Tel-Chai Nation

Ehud Olmert's once again been trying to avoid doing justice in Lebanon, and I think that the time has come already for him to be ousted. First, it's important to view the following:

The draft ceasefire plan agreed to by the United States and France may result in an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, but it will not disarm Hizbullah.

It appears that United Nations efforts are concentrating on halting Israeli military operations throughout Lebanon, but no effort is being made to eliminate the Hizbullah threat. The draft agreement only calls for pushing Hizbullah north of the Litani, not far enough from Israel’s northern border to place Hizbullah rockets out of range from northern Israeli civilian population centers.

While the draft agreement supports UN Resolution 1559, demanding Hizbullah be disarmed by the Lebanese government, it does not make this a precondition to the implementation of the ceasefire.

Now with this in mind, I'd say that this should also point out that the US government, as well as France's, is running the risk of betraying Israel, not to mention obstructing justice. The Likud has also voiced objections, and I might also note the rockets that are still being fired at Israeli targets.

Let's also note that 97% of Muslims in Yesha support the Hezbollah, and that the kidnapped IDF soldiers, including Gilad Shalit, have not been rescued yet.

Update: some important info has just emerged. Yes, Olmert is facing a well-deserved backlash for his hesitation:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faced a backlash on Friday over a U.N. proposal to end the war in Lebanon, with army officers saying they were held back and right-wing rivals calling for new elections.

"Olmert must go," read a front page headline in Israel's left-leaning Haaretz newspaper.

Opinion polls, conducted before details of the proposed Security Council resolution emerged, showed public support eroding for Olmert, a career politician who lacks the combat credentials of many of his predecessors.

Twenty percent of those surveyed by Haaretz believed Israel was winning the war.

Leading members of the right-wing opposition Likud party called the resolution a victory for Hizbollah.

"We will work to bring down the government," said Likud's Silvan Shalom. Yuval Steinitz, also of Likud, said the Israeli government should resign and call new elections.

Some Israeli military commanders said an expanded ground offensive, authorized by Olmert and his security cabinet on Wednesday, should not have been put on hold.

They accused Olmert of denying the army a chance to gain more ground militarily to secure a ceasefire that would be more favorable to Israel and less so to Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Army officers said Israeli troops massed along the Lebanese border were now "sitting ducks" while Israeli political leaders awaited the outcome of the negotiations at the United Nations.

As you can see, not only is Olmert undermining the military, but the staff is also rightfully ticked off about it. And who would've thought that a left-wing newspaper like Haaretz would agree that he must go? It's time for him to be shown the door indeed.

Update 2: Gribbit's got a good take on the subject of why it's bad to hold back.

Labels: Lebanon