The author's characterisation of Israel as a failed state is absurd. Within Israel proper, Arab-Israelis enjoy full democratic and legal rights. Currently, there are twelve Arab-Israelis sitting in their parliament and one in the cabinet. Lest it be suggested that these are merely Israeli pawns, Ahmed Tibbi, an Arab-Israeli politician, called for the established of a Muslim caliphate that includes Israel. Further, an Arab judge currently sits upon the Supreme Court - the very court that recently struck down a government education program on the basis that it discriminated against Arab-Israelis. It is difficult to find any other Middle-Eastern country which bestows this degree of protection on its citizens let alone on minority citizens.

Whilst it is true that many innocent Lebanese are suffering in the current conflict, the responsible party is not Israel but Hizbollah. It is they who have chosen to embed themeselves into the civilian populations and use schools, mosques and hospitals as weapons depots, all the while conducting a terrorist campaign against the citizens of northern Israel.

The popular conception of Israel as a land-grabbing, war-hungry state baffles me. In 1948, Israel accepted a tiny, discontinuous sliver of land in the partion deal - necessarily accepting Palestinian statehood. Following the 1967 war, Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt in return for recognition and peace. In 1993 and 2000, Israel offered to remove its people for the vast majority of the West Bank and Gaza in return for peace. Despite being the victim of terrorism and aggressive war, Israel has repeatedly made or offered concessions in return for peace.

Unfortunately, I am unable to find a more accurate and succint characterisation of the situation than Bill O'Reilly's: If Hizbollah and Hamas renounced violence and disarmed there would be peace and Palestinian statehood. If Israel disarmed itself, there would be second Holocaust.

The current situation grew from Israel's withdrawal, in order to comply with UNSC Resolution 425 (which the UN has certified complete). Lebanon has not complied with its obligations, which include disarming 'ALL' militias and using the Lebanese Army to secure the Israeli/Lebanese border. Notwithstanding the Lebanese Government's abysmal failure to comply with its obligations, Israel endured constant harrasment from Hizbollah, the militia Lebanon chose to allow to secure the border.

Israel endured this harrasment because, inter alia, to attack Hizbollah without the will to finish the job would increase their appeal to the Arab/Persian world. Unfortunately, to defeat Hizbollah would require the wholesale destruction of much of South Lebanon and South Beirut. Finally the harrasment reached the point it was designed, for some bizzare purpose, to reach, and Israel has been forced to react. Contrary to what appears to be the common view, Israeli government's are elected by Israeli's, not the International Community.

If the Israeli government leaves Hizbollah in the position to continue the bombardment they will be replaced at the next election, by a government with the internal fortitude to finish an unglamorous, dangerous, unpopular, but vital job

Inshallah

2bob

>>The Lebanese people have done nothing to deserve the wrath of the Israeli political and military establishment. <<

Please qualify what is meant by “Lebanese people”. Lebanon is divided into: Christian and Muslim sectors.

The muslims are seeing Hezballah as their champion liberator peace provider by excellence. These muslims are brainwashed since infancy to destroy Israel and wipe it off the map.

So they are NOT the :

>>…innocent bystanders, in the same way millions of Poles were in World War II when, sandwiched between the Soviet Union and Germany, they suffered immeasurably.<<

This is an Islamic (religious) war against Israel which is the geographical state of their number one enemies of islam: the JEWS and the Americans by proxy.

If anything the real innocent bystanders are the Lebanese Christians – not so innocent themselves I must add – but weak (stupid) enough to have allowed a war to explode on their land- that really did not concern them right now.

>>Such a perspective (of tit for tat) misses the bigger picture: that until the world is prepared to help build a strong Lebanon, recognise the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people and deal with Israel's moral vacuity, then what is happening at present will continue ad infinitum.<<

NOT SO – the bigger picture is religiously motivated namely Islam. The above are band aid excuses for not calling it as it is.

Islam is the root of the problem with their inability to accept the legitimate sovereignty of Israel

Your example of Poland during WW2 is dinsingeneous. Poland did not invade Germany. Lebanese proxies have attacked Israel. If Hezbollah are not Lebanese, then who are they? Have they come from outer space? They are not only Lebanese they even have Cabinet Ministers in the Lebanese Government.

oh MonashLibertarian, You know theres a real problem when people start quoting Dr Goebbels, I mean, Bill O'reilley

Carl: 99% of the time, O'Reilly, like most in the media, is either an idiot or self-serving. However, that doesn't mean he can't be right sometimes, which in this case he is.

Personally, I can't see an end to any of this any time soon. The Israeli move has been so counter-productive to its own cause because it's been so over the top. Likewise, I doubt the sincerity of any of the other players in this conflict (and the entire region). There are far too many people with a vested interest in maintaining the nonsense for there to be peace any time soon. Given the extreme hatred being bred into the children on both sides, I doubt there will be peace well beyond my lifetime. I even have to question the sanity of people (on both sides) who get so worked up about a region that collectively is a barren wasteland that has nothing and produces nothing. I just don't understand how anyone can consider it worth sticking around for. I'd be getting the hell out of Dodge to go somewhere civilised.