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Last update - 00:00 14/07/2006
Time out in the fighting
By Haaretz Editorial

Defense Minister Amir Peretz said yesterday that Israel will not allow Hezbollah to man positions close to Israel's border. This criterion is justified and logical, and it should be set as a goal for the current operation in Lebanon.

Israel cannot and should not come to terms with a blatant violation of its sovereignty, along either the Lebanese or the Gaza borders. The launching of Qassam and Katyusha rockets at Israeli citizens in Sderot and the Galilee is unacceptable; the sole question is, what is the best way of stopping them.

After the government has authorized the Israel Defense Forces to use massive force and marked dozens of targets for attack in Lebanon - the Beirut airport being only the first, according to Interior Minister Roni Bar-On; after Lebanon has been placed under siege from land, sea and air, and after dozens of civilians have been killed, it would not be a sign of weakness for Israel to declare a time-out in its military assault in order to allow the Lebanese to reach their own conclusions.
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If the aim is really to drive the Hezbollah forces from the border, it is possible that an agreement on this issue can already be reached by the relevant parties. A time-out in the military operation, accompanied by the threat of continued action, could produce immediate results, before civilians on both sides of the border pay the price of escalation.

The operation in Lebanon must have a limited goal, and it should not aspire to alter the reality there and deter the enemy "once and for all," as Bar-On said - whether that enemy is Hezbollah, Iran, Syria or Hamas. It is easy to draw up exaggerated aims and spew statements filled with arrogance and valor, but once things have been said, it is very difficult to take a step back to more moderate and reasonable positions.

The army failed both at Kerem Shalom and on the northern border. Hamas' ability to dig a long tunnel and surprise an IDF outpost on alert, and Hezbollah's ability to surprise a patrol along the northern border two weeks later, should not spur a disproportionate operation that is meant to restore the army's prestige. The IDF must first learn its lessons at the unit and command levels, chastise itself for being overly complacent, and ensure that such failures, which have the potential to fundamentally alter the situation through possible escalation, do not recur.

Professor Eyal Zisser, an expert on the Middle East at Tel Aviv University, said yesterday that Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah is a reasonable man who can make a deal and stick to it, and that it is possible even at this early stage to ask that his forces withdraw from the northern border in exchange for a cessation of the military operation. Those in charge of assessments for the IDF, who misled the government into thinking that Hezbollah would not act against Israel after a soldier was abducted to the Gaza Strip, may think otherwise - but there is no guarantee that they are right.

Israel has a very powerful military, and everyone in the region understands this. But even when there are grounds for employing force, the military's full power should not be used, no matter how justified the action may be. If it is possible to achieve our security goals through diplomacy, a temporary cease-fire should be declared - and hopefully, these aims can be achieved without inflaming the entire region.
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  1.   No - Time for fighting 13:36  |  JP 14/07/06
  2.   Not a bad solution.. 13:43  |  Hastaroth 14/07/06
  3.   Allow me to quote W. Churchill 14:41  |  Amos Magram 14/07/06
  4.   Time out-for who? 14:49  |  CONFUSED ISRAELI 14/07/06
  5.   Limited force? 14:58  |  Maurice 14/07/06
  6.   Tine out 15:43  |  colman klein 14/07/06
  7.   What?? Are you kidding? 15:50  |  G 14/07/06
  8.   why? to please idiots and their useless analysis 15:55  |  ralph 14/07/06
  9.   Israel must exhibit morality even in war 15:55  |  Hastaroth 14/07/06
  10.   Counter-Revolution in Lebanon and Syria 16:02  |  Bloomfield 14/07/06
  11.   Useless Idiots at HA HA ARETZ 16:14  |  Gabe1 14/07/06
  12.   Time Out 16:19  |  Norman Birnbaum 14/07/06
  13.   #11 Useless idiot - reliving history, again and again 16:45  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  14.   Thank you #12 and 13 (and Haaretz) 17:02  |  Joshua 14/07/06
  15.   Full might? 17:22  |  Roi 14/07/06
  16.   strategy and fanatism 17:26  |  leon 14/07/06
  17.   Haaretz is ignoring reality - as is Olmert 17:38  |  Mark Lincoln 14/07/06
  18.   Dumb editorial 17:40  |  Gilbert 14/07/06
  19.   #13 Bruce on idiots 17:41  |  peter 14/07/06
  20.   Leon 17:51  |  Joshua 14/07/06
  21.   NO - Israel MUST use its full strength 17:53  |  pace306 14/07/06
  22.   Some thoughts... 18:04  |  bat yam 14/07/06
  23.   #4 - Let personal experience speak 18:12  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  24.   Haaretz: please, please dont hurt Hezbollah! 18:29  |  Alon 14/07/06
  25.   #19 we`re where we r 2day... 18:37  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  26.   #11 Gabe - you forget Haaretz is an ARAB newspaper 18:38  |  pace306 14/07/06
  27.   #19 Peter re: deja vu all over again 18:46  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  28.   What gets me is this quoted "expert" 18:48  |  sk 14/07/06
  29.   How many Israelis must die? 18:54  |  Sidney 14/07/06
  30.   Ha`Aretz and Mark Lincoln, Graduates of Maven U. 18:59  |  Jacob Blues 14/07/06
  31.   Half A Deterrant Is No Deterrent At All 19:07  |  Yoram 14/07/06
  32.   Israali threats and violence 19:07  |  Froofroo 14/07/06
  33.   # 23 Bruce, same post 19:07  |  Sidney 14/07/06
  34.   #23 Bruce 19:08  |  Sidney 14/07/06
  35.   Half A Deterrent Is No Deterrent At All 19:09  |  Yoram 14/07/06
  36.   Time out in the Fighting 19:10  |  Rabbi Shael Siegel 14/07/06
  37.   #25 Bruce madness and where we are today 19:14  |  peter 14/07/06
  38.   Coordinated attacks 19:19  |  Eliezer Moses 14/07/06
  39.   Haaretz`s founding father 19:32  |  Sidney 14/07/06
  40.   think hard 19:37  |  mike 14/07/06
  41.   #28/29 - a story to spread peace 19:39  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  42.   Perhaps not a timeout, but a deadline 19:47  |  DJStahl 14/07/06
  43.   A deterrent which fails. . . 19:49  |  Mark Lincoln 14/07/06
  44.   #33 I understand ur point also let`s annihilate and obliterate 19:52  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  45.   17 Mark Lincoln: Ignoring reality 19:52  |  VK 14/07/06
  46.   If Ever There Was a Time for Overwhelming Power It Is Now 20:23  |  Jane 14/07/06
  47.   the path to freedom lies through Damascus 20:29  |  Jordan 14/07/06
  48.   killing innocents 20:54  |  american 14/07/06
  49.   Dirty politics 21:05  |  ashamed European 14/07/06
  50.   Haaretz editorial should read history from 21:12  |  Sal 14/07/06
  51.   C`mmon, of course, Israel is not intending tu use full might 21:15  |  Shlomo from Tel Aviv 14/07/06
  52.   #40 - no, no, thats just collateral damage (sic) 21:16  |  Bruce 14/07/06
  53.   Nasrallah reosnable??? 21:30  |  AJ 14/07/06
  54.   Nasrallah reosnable??? 21:31  |  AJ 14/07/06
  55.   BRUCE #13 21:34  |  GABE1 14/07/06
  56.   Your Editorial 21:39  |  Richard N Weltz 14/07/06
  57.   # 13 "Look were they are today..?" 21:43  |  Max Zinger 14/07/06
  58.   17 Mark Lincoln - Flawed Reasoning 21:52  |  Dr. Dan 14/07/06
  59.   no way back 23:53  |  brian 14/07/06
  60.   no way back 23:53  |  brian 14/07/06
  61.   The Golan 01:26  |  melchizedek 15/07/06
  62.   What is a reasonable man? 01:37  |  Curious 15/07/06
  63.   Time to take the initiative by the horns 01:43  |  Pierre 15/07/06
  64.   Enough is Enough 02:43  |  Polish Falcon 15/07/06
  65.   The worlds views on `barbaric` Israel 03:21  |  Meir Taitz 15/07/06
  66.   Israel is a paper tiger 03:36  |  Amin Nusseibeh 15/07/06
  67.   WHY NOT LISTEN TO TONY BLAIR? 04:03  |  Smadar 15/07/06
  68.   war is never the answer 04:49  |  jay 15/07/06
  69.   "Revolutionary" Thought 04:51  |  CHGODMK 15/07/06
  70.   Good idea for now 04:51  |  Nechama 15/07/06
  71.   Israel MUST Use Full Force 05:04  |  CHGODMK 15/07/06
  72.   Time to move Israel to Texas. 05:13  |  julia 15/07/06
  73.   Haaretz and Israel 05:13  |  Adam Helberg 15/07/06
  74.   Time to quit dancing around the issue 05:19  |  Delbert Frosh 15/07/06
  75.   Time Out 05:39  |  Benjamin Rouse 15/07/06
  76.   CRIMINALS 05:50  |  Gabe1 15/07/06
  77.   Pain 06:04  |  Andy 15/07/06
  78.   Want to Shorten the War? 06:14  |  Zoog 15/07/06
  79.   A lot of people from outside Isreal 06:19  |  Joey 15/07/06
  80.   Naiv 06:37  |  Yan 15/07/06
  81.   CARROT VS. STICK DIPLOMACY 06:55  |  P. E. 15/07/06
  82.   IRAN 06:56  |  Pat 15/07/06
  83.   TEHERAN 06:58  |  Rachel 15/07/06
  84.   THE MASKS ARE OFF NOW 06:59  |  p. e. 15/07/06
  85.   GET TOUGH OR GET OUT 07:01  |  ran 15/07/06
  86.   OLD ARAB `SAYING` SAYS IT ALL! 07:04  |  r. e. 15/07/06
  87.   But Iran is calling all the shots 07:13  |  B`Galil 15/07/06
  88.   Sorry, Israel 07:52  |  Ray 15/07/06
  89.   The never ending war 08:21  |  Brinson 15/07/06
  90.   58 & 59: Ray and Joey 08:28  |  fishface 15/07/06
  91.   Israel is losing on all fronts 09:34  |  Leon Rosgarten 15/07/06
  92.   Hastaroth #9 is right 10:06  |  sg 15/07/06
  93.   Will the sharks eat you for lunch or dinner ?? 10:19  |  Klaudia 15/07/06
  94.   scared rats never win 10:39  |  elia eliaho 15/07/06
  95.   Israel is playing God 10:44  |  kastner 15/07/06
  96.   End game, not time out 11:05  |  Trevor 15/07/06
  97.   Reasonable man? 11:12  |  Trevor 15/07/06
  98.   Time out is a waste of time 11:18  |  Richard 15/07/06
  99.   time-out in fighting. 11:45  |  hiram 15/07/06
  100.   wisdom takes a back seart 11:56  |  ravi 15/07/06
  101.   Our destiny in hands of extremists 12:34  |  Axel 15/07/06
  102.   time out why & when? 12:41  |  samuel pacha 15/07/06
  103.   USE ALL THE FORCE NOW... 12:42  |  DAVID 15/07/06
  104.   PTSD 13:01  |  selwyn 15/07/06
  105.   84.kastner 13:16  |  KUTW 15/07/06
  106.   60 CHGODMK: Israel MUST Use Full Force 13:19  |  KUTW 15/07/06
  107.   61julia: Israel must stay where it is 13:22  |  KUTW 15/07/06
  108.   TIME OUT FOR TEA 13:24  |  luke 15/07/06
  109.   julia:you`re occupying others` land 13:24  |  KUTW 15/07/06
  110.   consilio et animis 13:33  |  Robin 15/07/06
  111.   have you triesd this at home? 13:37  |  Oleg 15/07/06
  112.   #84 I didnt know Israel had friends in the world? 13:48  |  Oleg 15/07/06
  113.   Israel MUST defeat both Hamas and Hizbullah! 14:01  |  Nechama 15/07/06
  114.   KUTW: #94 14:01  |  CHGODMK 15/07/06
  115.   #9 Please... stop worrying about world opinion 14:13  |  Oleg 15/07/06
  116.   Churchil`s Golden Rule 14:13  |  Nasruallah 15/07/06
  117.   Amin Nusseibeh #55 The Arab World and Unity? 14:35  |  Ezreal 15/07/06
  118.   Smadar #58 15:27  |  Gabe1 15/07/06
  119.   TOTALLY SELF RESTRAINED 15:39  |  Amdid 15/07/06
  120.   109 pull your head up from the sand 15:45  |  Allafuks 15/07/06
  121.   World `leaders` pathetic 15:46  |  Meir Taitz 15/07/06
  122.   Arab unity? don`t make me laugh 15:54  |  Arab unity 15/07/06
  123.   Professor go back to school 16:05  |  Lek Tuera 15/07/06
  124.   REASON FROM AFAR ALSO OUR OBLIGATION 16:08  |  Smadar 15/07/06
  125.   France supports Lebanon 16:17  |  christa 15/07/06
  126.   Amdid - damascus 16:23  |  Meir Taitz 15/07/06
  127.   soccer 16:26  |  mohamed 15/07/06
  128.   To KUTW 16:31  |  christa 15/07/06
  129.   What`s next ? 16:33  |  christa 15/07/06
  130.   Yes, Churchill Was Right 16:34  |  CHGODMK 15/07/06
  131.   to David in Toronto 16:39  |  Willem 15/07/06
  132.   typical bankrupt stupid dangerous understanding 16:54  |  ralph 15/07/06
  133.   Shame on Haaretz 17:03  |  AJ 15/07/06
  134.   Arab Unity? 17:30  |  Mark Lincoln 15/07/06
  135.   To Number 1 comment, Totally Self Restrained 17:40  |  Zyneb 15/07/06
  136.   Please stop worrying about world opinion 17:43  |  Genie 15/07/06
  137.   War is the answer when negotiantions fail 18:23  |  Michael 15/07/06
  138.   Israel`s logic stood on its head 18:26  |  Ben Gurion 15/07/06
  139.   to # 1 Amdid 18:32  |  tal 15/07/06
  140.   Limiting operations in Lebanon 18:34  |  David 15/07/06
  141.   Bruce from Amsterdam 18:40  |  Miranda 15/07/06
  142.   # Well Said Julia from The PenaL Colony also known as Australia 18:48  |  Max Zinger 15/07/06
  143.   Time out for tea 18:52  |  s 15/07/06
  144.   End times... 18:54  |  Ari Vera 15/07/06
  145.   Bruce 18:55  |  Angela 15/07/06
  146.   War is Raw 18:55  |  mark 15/07/06
  147.   Time out for tea 18:56  |  sandra k. griffis 15/07/06
  148.   to: What are you kidding? 19:02  |  sandra k. griffis 15/07/06
  149.   WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? 19:03  |  Lion of Judah 15/07/06
  150.   Churchhills Golden Rule 19:09  |  sandra k. griffis 15/07/06
  151.   Side EFfect 19:39  |  Baba 15/07/06
  152.   Destroy Hezbollah 19:42  |  JN 15/07/06
  153.   Reply to Meir Taitz 19:52  |  Ali 15/07/06
  154.   Punishing the Innocent 19:57  |  Sam 15/07/06
  155.   time out"moderate and reasonable" 19:59  |  MichaelGorinsky 15/07/06
  156.   RE#113 20:02  |  jeff 15/07/06
  157.   NO.7, Christa - nonsense 20:03  |  Genie 15/07/06
  158.   One Israel 20:03  |  Musa 15/07/06
  159.   Time out in the fighting 20:07  |  Robert Gould 15/07/06
  160.   #127, wait what about breakfast? 20:09  |  matt 15/07/06
  161.   Time out in the fighting 20:09  |  Carol 15/07/06
  162.   No.3 Meir 20:19  |  Genie 15/07/06
  163.   "France supports Lebanon" 20:22  |  Florida J 15/07/06
  164.   Restraint 20:29  |  Jon 15/07/06
  165.   No. 147 Nechama 20:31  |  Genie 15/07/06
  166.   iran is waging war 20:52  |  mike 15/07/06
  167.   GO IDF 20:53  |  Michael Gorinsky 15/07/06
  168.   ravi of chandigarh confesses 21:21  |  zadok the priest 15/07/06
  169.   #165 RE: Churchill`s Golden Rule 21:27  |  Dutch 15/07/06
  170.   Churchil`s Golden Rule 21:29  |  Bruce 15/07/06
  171.   Censorship 22:10  |  Genie 15/07/06
  172.   Finish the job 22:15  |  Wendy 15/07/06
  173.   nature of the PA 22:20  |  Lisa 15/07/06
  174.   163CHGODMK 22:21  |  KUTW 15/07/06
  175.   Sauce for the goose? 22:31  |  Veritas 15/07/06
  176.   strong military, weak diplomats 23:00  |  Charles 15/07/06
  177.   Ignorance 23:09  |  MH 15/07/06
  178.   #125 smadar THE LAST PERSON IN THE WORLD TO LISTEN TO 23:21  |  paul harris NO 26 15/07/06
  179.   ** Fran e supports Lebanon ** 23:25  |  R 15/07/06
  180.   Time out in the fighting 23:36  |  Hyman Peskin 15/07/06
  181.   Where is the government? 23:42  |  Bruno 15/07/06
  182.   nasralah a reasonable man? 00:10  |  paulo2006 16/07/06
  183.   Excelent article, I completely agree 00:22  |  Fran 16/07/06
  184.   allafuks ironically isn`t that Jewish history 00:27  |  William 16/07/06
  185.   To Joseph Peet 00:41  |  Fran 16/07/06
  186.   Recent editorials by "Haaretz editorial" seem so out of touch. 00:52  |  AV 16/07/06
  187.   SL Wilder 00:57  |  With all due respect 16/07/06
  188.   When Lebanon allows terrorist organizations, all Lebanon suffers. 01:02  |  AV 16/07/06
  189.   Haaretz editor should learn military strategy 01:50  |  Michael 16/07/06
  190.   #31 you forget something 03:02  |  Gentle 16/07/06
  191.   Lebanon 03:07  |  Jean-Pierre Sargolog 16/07/06
  192.   # 1 Amdid. LATE HOUR TO READ YOUR RESPONSE.BUT,,,,,,,,,, 03:48  |  S 16/07/06
  193.   Surprised American 03:55  |  Joel 16/07/06
  194.   Zisser is wrong. 04:35  |  BP Diplomacy 16/07/06
  195.   Israel 04:43  |  Vic 16/07/06
  196.   Israel`s agression 04:52  |  YG 16/07/06
  197.   Facts 04:53  |  eileen 16/07/06
  198.   THE IRON FIST 05:14  |  p. i. 16/07/06
  199.   Why is military victory not IDF`s goal? 05:25  |  J. Juda 16/07/06
  200.   no matter where you 05:33  |  termite 16/07/06
  201.   time out in the fighting 05:35  |  alex zapolanski 16/07/06
  202.   There is a reason for 05:49  |  termite 16/07/06
  203.   Only a peaceful arab response can determine Israels actions 05:50  |  Dr David Grosss 16/07/06
  204.   GO ISRAEL! 06:34  |  Gina 16/07/06
  205.   War & peace 07:04  |  Paul 16/07/06
  206.   a real chance to control events 08:32  |  rene 16/07/06
  207.   Time out in the fighting 08:44  |  Haron 16/07/06
  208.   The goal 09:08  |  Haron 16/07/06
  209.   Axel (Post No. 191) 09:53  |  Johnny Weintraub 16/07/06
  210.   God involved? 10:36  |  Leena 16/07/06
  211.   The future 10:36  |  Peter 16/07/06
  212.   Response to Christa 10:41  |  Shayna Abramson 16/07/06
  213.   it is now time TO USE ALL WEAPONS IN ISRAELS ARMOURY ON LAUNCHI S 10:52  |  paul harris NO 26 16/07/06
  214.   There you have it! 11:28  |  Pedro 16/07/06
  215.   Israeli `aggression` 14:25  |  Meir Taitz 16/07/06
  216.   "Time is out" 18:52  |  Sylvia 16/07/06
  217.   Re: Kerry 01:40  |  Tucson 17/07/06
  218.   Re: French 01:48  |  Tucson 17/07/06
  219.   Scared!?! 07:55  |  Benjamin Rouse 01/08/06
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