Palestinian joy in prevoking victimhood

Alan Abbey:

IT isn't difficult to see the puppet masters behind the current hostilities on Israel's northern and southern borders: The activities of the last few weeks have the fingerprints of Iran's mad mullahs and Syrian President Bashir Assad all over them.

That's not to release Hamas and Hezbollah from any level of responsibility either. Both parties have made clear their intentions: to kidnap Israeli soldiers and to do what they can to eliminate peacemaking efforts. They've made good on those murderous pledges just weeks after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas tentatively embraced, and Abbas seemed to be making some headway with Hamas' political wing.

The attacks on Israeli soil across the internationally recognized border with Lebanon and on the Israeli side of the Gaza border from which Israel withdrew last year have altered the region's strategic situation.

By their actions, Hamas and Hezbollah have brought Israel back into Gaza, which Israel left a year ago, and back into Lebanon, which the Israeli Army left six years ago. Isn't that (theoretically, at least) the opposite of what they want?

Obviously not.

The two groups now seem to have gotten what they wanted — Israeli military activity they hope will further radicalize the Arab "street" and also to play the role of aggrieved victim. In some corners of the Arab world, the strategy seems to be working.

Rather than peace rallies in Gaza and Beirut, we have seen demonstrations of joy over the Hezbollah kidnappings and parades of thousands of Gazans demanding that Hamas hold on to kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit until Palestinian prisoners are released.

To their credit, in Lebanon at least, this is not the only reaction. Pro-change Lebanese, as represented by a number of English-language bloggers, have bravely been calling for the eradication of Hezbollah from Lebanese political life, too. Those few lone voices, however, are being shouted down by those trumpeting the recent military and strategic gains by Israel's foes.

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What they have done is give the Israelis the strategic opportunity to eliminate their threats to Israel by prevoking across border attacks. Israel has been freed to do what Lebanon failed to do under the UN mandate--disarm Hezballah and eliminate their presence alon the border with Israel. It want be long before the Muslim victim brigade will be asking the world to restrain Israel. That is something we shoulde resist. Israel should be permitted to destroy its enemies whose stated objective is the destruction of Israel.