Nabatieh Governor Says Israel’s Actions in South Lebanon Constitute “Human Rights Violations”
(AWP) - The governor of Nabatieh, one of the areas most affected in southern Lebanon due to the clashes between Hezbollah and Israel, described the Israeli actions as “crimes that violate international human rights law,” adding that the clashes have affected all sectors across the city.
After nearly five months of reciprocal shelling and attacks that have resulted in civilian casualties, Governor Hwayda Turk said the Israeli attacks were “barbaric and unjustifiable acts.”
In an interview with Arab World Press (AWP), Turk said, “[Israel’s] claims that the shelling is targeting areas from which attacks are being carried out are contrary to the truth and reality. The evidence is that health facilities and media outlets are being targeted. The Nabatieh massacre, other massacres, the little girl who was killed two days ago, and the chaotic conditions resulting from the shelling, do not discriminate between civilians and non-civilians.”
Last week, four people were killed in an Israeli drone strike on a building in the city. Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that the shelling targeted a residential apartment in the city center with a guided missile.
Turk said that Nabatieh is one of the most affected areas in Lebanon by the current escalation.
“The economic sector is the worst affected among all the sectors in the governate. The economic cycle has been significantly disrupted, with work suspended in the border areas as well as in institutions and factories. Even production in the informal work sector has stopped. After the economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic, we observed what we called ‘reverse displacement’ from the cities and their suburbs to towns. The number of the people in the towns grew because of worker layoffs during the economic and health crisis.”
The Lebanese governor noted that the authorities were not yet able to conduct an accurate survey of the damage.
“Let us be clear. We are unable to assess the extent of the damage so far, but we can say it is huge for people whose homes and businesses are concentrated in these districts.”
She added, “Work is still going on in the city of Hasbaiyya and its surrounding areas, and to a large extent, freelance businesses are continuing there. But economic activities are either positively or negatively affected the security conditions because even investment needs a safe environment to be more productive.”