The Nation makes a convincing point that the collective punishment of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples only furthers to weaken any government, and further strengthens the radical elements of the population:

“With the spreading violence in Lebanon and Gaza, the Israeli doctrine of absolute security and massive retaliation–the notion that any attack or threat of attack on Israel will be met with a disproportionate response–is again proving counterproductive to Israel’s own security as well as to the larger stability of the region. It makes no sense for Israel to destroy the civil infrastructure of the Palestinians and of Lebanon in response to the kidnapping of its soldiers, or to further weaken the capacity of the governments of Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority while at the same trying to hold them accountable for the actions of groups and militias they cannot reasonably control. This collective punishment of the Palestinian and Lebanese people is not only inhumane and should be condemned but also leads to more radicalization and to more chaos.”

Right after Hamas was elected, I had hoped that the US and Israel might embark on a new strategy to communicate with them. Why was Fatah, whose founder was marinated in terror (Arafat) somehow more preferable than Hamas? By illegitimizing Hamas, and by extension the Palestinian voter, the US and Israel are tearing down the only prospect of government in the territories.

Lebanon is a tragedy. Only two weeks ago, it was a nation once again building a vibrant economy and tourism. Now it lies in ruins, its people scattered and homeless.
The government was too weak to corral Hizbollah, whose militancy is diluted by its vast public work and charity.

But the third scenario, and the one driving this whole new war, is the fear of the incineration of Israel by nuclear weapons. It only will take one nuclear bomb to destroy the nation– and the enemies of Israel are biding their time, while the world villifies the Jewish state for taking steps to forestall Armageddon.

The day that Tel Aviv is nuked, pubs all over the UK will be raising their pints in laughter saying, “I told you they had it coming!” That is until London or Leeds is brought down, then the laughter will stop.