Israel has lost the first round of this grueling match with Lebanon. Most observers agree that the current war will not be decided by a “knock-out” punch from either side. Meanwhile, Israel has suffered its greatest loss in the humanitarian argument that gave Hezbollah the deciding points for this round.

Everybody agrees Israel’s disproportionate response has passed the line of immorality to criminality. Lebanon today is the Kosovo of the Middle East. The massacre in Qana, this past week, reminded us of the massacre of 41 civilians in the Kosovo village of Racak by Serbian forces in January 1999. When the world saw that massacre there was a turning point in public opinion and Qana did that last week.

If we replay the images of that dispossessed population fleeing Kosovo in April 1999 it will almost replicate what happened in southern Lebanon last week. There is good and evil. But back then, the United States led by President Bill Clinton stood on the side of good and rallied the entire world against evil. Back then, Serbia stood alone with Russia against the world.

Today, the United States stands alone with Israel against the world.

Israeli officials stress that there is no “moral equivalence” between their fight and Hezbollah’s. They are right. They are on the side of evil and Hezbollah is on the side of good. Hezbollah is defending its own civilian population from the merciless destruction of Israeli firepower. Israel has unleashed the flames of hell against defenseless civilians and even declared bridges as its enemy. Hezbollah is defending its own land and the right of Lebanese people to live in that land in peace and security.

Suppose that Hezbollah sent leaflets to all Haifa residents to evacuate or be killed. The world will react “disproportionately” in its outrage and condemnation of Hezbollah. Jews all over the world will accuse Hezbollah of trying to commit another “holocaust”.

Israelis claim that all they want is to “live in peace” and live a normal life like Americans do. Isn’t that what the Lebanese and the Palestinians want also? How could Israelis live in peace on a land they had stolen from Palestinians? Hezbollah sends its rockets to northern Israel to tell them that the land does not belong to them. Hezbollah is defending the rights of Palestinians who own Haifa, but instead had been forced to live in wretched refugee camps in Lebanon since 1948.

When Hezbollah arrested two Israeli soldiers occupying its land the US called it a “kidnapping”. Then the US media has been playing this game of criminalizing any legitimate activity against Israel for the past 60 years.

However, the US media has not served American interests and has rendered the majority of Americans ignorant about the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The truth is as bright as sunshine and it will burn through the spin provided by the Bill O’Neill’s of this world. Americans see hundreds of thousands of peace-loving defenseless people fleeing their homes, cities turned into rubble and atrocious massacres. What is the world doing about that? They ask and their president, George Bush, tells them: We’re sending humanitarian aid to the Lebanese and bombs to the Israelis. Israel is fighting on the side of evil. Hezbollah is fighting on the side of good. I don’t have a shred of doubt that Hezbollah will prevail in the end.

A recent poll showed that almost 90 percent of the Lebanese people support Hezbollah and most Arab Americans reflect that sentiment.

World public opinion has reached a critical mass and has become united in asking for an immediate cease-fire. Israel and the US stand alone bare and naked in their warmongering intentions. They are still convinced that they can extract Hezbollah from its roots.

Last Wednesday marked the 22nd day of this war and Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rang the bell for round two of this match.

He said that Israel will push its ground forces deep into Lebanon and will only give up the territory to an international force. Shortly afterward, the highly anticipated massive ground invasion commenced and fierce battles raged with black smoke rising from towns all along the border.

I expect round two to bring an escalation in destruction and casualties on both sides and it may entice Syria to jump into the fray. This round will be longer than the first one and more gruesome in nature, as the stakes have been raised even higher. All this sits well with the embattled Republicans who will enter the upcoming election season united with Israel in a global war against “Islamofascism” and “terrorism.” May God save the American people from the ignorance perpetrated upon them by their leaders.

— Neal AbuNab is a Michigan-based author of “The War on Terror and Democracy”. A Palestinian-American, he’s been campaigning for a balanced US policy in the Middle East for the past 20 years. He can be reached at: www.IslamPalestineBlogger.com