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Israel should pack up and go
By Nadim Shehadi

What is the logic that will emerge from this war? If Israel can exist only by destroying the neighborhood, then it's time to declare it a failed state. The Zionist dream has turned into a nightmare and is not viable. If the future holds more of the same, then the time has come to reconsider the whole project. Every state has a duty to defend its citizens, but also it has a duty to provide them with security and the two are different. The prospects are for more destruction, fanaticism, violence and hatred. No unilateral separation can isolate Israel from this, nor can the region or the world live with the consequences. This seems to be the only choice, and Israel must do itself and others a favor and go away.

The occupation of the West Bank and Gaza shows a country deprived of all humanity. The West Bank is unliveable, the population strangled into three prison clusters. Concrete barriers, barbed wires, bypass roads, human beings emerging like rats from underground tunnels, daily humiliation from hundreds of checkpoints. Gaza has been under siege since the population dared to elect Hamas, its infrastructure has been obliterated and its population has been driven to despair in what now seems like a dress rehearsal for what was to come in Lebanon.

Lebanon woke up on July 12 to a reality that can destroy the very fabric of society. Divided between those who believe in a "riviera" with consensus politics, power sharing and a weak state, and those who, like Hezbollah, see the necessity of having a fortress to resist an evil and dangerous enemy. Israel's behavior will see the logic of the latter prevail.
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Yet the Lebanese system is resilient. PM Fouad Siniora, under the bombs, was able to extract a consensus for a seven-point plan where the victorious fortress accepted to go back to the political process to resolve the crisis. Lebanon still managed to challenge the U.S. and Israel through sheer persistence, and in a diplomatic tour de force it was successful in steering the UN Security Council toward a political rather than military solution. For the first time, Arab foreign ministers have been mobilized and actively lobbied international legality.

There is deliberate targeting of civilians: Israel can deny it, but at the very least, those Israelis who are doing it know it is true. Over 17,000 people were killed in the invasion of 1982, and the net result was the creation of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad. There is a doctrine that says Arabs need to be crushed, that they can be bombed into submission, that they will eventually fall on their knees. It is the doctrine, not its application, that is flawed. It says that by terrorizing the population, they will respect us and make peace; it says that those who dare resist need to be eradicated through targeted assassination and their supporters annihilated no matter what the cost. The only lessons Israel learned is that it should do it better next time.

Three Arab countries have peace treaties or diplomatic relations with Israel, most of the Gulf states have or had commercial bureaus, Saudi Arabia came up with the King Abdallah plan offering Israel normalization - something that was not achieved in nearly 30 years of peace with Egypt. Tunisia and Morocco have excellent relations with Israel. Even rogues like Syria and Libya give out positive vibes - the former desperate to resume peace talks unconditionally. The region has a history of tolerance and coexistence; minorities, including Jews, have survived and prospered for centuries. Israel is blind to any positive developments, and this will soon make these positions and those who hold them disappear, their stance untenable.

Lebanon can reconstruct airports, roads, bridges, and factories; bury and mourn the dead, rebuild shattered lives. Israel has barely been there for 60 years, a millisecond in history, but enough time to judge the results. If the fundamental moral logic is flawed, then it is time to give up, pack up and go.

The writer, a Lebanese economist, is an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Program at Chatham House.
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  1.   Maybe Israel isn`t the failure 10:23  |  sg 15/08/06
  2.   There is a failed state called Hezbollastan 10:25  |  Andrew 15/08/06
  3.   Wait for the deafening silence!!! 10:25  |  John 15/08/06
  4.   nadim lives on the moon 10:27  |  paul 15/08/06
  5.   Israel cannot and could not have existed without war crimes 10:45  |  Sami 15/08/06
  6.   Israel should pack up and go 10:50  |  Johan Depoorter 15/08/06
  7.   Jewish people that will fight 10:58  |  Ben Uziel 15/08/06
  8.   Go where?! 10:58  |  Barak 15/08/06
  9.   Lessons for all 11:01  |  Natallie Durson 15/08/06
  10.   re#3 11:03  |  david 15/08/06
  11.   At last, a sane view. 11:13  |  Brigitte Meier 15/08/06
  12.   dream of a zionist 11:14  |  david 15/08/06
  13.   Somwhere, somehow Israel has to win Arab hearts and minds 11:16  |  Michael 15/08/06
  14.   Yes, Correct 11:16  |  Mosiach 15/08/06
  15.   Johan Deepoorter 11:18  |  Niall 15/08/06
  16.   Time for Lebanon to pack up 11:24  |  smart observer 15/08/06
  17.   #7 transfered for 2 thousand years 11:24  |  confused 15/08/06
  18.   perhaps Lebanon should pack up and go? 11:25  |  Avi 15/08/06
  19.   Nadim and a raped woman 11:27  |  Curious 15/08/06
  20.   An interresting questioned idea 11:30  |  wael 15/08/06
  21.   #7 - I think the state not the people should go 11:31  |  Simon David 15/08/06
  22.   and then what? 11:34  |  Albert Fischer 15/08/06
  23.   how sick 11:36  |  dora 15/08/06
  24.   7 11:38  |  David 15/08/06
  25.   Answer to Niall 11:45  |  Johan Depoorter 15/08/06
  26.   When will Lebanese admit responsibility? 11:47  |  DJStahl 15/08/06
  27.   Nadim Shehadi:Hezbollah should pack and go 11:50  |  Lawrence 15/08/06
  28.   Israel should pack up and leave 11:53  |  David 15/08/06
  29.   taboo subject 11:58  |  Efraim 15/08/06
  30.   Contradictory views 12:01  |  Jack 15/08/06
  31.   Israel must go 12:02  |  Affan 15/08/06
  32.   Israel to packup & go not in too distant future 12:02  |  Abbas 15/08/06
  33.   blasphemy 12:03  |  shari 15/08/06
  34.   To Confused 12:03  |  Josh 15/08/06
  35.   « existence » and « deterrence » in a Zionist mind 12:05  |  iga 15/08/06
  36.   questions and comments 12:09  |  SERKAN KELEŞ 15/08/06
  37.   Pack Up and Go 12:11  |  George 15/08/06
  38.   This article is the reason why Israel MUST exist 12:12  |  Jeroen de Jager 15/08/06
  39.   go where? 12:13  |  andres 15/08/06
  40.   Was the Iraq VS.Iran war Israel`s fault or the Gulf wars? 12:24  |  Susannna?Shoshannah 15/08/06
  41.   Would the World Accept an Exchange? 12:29  |  Aaron Xinman 15/08/06
  42.   I once bought a horse 12:32  |  Henry Jones 15/08/06
  43.   SOLUTION: Israel MUST Make Peace With Its Neighbors! 12:36  |  Proud Pal Defender 15/08/06
  44.   Israel 12:48  |  Naim S. Mahlab 15/08/06
  45.   Alternative Location for Israel 12:51  |  Nico Mavelli 15/08/06
  46.   Depoorter - it`s not so easy 12:54  |  Jeroen de Jager 15/08/06
  47.   to andres 12:56  |  ali 15/08/06
  48.   Here We Have It In A Nutshell 12:57  |  Jane 15/08/06
  49.   The Arab occupiers should go back to Arabia! 13:00  |  Palestiniansareamyth 15/08/06
  50.   a reason for reading Haaretz 13:17  |  Patrick 15/08/06
  51.   Living on Fantasy Island 13:19  |  Mark Lincoln 15/08/06
  52.   Mr Shehadi 13:20  |  Fox Mulder 15/08/06
  53.   ONLY ONE EXPRESSION 13:24  |  Mohamed 15/08/06
  54.   Dear Nadim 13:24  |  Jeff 15/08/06
  55.   to mr shehadi 13:27  |  igal 15/08/06
  56.   WRONG TITLE 13:32  |  NeutralObserver 15/08/06
  57.   Israeli army is so good against civilians 13:33  |  Pal 15/08/06
  58.   One more Chance for a JUST Peace 13:44  |  Simon 15/08/06
  59.   Jews lived peacefully under Arab rule 13:44  |  Zyriab 15/08/06
  60.   Hail Nadim 13:49  |  Stephanie 15/08/06
  61.   Unfortunately same way of France`s Algeria 13:52  |  Pal 15/08/06
  62.   Remly to Mr. de Jager 13:58  |  Johan Depoorter 15/08/06
  63.   The millesecond that is applicable 13:59  |  bobby 15/08/06
  64.   U got the title all wrong!! 13:59  |  BouSameer 15/08/06
  65.   Chatham House - a hotbed of anti-Israel and anti-US agitators 14:05  |  Dan 15/08/06
  66.   Chatham ignoramus 14:05  |  Jonathan 15/08/06
  67.   To Haaretz editor 14:08  |  Dr Steinbaum 15/08/06
  68.   What a disgrace for Academia!! 14:12  |  Bohbot 15/08/06
  69.   who are the indigenous people in the ME 14:16  |  Efraim 15/08/06
  70.   israel should pack up and go 14:25  |  shmulik 15/08/06
  71.   Lebanon is failed state Ruled by Hezbollah 14:28  |  Rafi 15/08/06
  72.   Time to pack up and go 14:29  |  Mohan 15/08/06
  73.   USING Shehadis logic,most of the terror on earth is from Moslems 14:32  |  PETER SM 15/08/06
  74.   Nadim Shehadi IS ANT-SeMITE 14:32  |  Shamron 15/08/06
  75.   haaretz allows al jazeera writers now? 14:35  |  SHIMON 15/08/06
  76.   Haaretz: Voice of Israel`s Enemies 14:45  |  Alex 15/08/06
  77.   To Haaretz Editor 14:47  |  Charlotte 15/08/06
  78.   GREAT ARTICLE! Israeli`s need to learn to co-exist 14:48  |  Mary 15/08/06
  79.   Israel should pack up and go 14:54  |  Rosenstein 15/08/06
  80.   no use of talking to deaf 14:54  |  arab 15/08/06
  81.   Despicable `Haaretz` prints call for destruction of Israel 14:55  |  Shalom Freedman 15/08/06
  82.   Right to national self-determination 14:58  |  Nadav 15/08/06
  83.