Qana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Qana (in Arabic: قـانـا) is a village in southern Lebanon located 10 km southeast of the city of Tyre and 12 km north of the border with Israel. The 10,000 residents of Qana are primarily Shiite Muslim[1], although there is also a Christian community in the village.
[edit] Biblical controversy
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is said to have performed his first miracle of turning water into wine at Cana in Galilee. Some Christians, especially Lebanese Christians, believe Qana to have been the actual location of this event[1]. However, a tradition dating back to the 8th century identifies Cana with the modern village of Kafar Kanna, about 7 km northeast of Nazareth, Israel[2]. More recently, scholars have suggested other alternatives, including the ruined village of Kenet el-Jalil, about 16 km north of Nazareth, and Ain Kana, close to Nazareth. Ain Kana is considered a better candidate on etymological grounds.
In 1994, Nabih Berri, Lebanon's Parliament Speaker and leader of the secular Shiite Amal movement, wanted to establish a Christian shrine at a cave in Qana to attract tourists and pilgrims[1]. The government sent a 100-man company of troops to Qana to prevent potential religious conflict. This proposal was revived in 1999[3].
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- For more information about the Biblical Cana and its possible locations, see Cana.
[edit] Attacks on Qana
Qana is known internationally for two separate incidents in which the Israeli Defense Forces is charged with causing civilian deaths during military operations in Lebanon:
- 1996 shelling of Qana: On 18 April 1996, amid heavy fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hezbollah fighters during Operation Grapes of Wrath, a Fijian UNIFIL compound in the village was shelled by Israeli artillery, killing 106 civilians and injuring around 116 others who had taken refuge there to escape the fighting. Four UNIFIL soldiers were also seriously injured.[4][5]
- 2006 Qana airstrike: On 30 July 2006, during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Israeli airstrikes hit an apartment building. The Lebanese Red Cross originally stated that at least 56 people were killed, 32 of which were children. Human Rights Watch later announced that at least 22 people escaped the basement, and 28 are confirmed dead, of which 16 were children, with 13 more still missing [6]The airstrike killed 29 Lebanese a new report said. Women were dressed in black and wept over the graves on October 23, 2006, which marks the Eid ul-Fitr-holiday.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "Lebanese Town Lays Claim To Jesus Christ's First Miracle", Associated Press, January 12, 1994.
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914
- ^ "Lebanon to develop Qana into Christian tourist site", Agence France-Presse, December 7, 1999.
- ^ Question of the violation of human rights in the occupied Arab territories, including Palestine: written statement submitted by the Hariri Foundation. United Nations. United Nations Commission on Human Rights (11 March 2004). Retrieved on 13 July 2006.
- ^ "Protest at Peres Nazi image", BBC News, 1 April 2001.
- ^ Human Rights Watch puts Qana death toll at 28, Reuters, August 3, 2006.
- ^ "Violence casts shadow on normally festive Muslim holiday in Mideast", CBS, 23 October 2006.
