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Attacked by Lebanon

(Jerusalem Post) Editorial - Israel's security fence in the north isn't constructed directly on the border but inside Israeli terrain. Israel had coordinated with UNIFIL that it was going to carry out routine pruning of shrubs and trees near the border that could provide cover to terrorists. The work was to be done beyond the fence but not outside the Blue Line international border. Lebanese officers arbitrarily decided that the fence constitutes the border, but their fire wasn't directed at the crews that ventured beyond the fence but at officers clearly on the Israeli side of it. Though called "peacekeepers," the UNIFIL forces did not raise, much less use, their weapons to foil what was obviously outright aggression. The hope was that the Lebanese Armed Forces would restore order in what had become Hizbullah's dominion. But instead of central government control over Hizbullah-land, we witness growing Hizbullah control of both the central government and its army. Lebanon's military is increasingly Shi'ite (including the command of the southern region) and overtly sympathetic to Hizbullah, if not actually in active cahoots with it. Not a shred of doubt exists about the aggressor's identity. Yet, regarding the Lebanese ambush, the reaction of the UN, U.S., EU and Russia has been implausibly "evenhanded." Rather than promote peace, it underscores Israeli apprehensions regarding international guarantees and international peacekeeping. Both the U.S. and France need to reassess their aid to what has become an arm of the Iranian-Syrian axis.
2010-08-05 08:24:07
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