From the Israeli Side of the Border
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Israel occupied Southern Lebanon for 18 years, it was Israel’s Vietnam… It is commonly regarded as a huge mistake, and it’s still a very raw scar. Nobody wants our soldiers back in Lebanon.
Lisa Goldman

Capturing where a rocket landed in Stella Maris in Haifa [Uri Sabach / Flickr]
After talking about the Lebanese, Iranian, and U.S. pieces of an increasingly bloody puzzle last night, and with if no let-up in the fighting but perhaps a first glimmer of a possible cease-fire, we’re turning our attention southward, to Israel, tonight.
We’re asking: What are Israel’s goals at this point? Have they changed in the last week — and if so, have they widened… or narrowed? Is the continued bombing of Lebanon increasing or decreasing Israel’s options? How is Israel’s relationship with Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the midst of this new (old) conflict? And what about Israeli citizens? Are they feeling more hawkish, more dove-ish, or just fatalistic?
Policy and International Director, The Geneva Initiative, Member of the official Israel negotiating team at the Oslo B and Taba talks, Contributor, Ha'aretz
Journalist and blogger
Yuval Azoulay, Amos Harel and Yoav Stern
Haaretz, July 18, 2006