What are the bloggers saying about the current crisis between Lebanon and Israel? Here is a sample. Although it is not all inclusive, it can give an idea.
Jamal in his own way supports Hizbullah's right to act and sees that they are a strong foe that PM Olmert has to deal with:
Hezbollah acted unilaterally and they will get some criticism for it in Lebanon, especially for endangering the precious tourist season. However, regionally they got millions of admirers for being the only group in the world to do something about the rape of Gaza. Sure, Nasrallah insists today was all about Lebanon and Lebanese POWs, but who is he kidding.
It wasn't and there is no shame in that.
Olmert disagrees with me and thinks he should kill, burn 5 month-old-baby-terrorists, kill some more, and then face the inevitable negotiations.At the end of the day Hezbollah proves they are strong, very strong actually, and Israel is not used to dealing with a strong foe.
Here too Jamal continues with what he sees should and will happen:
Olmert can choose to annihilate Hezbollah completely. That would involve a major regional war that I don't think Israel is ready for or that the world community would allow. So that leaves Olmert with the only the choice of when to stop the killing and start the negotiations. Do it today with 30 civillians dead already, or do it next week with 300 dead.
I'm afraid 300 might be the number closer to quenching his blood thirst.
This is what Lebanon.profile saw in Beirut today:
The Lebanese political establishment is in complete disarray. Political party leaders have no idea how to respond to this situation. Prime Minister Saniora is in triage mode. He's in constant communication with foreign leaders.
Life is going on as normal in Beirut, although a bit quieter than usual. I had a few meetings this morning, and am busy working, as usual. I plan on going to the gym later in the day, and then attending a party.
The power is on. The internet is working. The cellular lines are just fine. None of my calls are being dropped, domestically or internationally. Only one phone call I received from Syria was garbled by static.
I am sure the situation is similar anywhere north of Beirut: Metn, Kesrouwan, Coura, Tripoli, Bsherre, and Akkar.
The situation in Beirut's southern suburbs and Southern Lebanon is bad, but not atrocious. It doesn't come close to Israel's 1982 invasion in scale or lives lost. Electricity and phone lines are out, but friends from Saida and Nabatieh tell me their families are tense, but fine.
Moussa reporting on how he is struggling to find a safe place to put his family here.
Abu Kais posts on what he heard and vents his anger at Nasrallah and Israel here:
26 civilians have died so far in Lebanon, according to al-Jazeera. LBC is reporting that ten belonged to one family. My family told me over the telephone that they are completely cut off from Beirut. They live south of Beirut, and they could see the Israeli jets bomb the airport runway. More than 10 bridges have been reportedly destroyed. There are unconfirmed reports the tunnels that go through the airport were destroyed as well.
The Rafik Hariri International Airport is closed. Lebanon's only link to the world is now through… Syria. […]
YOU GOT WHAT YOU WANTED NASRALLAH.
NOW SHOW US WHAT YOU CAN DO.
SHOW US YOUR MIGHT.
USE THOSE ROCKETS.
LEBANON IS BEING DESTROYED AND ALL I CAN THINK OF IS YOUR FACE:DAMN YOU.
AS FOR THE ISRAELI COWARDS, GO FLEX YOUR MUSCLES IN DAMASCUS AND TEHRAN. COWARDS.
Anarchistian stayed up late and wrote this at 1 AM in the morning:
It’s 1 am here. I’ve been keeping my ears open for any sounds of jets, and checking Israeli media while writing this. The latest reports (from local media) say that the IAF targeted a bridge in the coastal town of Damour close to Beirut, which cut off phone lines in some areas. Many injuries have been reported in the various strikes, including a hit on an ambulance and the injury of a number of reporters from NewTV and Al-Manar TV (VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION).
What is next, then? And where does this all end? And if these Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners are merely “security prisoners”, how come their incarceration is creating more insecurity? What are the implications? Should Israel turn the entire Middle East into one big prison and have “peace” its own way? Will that be real peace? Will Israelis go to bed with a clear, happy conscience, that they and their loved ones are safe, for many decades to come, while others’ children rot in prisons and camps, deprived of the most basic resources, water, food, health care. Will that put an end to this seemingly never-ending Israeli whining about how they are the weak, poor, oppressed, victimized, patient observers, David facing off Goliath? Or will there be more? More claims, more refugees (this time from refugee camps), to make way for Treppenwitzes? All this, and not once did I defend HezbAllah’s actions. Why should I? I don’t think it was justified, even if it was a smart, well-planned, effective strategy. If only the same could be said for our neighbours to the south.
Dove’s Eye View reflects:
For those of you concerned about the personal safety of my relatives, even the airport bombing is still not a direct hit. Remember, the Lebanese have taken this before. My mother's plane circled Beirut airport for an hour while Israel bombed Beirut in 1996. I am concerned for Lebanon. I am saddened at the news of the dawn raids (July 13) that killed 27 civilians, including twelve members of a family in a village in the far South. I am not yet concerned for my relatives. Let us be ugly and frank about ethnicity here: my village is Christian. The Israelis have had its coordinates for over a generation. They have never before bombed Christian Lebanese so I am not yet frightened. I am disgusted and bitter but I am not frightened for my own family. Yet.
I am sorry for the Lebanese families who grieve today. Don't ask me to say anything about anybody else right now, I am a flawed, selfish woman and my heart has only so much room this evening.
Finally, for now, a call for peace from Bob:
While shells are falling a few miles away from my home, I cannot but remember this afternoon, while I was driving back home from Beirut Hezbollah sympathizer where offering passerby cookies and candies!
While my ear rings from the sound of explosions I cannot but see the firecrackers Hezbollah sympathizer where launching this afternoon rejoicing in their “great victory”
And tomorrow when I will see the bridge linking my home town of Saida to Beirut, I will only say from the bottom of my heart: Enough! Enough wars, death and destruction! Curse you Hezbollah to hell and back! For all this destruction, for all this death! No it is not Israel fault! It is your own! Curse you!
We cannot continue on this path! People build and teach and try to live peacfully, while others think only of death, destruction and war… the time has come to stand and say one word: PEACE
I want peace with Israel! NOW! I do not care for your ideologies, or your lines drawn on maps! For your religions! For anything! PEACE NOW!
Mustapha reminds everybody of the uselessness of the measures that Israel is taking against Lebanon to free its soldiers:
The Israeli Navy is imposing a maritime blockade alongside the entire Lebanese shores. This will add to the de-facto air blockade that resulted from bombing the airport. Just to be clear, the blockade is NOT intended to prevent the smuggling of the two Israeli soldiers by sea. Had Hezbollah wanted to smuggle the soldiers outside of Lebanon, the easiest way would be to do it through the more-than-happy-to-help Syria.
The blockade has one clear purpose: To make life miserable for the Lebanese in order to exert pressure on Hezbollah.[…]
Will the plan work?No it won’t. Israel constantly underestimates the bonds common misery can create. They are using the wrong channels and are needlessly starving an entire nation and making it angrier.
Vox writes a post with a title that calls Israel to send its message directly to Iran/Syria instead of bombing Lebanon.
Lazarus send a letter to Nassrullah and to Olmert. In his letter to Olmert he says:
Dear Ehud,
Are you reading through some of Sharon's notes? I wonder if back home you are saluted for your bravery and courage. If you are looked at as the protector of Israel. If they even know what you are doing in Lebanon. I hope you die a gruesome death, in the same way those children were burnt today.
Turn around. Withdraw your planes. Sail your ships away. Go back to Israel.
What type of retaliation is this? We want exactly what Israeli's seem to claim: security and peace, yet you make it such that peace and security seem impossible to have with Israel as a neighbor. Is this procedure part of becoming a man - a rite of passage - back home for you? Killing Lebanese? Burning children alive? If so, then Sharon must be a great man. Peres must be great as well. As is Netanyahu.
And more from Anarchistian in this lengthy post on what is going on:
This new, very ugly, very dirty face of Israel will engulf the region in flames. I have been glued in front of my computer and the TV, watching scenes of raids. I must stop watching. It is quite depressing. Children massacred, entire residential buildings leveled. I captured some shots from TV with my digital camera, a man carrying a dead 10-month-old baby in a blanket, headless bodies, a dead little girl being show to the cameras, Qana all over again.
Finally (for now) Haitham warns that Israel's aggression will not go without a high price for the Israelis:
Hezbollah is not what Israel new six years ago. Sayed Hassan Nasrallah yesterday warned Israel of ‘big surprises’, and today he showed Israel some of these. Hezbollah now uses rockets that reached more than 30 km inside the northern of Israel and Hezbollah said that next target will be the City of Haifa. If this happens, this will be a disaster for Israelis.
Guys, this is not Gaza, and this is not the poor Palestinian resistance you are dealing with here. Hezbollah is well equipped and supported. So, if you think this game will end up soon, you are mistaken. Read back the history of resistance in Southern Lebanon and you will know what I’m talking about.
O’ Israel, play the music of your tanks, Lebanon will dance the Debke!
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Hisham33 posts 
Keta Haluha3 posts 
Abdurahman Warsame5 posts 
Ismail Dhorat7 posts 
Ethan Zuckerman93 posts 
Hoa Quach8 posts 
Juhie Bhatia34 posts 
Jakub Gornicki2 posts 
Laura Vidal28 posts 
Asteris Masouras5 posts 
Gina Cardenas4 posts 
Maya Norton213 posts
The situatin is highly pathetic in that area. We must condemn the inhuman act of Israel. Saving 2 lives by killing 200 is not justifiable in any case. May almighty give Israel a little sense of humanity.
Why USA; the caretaker of world’s freedom is not saying anything. If the same thing is done by Iran or Syria they will prepare to strike them.
“Jews will ALWAYS be attacked by Islam because Islam cannot accept loss of land that they once controlled and please keep in mind that there have ALWAYS been Jews in Israel”
I am a veiwer from India and frankly speaking the above comment by a freind lacks the basic understanding of history of Jews and Moslems in the region.
There have always been Jews is palestine(todays “Isreal”) and in the first half of this century they were hardly 18% of the entire population of palestine.
Creating a state called “Isreal” was never a problem for anybody but on palestinian land was.why afterall shall jews from all over the world of different racial and ethnic background come and occupy palestinian land which have always been a home to millions of ethnic palestinians.Isreal was created by means which we call genocide.Palestinians were massacred to make way for American jews,european jews and all caucasian jews from all over the world.
Today Isreal behaves as if it has all the right in the world to exist on palestinian land.The fact is that every Isreali villages had a Arab name and had a palestinian population.There werent barren land which is often claimed by the jewish leaders about the bloom in the desert in the media.
As far as the reaction from the world is concerned.Isreal is one of the largest arms dealer in the world with support from America it buys support through sales of arms and technique of torture,genocide,aparthied,extra judicial killing and propaganda.They specilise in the tricks of Occupation.
Please read good books by non zionist authors and you will get a grasp of the dilemma in the middle east.
It is the typical mentality of the jews that makes the problem worse,they hardly think about the other side THEY ARE MAKING THE WORLD BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE VICTIMS.stop this propaganda and do not use holocaust to further your evil homeland philosophy.
There will be peace but it will take effort from the jewish world and not from other parties to this conflict.
Isreal is an occupier and therefore it has to tone down its irrational biblical whims about boundaries.
Isrealis need to get control over their irrational and genocidal behavior.
Isreal has no right to hold palestinians or lebanese as prisoners but Palestinians and lebanese have all the right in the world to kill and capture occupation soldiers and it is laid down in every scripture and in every book ever written to protect human beings.
ALL HUMAN BEINGS ARE EQUAL,A JEW IS IN NO WAY SUPERIOR TO PALESTINIAN AND VICEVERSA. 3 JEWS DO NOT make 100-300 NON JEWS.
Let me first say the violence should not be justified.
Having said that it seems to me that Hezbollah started this situation kidnapping two Israeli soldiers — I wonder when are the Arab leader going to learn and give their people things like education, culture, health and so on, rather than pain, war, etc.
I think Hezbollah is to blame.
PS: Not sure if this will be published as the moderator seems to have a bias and censors anything that is not pro-Arab
Even if you agree that the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers is an act of war, even if you hold the Lebanese government responsible for not reigning in Hizbollah, it’s still wrong for Israel to bomb civilian targets and Lebanon’s civilian infrastructure. Kidnapping 2 soldiers does not give Israel license to flagrant violate the Geneva Convention.
Don’t let them fool you – ISRAEL STARTED IT
Ever since the bloody carnage in Lebanon started, the mainstream media has echoed Israel’s self-righteous indignation about how they’re merely defending themselves – “Israeli sovereignty was violated” when Hizbullah “kidnapped” their soldiers from “across the border.”
What they conveniently reverse is that Hizbullah confronted Israeli troops on the LEBANESE SIDE OF BORDER.
It all started on July 12 when Israel troops were ambushed on LEBANON’S SIDE OF THE BORDER with Israel. Hezbollah, which commands the Lebanese south, immediately seized on their crossing. They arrested two Israeli soldiers, killed eight Israelis and wounded over 20 in attacks inside Israeli territory. [AsiaTimes.com]
* * *
Ehud Olmert holds “Lebanon responsible for the fate of the missing soldiers,” who were captured near Aita al-Shaab on the LEBANESE SIDE OF THE BORDER, that is to say the soldiers violated the sovereignty of Lebanon, a COMMON OCCURRENCE. [Kurt Nimmo]
Even Israeli News reported it on the 12th, contemporaneously with the incident.
The Hizbullah said its operatives destroyed an Israeli tank attempting to cross the border into Lebanon.
Israeli ground troops entered southern Lebanon on Wednesday to search for two soldiers captured earlier in the day by Hezbollah. (AP)
(07.12.06, 12:55)
ISRAEL STARTED IT.
“If somebody wants to kill you and you use a deception to save your life, it’s not immoral.”
— former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres
Spread it far and wide.
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.blogspot.com/2006/07/dont-let-them-fool-you-israel-started.html
AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN WHO LIVED IN BEIRUT AND LOVES THE LEBANESE PEOPLE, I MUST SAY I AM (YET AGAIN) SO TOTALLY ASHAMED OF AND DISGUSTED BY BUSH’S RESPONSE TO THE ISRAELI MILITARY’S (THEY ARE THE REAL TERRORISTS, IMHO) TOTALLY DISPROPORTIONATE RETALIATION AGAINST INNOCENT CIVILIANS IN BEIRUT. MY PALESTINIAN-BORN MOTHER-IN-LAW , THE BEST WOMAN WHO HAS EVER WALKED THE FACE OF THE EARTH, TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT SHE SAW THE DISMEMBERED BODIES OF CHILDREN THAT HAD BEEN ON A SCHOOL BUS. OOOH, AND THE ISRAELIS SO BOLDLY BRAG THAT THEIR MISSLES HAVE PINPOINT PRECISION, ETC. YEH–THEY KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING, NO LONGER TARGETING HEZBULLAH HEADQUARTERS, ETC. THEY ARE SIMPLY TRYING TO BRING THE COUNTRY TO HER KNEES, ONCE AGAIN. THE LEBANESE ARE GOOD, PEACE LOVING PEOPLE. THEY ARE TIRED OF FIGHTING AND JUST WANT TO BE LEFT IN PEACE. I WALKED AMONG ALL OF THE RESIDENTS OF DAHEE. THAT IS WHERE WE LIVED, WITH MY IN-LAWS. I LOVE THOSE PEOPLE AND I’M NOT ASHAMED TO TELL THE WORLD. I ALWAYS FELT AS THOUGH MY 3 DAUGHTERS AND I WERE SAFE AND WELCOME. ALTHOUGH I DO LOVE AMERICA, (THE BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO LIVE, REALLY), I ABHORE OUR GOVERNMENT’S A**-KISSING WITH ISRAEL AND THE MEDIA’S RELUCTANCE TO TELL BOTH SIDES OF THIS STORY. MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, 5 SISTERS-IN-LAW AND BROTHER-IN-LAW ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO GET SOMEWHERE SAFE. ALL I HAVE TO SAY IS~~NOTHING HAD BETTER HAPPEN TO THOSE WONDERFUL, SWEET PEOPLE. CAUSE THIS COUNTRY GIRL FROM KENTUCKY WILL TAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO THE WHITE HOUSE. AND BUSH WILL HEAR ME OUT.
I am neither a Jew nor a Arab, but what is happening now in Lebanon is a totaly unfair towards the Lebanees. Yes Hezbollah has its own agenda, but remember when these soldiers were kidnapped. They were kidnapped after Israel started to DESTROY Palestinian infrastructure in order to free a hostage. Well YOU DO NOT FREE HOSTAGES BY BOMBING civillian targets, but you sure as hell make a lot of people mad.
We can go back and forth and say oh ISRAEL DID THIS BECAUSE ARABS DID THIS, and ARABS DID THIS TO RETALIATE FOR WHAT ISRAELIS DID TO THEM, this can go on and on.
But lets stop and think for a moment, what is the real cause of the problem? The problem is that Israel got a state on a land where arabs were alaways present (just like Jews were) and they (Arabs) were present on these lands in far greater numbers and for much longer then the jews.
So dont you think that Palestinians deserve a statehood as uch as Jews do (if not more)?
Blowing up yourself in a bus and killing civillians is a horrible thing to do, but do Jews or jew supporters ask themselves WHY do these people do this? Or do they try to think that dropping a bomb from a multi million dollar jet is less painful then a suicide bombing?
I think they know the answer to these questions.
AS long as Israel acts like it is the sole nation in the region that has a right to exist there will be more Hezbollah and HAMAS attacks.
Besides why doesnt Israel attack Iran and Syria? Oh thats right because it is smart enough to know that it can not take those two (the REAL backers of Hezbollah) down, so in a very computed and startegic way Israel is setting up his big bro (USA) to deal with the other two.
US will loose its sons and daughters and extreme amout of money to fight the Jews’ battles for them, and Israel will reap the benefits.
The american public is too brainwashed (who wouldnt be, if you heard same thing over and over for generations) by the jewish lobby and the media to question why is US fighting Israel’s war’s.
To the pro Jews and Jews on this blog who say that “WHY THEY DONT RETURN THE SOLDIERS SO WE CAN STOP THE ATTACKS” I can ask why dont you guys stop treating the palestinians like trash and stop invading their territory anytime you please.
The situation darkens in the Middle East. I believe that the situation was initially started with a rocket attack on an Israeli city. When an army patrol vehicle went to investigate it was ambushed and the soldiers killed or (2) kidnapped from the Israeli border. The response has been harsh and heavy handed. However there is necessity behind the harshness. Diplomatic answers to such a provocative action could only have led to the same situation further down the line with another kidnapping.
Despite this, war is an ugly thing no matter which side you stand on. Noone wants to see people destroyed and lives turned upside down. I would like to see assistance from the Israeli side to the Lebonese once the mission has been completed.
It is very easy to see this war from only one point of view – whichever it is you are standing on. It is so important to try and put yourself in the other people’s shoes and imagine how you would feel / want to do. I hope peace finds its way to a better place and time.
Hi,
As a Lebanese living in The Netherlands there are things I do and don’t understand.
I don’t understand how Israel attacks economical targets and starts it’s attack on Lebanon while making very little progress on defeating Hezbollah.
I don’t understand the Lebanese people who cry for help like a baby, while Hezbollah get’s their full support. (What goes around comes around, when you hit a strong person expect a big punch back)
I don’t understand the unwillingness to recognize Israel as a state and respect their inhabitants, as long as Israel doesn’t feel safe in the Middle East it shall feel the need to defend itself and behave as an extreme state.
I do understand Lebanese are sick of Israel’s attacks on the innocent civilians.
Arabs should face reality and stop their hatred against Jews (as Jews should respect the Arabs). And the thought of placing Israel somewhere else is totally unrealistic.
Stop the threats! Stop the war!
Give us peace, give us hope! Syria, Israel, Iran, get out of The Lebanon!