebanese-Israeli border made half-hearted attempts to breach the international boundary in commemoration of the Nakba. Seven civilians ended up dead while 111 were injured. A United Nations report issued a few days ago rightly directs strong criticism at Israel for its overwhelming use of deadly force in the face of a tepid threat that put neither Israeli lives nor land at any real risk. The action on the Lebanese side of the border was, of course, a provocation, and when playing with fire, one can expect to get burned. Getting burned and being shot to death, however, are two very different things. Other than firing warning shots into the air, Israel did not employ “conventional crowd control methods or any method other than lethal weapons against the demonstrators.” While the demonstrators are also criticized in the report, the report makes clear that their actions did not rise to demanding the use of deadly force. Israel has not issued an official response to the report, but unnamed sources within the Israeli government have, of course, rejected the UN's criticism. Despite that rejection, there seem to be actions being taken that would qualify as an admission that the country overreacted to the demonstrators. The fact that all those killed and injured were on the Lebanese side of the border is an indication of something amiss. A senior Israeli military official also said that since the May 15 border confrontation, and a subsequent deadly confrontation on June 5 along the frontier between Syria and the disputed, Israeli-held Golan Heights, Israeli forces had been provided with more non-lethal equipment in order to reduce fatalities in any future episodes of this kind. Although two firebombs were thrown from Lebanon in the May 15 incident, the demonstrators were unarmed. The efficacy of firebombs as weapons is also questionable. Israel cannot hide on a claim that it has right to protect itself. And because it has failed to do so within acceptable and civilized parameters, it deserves international criticism for that. __
