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Cruel, senseless campaign

There can be no doubt that Israel is continuing to get away with the massacre of innocents because efforts to bring about a ceasefire have been stalled by the United States. The rest of the international community has repeatedly pointed out that the bombardment of Lebanon is a grossly disproportionate response to Hizbollah's rocket attacks. The sheer numbers bear out this assessment. Over 750 Lebanese civilians, including a large number of children, have been killed in the campaign that started nearly three weeks ago. Israel has lost about 50 persons, including military personnel, in the operations. Tel Aviv insists that Hizbollah is chiefly responsible for the deaths of civilians since it uses them as human shields. Israel relies on the same argument to reject calls for an immediate ceasefire. It has contended that the militant outfit will pack the zone of conflict with civilians the moment hostilities cease. This argument presupposes that Hizbollah is disconnected from the people of southern Lebanon, a presumption that is totally at odds with the reality. The civilians of southern Lebanon would have supported the Hizbollah fighters even if the Hizbollah leadership had not issued calls for solidarity. Israel which has realised that a land campaign will not produce the desired result might soon discover that the militant outfit cannot be neutralised by an aerial bombardment either.

As Hizbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, explained in a recent interview, the organisation believes that it has found a way to reach strategic stalemate with an adversary who is far more powerful militarily. According to Mr. Nasrallah, his party and its supporters are resilient enough to take a lot of punishment and yet survive. Israel will have to come to terms with this situation at some point in time. It can fantasize as much as it wants about a buffer zone stretching from its border to the Litani river. But it should have learnt from its 15-year occupation of southern Lebanon that there is no such thing as a perfect buffer. There have been indications that Israel might eventually accept the proposal for the insertion of an international stabilising force into southern Lebanon. But the problem is that no one really knows how Hizbollah will respond. The militant outfit is very likely to strike back if any attempt is made to disarm it forcibly. Hizbollah units may choose to retain their special characteristics if they were to be inducted into the regular Lebanese army. In short, irrespective of which plan is implemented, Israel might still have to contend with armed Lebanese groups that are extremely hostile. While Hizbollah is opposed to the existence of a Zionist state, it has indicated that it would end the current spell of combat if Israel released its imprisoned supporters and withdrew from the small slice of Lebanese territory still under occupation. The rest of the world should not stand by idly when Israel and its chief patron continue to brush these options aside.

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