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Back from the brink

Israel continues to demonstrate its contempt for international law by persisting with its military offensive against Lebanon even after the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities. The aggressor hopes to reach the Litani river line, about 30 kilometres within Lebanese territory, before the morning of August 14. In justification for carrying out military operations before the expiry of this self-set deadline, the Zionist state maintains that its action will facilitate the implementation of the resolution. The Security Council stipulated that southern Lebanon should be free of irregular forces; it has crafted a mechanism for containing Hizbollah, and `assistance' from the regional bully was not required. In actuality, the drive towards the Litani is intended to restore Israel's confidence in its "deterrent capability" and to shore up the political fortunes of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. That the resolution permits Israel to carry out "defensive" operations does not help matters since the Olmert Government has tended to interpret this term in the widest possible manner. The resolution's redeeming feature is that it is an improvement on the original draft, which the United States skewed in favour of Israel. After an unconscionable delay, the Security Council took cognisance of Lebanon's decision to deploy its army in the south of the country and directed that Israel should withdraw as these troops took control of the territory. The strength of UNIFIL, the "blue helmeted" force currently stationed in the country, is to be raised from 2,000 to 15,000 so that it can assist the Lebanese army. UNIFIL has not been given the mandate to disarm the militia; it can, at most, provide the backup as the Lebanese government and army persuade Hizbollah to lay down arms.

Conventional wisdom says that, with four divisions committed to the offensive, Israel had the necessary firepower to degrade Hizbollah's military infrastructure but that is not how things have turned out in the latest round. The courage and skill Hassan Nasrallah and his organisation showed in resisting West Asia's most powerful military for over a month have certainly raised their political stock in Lebanon and West Asia. Not surprisingly, the Zionist state has launched a propaganda blitz in an effort to create a breach between the Shia organisation and the rest of Lebanese society. A country that has struggled hard to overcome the trauma of a long civil war could have been thrown back into chaos if those who escaped from the war in the south had continued to live precariously. The internal pressures should ease as the fighting ends and the displaced are able to return to their homes. Meanwhile, Israel's anti-human targeting of innocent civilians as well as its military failure to subdue Hizbollah have ensured that its international reputation stands at an all-time low.

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