Thursday, July 13, 2006

Airport Being Hit Again

The airport is being shelled yet again!

Update: Fires erupted as a result of the fuel tanks being bombed at the airport.

Update 2: The more Israeli warplanes hit and kill Lebanese civilians, the more Hizbullah fights back. Hizbullah has shelled Safad in northern Israel killing one civilian and injuring tens others.

Update 3: The Damascus-Beirut International Highway is being shelled.

Update 4: News of 5 wounded in the Bekaa due to the Dahr il-Baidar highway shelling. Al-Mdairij bridge was bombed, next to Sawfar.

"Nobody knows how many rebellions, besides political rebellions, ferment in the masses of life which people earth."

74 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo Israel...You are very, very powerful...

Although, if you're looking for better civilians targets, they can be had easily just a little south of the airport. There, a gold mine of flesh and bones waiting to be torn apart..

Please show us some more how powerful you are....

Anonymous said...

Durka

Anonymous said...

"There, a gold mine of flesh and bones waiting to be torn apart.."

Oh brother, where was your heightened sense of humanity/morality every time Hizbollah killed innocent people?

Grow up, stupid. Grow up. Better yet, go become a human shield for Hamas/Hizbollah or whatever.

Anonymous said...

Wimps! All of you arab countries, wimps! You engage in rhetorical warfare all the time. Now the arabian coalition has decided to engage in actual warfare - and then the arabians turn around and cry like babies that there is a war going on. You shell Haifa - under international law that is an act of war. Israel is in its rights to flatten Beirut and Damascus. If you arabians do not want to fight - don't start wars!

Anonymous said...

How can anyone be stading besides Hizbollah at this time?!? They started this mess, why support that?

The last thing we need in Lebanon is another war! Nothing can be gained of it, nothing but pain and suffering.

Anonymous said...

Hizbullah cares more for Iran than Lebanon.

Anonymous said...

I just called a family member back home in Ras Beirut. He was having dinner at a restaurant and had no clue that the airport was being bombed.

Dahiyah (as in the residential area) was not bombed, it seems. I see nothing about this on the news. The second airport attack on the fuel tanks is confirmed, however, by both Reuters and AP.

Two rockets landed in Haifa. Hizballah are denying it was them. Another casuality in Safad caused by Hizballah Katioshas bringing the total of dead Israeli civilians to 2.

Does that clear up the mess in the last post/comments or have I missed something?

Anonymous said...

Guys! Guys! Guys!

Could you cool it for Pete's sake! We are trying to make sense of what is going on. Many of the Lebanese you are addressing are not even in Lebanon and are checking this site for updates to make sure their families are OK. They are not here to hear you lecturing on things you barely know anything about.

Anonymous said...

It is not reasonable to use both "international law" and "flatten Beirut and Damascus" in the same sentence. International Law does not authorize targeting of civilians, be it a retaliation or not. This approach of "we've been hit with a rocket, now show them what real men do" is too stupid to comment further.

Solomon2 said...

Joshuapundit says it well:

Underlining Iran's involvement, Iran’s national security adviser Ali Larijani flew to Damascus, Syria aboard a special military plane last night, fresh from the nuclear talks fiasco with the EU's Javier Solana and he's expected to hang out there for the duration of the fighting.

This underlines Iran's committment to the recent Iranian-Syrian mutual defense pact, showing that an assault by Israel will be considered an attack on Iran. It also allows Iran to directly coordinate the deployment of its forces into Syria, and plan startegy on the ground with Hezbollah, Syria and Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal, who's located in Damascus...

Sacrificing a pawn to gain leverage and position to set up an attack by a power piece is an old chess strategy..and we're dealing with the people who invented the game.


Remember how Iran's prez said nuking Israel would be worth it because a large proportion of the world's Jews would be killed but only a small proportion of its Muslims? Lebanese and Palestinians aren't people to men like this. They aren't an ally and they aren't even an enemy. They are human waste!

Anonymous said...

No, instead support the Israelis who are crippling the country and targeting civilians?

Like Israel has never started anything before? But who can make them pay?

It is hopeless...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update Suha..

it is just that those Israeli justifiers have gone off the deep end

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the updates, this is my only good source for what is going on in lebanon.

So Dahyeh not hit!, thank god.

Jason Rubenstein said...

Yes, they have gone off the deep end - the possibility of which which someone in Hezb, or Iran, should have thought of before giving the orders to cross the border and start kiling & kidnapping. (This afer months of not so subtly threatening to nuke Israel...very stupid bit of diplomacy)

Solomon2 said...

"Make them pay?" Israel is teaching Lebanon a lesson in responsibility: if you deliberately host vicious dogs who repeatedly attack the innocent unprovoked, you must be willing to pay a material price.

Anonymous said...

If a combatant (for example an armed hamas member) hides in a home, under international law the entire home may be flattened and every man, woman and child inside may be lawfully killed. That's the whole point of international law - if there is going to be a war, keep civilians out of it - but if you involve civilians then they are fair game. That's why Israel is within its rights to systematically slaughter every single man woman and child in Gaza who is a fighter or acts as a human shield to a fighter. Similarly in Lebanon, when the party of "god" (that is to say the Islamic moon god, which has nothing to do with the Jewish G-d) hides in a civilian area, then under international law the civilian area may be flattened and every man woman and child killed. If Lebanese "civilians" don't want to die, they need to end the party of "god". The party of "god" is Lebanese and the Lebanese people must be made to suffer until the party of "god" is exterminated.

Jason Rubenstein said...

It appears that the tactic is less "make them pay" than it is "take out Hezbollah no matter where they are". The lesson is that the political wing and it's involvement in the government will no longer protect them from consuquences resulting from actions taken by the armed wing.

Jason Rubenstein said...

It's Iranian.. and Iran is cynically using the Lebanese people as dispensible pawns in a medieval, sick game.

Anonymous said...

"You shell Haifa - under international law that is an act of war. Israel is in its rights to flatten Beirut and Damascus."

I was under the impression that the shelling of the beirut air port last night occoured before the missle attack in the north.

It was an unjustified attack against a civialian target(why our government did not choose to attack hizbollah outposts instead?!?!), and based on your own moral code, Lebanon gained the "right" to flatten Haifa and Ako.

Our government provided hizbollah with the exuse to start the missle attack against civilians. by doing so, we played directly into Nasralla's hands, who knew exactly how the IDF will respond.

The ironly is that the IDF and government officals were also aware of it, which why they recommended citizens over the north border to take shelter.

I strongly advice that lebanon and israel should act together to throw Nasralla and Haluz into an island on the pacific ocean, where they will be able to kick each other's butt without harming others..

Anonymous said...

Durka Durka

Anonymous said...

Hizbullah fights back... they started this whole f'in mess. Lebanese civilians wouldn't be being hit if Hizbullah hadn't invaded Israel to kill and kidnap. But now they get credit for "fighting back". Beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Kidnapping of soldiers is an act of war.

Shelling of Haifa without warning to civilians is a war crime due to the poor precision of the rockets it is undescriminate bombing.

Bombing of airport like bridges, generators and other dual use objectives is allowed per laws of war.

Civilians zones must be warned before and the people must have time to abandon the area. The civilan zones of course must have enemey combatants.

Anonymous said...

On the other hand, do those Hizbollah animals and their ilk drop leaflets on civilians, warning them of impending disaster?

No.

They saw heads off with dull knives and emblazon it across the internet. I've NO pity for them or those who shelter them.

Anonymous said...

while you people are talking, f-16 are taking off outside my window in your direction.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

"
If a combatant (for example an armed hamas member) hides in a home, under international law the entire home may be flattened and every man, woman and child inside may be lawfully killed.
"

Your interpretation of the international law is quite distorted.Is it lawfull to blow up an entire building because a high ranking israeli officer lives there?

Of course not! Our government would view this as a war crime, and for a good reason!

Then why in hell when our goverment does the same, it's suddenly becoming a lawfull action?

Anonymous said...

The sad thing is that Israel is bombing the infrastructure and the civilians instead of bombing Hezbollah, who had it coming.

Anonymous said...

"
Shelling of Haifa without warning to civilians is a war crime due to the poor precision of the rockets it is undescriminate bombing
"

I see... so if next time Hizbollah recommends the people of haifa to leave their homes, it will be OK?

Shelling a civilian target is a war crime per se.

"Bombing of airport like bridges, generators and other dual use objectives is allowed per laws of war."

Appearenly, someone forget to warn the people there, which resulted in more the 50 dead, many of them innocent civilians, far more then those inprecise katyusha.

It did little if any to harm Hizbollah, whose staff enjoyed seeing how our government falls into their trap so easily.

Anonymous said...

Was just on another site, and read a report that Syria was massing troops near Golan Heights. Not sure how reliable the source was. If that is trhe case, may Lord help us all. We will be heading for WWIII if Syria and Iran get involved directly.

Anonymous said...

to Solomon2

I understand that you are a proud israeli. Almost all of your "semi-fiction" comments are turned and formulated in a propagandistic manner I have not seen since Goebbles. Cudos to that.

earlier you escaped discussions whenever it got close to you being wrong. I believe that almost all of your discussion is based on the fact that the initial cause is the bahvior of Hizbollah.

Now did you know that they had announced 6 monthes ago that unless some of the military hostages were released out of captivity by the israelian government they were going to kidnap israelian soldiers?
They have been rather patient when you think about it.
The problem is that Israelies consider anyone that wants Jews to die on Israelian ground a terrorist. That would render a heck of a lot of the world population terrorists now wouldn't it?

Hizbollah came through on a promise they made.
They did again earlier today and surprised Haifa.
They are not going to give in, so really there is very little you can do. By the way you judge the Hizbollahs to be responsible for this, so is Israel.
And your fascist tactics (that you probably learned on the receiving end during the holocaust in Germany) won't work on people that truly believe in their cause.

Btw. What is up with the remark by the israelian minister:
"An Israeli Minister has vowed to civilians in northern Israel to have Beirut burnt!"

I do not understand. Have you not learned your lesson from the holocaust? Nothing good will come from fascism. Nothing good will come from threats and fears. You must not built your happiness on the misfortune of others.

Anonymous said...

Yaron (Tel Aviv, Israel)
------------------------

Thanks you Nasrallah for unifying our torn country. Thank for urging us to hold hands and associate in our final action of eliminating you, bilaterally... May your soul rest in hell.

Anonymous said...

Anon. 3:58 - "That's why Israel is within its rights to systematically slaughter every single man woman and child in Gaza who is a fighter or acts as a human shield to a fighter."

.....

wow. Are you Hitler incarnate? Are you human? Have you seen children? Do you have parents? Sisters? Brothers? Family? Have you lived in these people's shoes/lives/situations?

I'm not saying that what they have done is right. But that does NOT give ANYONE the right to "systematically slaughter" people.

I'm checking this blog b/c I live in Canada and I have family in Lebanon. No, they're not Muslim, no, they don't support Hezballah (at least not yet), they're just plain human beings. And I love them. And I'm terrified that something will happen to them b/c of people like you who push for all of this killing.

Wow, reading all of these blogs and updates this is the first time I've seen the word "love" today. So sad.

I don't know how to end this, but my soul breaks at the thought of so many people dying.

Anonymous said...

I am not in the art of defending people, but Anon 4:35 just took a huge shot against Solomon2 that was completely uncalled for. How exactly do you know if he is a fascist? He hasn't said anything that I have seen that is anywhere near fascism, but instead he has villified those who support the fascist view (i.e. Hezbollah and Iran) that one group of people on this Earth are unworthy of living.

Do we not all, as human beings period, reject the notion that anyone is better than than another? At the same time we must at least understand that there are groups out there that do not share that view, and sadly Israel and Lebanon are at war due to the actions of one of those groups and people not connected to Hezbollah will be caught up in the fight. It's sad, but it's a reality.

Anonymous said...

Peretz: We intend on breaking Hizbullah

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said: "We expected that the Hizbullah will break the rules and now we are going to break them. We have no intention to conclude this event where Hizbullah will fair as well as has started a few days ago."

Peretz spoke right before his meeting with the United States Under-Secretary of State David Walsh, and added that "Israeli civilians should be steadfast in the next coming days." (Hanan Greenberg)

(07.13.06, 22:56)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3275329,00.html

Anonymous said...

And one more item:

Peres calls on Lebanese storing Hizbullah ammunition to vacate their homes

Vice Premier Shimon Peres called on Lebanese civilians who store in their homes ammunition for Hizbullah to vacate their homes.

Speaking to Ynet Peres said that Israel has been expecting missiles to be fired into Haifa, but "That is the aim of this operation – to prevent the continued threat on Israel by Hizbullah."

(07.13.06, 22:26)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3275313,00.html

Solomon2 said...

Anon 4:35: I'm an American, not an Israeli. That doesn't mean I can't be pro-Israel, any more than it rules me out from being pro-French.

No, I didn't know about any such announcement. However, I do not consider convicted criminals and the like the equivalent of "military hostages" or kidnapped soldiers.

Nor do I subscribe to the concept of blind moral equivalence that you espouse.

Nothing good will come of fascism. Nothing good will come from threats and fears. You must not built your happiness on the misfortune of others.

That is precisely what Hezbollah is trying to do, isn't it? All the more reason to stop them!

Anonymous said...

"I see... so if next time Hizbollah recommends the people of haifa to leave their homes, it will be OK?

Shelling a civilian target is a war crime per se"

No it is not crime if there is military forces there. If you see what i wrote i refered that specifically.

The airport wasnt hit where were the people. The terminals and even the airplanes werent targeted. Only the runways.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous defending solomon2,

I too have noticed Solomon2's methods, and find them severely misplaced here.

It is ok to offer ones oppinon, but not if there are people around that are worried about their loved ones.

(They both seem rather extreme to me, but I believe that the "we do not negotiate with terrorists, and the mere definition of terrorists from the israeli standpoint have caused a lot of unnecessary harm)

Anonymous said...

Was just on another site, and read a report that Syria was massing troops near Golan Heights.



Can you give your source for that?

Thank you...

Solomon2 said...

Do we not all, as human beings period, reject the notion that anyone is better than than another?

Don't we think that the life of a serial murderer on death row is to be valued less than the lives of his innocent victims, or those living who he has vowed to annihilate?

Anonymous said...

Don't we think that the life of a serial murderer on death row is to be valued less than the lives of his innocent victims, or those living who he has vowed to annihilate?

only in america. Is the person mentally ill?
are you from texas?

Anonymous said...

"Do we not all, as human beings period, reject the notion that anyone is better than than another?"

No. Making judgements are necessary to evolution, knowing what is bad what is right. If you dont evaluate you dont know what are good and bad practices

Solomon2 said...

Israel doesn't have that kind of society. Nor, I think, do they wish such a fate on others. But under heavy international pressure they tolerated it in southern Lebanon and acquiesced to it in Gaza and look what has happened.

Anonymous said...

No Link,

Just a freind in Tel Aviv. And i'm not going to give her number out!

She's told me that there is a lot more happening than we know about over in the USA and Europe as the media are not getting everything. She knows people in the IDF. She has been told to get her gas mask out of storage at home and stay there. She also said that IDF soldiers are patrolling streets and trying to reassure people.
Syrian Troops are massing near the Syrian border (golan heights) and the IDF are trying to figure out if it's just a precautionary move of something more sinister. She also mentioned about rockets hitting the town of Sedat. Unknown casualties. There are constantly Jets flying overhead and people are getting ready for another Arab Israeli war.
Fill up your Petrol cans and keep your car topped up. By lots of tinned food and bottled water and make sure you escalate your survival preparations in tandem with the escalation of the situation in the ME.
Thats all I am able to write at the moment -

Anonymous said...

The only good thing about the jews survival is that the arab world has a common enemy to unite against.

Solomon2 said...

That comment unfairly demeans Arabs.

Anonymous said...

************************

No Link,

Just a freind in Tel Aviv. And i'm not going to give her number out!
************************

Thank you...Prayers for your friend

Anonymous said...

It is true though,

if it was not for the jew that "everybody" hates, they would just fall back into old patterns and have civil wars over interpretations of the Koran

Anonymous said...

There are only three possible solutions to this decades-old dilemma:

The Islamic and Arab world, all of it, must either recognize the state of Israel, or the Islamic and Arab world must obliterate all Jewish people and resident sympathizers who currently live in the established (and contested) boundaries of Israel, or the Israeli state must be prepared to cease negotiations and finally secure its necessary territory and evacuate all "persons of interest" from said territory.

The world has, more or less, vigorously pursued the first option for quite some time...and to what end?

Terrorist fanatics seem bent upon the final option being drawn from the latter two. Things do not bode well at present.

God Bless the innocents, for they shall inherit God's love in the end...

Anonymous said...

Well many more Arabs were killed by other Arabs than because of Israel. But political manipulation is easy see how Saddam got the "Arab Street" despite killing +1 million of Arabs and Persian muslims.

So facts and numbers doesnt matter much.

Anonymous said...

"Syrian Troops are massing near the Syrian border (golan heights) and the IDF are trying to figure out if it's just a precautionary move of something more sinister."

Be a little bit serious. The Syrian army cannot even detect Israeli planes when they fly over Assaad's head - even though I would love Syria to open another front so they get their ass kicked.

Anonymous said...

"She's told me that there is a lot more happening than we know about over in the USA and Europe as the media are not getting everything. She knows people in the IDF. She has been told to get her gas mask out of storage at home and stay there. She also said that IDF soldiers are patrolling streets and trying to reassure people."

That's a piece of misinformation. the rumor of syria massing troops may or may not be true, but I'm living in Tel-Aviv, and i've not seen any soliders patrolling the streets. It's also unlikely the israeli media could ignore such thing, and censorship may not be effective in this case.

Anonymous said...

IDF estimates missile fired to Haifa was made in Iran

IDF officials estimated that the missile fired by Hizbullah to Haifa on Thursday evening was made in Iran. One person suffered anxiety after the missile hit an area near the upper cable car station in the city. (Ynet)

(07.13.06, 23:32)
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7...275337,00.html


In IRAN, eh? Who'da thunk it?

Anonymous said...

To vox:

"I would love Syria to open another front so they get their ass kicked"

You are either a troll, or a total moron, or even both(which is not rare on these days).

most of the israelis are not, contrary to the common misconception, warfaring people, but your post may make some readers consider we are - in the end of the day, most of the israeli people just wish to live their lives, like most people in the region.

Anonymous said...

"let's flatten beirut because a WW2 rocket landed in Haifa with no casualties"

Any sign that Beirut is being flattened?

Sorry this is rethoric what i mean is that in time of war more than any other period if possible we must see the facts not rumours or even if true talking that isnt corroborated by facts.

Anonymous said...

to Anonymous with friend in tel-aviv:
are you sure he is in tel-aviv? what you are describing is more likely happening in the north.
however it is true that planes are constantly taking off from Palmahim AB

Anonymous said...

Yes, I am sure she is in Tel-Aviv, however I am in the U.S. so I don't know her source. Just passing it along for what it is worth.

Thoughts and prayers to all innocent people involved in this horrible situation.

Anonymous said...

Shelling the Beirut/Damascus Highway is too much, how the hell are people supposed to leave the danger!

They drop leaflets telling people to leave but they block every possible way to leave the country. Israel has gone too far

Anonymous said...

very scary and very sad!! God help the lebanese people

Anonymous said...

Beirut-Damascus Hwy. is a long road. Where were the impacts?

Ali said...

They fell near saoufar and now dahr al baydar.

Anonymous said...

"They drop leaflets telling people to leave but they block every possible way to leave the country. Israel has gone too far "

Stupid, the leaflets say stay out of any Hizballa place if you don't want to be hit by a rocket.

What, you poor country have no Hizballa-free areas?

Ali said...

Wow you guys should really see Al Manar. It is insane propaganda... They have a slogan saying "in 3udtum 3udna"!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Ali.

Anonymous said...

I am disgusted by both sides sending bombs. It's not right. The world is going to be destroyed because of hubristic morons who think they have the right to kill people to get their message across.

My heart is with both Lebanon and Israel...

Anonymous said...

The most important thing for Lebanese at the moment is to stand together because whats done is done. Hizballah overstepped its lines by acting on behalf of an entire country - a weak and divided country. But to aggravate that division would give Israel and Syria dangerous pretexts to intervene in Lebanese politics and that would make matters much worse. We need to be unified and firm against Israeli violence and we can start showing our anger at other Lebanese once the crisis is over.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous:
"We need to be unified and firm against Israeli violence"

Just do everyone a favor and return the two soldiers, this will solve the Israeli "violence" instantly.

Would be nice if you returned Ron Arad or his body while you're at it.

Anonymous said...

"Wow you guys should really see Al Manar. It is insane propaganda... They have a slogan saying "in 3udtum 3udna"!"

bomb it!

Bobby Coggins said...

From what I saw on jpost, they just did.

Anonymous said...

The true victims of Hisbollah are the Lebanese people, not Israel. Hisbollah is like a cancer to Lebanon. And Israel is the cure. Israel and Lebanon are not enemies, but if the government of Lebanon cannot exercise it's authority over Hisbollah then Israel has no other choice. God bless Israel, God bless the people of Lebanon. The sooner Hisbollah is gone the better for both.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Doha, for your effort to inform. You've been a great help, providing information we won't get from TV, radio or print media.

I continue to keep the innocent Lebanese people in my prayers, as well as those of Israel.

Unfortunately the innocents on both sides suffer from the acts of their government, but in this case the terrorist organizations in both Gaza and Lebanon have trashed the innocents around them to perpetrate crime and war - as has happened in every war this world has ever seen, or will see in the future.

Who wins? It won't be the innocents, we all know. It won't be the terrorists either, we know, or should know since good eventually will triumph over evil. That will be the case in this war too. Meanwhile we all need to do what we can to assist the innocent victimss on both sides in whatever way we can. May God bless that effort.

Ron (in LA)

Anonymous said...

I wanted to give some perspective from the Israeli side on matters.

"An Israeli Minister has vowed to civilians in northern Israel to have Beirut burnt!" - A stupid person saying stupid things. I would like to know though if that is the exact quote (as opposed to 'suberbs in Beirut which are the stronghold of Hizbollah') and if so, who is the silly politician. (Disclaimer: Research showed that politicians all around the world are NOT the smartest people on the planet)

If anyone here is amused of happy about anything that is going on in the last 2 days (and I am not one of those) I wonder why? Can you tell me? What is anything but sad?

I (want to) believe that Israel will not invade Lebanon. At least not for a while during which time things can be fixed and "peace" restored. Certainly not if the soldiers are released and Lebanon takes actions to banish Hizbollah and take their fate to their own hands.

If I may ask something from Lebanese people here, from Lebanon and outside of... I want to know what Lebanese people think of the situation. Not on small details, but on the entire "episode".

How do you view the Hizbollah?
Are you proud to see them "fight back"?
Do you see them as a legitimate political party?
Do you feel they are part of what Lebanon is and should be?
Do you want Hizbollah getting out unharmed from the situation?
Do you want the Israeli soldiers returned unharmed?
Do you want the Hizbollah to use them as negotiating cards?
Do you see Hizbollah as a terrorist organization? or a legitimate militia? or the offical army of Lebanon?
Do you see the actions of the Hizbollah a declaration of war? Or totally legitimate "something"? and if so, what is this "something"?

I really want to know what Lebanese people think. Shiayts and Sunnis, Christians and Muslims alike.

Also, what do you think of Israel's actions?
I know you don't like them..
but what do you think motivates Israel?
Why (and if) do you think Israel "overreacts"?
Why do you think Israel is holding Lebanon responsible while Lebanese politicians are saying "we didn't know of the attack, so don't blame us"?
Do you really believe Israel is trying to target innocent civilians in Lebanon?

IF I may, I want to give some common views of Israelis. Maybe you will find it interesting.

Israelis are very much torn.. On one hand they do not want to see Lebanon suffer. I know many here would doubt that very much.. I do think that.. Israelis (me included) think that Lebanon can be an example of how Arab neighboring countries have a chance of living in peace with us. How they can define themselves as successful countries. Many Israelis believe that, and will tell you that if you asked them on any different day. (Plenty of Israelis are also pure morons and will tell you they hate arabs, but who doesn't have their share of morons?)
On the other hand though, Israelis are very furstrated and enraged. Many of them don't care one bit for Lebanon right now. If you ask them today, even the non morons, they will say "flatten them.. hunt them till the last Hizbollah person is exterminated". At the same time, most Israelis make the very clear distinction between Lebanon and Hizbollah, even if they see on TV now that many Lebanese don't, including Lebanese politicians and army commanders "congratulating" Hizbollah on their "standing up" and "fighting ""back""".
Many Israelis see Lebanon as responsible for the complacency of not doing anything against Hizbollah for the last several years and not using the army yesterday and today to fight Hizbollah to secure and release the Israeli soldiers. Many Israelis think that this is what Lebanese army should have done just as they think that IDF should do just that if Settlers were to kidnap Lebanese or anyone else.
Israelis don't want to hear the "We didn't know", "It wasn't us, it was 'them'", "We are not responsible" that is heard from the Lebanese politicians. Israelis view this as trechery and lies. They see it as an evil way to allow the evil people to keep killing and threatning israelis while "pretending to be saints". Israelis view Lebanon as a free country that should be, and is, responsible for anything that happens in its territory, weather they like it or not.
Israelis are fed up from conflict. To a great extent, many feel, even unconsciencely, that war as an opportunity to strike back. To release "steam" that many view as dangerous to hold inside.. dangerous to the existence of Israel.

MOST if not ALL Israelis think that the REAL evil here is Syria and Iran (which doesn't mean it's ok for Lebanon to allow Hizbollah to exist in its territory). Most would love to see Israeli airplanes flatten the palace of the Syrian "king", especially today. Most would want to see the demise of Bashar Assad and the Iranian regime, but are at the same time skeptical about the chance that the successors would not be as bad as the present regine.
Israelis are waiting for some signal from the "Arab world" that it abandoned its intentions to destroy Israel and that there are enough people in the Arab countries around to start a new regime system that accepts and lives in peace with Israel. Many Israelis realise that this is a challange and that Israel itself has to go through drastic changes of its own and its behaviot to make that reality, but are very skeptical that it will be met with similar response from the other side when Arab countries around it claim that no matter what, the destruction of Israel is a holy cause regardless of anything Israel says or do.

Wow.. I have written a lot. I hope anyone cares and realizes I am speaking from the bottom of my heart and say only things I truly believe in.

Last thing I am wondering is this..
I know that Israeli attacks in Lebanon claim lives of innocent civilians as well.. and that Isralis do not care who's bodycount is bigger and values its own people's lives more (I think that is natural for all people and all nations)
But what I wonder is.. does anyone really believe that the final aim of the Israeli attacks are to kill civilians? Not if it's done out of carelessness or despite best intentions... if it is the goal of the Israeli strikes... to kill innocent civilians? and if one thinks so, how come only 50 people died? Is israeli airplanes and weapons only capable of more? Is it a miracle that only 50 died despite the intentions of Israeli attacks? or is it because Israel is trying to kill as many civilians as it can without the world thinking "it's too much"?
And, do you see no distinction between and airport (a facility) and civilians (people)? Isn't there a difference between destroying an airport and killing people? and if so why do you think that targeting an airport is so bad when maybe it's done to prevent from smuggling kidnapped soldiers out of Lebannon and weapons into the Hizbollah's hands?

I am fully aware that it may also be for sending a message to the Lebanese... "Israel is not enraged.. be warned". But maybe it is not really targetting civilians?

Sorry for the long post.. Hope someone finds it worth reading... and looking forward to reading your views and replies.

A vexed Israeli

Anonymous said...

The involvement of Lebanon in this conflict is really sad. As an American, I was happy to see Lebanon finally independent and at peace with a chance to make its own decisions.

I can understand the idea that the Lebanon government is too weak to carry out the necessary disarming of Hizbollah and asserting sovereign control over the southern border with Israel. Unfortunately, this means that Lebanon is at the mercy of Hezbollah's "foreign policy" decisions and the long-term goals of its Syrian and Iranian sponsors.

From what I'm reading here it sounds like Israel is hitting the Lebanese infrastructure to 1) prevent Hizbollah from transporting the kidnapped IDF soldiers to Syria or Iran 2) limit the ability of Syria/Iran to supply additional ammunition & rockets and 3) pressure the non-Hizbollah government members to do something.

If the IDF bombs the airport runways and various highways - these can be rebuilt fairly quickly (though it will be expensive). If they start bombing the support structures for the airports - that's a very bad sign.

My personal hope is that Israel severely harms Hizbollah & Hamas, recovers its kidnapped soldiers safely, and does not hurt any more Lebanese civilians or topple the non-Hizbollah government members.

Take care and good luck to those of you in Lebanon & Israel.

Anonymous said...

great post Ron, thanks.