Saturday, July 15

War on Two Fronts

Hezbollah, under the leadership of Sheik Nasralla, the Lebanese Shiite self-styled demagogue, decided to attack an Israeli Army patrol in the north of Israel near the Lebanese border. On July 12, 2006, Hezbollah carried out the most serious terrorist attack against IDF forces and Israeli communities along the Israeli-Lebanese border since the IDF withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000. During the attack two Israeli soldiers were abducted, eight soldiers and one civilian woman were killed and approximately 54 soldiers and civilians were wounded (as of noon on July 13). Hezbollah did this in order to relieve Hamas from Israeli Army pressure in Gaza. There is cooperation between Hezbollah and Hamas. As a result, Israel is now fighting an enemy on two fronts. Both organizations have much in common. Both organizations are terror organizations who wish to destroy Israel.

Examination of Hezbollah’s goals leaves one in no doubt that this terrorist organization is stronger than Hamas and will be a problem to destroy. Their hate for Israel, Jews and the West is irreconcilable.

Renewal of hostilities between Israel and Lebanon with Hezbollah as the main player and the provoker was a matter of time. This evil man, Sheik Nasrallah, is a gifted rabble-rouser who has great charisma. He has formed a terrorist apparatus in Lebanon that the formal Lebanese Government does not dare to hinder. In this respect, Hezbollah is similar to Hamas with one big difference – the Palestinians elected Hamas to rule them. The Lebanese People did not elect Hezbollah.

Hezbollah made an unprovoked attack on Israel’s sovereign territory. There was no reason for them to do this. They behaved in a barbaric fashion by making demands on Israel to release prisoners in exchange for kidnapped soldiers. This is unaccetable! Israel has every right to react. What country would allow itself to be blackmailed by a group of armed terrorists in this manner? The terrorist Hezbollah organization is the responsibility of the Lebanese Government who has turned a blind eye on their terrorist activities against Israel. Israel is correct in holding Lebanon responsible for Hezbollah’s activities.  

UN Security Council resolutions 1559 and 1680, call for disarming and cessation of support for Hezbollah. The Lebanese Government had done nothing to disarm Hezbollah. Today Hezbollah is part of the Lebanese Government, which is further proof that while they are not in the majority they add a measure of responsibility to the Lebanese Government for the act of war against Israel - a neighboring sovereign state. 

Remember what Prime Minister Olmert said in answer to a question: "How do you measure “justified response”, especially when your own civilian infrastructure is under constant threat?” A “justified response” is in the eye of the beholder. This response should be severe enough to prevent terrorist groups from carrying out their bloody acts. If it does not succeed in its goal then the response is a failure. If it succeeds then it is justified.

Syria, Iran and Lebanon (because of the latter’s indifference to Hezbollah which gets its financial support from Iran) can now be viewed as “the axis of evil.”
Israel’s attitude and response to Hezbollah terror can best be summed up by Foreign Ministry Deputy Director-General for Public Affairs Ambassador Gideon Meir's opening statement from his press conference on Thursday 13th July 2006 with Brig,-Gen. Ido Nehushtan:
"Israel has suffered an unprovoked cross-border attack from Lebanese territory. The Hezbollah carried out the attack, which is a party to the Government of Lebanon. They attacked Israelis, soldiers and civilians, while on sovereign Israeli soil. In these circumstances, Israel has no alternative but to defend itself and its citizens.
For this reason, Israel is now reacting to an act of war by a neighboring sovereign state. Israel views Lebanon as responsible for the present situation, and it shall bear the consequences for this act.
However, Lebanon is not the only responsible party. Syria hosts in its capital, Damascus, the headquarters of a number of Palestinian Jihadist terrorist groups, including Hamas. They provide shelter and logistical support for Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who has been living there for a number of years. From Damascus, Mashaal commands terrorists within the Palestinian territories who carry out ongoing attacks against Israel and its citizens, including the bombardment of southern Israel with Kassam missiles and the recent terrorist infiltration and kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Syria also provides support to the Hizbullah, including the transfer of arms, munitions and operatives through the Damascus airport and border crossings into Lebanon. The Hezbollah would not be able to operate in Lebanon without clear Syrian sponsorship.
Iran is the main benefactor of the Hezbollah. It provides funding, weapons and directives for this terrorist organization. For all practical purposes, Hezbollah is merely an arm of the Teheran Jihadist regime. Iran has also made considerable inroads of influence into Palestinian terrorist organization, including Fatah’s al-Aqsa Brigade and Hamas’ Iz a-Din al-Kassam group.  It provides their terror cells with funding, technical instruction and operational directives.
Hamas and Hezbollah are driven by an extremist Jihadist ideology that calls for the destruction of the State of Israel – as part of an international effort to wage ‘Holy War’ against the ‘infidel’.        
Syria and Iran support these groups, not only because they support their ideology, but also because they provide Damascus and Teheran with a tool to strengthen the influence of their own regimes and to divert attention from other issues which have exposed them lately to international pressure. We also have specific information that Hezbollah is planning to transfer the kidnapped soldiers to Iran.
Consequently, Israel views Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria and Iran as primary elements in the Axis of Terror and Hate threatening not only Israel but also the entire world.
There is a widening consensus in the international arena that Jihadist terror is a global threat that must be confronted with determination and resolve. Israel has been in intensive contact with foreign governments and world organizations, in order to coordinate pressure on these regimes, ensuring they understand that the price that they will pay internationally for their support of terrorism will be unbearably high.
With regard to our expectations from Lebanon, it is the responsibility of the Government of Lebanon to fulfill its obligations as a sovereign state to extend its control over its own territory, as called for by Security Council resolutions 425 and 1559. Through our operations, Israel expects both to pressure the Beirut government to take action, and to facilitate this action by providing the international encouragement and the operational conditions favorable to the disarming of Hezbollah and the effective deployment of the Lebanese army southward to the Israel-Lebanon border. This is not only Israel's interest, but that of the Lebanese people and the region as a whole."
Hezbollah is leading the Lebanese People down the path of destruction. Naturally, the “evil axis” goes screaming to the United Nations to condemn Israel for its “aggression”. The United States who has also bared the brunt of terror in the Trade Centre Tragedy of 11 September 2001 used the veto to prevent the passing of one-sided resolutions against Israel. There are even signs that Arab States such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are not supporting Hezbollah.
Lebanon, who had experienced a “boom” economically, will now suffer a very severe set back. She will have to do more to disarm the terrorist Hezbollah who will re-arm within a few months once this campaign is completed.  


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

hezbollah are a terrorist organisation because they kill civillians .... then what about the Israelly army attacking and killing civillians in Palestine & Lebanon ?

Shimonzk said...

Hezbollah hides behind innocent civilians by threatening them at gunpoint. They are ruthless. Hamas uses the same tactics amongst the Palestinians.Hezbollah is attacking innocent Israeli citizens and killing them. The difference is that Hezbollah does not warn Israelis to evacuate their homes before launching Katyusha rockets. The Israeli Defence Force warns innocent civilians to vacate their homes so that they are not caught in the cross-fire.This war was started by Hezbollah by kidnapping and killing Israeli soldiers without provocation. Hezbollah started firing Katyushas on Israel. They have to bear the responsibility for the deaths of their own civilians.

The main purpose of Hezbollah and Hamas is to destroy Israel and drive the Jews into the sea. It is not about the occupation anymore.

Anonymous said...

OneVoice is a grassroots, non-partisan Israeli-Palestinian group working to empower moderates to stand up against extremism and seize back the agenda for conflict resolution. At a time when extremists are once again dominating the agenda, its need to exist and to deliver could not be more crucial.

From OneVoice Youth Leaders, Saed Bilbeisi and Elad Dunayevsky

Dear International Friends of OneVoice,

There are rockets flying into Israel’s Northern towns as far down as Haifa as we write this, while the people of Gaza are in fear for their homes and lives, without electricity and running water. People are suffering, people are dying and people are afraid. It’s a crisis. We are writing to tell you though not to give up on us, or to give up on hope for an end to the conflict.

The situation today makes it very difficult to talk about conflict resolution - to see an end to the conflict. Sometimes it is easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, at the moment the tunnel is dark. But this crisis and this conflict will end, and we say that with sobriety and rationality. As much as we feel helpless today, as rational people we must see any crisis as an opportunity to rise up and overcome the reasons that brought that crisis.

The situation will come to an end, when we do not know. In the meantime both people suffer so badly. Believe us that no-one is happy with this life. We want everyone around the world to know that we, and many friends and colleagues like us at OneVoice, are working to change this situation. We are ready. We are ready to do anything necessary to help end this situation. We have done so many activities and introduced so many people to OneVoice and it always gives them hope and energy. We can not and will not lose all of this however hard it is at this moment. We will strive to improve this life.

A resolution to the conflict may seem like a dream, but let us dream it and keep helping us do whatever we have to do to make it a reality. The day will never come when Israelis and Palestinians are prepared to accept living with this situation. How far we are from the day when we have a situation we will accept is hard to say, but we will work for it, even as the fighter jets and rockets go overhead, we will work for it.

Thank you,

Saed and Elad

Saed has been involved with OneVoice for around a year. He visits the OneVoice office to meet with other youth leaders and staff at least once a week and has even pioneered his own workshops on OneVoice in Ramallah, which have recruited many new volunteers. He spoke about OneVoice in Synagogues, community centers and campuses during OneVoice’s International Education Program tour to Canada.

Elad has also been volunteering for around a year. He uses his Arabic and Hebrew language skills to speak with both Arabs and Jews about the work of OneVoice and has served to educate and recruit activists in the Region and also in the US, where he spoke at over 10 venues on behalf of OneVoice during their International Education Program tour to New York.