NPR : Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

The Israel-Hezbollah Conflict

NPR.org, UPDATED July 21, 2006 · After 10 days of fighting with Hezbollah guerrillas, Israel is prepared to send ground troops into southern Lebanon. The death toll from bombings and rocket attacks continues to climb in both countries. Global opinion pages debate Israel's tactics and the role of the international community. A sampling of world opinion:

ISRAEL

A Race Against the Clock

Haaretz

July 21, 2006

Operations like this do not accomplish everything in one fell swoop. The important thing is that the beating Israel gives them sinks in and traumatizes them to the point where they will not be back on their feet anytime soon. But whatever we do, it had better be soon. Before the planners of the operation lose their faith in the home front. Before America says stop. As of now, it is a race against the clock.

BAHRAIN

West's 'Blank Cheque'[sic] to Israel Compounding Damage

Gulf Daily News

July 21, 2006

Bahrain and the Arab world have strong diplomatic and economic ties with the US, the UK and much of Europe, yet those same friendly nations at best ignore and at worst facilitate, Israel's aggressive activities. It is this that is causing so much consternation in the Arab and Islamic world, that the same people who talk of peace and working together to outlaw terrorism, still allow Israel to destroy a country and murder thousands of innocent people.

IRELAND

Why Won't Israel Just Exchange Prisoners?

The Belfast Telegraph

July 20, 2006

That is the true purpose of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon – to ensure, at last, there is no hope left for the Arabs. But the Palestinians and Lebanese will not slump away. They will become gripped with a nihilistic hate, and long after Ehud Olmert is nothing more than a skeleton and a statue, the hate will still burn. Does he imagine this is good for the children of Israel?

JORDAN

The Road Back to Beirut

The Jordan Times

July 21, 2006

Protecting Israel has long been the primary focus and aim of Western diplomacy, which is why it has not succeeded. For decades now Israel has established buffer zones, occupation zones...and every other conceivable kind of zone between it and Arabs who fight its occupation and colonial policies — all without success. Here is why: Protecting Israelis while leaving Arabs to a fate of humiliation, occupation, degradation and subservient acquiescence to Israeli-American dictates only guarantees that those Arabs will regroup, plan a resistance strategy, and come back one day to fight for their land, their humanity, their dignity and the prospect that their children can have a normal life one day.

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LEBANON

Siniora Deserves Full Credit for Wise Leadership in Lebanon's Darkest Hour

The Daily Star

July 21, 2006

We welcome the fact that the Lebanese government is now taking responsibility for our destiny, because the Lebanese people have never felt so alone. We are being shredded and pounded between a hammer called Israel and anvil called Iran. We have cried out for help, but Arab governments are ineffective as usual, and Western governments are proving more callous and insensitive to human suffering than they have ever been before. In these dark and lonely hours, the only hope for the Lebanese, including Hizbullah [sic], is to look toward the beacon of light that Siniora's government represents.

BRITAIN

Drawing Breath Would Not Be a Sign of Israeli Weakness

The (London) Times

July 21, 2006

None of this would be happening if terrorists had not crossed an international border to kidnap soldiers of a sovereign state, and underlined such an intolerably provocative act by firing volleys of missiles at civilians. Israel has a right to defend itself... This is not just Israel's problem. It is in the interests of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and others in the Arab world to rise from the sidelines and squeeze Syria. If Syria fails to rein in its Hezbollah allies, they all lose. Iran, which is playing with Israeli and Lebanese lives to deflect attention from its nuclear ambitions, is the wider international community’s problem.

EGYPT

A War Warriors on Both Sides Hungered After

Middle East Times

July 21, 2006

The presence of slant and absence of accuracy in the global public debate over the war on Lebanon is as worrisome as the (one-eyed) non-questioning of rationales behind the warring parties' military actions that harm, maim, kill, or at least traumatize and economically devastate victims on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.

CHICAGO

Who Fights for Lebanon?

The Chicago Tribune

July 21, 2006

At a meeting of foreign diplomats, including U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, Siniora ripped the nations that have resisted putting pressure on Israel to halt its military operations. 'Is this what the international community calls self-defense?' 'Is this the price we pay for aspiring to build our democratic institutions?' No, it is, unfortunately, the price Lebanon is paying for permitting Hezbollah, a part of the government, to pursue its own belligerent foreign policy.

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