This is the transcript of Behind the News which is a program for Australian youngsters produced by the ABC. Its target audience is upper primary and secondary school students. Ask yourself, are you happy for your tax-payer money to pay for this kind of propaganda? The paragraphs that appear in black are suggested changes to the transcript which take out the bias and correct the factual inaccuracies.

LEBANON BACKGROUNDER

Lebanon has snow-capped mountains, beaches and a history that spans thousands of years. So it's not surprising that it attracts many tourists.

Lebanon is in the Middle East, not far from Iraq and sits between the Mediterranean Sea, Syria and Israel. Lebanon is fairly small; you can see here how it compares in size to Australia.

On the narrow plains, it's hot and dry in summer. But the winters are mild to cool and wet. Up in the mountains there are heavy winter snows.

About four million people live in Lebanon, including about 30 thousand Australians.

Seventy percent are Sunni or Shia Muslims, about 25 percent are Christians, and others are Druze or belong to other religious groups. Ninety-five per cent of the people are Arabs, and the official language is Arabic. But people also speak French, English, and Armenian.

Since its independence from France in 1943, Lebanon has experienced good times and bad. When Israel was created in 1948 many Palestinians were forced from their land and some came here to Southern Lebanon. This led to the formation of groups like Hezbollah, Hamas and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Hezbollah fought Israel to reclaim lost land and to remove foreign troops from Lebanon. 

Since its independence from France in 1943, Lebanon has experienced good times and bad. Israel was established by the UN in 1948 as a homeland for the Jews. About 5 million people live in Israel, 15% are Arabs and the rest are mainly Jews. When Israel was created the Arab countries declared war on Israel, and Palestinian civilians were forced to flee from their land. Some came here to Southern Lebanon. This led to a large refugee problem, and over the years terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah formed to reclaim Israel for their own, and incidentally to remove all foreign troops from Lebanon.

In recent months Lebanon had almost finished rebuilding all the roads, buildings and infrastructure damaged during the bad times. And up until two weeks ago they thought peace was here to stay.

In the last five years (not just in recent months) Hezbollah has been constantly repeating its wish to destroy Israel. It had begun to grow as a significant terrorist force in South Lebanon. Nevertheless Lebanon continued to prosper and rebuild. They thought peace was here to stay. They did not notice the growing threat of Hezbullah's confrontation with Israel.

So that brings us to what's happening now and the reasons behind the conflict. It's a complex situation, so we asked Andrea to take a close look at the events and make it a bit easier for us to understand.

Presented by Andrea Nicolas (Episode 18)

ANDREA NICOLAS, REPORTER: Black smoke, remains of destroyed buildings, planes dropping bombs overhead...

This is what's been happening in Lebanon in recent weeks.

It's been bombed by neighboring country Israel and more than 300 people have been killed.

Lebanon been bombed by neighboring country Israel, and at the same time Israel has been bombed by neighboring country Lebanon. Whilst the fighting has been ferocious, the bloodshed on both sides has been relatively small compared to previous wars. More than 350 people have been killed on either side. There has been a large amount of damage and injuries also.

Bombs have destroyed Lebanon's only international airport in the capital city Beirut as well as one of the country's main power stations. Many main roads are damaged, so people have no way out and are trapped inside their houses.

Bombs have severely damaged Lebanon's international airport in the capital city Beirut but limited flights are taking off and landing. The country's main power stations are in the same situation. Many main roads are damaged and people have been fleeing their houses to the North of the country. At the same time Hezbullah has been bombing the north of Israel, and Israelis also have had to flee south or take refuge in bomb shelters. So on both sides normal life has come to a standstill.

Because there's no electricity, they can't check the news to find out what's happening and they've been relying on their mobile phones to communicate. But their phone batteries are also running out.

Because there's no electricity, Lebanese citizens can't check the news to find out what's happening and they've been relying on their mobile phones to communicate. But their phone batteries are also running out. Similarly residents of Northern Israel fear for their lives, because they are the direct and deliberate targets of the Hezbullah bombs. Some people believe that death in war is the same whoever caused it, whilst others believe that targeting civilians directly is a worse action than when innocent people are killed accidentally.

The recent attacks started when Hezbollah soldiers from Lebanon kidnapped two Israeli soldiers and killed 8. Hezbollah wanted to swap the kidnapped Israeli soldiers for Arab prisoners being held in Israel.

The recent unrest started when Hezbollah militants from Lebanon went into Israel, killed eight Israeli soldiers and kidnapped two. Hezbollah said that they invaded Israel in order to "swap" the kidnapped Israeli soldiers for Arab "prisoners" being held in Israel. Israel said that it needed to protect its citizens, and didn't want to be invaded by its enemy.

But Israel fought back hard. It dropped bombs across Lebanon including in the south, where it believes a Hezbollah leader lives and where weapons are stored. Hezbollah retaliated by firing rockets into Israel, but didn't cause as much damage.

So Israel fought back hard. It dropped bombs across Lebanon including in the south, where it believes many Hezbollah terrorists live and where weapons are stored. Hezbollah retaliated by firing even more rockets into Israel. Hezbollah's rockets are more primitive that the Israeli's and don't cause as much damage as the Israeli bombs.

The war is actually between Israel and Hezbollah Militants, not the country of Lebanon.

Hezbollah is a small group of Palestinian extremists who fled to Lebanon as refugees because their land was taken over by Israel. Hezbollah and Hamas, another extremist group wanting to get land back, have both launched terrorist attacks on Israel in the past.

Hezbollah is a very large group of Palestinian militants who fled to Lebanon in order to fight Israel. They wanted to establish ther rule over all Israel. They do not believe in democracy, and want to institute an Islamic state there. Hezbollah and Hamas, another militant group wanting to take over Israel, have both launched terrorist attacks on Israel in the past, and are both launching attacks right now.

There's a long history of conflict, which has led to this latest attack. Here's a quick timeline of the main events:

Pre 1947 Jews lived in Palestine. They believe their ancestors came from there, and their holiest places of worship are in Jerusalem. In the 1880s large numbers of Jews arrived and bought land from Arabs.

1947 The UN established Israel as an official country for the Jewish people, taking the original very large land of Palestine and dividing it between the Jews and the Arabs. Many Arabs were forced out of their lands as were many Jews forced out of Arab lands at the time. The Jews and the Arabs fought a war over this partition, and they have been both fighting AND negotiating over the land until now.

1948 Israel was proclaimed as a country for Jewish people, taking much of the land from Palestinian Muslims.

The UN divided up the lands between the Arabs and the Jews and many Arabs were forced out of their lands as were approximately as many Jews forced out of Arab lands at the time. No one can say for sure exactly how many Arabs and Jews were forced off each other's lands, and there are conflicting accounts

1964 The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was established for Arabs in their fight against Israel for taking their land.

1964 The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) was established for Arabs as a terrorist organisation to take Israel for the Arabs by force.

1967 Israel took over Gaza and West Bank and 500 thousand Palestinians fled the country.

1967 Israel fought a war against six Arab armies, and defeated them in six days. They took over Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights, and 325 thousand Palestinians fled those territories.

From 1975 until the early 1990s Lebanon suffered a terrible civil war in which Israel, Lebanon, Syria and the PLO used the country as a battlefield.

From 1975 until the early 1990s Lebanon suffered a terrible civil war in which Israel was not involved. Lebanon, Syria and the PLO used the country as a battlefield.

1982 Israel became involved in fighting the PLO in Lebanon, and Hezbollah formed to expel Israel from Lebanon and then to go on and fight Israel with militancy.

2000 Israel withdrew its troops from south Lebanon in July.

2000 Israel ended its occupation of South Lebanon in July.

2005 UN demanded that Syrian troops leave Lebanon.

While Israel has launched attacks on targets in Lebanon before, this time it's on a large scale. Israel's military has targeted main infrastructure like airports and power stations to make it hard for anyone in Lebanon to fight back or to flee the country. Israel has also blocked escape by sea.

The United Nations wants the two groups to stop fighting, and has demanded a cease-fire and negotiations. But Israel says it'll continue to fight until Hezbollah is destroyed.

The United Nations wants the two groups to stop fighting, and has demanded a cease-fire and negotiations. But Israel says it'll continue to fight until Hezbollah is destroyed, and Hezbollah has said it will continue to fight until the "prisoners" are released.

Many countries like Australia have been working to help their people leave Lebanon. The Federal Government has arranged buses and a ship to help 10 thousand Australians who've registered, wanting to leave the capital Beirut.

But for those Aussies stuck in southern Lebanon, it could be a long wait. That area is being bombed the most and Israel has refused to give the Aussies a safe passage to escape in case members of Hezbollah get away too.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/btn/stories/s1695372.htm