Andrew Bolt reports on the possible reason, from U.N. press releases:
Says the UNIFIL press release of 20 July:
Hezbollah firing was also reported from the immediate vicinity of the UN positions in Naquora and Maroun Al Ras areas at the time of the incidents (of Israeli return fire).
Can the jeering critics of Israel stop catcalling for a minute and explain how Israel is to defend itself against an enemy that shoots from among women and children, and from behind UN soldiers? Can they explain why they are such apologists for terrorists? Can Annan explain why he did not call on Hezbollah to stop risking the lives of his staff, or pull them out when they were being used to screen terrorist fighters?
UPDATE 1: More evidence. Retired Canadian Major General Lewis Mackenzie says he recently received emails from the Canadian peacekeeper killed at the UN post who’d told him that Hezbollah was using his post as cover.
We received emails from him a few days ago, and he was describing the fact that he was taking fire within, in one case, three meters of his position for tactical necessity, not being targeted. Now that’s veiled speech in the military. What he was telling us was Hezbollah soldiers were all over his position and the IDF were targeting them. And that’s a favorite trick by people who don’t have representation in the UN. They use the UN as shields knowing that they can’t be punished for it.
Little Green Footballs notes that U.N. soldiers were required to stay at the UNIFIL post until Kofi allowed them to leave. He didn't.
Michelle Malkin rounds up news coverage on the unraveling Annan story.
And, Canadian PM Stephen Harper calls out Kofi:
Asked directly if he agreed with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's characterization of the Israeli hit as ''deliberate targeting'' of UN personnel, Harper made clear he was not on the same page as the UN boss.
''I certainly doubt that to be the case, given that the government of Israel has been co-operating with us in our evacuation efforts, in our attempts to move Canadian citizens out of Lebanon, and also trying to keep our own troops that are on the ground involved in that evacuation out of harms way. So, I seriously doubt that,'' he said.