The Lebanese population allowed Hizballah to set up shop in their schools, mosques, and residential neighborhoods. They allowed them to brainwash their children during a time when there was peace and prosperity in Lebanon. The Pearl Of The Middle East was making a big comeback, and still they hated us. Now they hate us more, tell me something I don't already know

if we have several person think like you in (israel) then mideast might live in peace

It's because reaching out a hand of peace to Israel's neighbors has never been met with anything but death to Israelis. We no longer care if they turn into Doves or Birds of Prey or Squirrels. We will give them no option to hurt us any longer, regardless.

I'm one of the doves turned into a falcon. But you see, I don't demand war till extermination of the other side. In fact, I don't militate for the extermination of anyone. To me and people like me, this war was imposed on us and we should respond to it crushingly but only so long as they keep attacking us. Your analysis is missing this crucial factor: we, the falcons, are willing to foster peace as soon as they stop attacking us and return our soliders. The other side, however, wants to fight until I am dead.

The other side has grown up to hate Israel. The main reason is because they believe that those that control Israel are lying to the Jewish people. UltraZionists hiding behind Judaism. When Begin made peace with Sadat, he promised to settle the Palestinian question, but when he went home, he said he would never leave the West Bank. So the arabs believe Begin lied. When Sharon marched up to Lebanon, he then, after expelling Arafat, stayed to try and implement the 'secret plan', Eretz Israel, all the way up to Beirut and beyond. Sharon wanted to take over as much of Lebanon as he could. Sharon lied. And now, when everyone speaks of a comprehensive peace, Israel keeps claiming security. Chebaa Farms, the Golan Heights, the West Bank ... they are all symbols to the arabs of the true goals of the hawks leading the Israeli government. And the Jews of Israel believe what they are being told by their leaders. They are doves being used by hawks. And the arabs respond with 'death to Israel.' They start to despair and feel that killing the hawks, destroying Israel, is the only way. The doves need to take over Israel. They need to go back to the 1967 borders, which the Arabs in 2002 said they would accept. And then muslims, jews and christians can live peacefully together in the middle east.

The single best article I have read since I began visiting this website over the past month. Good to see that ynet allows an opposing viewpoint once in a while. No more bloodshed. Time to move on and stop making excuses for justifying this mistake.

Although Michael trying to establish moral equivalence between Arabs and Jews, there is none: *Jews don't pass out candy and dance on streets when Arab children are killed *Isaeli did not attack Lebanon over the international border *Israeli were not holding Hezballah fighters prior to war - only a vicious criminal who repeatedly smashed the head of a 4 year old Israeli girl with a butt of his rifle, taken from her home in 1978 If people who like to find moral equivalence in every war were around during World War 2, Hitler would be ruling most of the world.

There will be no peace without justice, and your soldiers are worth no more than Lebanese or Palestinian POW's. You call them terrorists because of their affiliation with Hamas, and we call the soldiers terrorists due to their affiliation with the IDF (needless to say: IDF has killed far more than Hamas or Hizballah). You "falcons" need to start seeing things this way. Withdraw for Shebaa Farms, withdraw from Gaza (that means border control to the Palestinians), and withdraw from the West Bank. Then there will be no excuse to attack you, but until then, there will be; please understand this.

NEITHER ARE YOU BRAINS !

It is a disgrace that garbage like this is even printed in reputable journal. Israelis are dying and you do nothing but criticize Israel and praise those who hate you with every inch of their being. Shame on ynet for publishing this.

I wish all Israelis are you. Hizbollah never attacked Israel for no reason. They've been asking for their prisoners for ages, no one listened in Israel or the world. They've been asking you to leave Shebaa for ages, but you never complied. They did not send a rocket to any civilian area untill you did kill and attack the civilian infrastructure of Lebanon. Anybody who is misinformed by the media needs to listen and read something credible. Hizbollah never started this war. It was planned and aimed at disarming hizbollah by force. All nations wiould like to disarm USA/Israel/UK by force because they are who is wreaking havoc in this world. Gob bless the writer.

It is at some level hopeful to read that someone in Israel is taking responsibiliyt - is seeing how decades of oppression by Israel is not resulting in so much hatred. It is amazing that so much Israelis (and jews) are blind to this. #4 - the 'others' don't want your or Israel's death ...stop listening to the rhetoric and deal with real people on the ground. End your cycle of 'we are the victims' ... as you have already become the perecutor!

Your comparison with military installation in Israel is partly true. It has occured to me before - practically every town and city in Israel has "its" military base. But... and it's a big but... should any of these places come under attack, Israel is also putting an effort into providing defense measures for those civilians. There are shelters and security rooms, there are gas masks for every civilian. People are even encouraged to leave when an area comes under attack. These people are not used as human shields, in the sense that nobody wants them hurt for the cause. Unlike the HA, which apparently threatened civilians to make them stay in their bombarded villages, and deliberately launched rockets from villages, trying to draw fire to the civilians to gain sympathetic media exposure. So, still, a big difference there... I wouldn't call the location of the Kiriya an attempt in creating a human shield...

you say : Your analysis is missing this crucial factor: we, the falcons, are willing to foster peace as soon as they stop attacking us and return our soliders. The other side, however, wants to fight until I am dead. When the other side understands that you don't want to fight until they're dead (even thou israel is destroying lebanon and has been expanding settlements for so long) and when you start understanding that the other side doesn't want to fight until your dead, but until their rights are respected (return of the prisonners, palestinian viable state, compensations and acknowledgement for people removed by israel from their homes, etc) what the hell ? you as much as they, are human beings, and they're not obsessed by israel's destruction more than israelis are obsessed by destroying lebanon and treating palestinians like animals. Yes, just like you, arabs believe that you aren't gonna leave them in peace. Even after evacuationg gaza, israel made it a big prison, so what's expected to happen ? come on, palestinians and lebanese were never obscurantists of the worst kinds. open your eyes.

"Death and suffering only brings more death and suffering" Ahhh... so perhaps the Allies should have let Hitler have his way after all. A rather foolish argument. Germany fell because they could not handle the large amount of 'death and suffering' that the allies gave them. As Michael Steiner wrote, we need to continue to push and destroy our enemy until they are really willing to make peace or until they are destroyed. Their only goal is to kill us. Settlements or no settlements. The question is: do we allow them?

You claim that violence feeds more violence, which I agree with, but what violence fed the 1936 Arab riots against the Jews in which countless Jews were slaughtered? What violence fed all the Arab countries that attacked the day old Israel in 1948 with the declared objective of "annihilation?" What violence caused all Israel's Arab neighbors to attack again in 1967 and again try to erase the Jewish state? All these attacks against Israel were unprovoked, before any "occupation." How do you explain this? Maybe Arab hatred against Israel and the Jews stems from deeper origins than land and politics. Maybe they just don't want Israel to exist. Maybe people like this should not be sympathized with. Maybe you should stop blaming Israel for its very existence.

It is a duty of the Lebanese goverment to care about the Lebanese civilians. The best the can do is to leave in peace with Israel. Israel has no obligation to trade lives of Israel civilians for lives of Lebanese civilians. I don't care what they think just keep Hizbollah dirty arms off. Response must be adequate and not proportional.

What decades of oppression? Who oppressed Lebanon for decades? You are confusing Syria with Israel, dear.

It is true that punishing the population is counterproductive. The West should instead build schools that teach tolerance and peace, an answer to the madrassas. However on the human shield point, the IDF is not launching attacks from residential neighborhoods, not has it positioned its artillery in the middle of civilian-filled houses. For more of my opinions and more about who I am, visit my blog at: http://lebanon-untold.blogspot.com/

1) Respites in "aggression" by Israel only produce waves of suicide bombings, etc. I understand that this is not representative of the entire Arab world, but history teaches that showing "weakness" (e.g. holding back draconian retiliation, releasing prisoners, granting Palestians self-rule, etc.) only backfires. 2) Sane people don't hope for Palestinians to love Israelis, they just hope that Palestinians (a decisive majority thereof) accept that Israel isn't going anywhere and negotiate with Israel with that in mind.

I remember the first operation in Lebanon. In fact I was watching TV several times with several Arabs from Jenin and Tulkarm. When Israel bombed Tyre they were ovehelmed with ... joy. One Arab even bought me an alcoholic drink (they knew I am Jewish). They were so happy. Why? Because, they all said, the World will see that Israel is "millitaristic country". They were so happy.

You should sense that from our replies. When an Israeli is willing to talk to us peacefully we reciprocate. We are no less humans than you are. When you raise weapons against us, we will retaliate. I appreciate Michael's gesture in acknowledging this fact. Israel, if you want peace extend your hand, we are willing to put our hand in yours!

THIS WAR SHOULD HAD TAKEN ONE WEEK, WON WITH VIRTUALLY NO CAUSALTIES TO ISRAEL AND LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS COST: RAZE ALL HIZBALLAH VILLAGES FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH, BURY THE MUSLIMS - THEY LOVE BEING MARTYRS NAYWAY. BE DONE WITH IT. SO WHAT IS 20,000 LEBANES MUSLIMS WOULD HAVE DIED.

I responded rather late to you, and apparently you missed it. Thanks. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3284892,00.html

Uh, Bernie, the doves HAVE taken over Israel, at least since Oslo. Today, you have a former Peace Now activist (parrots) as DM and a guy who is "tired of fighting, tired of winning" as PM (ilmert). The only reason these guys can't be a doves' doves is that even the monumentally foolish Israeli voter will not allow a completely obvious capitulation to terror (the capitulation has to be spun somehow as wisdom or courage).

GET A GRIP... DEATH BY ARMS FIRE:BULLETS, LANDMINES, ROCKETS ATOMIC BOMBS, GAS ATTACK, ETC RESULT.IN DEATH...DOVES NEED LOVE....ISRAEL MUST PROTECT ALL IN HARMS WAY.... NO DOVES..NO G_D LOVE....

What a typical wet liberal post zionist response all heart and no head. Boo hoo people are suffering, boo hoo war is bad, we are as bad as they are (or even worse). This is the sort of thought which leads to capitulation, defeat and many many deaths. Remember Chamberlain and Hitler in Munich. Now there is peace with the German nation, but it had to be defeated first.

Spare me the sob stories. Khizbolah did not attack Israel because of the Sheba farms. And the Palestinians do have control over the Gaza borders. It's not our problems if the Egyptians don't want them crossing into their country. As far as withdrawing from the West Bank, etc, I can't wait for the day that happens and I hope it's implemented as soon as possible. But no-one's stupid enough to think that's going to end the conflict. You want my prognosis? Israel is going to withdraw from all the disputed territories and probably compensate the refugees and their descendants. The very next day the Palestinians are going to fire rockets into Israel and Israel is going to pound the sh*t out of the Palestinians again. There's not going to be peace in the Middle East for decades, if not centuries, to come. Regardless of what Israel does.

feel like a human shield, I do not have fanatics firing rockets from my home, I do not have them hiding behind me, those defending my home are not parking their weaponary in my garage. No one asked me about building plans either, I am just happy to know they are there. I have no fanatic imams brainwashing my children to hate and kill and be prepared to die as suicide bombers. And yes right now dove for me is a very nice shower soap, because we can only be stronger bird or we perish. For another country to openly state they want to destroy my country, then that dove of peace seems bery futile. All i ever wanted and still want is to live in my country in peace and quiet and if it means my being a little less peace loving then so be it. I too feel tears at each soldier that falls trying to keep my home safe,. AND when you actually realise its not just about us, but the whole free democratic world they want to takeover, then maybe your veiw may change

just manipulators and outright fabricators. And if you believe for one moment that they are fundamentally less hawkish than the average Israeli, you are either ignorant, gullible, or both.