The reason is quite simple. When libelous UN investigators attempt to smear & slander Israel for defending herself, the IDF can give them the Chomsky treatment.

Every decision, every move should be judged by the end result of it!

We Lebanese love peace and life. As I'm sure you've noticed, we are a people with dignity. We will resist your evil schemes in our land, and send you packing each time you're foolish enough to cross the line. In the words of a great man, israel is weaker than a spider web.

I seldom agree with you, but on this one you're 100% correct. Having said that, no withdrawal from Judea/Samaria and no withdrawal from Golan. Build! Build! Build! There is no peace partner. A negotiated "settlement" with the Palestinians is not an answer for Israel. Down with Barak! Down with Barack!

to create infitadas. arabs attack weak people and fear to attack strong people. More Jews would be alive today if Israel had not left Lebanon.

Unfortunately, the withdrawal from lebanon is not a simple as haber claims. The 2006 lebanon campaign resulted in the loss of 200 lives. In addition the withdrawal brought Hezzbollah right up to the border. The withdrawal showed the arabs how weak and unprepared Israel was for securtiy and defense. All Israelies want peace however there is not one reason anyone can give, why the arabs want peace. Israel should focus on more strength and more security. ,

But yes I agree with you it was the right decision to get out of Lebanon................Wait to do the same in Palestine, this is the most correct decision

and he admitted that Israel's one sided withdrawal from South Lebanon, back in 2000, was a mis-step which gave the wrong signal to Israel's enemies (and we saw what happened thereafter).. Who should we believe; a leftist defeatist writer or one of Israel's brightest defense ministers!!!!

you have 'palestine' --- its called Jordan

The withdrawal from Lebanon caused 150 deaths in the 2nd Lebanon war (same yearly average as before withdrawal) and over 1000 Israeli deaths from the Palestinian terror campaign of 2000-2006. The author needs a maths lesson.

Yes, lebanon withdrawal was necessary but not because of 25 dead per year;rather it was not in israel's interest. The hurried barak withdrawal was not great and left a vacuum and misinterpretation.In 2006, haber's hero, ehud no combat olmert lost 150 israelis dead because he did not prepare the home front and did not know how to fight. According to Haber, since israel has totalled about 25000 dead since 48 or or some 400 dead per year, israel should pack up and leave as it is too hard. Haber is like beilin, ben ami, olmert, a terrible pacifist.

Haber's column, like usual for him, is utterly ludicrous. Israel's retreat from South Lebanon brought us our last Lebanon War, rockets by the thousands. It enabled Hizbullah to aim tens of thousands of missiles at our cities and towns. In short, Israel's retreat from Lebanon, like all Israeli retreats, is an unmitigated disaster. Israel should immediately retake ALL our abandoned lands forever.

Haber should mention that this withdrawal has created the war of 2006 and will create a new war with Hizballah in the near future. The same is true with Gaza. Leftists are warmongerers and peace-haters.

Leaving Lebanon was a forced decision and not a choice decision like many Israeli Army Generals are trying to describe. Israel invaded Lebanon in1982 to get ride of PLO and conscienceless created Hezbollah which is mush more serious and stronger opponent. Staying 20 years in South Lebanon was the biggest mistake Israel have done in the 20 century. Before 1982 Hezbollah didn’t exist and its creation was the result of such no sense extended occupation. The argument shouldn’t about the withdrawal, the withdrawal should have happened long time ago, it should be about the benefit of the 20 years occupation. Similar case with the occupation of Iraq, US pushed by Israel gets ride of Saddam with weak regime capitulated with all kind of sanctions to have in reward stronger opponent, Iran with perspective nuclear power. It is a typical short sighted right-wing neo conservative politic, that in most cases fire back.

Back in the days when Israel held a military position in Southern Lebanon, the people of this area were free to come into Israel to our hospitals for treatments(northern hospitals were always full because of this), and many worked on farms in the Galilee. We Israelis were not allowed to go there.....oh well. I remember there was a terror attack, and I was at Tzfat hospital for some reason or another, and some of the South Lebanese cheered. It was embarrassing. Some Jewish Israeli man who speaks Arabic got really mad and yelled at them. There are also quite a number of south Lebanese people living here in Israel because they were officers in the 'South Lebanese Army' that was reinforced by the IDF. They cannot live in Lebanon, because the Hizzies will kill them.

Oh yeah. You are such a peace loving nation that you don't know where your national interests lie or not brave enough to fight for them. The only reason Israel went into Lebanon in the first place, risking our soldiers' lives is because your peace loving nation hosted the most vicious terrorists who used it to constantly attack Israeli citizens in the north either by shooting at them or going into their homes and killing men, women and children. Continue to lie to yourself by portraying Israel as the evil side. Continue letting any group of terrorist group make Lebanon its home and then cry - oh... what does Israel want from us? The initial problem was not Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon, the initial problem that your country is so weak and in such a mess that attacks on Israel were carried constantly from your country. Either your a sovereign state that controls its borders or you're not and anybody can use your country as they please (and I'm talking about the Palestinian terrorists), but then you have to take responsibility for it and not blame others when they are defending themselves from aggression initiated from your territory.

The initial problem of all followed problems, it is the occupation of the Palestinian land and creating the biggest and longest mass refugees in the human history. This land do not belong to you, period .Keep a side all biblical myths about God promised Land ,the Land of Return and all the rest of craps for your fantasy. You occupied other’s land and want them to leave you live in peace? What a crooked logic dominate Israeli minds Creating hospitals and all others civil infrastructures, work places and everyday live facilitations are the occupant obligation and not favoritism. Refer to international occupation laws. south Lebanon army individuals are criminals, traitors and cooperators with hostile government that is in state of war with Lebanon. How do you expect to deal with them ,give them decorations for bravery .Lot of mercies were granted before for some families and members who decide to return home to Lebanon to find later they continue to cooperate and spy for Israel.

can you specify.?

The issue is not the decision to leave Lebanon. The issue is the way it was done. Ehud Barak may not be a complete fool but he sure behaved like one while he was prime minister. In his haste to destroy Israel (if he's not a fool, we have to assume that this was his intention) his unilateral and quick withdrawal from Lebanon was a signal to Hezbullah that their methods work. Israel even left them some supplies. Now as defense minister, Ehud Barak also gives them the IDF to do Hezbullah's and Hamas's jobs. Why would the terrorists ever need to make an effort as long as Barak is using Israeli forces to destroy Jewish homes and terrorize Jewish families. Why should the Arabs make any effort at all when so many Israelis like Eitan Haber - without the slightest deference to their human capacity to think - write articles like this in praise of foolish behavior. http://www.sderotisrael.com

i know it is difficult to get rid from the past but sure sometimes you must .but israil use the manuever of the past to legalize the policy of these days or to hope that she is in the right way i think that the right was not to enter lebanon from the first mainly that israil was sitting with the plo in oslo and brought it to palastine and so on so on ...i think israil did what she thought it was the right and the palastinian obliged to do what it was capable to get rid from the hole

Why don't you focus on what you want? Do you want to fight the Palestinians' battle? don't cry for help then if Israelis fight you back and do every thing they have to in order to prevent your people from killing Israelis - including occupying you land if that will prevent the terrorists from firing at our civilians. Secondly old Palestine does NOT belong to the Palestinians. Not all of it anyway. The land was scarcely populated when the Turks ruled it for 400 years and many other peoples and nations before them. There was never a Palestinians state but there was a kingdom of Israel. If you don't recognize that the jews have a right to live at least on part of this land then I have nothing else to say to you and I really don't care how much the strength of the IDF hurts you. Either you recognize Israel's right to exists on part of this land or suffer the consequences. period.

The truth is that Ariel Sharon warned Bush that going to war against Saddam would come back to bite the US on the rear end. Israel was not in favor of attacking Iraq because the Israelis recognized that Iran was the greater danger. Perhaps next time you might want to get your facts straight before you offer ill-informed opinions.

Israel has no interest in occupying Lebanon. It is not imperialist. Before your memory Lebanon was a Christian country. Your country is a puppet of Iran and it's ALL about Islam. Islamic brainwashing, demonzation of your Israeli neighbors and belligerence by your lawless factions will end up with the destruction of Lebanon.

#18 Sami. I'd be glad to specify what Israel's abandoned lands include: all of Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and our security zone in South Lebanon. These are all places Israel should never have left and should retake as soon as possible.

and the last Saudi peace plan(supported by all 22 arabs countries ) at Beirut summit agreed on 1967 border ,but Israel rejected and continues its policy of land stealing and settlements game .I am afraid the time is at the side of peace supporters fro m both sides.Isreali want peace and land together and this not gonna happen.

full answer for you . 1-Israel always dreamed and continue dreaming of having south Lebanon land till Litany River as their border to solve the water shortage. 2-The rise of radical Islam in Lebanon and the rest of Arab word is the result of the ongoing unfair and unjust conflict for years so far in the Middle East. My memory and the history tell that in the 50 and 60 of the 20 century in the Arab world the pan Arabism and left ideology were in the rise in the Arab world not the Islamic fundamentalists as you think .Go back and read old news papers. Lebanon has never been a fully Christian country.

First of all, it's good to hear that you're talking about 2 states solution and not the destruction of Israel. However, to say that the Arabs agreed to a settlement and it was the Israelis who refused is untrue. Don't forget that the PLO only recognized Israel's right to exist in the 1990s(!). Before that they rejected any suggestions by the Israelis to reach any agreement. They refused it just after the 1967 war when there was not a single settlement in the territories, and of course before that (they started the wars before 1967 when they had all the now disputed territories in their hands, including east Jerusalem under Jordan control), and including the rejection of the 1948 UN resolution to divide British Palestine to 2 states - Jewish and Arab. But let's not talk ancient past. The fact is that during the Oslo accords there was real hope in Israel that finally a new chapter has begun. However, the wave of deadly terrorist attacks from the Palestinian side just when it seemed that things were moving forward made many Israelis feel that we cannot strike a deal with the Palestinians. There's a fierce opposition within the Palestinian society to any deal with Israel, and what we do is give back territories when instead of security and peace we get even more deadly terror. The Palestinians don't speak in one voice for peace and the pro peace part of their society cannot or don't want to control the violence of the many Palestinians who object to any compromise. The pro peace Palestinians need to fight their extremists if there's any chance to make peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

Right, Lebanon was not fully Christian, but much more diversity existed back then. Monolithic cultures are monolithic for a reason - oppressive elements and force. To blame the Israel-Arab conflict completely for the rise of extremism in the Islamic world seems oversimplistic. That being said, there has been conflict between the West and Islam ever since 732AD. Multilayered and mindbogglingly complex but mostly religious xenophobia, Islam's mandate really - after all it means "surrender". Do you know of any sources that show evidence that it's Israel's intention to control the water resources of the Litani area?

you can read what it was in 762adbut sure sami in lebanon knows better what it is in lebanon than dallas in canada

how??? lol