An interesting editorial in the German newspaper/site Der Spiegel… Matthias Kuntzel indicates the reasons “Why Israel’s Reaction is Right”. For a European, he highlights some interesting observations and conclusions:
In 2003, 59 percent of all Europeans pointed to Israel as the country presenting the greatest risk to world peace…
Until 2005, Islamism was able to successfully mislead the West into thinking that the “occupation” of Gaza and southern Lebanon was the cause of the terror attacks carried out against Israel. Now we know better: Islamism isn’t out to change Israeli policy in the region, Islamism is out to completely eradicate the country of Israel.
For Hezbollah members, the destruction of Israel is not only non-negotiable, it is a religious duty. Hezbollah only understands the language of violence and Israel’s military is the only force that is in a position to effectively confront Hezbollah.
The pacifist reaction that the Israeli defensive war has triggered in Germany and Europe is not well thought out and is disingenuous. It is also counter-productive. An immediate cease-fire would merely result in a worse conflict in the future.