Israel is putting out a very clear message here. Don't f*ck with us.
ABC - Hezbollah guerrillas have captured two Israeli soldiers and killed up to seven Israelis, in what Israel described as an act of war by Lebanon that would draw a "very painful" response.
Israel mobilised a reserve infantry division and Hezbollah declared an all-out military alert. |
Painful indeed. In a related article, Israel came out and called this an act of war.
ABC - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the abduction amounted to an act of war, held the government in Beirut fully responsible, and vowed no negotiations, as aircraft and artillery pounded Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah, whose Shiite militia was instrumental in forcing Israeli troops out of Lebanon six years ago and which is sponsored by Israel's arch-foes Syria and Iran, demanded the release of Arab prisoners in exchange for the soldiers.
[...] "The Lebanese government is responsible. Lebanon will pay the price," Mr Olmert warned at a news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who had hoped his visit would ease already sky-high tensions in the region.
"This morning's events are not a terror attack but the action of a sovereign state which attacked Israel without any reason.
"Israel will react in a decisive way so that those responsible for the attack will pay a high and painful price," he said, who is facing his second crisis over captive servicemen in barely a fortnight. |
A comment by Gib over at CrosBlog is particularly insightful on the PA/Hamas kidnapping and should carry the same weight with these Hezbollah/Lebanon kidnappings.
If the Palestinians are at war with Israel, then sure, Cpl. Shalit is a legitimate military target. However, that also means that the Palestinians are at war with Israel, and Israel is entitled to act like it - which would, I think, pretty much totally justify their military incursion.
Can't have it both ways - either you're at war, and the other side is entitled to fight a war - or you're not, and Shalit is a victim of an illegal kidnap. Very true, and Israel should hammer this home as often as possible in the media. If we're to say these kidnappings by the Hamas and Hezbollah are justified then these countries are at war with Israel and Israel is completely within it's rights to blast them back into the stone age.
UPDATE @ 2:52pm: From the Palestinian front...
I just liked the headline on this one... "Israeli Forces Level Hamas Safe House; 6 Slain." Guess that safe house wasn't so safe...
GAZA CITY — Israeli aircraft early today bombarded a safe house where senior commanders of Hamas' military wing were meeting, killing at least six people. At the same time, Israeli troops and armor widened a 2-week-old offensive by pushing into the south-central Gaza Strip, where a senior militant leader was killed.
[...] The Israeli airstrike leveled a house in Gaza City's Sheik Radwan neighborhood, where many Hamas figures live. Palestinian security sources said the home, which belonged to Nabil Salmiah, a Hamas leader, was apparently being used as a hide-out by senior commanders. |
It seems like they've been killing Hamas leaders, 2 or 3 a day now for years... Hasn't Hamas run out of people to brainwash into their organization by now? |
