Meretz USA Statement on the Recent Excalation on Israel's Borders

July 14, 2006

The opening of hostilities, ostensibly between Hezbollah and Israel, on Israel’s northern border is a pointed and urgent wake-up call to the entire democratic world that radical forces, concentrated in, but not restricted to the Middle East, are capable of destabilizing the region, and if successful, beyond.

Those controlling Hezbollah – Syria, and even more, Iran – have an agenda that transcends the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That Hezbollah’s action against Israel is being rightly termed “opportunistic” and misguided, even by Arab regimes and many elements in Lebanon, is a potent warning about the relationships between terrorist organizations and rogue states, and their combined capacity to disrupt international order.

Israel has the right of any sovereign nation to defend its borders and citizens, and acts of war place the burden of proportional response squarely on the back of the aggressor. We believe Israel must adhere strictly to its self-proclaimed intention to avoid any unnecessary hardship on civilian populations such as its destruction of power stations in both Gaza and Lebanon. While such measures may have some strategic value, they divert attention from the justice of Israel’s cause in responding to aggression by focusing on this matter of “proportionality,” and thereby weaken Israel’s case for international support and sympathy.

The United States must join with its allies in the so-called “Quartet” - the United Nations, Russia, and the European Union - to take such measures as necessary to secure the return of Israel’s two abducted soldiers from Hezbollah, and thenceforth, the removal of armed Hezbollah elements from Southern Lebanon. No less urgently, a concerted international effort to achieve a cease fire between Israel and Palestinian groups including Hamas must be pursued so that Israel may recover its kidnapped soldier and the rocket fire and other forms of aggression against Israel are permanently ended. If necessary, the imposition of international forces inside the Lebanese and Gaza borders should be entertained as a measure to assure the integrity and peace of Israel’s borders.

Finally, we believe that the aggression on Israel’s borders is testament to the inherent weakness of unilateral measures. The international community – including the United States – must lend its strong support to a negotiating process around secure and recognized borders for Israel and its Arab neighbors, and demonstrate its commitment to the observance and defense of the negotiated agreements between the parties.