International efforts to broker a cease- fire in the tormented Middle East are intensifying, and well they should. Meanwhile, every rocket hurled at Israel makes it clear that the renewed violence isn’t just disenfranchised Palestinian terrorists striking out at random but rather an orchestrated assault funded by Iran with the full connivance of Syria.
Some of the missiles fired on Israel have been identified as Iranian-made Fajr-3 rockets, with a 22-mile range and 200-pound payload. Such weapons have more sophisticated guidance systems than the Katyusha rockets fired in previous attacks.
Iran has long financed and controlled Hezbollah and may have unleashed the current round of attacks on Israel to distract international attention from its efforts to acquire atomic weapons. Syria, for its part, has often coveted (and practiced) hegemony over Lebanon and may be using Hezbollah to enhance its influence in the region.
The motives in Tehran and Damascus reek of cynicism, but cynical games can also be dangerous ones. Israeli reprisals have hammered Lebanon’s infrastructure, and the country is being effectively blockaded by Israeli air power, weakening a young government whose rise has been one of the few positive developments in the region.
President Bush, while supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, has expressed concern that Israeli attacks not destabilize the government of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora. The Post shares that concern, though the tightrope in Beirut is excruciating. Hezbollah not only enjoys a safe harbor in Lebanon, it also holds 25 of the 128 seats in the Lebanese parliament (and two cabinet posts).
Bush aptly summarized the situation in a private conversation with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg that was picked up by a nearby TV microphone: “See, the irony is, what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s— and it’s over.”
Easier said (and overheard) than done. Knowing what to do is one thing and knowing how to do it is quite another.
Israel should agree to a fair cease-fire plan, and Prime Minister Ehud Ohlmert should demonstrate good faith by unilaterally scaling back attacks in neighborhoods where Lebanese civilians are being killed. Israeli strikes should be directed at clearly defined strategic and military targets. Hezbollah should cease its attacks on Israeli civilians, withdraw from the border and release the two Israeli captives.
This is a time for crisis diplomacy and extremists and their sponsors to step aside and allow officials to resolve issues – being addressed just two weeks ago – that divide Israel and Palestinians.
