Question: Is Israel's military operation in Lebanon justified?
Answer: Background
- Israel withdrew from Lebanon in May 2000.
- Hizbullah terrorists crossed the border into Israel in October 2000, abducted and killed three Israeli soldiers.
- In the six years since Israel withdrew from Lebanon, Hizbullah has continued to launch terrorist attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
Then on July 12, 2006, Hizbullah terrorists crossed the border from Lebanon into Israel and attacked two Israeli armored jeeps patrolling the border. Three Israeli soldiers were killed, two were kidnapped, and others were injured. Five more soldiers were killed when IDF units subsequently entered Lebanon to rescue the abducted soldiers.
Hizbullah also launched massive rocket and shelling attacks along Israel's northern border, wounding both soldiers and civilians. Residents of northern Israel have entered bomb shelters.
According to estimates, Hizbullah has thousands of rockets aimed at Israel, including 'hundreds' of Fajar 5 rockets that can reach Haifa (population 270,000) and as far south as the tourist town of Tiberias (population 50,000). Head of the Home Front Command, Maj.-Gen. Yitzhak Gershon, was instructed to prepare for a possibility of a major bombardment of Israeli communities.
Israel's Political Response
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert: "This is not a terrorist attack, but an unprovoked cross-border attack by a sovereign nation against the sovereign territory of its neighbor (Israel). The Government of Lebanon, to which the Hizbullah is a party, is trying to undermine regional stability, and shall bear the consequences for its actions."
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz: "The Lebanese government, that allows Hizbullah to operate in its sovereign territory, will be held responsible for the results and the outcome. The State of Israel sees itself as free to take all the steps it believes are appropriate."
The Communique of Israel's Cabinet, which met following the attack, reads "Israel views the sovereign Lebanese Government as responsible for the action that originated on its soil and for the return of the abducted soldiers to Israel. Israel demands that the Lebanese Government implement UN Security Council Resolution #1559."
The Communique continues, "Israel will respond aggressively and harshly to those who carried out, and are responsible for, today's action, and will work to foil actions and efforts directed against it."
Israel's Military Response
OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Udi Adam said the IDF was preparing for a widespread operation not only against Hizbullah but also against the Lebanese government. The IDF plans to bomb main infrastructure, including power stations in Lebanon.
"The IDF is responding with its full might by the air, the sea and the ground," Adam said. "We are also preparing for a massive operation to defend Israeli citizens and stop the terror."
Israeli ministers approved plans to push Hizbullah back from Israel's northern border and place pressure on the Lebanese government to dismantle the Islamist organization, as called for under UN Security Council Resolution 1559.
The Israeli cabinet met and agreed that Hizbullah's attack necessitated a dramatic, widespread and painful response. The cabinet issued a statement saying, "A new, complicated situation has been created that Israel is obliged to deal with."More Judaism Q&A
