Israel out of Lebanon

Margaret Beckett should really look the words "proportionate" and "provocation" up in the dictionary. Israel’s way of acting in a proportionate way means state terrorism whereby deploying gunboats, marauding F16s and threats from an Israeli army chief that "nothing is safe in Lebanon". Proportionate? I don't think so!

Around 306 people have died in Lebanon, 29 in Israel and 500,000 displaced Lebanese. And now Israeli state wants to drag in Syria and Iran. It is one rule for Israel and one for Lebanon.

In Gaza, Palestinians have no fuel, raw sewage, rubbish is piling up and there is a shortage of electricity due to air strikes and there have been hardly any wages paid. All this for one Israeli soldier…..

It is not as if the Israeli state has not been kidnapping Palestinians and “detaining” them without trial. Why has the there been a disproportionate response just now? The cynic might say that it is the US government that has given the nod to the Israeli state to go and do some damage. Battering Hezbollah to bits is a shot across the bows of Iran which holds some trump cards in Iraq through its influence among the Shia militias and Shia religious leaders. If these groups were to join the Sunni uprising the US/UK occupation would be defeated quickly. Is the cynic right? Well, when has the cynic been wrong about the real role of the west and of the US Government particularly in the oil rich parts of the World?

The media has been predominantly pro-Israel and it’s reporting of the situation in Lebanon biased. But what has also been lacking is reporting the demonstrations in Tel Aviv, where 2,000 people marched to demand prisoner exchange negotiations. The crowds where a mixed crowd of Jewish and Arab demonstrators organised by several Israeli anti-war groups. Surely it is important to show solidarity with these people as well?

There is a demonstration on Saturday marching to demand that the Israeli State gets out of Lebanon, Palestine and not to attack Iran and Syria. I will be attending.

The Israeli State as an occupying force is pounding Gaza and Lebanon in to the ground.

I think Tariq Ali is correct in today’s Guardian when he says:
“Until the question of Palestine is resolved and Iraq’s occupation ended, there will be no peace in the region. A “UN” force to deter Hizbullah, but not Israel, is a nonsensical notion”.

For a resolution of the conflict to happen the West/US will need to give up its long practised tactic of divide and rule.

Update: 21/7/06
Israel tightens grip on Lebanon