Israel at it again
A typically belligerent Israel is pulling out all the stops to inflict damage on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The international community, not for the first time, looks helpless to stop the no-holds-barred offensive that has killed hundreds of Lebanese people in a matter of days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will address the UN General Assembly in New York today, has told his army to fight on. He has no qualms about creating a mess that he can’t or won’t clean up. Brimming with overconfidence, Israel feels that it can handle two Iran-backed militant groups — Hezbollah and Hamas — at the same time, like a master juggler. It’s another matter that Hamas has proved too hot to handle for Netanyahu since the October 7, 2023, terror attacks.
The West lacks the guts to question Israel’s sledgehammer tactics, but it is desperate to avoid the ignominy of being labelled a mere spectator. The US, France and other allies jointly called for an ‘immediate’ 21-day ceasefire to allow for negotiations. US President Joe Biden was naïve enough to suggest that getting Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a ceasefire could help achieve a cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Does he really believe that this was a ‘buy one, get one free’ scheme of sorts? Defying its close ally, Israel was quick to burst Biden’s bubble of hope by rejecting the truce proposal.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has tried to show the mirror to the powerful but deeply fractured Security Council, lambasting it for its failure to end wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond. Lebanon has been added to this blood-soaked list, but the UN body — tasked with ensuring international peace and security — couldn’t care less. Expecting Israel to voluntarily take its foot off the pedal is akin to waiting for the leopard to change its spots. The world must realise that giving Israel carte blanche is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
