Conflicting views of the Middle East crisis
July 27, 2006
An Israeli point of view from Isaac Herzog.
SOME may wonder how, as a man of the left and Israel's peace camp, I can at the same time be a member of a Government now fighting a war in Lebanon. The answer is the same one that Clement Attlee or even Harold Wilson would have given: when your very existence is under threat, you have the right to defend yourself and the responsibility to your people to defend their security. Let's be clear: Hezbollah is a terrorist organisation. This is not a political issue, it is not an ideological issue; it is a matter of survival...
Israel today is facing a sustained onslaught from one of the world's most dangerous and effective terrorist organisations. In the past few days, 1000 rockets and 1200 mortar rounds have been hurled across the border by Hezbollah at hospitals, schools and homes. Their intention is the killing and maiming of Israelis in general.
Israel is fighting back. Israel's use of force is entirely proportionate to the extent of the threat that Hezbollah poses. A third of our people are in immediate danger of Hezbollah missiles and are sheltering in fear for their lives. The whole of the north of our country has, in effect, been shut down. International law recognises the right to respond to the extent of a threat, and Israel has therefore acted within international law.
Our goals are clear. Israel was forced to enter this conflict after an unprovoked attack by Hezbollah terrorists across the border, in which three soldiers were killed and two kidnapped. The attack, one of many in recent years, was made possible because of an abnormal political situation in Lebanon. Since May 2000, the southern part of that country has effectively been hijacked by a terrorist organisation. Hezbollah controls the border and administers every aspect of life for the residents of southern Lebanon. The organisation is armed, trained and kept afloat by foreign powers — Iran and Syria are at the forefront.
This terrorist organisation openly desires the destruction of Israel. Its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is an anti-Semite [who] uses Lebanon as a launch pad to pursue his own agenda with a wilful disregard of the hardship and pain he has brought on his fellow countrymen and women in Lebanon.
This situation is unacceptable. It will not continue. Israel's goal, first and foremost, is to ensure that, when our operations end, Hezbollah may not reignite fighting [from the border] at its whim. This is why a simple ceasefire, as attractive as it sounds, is not enough. It would allow Hezbollah, as it has done for six years, to regroup, replenish supplies, and then start the fighting all over again.
The goal of ending Hezbollah's capacity for aggression can be achieved in a number of ways. From our point of view, the obvious solution would be the deployment by the Lebanese army of its forces throughout the entirety of Lebanese territory. This is in accordance with the norms of life in sovereign countries. It is also required by Lebanon's obligations according to UN resolution 1559. We are told, however, that the Lebanese army is weak and small, and contains within its own ranks a considerable number of Hezbollah sympathisers.
So be it. Clearly, it is imperative that the international community endeavours to help the Lebanese Government reach a situation in which it is able to effectively police its territory...
The international community has already proved that with solid, unified support it helped Lebanon rid itself of Syrian occupation. The same international will must now be garnered to rid Lebanon of Hezbollah. For the interim period, however, Israel could accept the deployment of a sizeable, effective international force along the border.
I hope the Israeli action of recent days has disabused Hezbollah and its backers of the notion that Israel is a "paper tiger", lacking the will to act in its citizens' defence. If this lesson has not been absorbed, and the aggression begins again, Israel will be prepared, if necessary, to mobilise once again.
It is to be hoped that arrangements of this type, along with the immediate return of the kidnapped soldiers, will now be enforced on Hezbollah. The lives and dignity of the people of both Lebanon and northern Israel have for too long been forfeit to the whims of a terror group in the pay of a neighbouring dictatorship. It is time for this situation to end. Hezbollah's immoral and illegal behaviour must end so a new era may dawn on the region.
Isaac Herzog is Minister of Tourism and a member of Israel's security cabinet.
6 comments:
Are you convinced by his argument?
Only in part. The real motives of both sides are probably not politically correct enough. It's all very sugarcoated. Lot more likely than not, Israel's retaliating after years of Hezbollah attacks, which isn't that surprising. Or unreasonable.
Are you convinced by Ali Fayyad's?
I think his argument is somewhat more 'reasonable' than Herzog's - which is not what i expected from a representative of Hezbullah.
I do, however, think that if this whole situation is simply Israel retaliating against years of Hezbullah attacks, it IS unreasonable since that's not how they're justifying the millitary operation - or rather, how they justified it at the beginning. It was all about those two captured soldiers.
By the way, look at this: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/doctors-suspect-chemical-weapons/2006/07/27/1153816320620.html
Question is, if they did justify their military operation as such a retaliation, would it be unreasonable? It's true they needed an excuse - the political sugarcoating is inevitable.
Ali Fayyad's arguments are, to me, more twisted, in his claims that Hezbollah had legitimate backing from the Lebanese government. If that were the case, then the govt would substantiate it. As it is, I'm more inclined to believe that Hezbollah are a rogue party that the govt can't control, as they were bound to under UN resolutions.
Good spot on the chemical weapons, didn't see it before. If the claims are eventually proven, the tables would turn dramatically methinks...
I agree with you completely that Hezbullah is a rogue party the government can't control. The problem is the rest if the world doesn't hold that view. Which is why i'm hesitant to take Israel seriously when they blame the Lebabnese government for not taking enough control over the group.
True, the Lebanese govt was in many senses helpless, but I think also somewhat apathetic since Hezbollah were doing some good things for citizen welfare. If they knew that it would end up like this, they might've taken more extreme measures (e.g. wider appeal to the international community) that they possibly avoided for (good) political reasons. Point being that Israel likely thinks the govt shoulda done more in terms of asking for help. That said, the UN is the prime player to be blamed for sitting on their bums for so long.
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