Two Front War

Well, it looks like Israel’s at war again. The cross-border incursions first by the Hamas government in the Palestine Authority and today by the Hizbollah faction of the Lebanese government today resulting in the death and kidnapping of Israeli soldiers on Israeli soil have escalated the situation to what is, in effect an open war.

Residents in northern Israel are now sleeping in bomb shelters and Haifa is bracing for possible missile attacks from Lebanon.

Yedioth Ahronoth the leading independent newspaper in Israel and typically a voice of moderation is running a “Two Front War” banner on their YNetNews website.

The Israeli Consul for Public Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York issued the following statement:

Events on the Northern Border – Update

This morning, July 12th, Hizbollah began firing missiles and mortars towards northern towns in Israel as a part of a combined action which also resulted in an attack on an IDF Unit that was patrolling Northern Israel. Two Israeli soldiers were kidnapped. In the course of the operation to rescue the soldiers, an IDF tank was hit resulting in the death and injury of several IDF troops.

In response, Israel has launched a retaliatory military operation aimed against Hizbollah infrastructure and targets in the Western portion of Southern Lebanon.

Here are some important facts:

1. Israel was attacked by Lebanon today.
2. Hizbollah is a terror organization which is part of the Lebanese government.
3. The international community including the Security Council has repeatedly demanded of the Lebanese government that it disarm the Hizbollah organization. Lebanon has not done that. Today’s events are the result of that.
4. Israel sees the Lebanese government as responsible for the unprovoked aggression against Israel.
5. Within the Middle East there is an axis of terror and hate created by Iran, Syria, Hizbollah and Hamas, whose shared goal is the elimination of any hope of peace in the region. The international community must not remain silent.
6. In present circumstances, Israel has no choice but to act in order to protect itself and its citizens. Israel will act against the terrorist elements within the region so that the hope for peace will not be abandoned.