AcknowledgementsThis report is based on investigations carried out by Human Rights Watch researchers throughout the conflict (July 12-August 14, 2006), as well as in the months after the conflict (August-December 2006). The research was conducted by Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director at Human Rights Watch, Nadim Houry, Lebanon and Syria researcher in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) division of Human Rights Watch, and Wissam Al Saliby, consultant to Human Rights Watch. The report was written by Peter Bouckaert and Nadim Houry. Additional research was contributed by Lucy Mair, researcher for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in MENA; Jonathan Fox, consultant to Human Rights Watch; Eric Goldstein, research director in MENA; Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst in the emergencies program; and Leeam Azulay-Yagev, associate in the program office of Human Rights Watch. The report was edited by Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of MENA; James Ross, legal and policy director; Joseph Saunders, deputy program director; and Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. Members of the arms division of Human Rights Watch provided input and analysis on issues related to arms. Human Rights Watch associates Assef Ashraf, Thodleen Dessources, Tarek Radwan, and Leeam Azulay-Yagev, as well as intern Shir Alon, assisted with research, production, and administrative support. Human Rights Watch would like to thank the eyewitnesses and victims of the attacks documented in this report who agreed to be interviewed at great length. Many of them lost relatives and neighbors during the war and experienced the destruction of their own homes. Despite their hardships, these men and women patiently answered our difficult questions. Their cooperation is deeply appreciated. |