There are still people who seem to believe that peace could be restored in the Middle East if only the international community applied enough pressure on the warring groups.

They don’t realize that peace is something Israel never wanted because it is not in its interest. A meaningful peace, obviously, means Israel will have to stop stealing Palestinian territories and shelve its plans to expand at the expense of neighboring Arab countries.

It is hardly possible to predict at this point if the present developments in the Middle East is the early signs of another all-out Arab-Israeli war.

This time the Israeli brutalities have gone beyond the Palestinian borders to reach the very heart of Lebanon. It is true that in a commando operation by Hezbollah against the Israeli Army, eight Israeli soldiers were killed and two others captured. The new Israeli government viewed the capture of its soldiers as a slap on its face and a big blow to its prestige. The incident also added to the image of the Arab freedom fighters.

A people under occupation have the right to resist, and this is an internationally recognized right though the Israeli foreign minister, for understandable reasons, does not agree with it. According to her, the Palestinian operations targeting Israeli towns are terrorism while Israel’s devastating bombings of Palestinian and Lebanese civilian centers killing and wounding thousands of women and children are acts of self-defense. In fact the Israeli actions are naked state terrorism.

The reported deliberations at the recent G-8 summit showed how other major powers accept the US position that endorses the Israel excesses. The US line in the Middle East has always been one of supporting the terrorist practices of Israel on the pretext that the Jewish state has the right to self-defense. On the other hand, even the European media, which usually stands by Israel, has expressed its shock and revulsion at the inhumane way Israel is reacting to the capture of three of its soldiers.

The British daily, the Observer, in a recent editorial, harshly criticized the Israeli barbarity pointing out that this is not how a government wishing to be a partner in peace behaves. Calling Israel’s conduct an act of “international shame,” the newspaper expressed the view that Israel would never agree to a fair settlement of the Middle East dispute. Israel does not want to negotiate with the Hamas on the pretext that they are hard-liners, nor with any other Palestinian group for that matter. Israel thinks that such a negative stand would enable it to enforce one-sided decisions facilitating forceful acquisition of more and more Arab lands. The newspaper fears that such a policy would only force the Palestinians to take more hard-line positions making the situation even more complicated.

This European reading of the situation is strikingly close to reality. The interpretation is further supported by a number of considerations. First, the new Israeli government seeks to satisfy Israeli voters and the Jewish hard-liners by a show of strength.

Secondly, the US media supports any Israeli violations and excesses with the tacit approval of the White House, which loves to present the Hamas government as a gang of terrorists.

Thirdly, Israel aims to terrorize Palestinians and thus make more of them flee their homes leaving behind their lands, which could be easily seized by Israeli. It was a policy the Zionists implemented in Palestine with the connivance of the British colonial masters.

Fourthly, Israel wants to issue an indirect but clear warning to the other Arab countries in the region that Israel can attack with impunity any country that objects to the occupation of Palestine.

Fifthly, Israel believes that the aggression against Lebanon would provoke Syria to go to a war against Israel. In that case Iran would also be drawn in to the conflict creating a much-awaited opportunity for the US to teach Iran a lesson for its anti-US and anti-Israeli positions. The whole scenario, seemingly, suggests the unveiling of a pre-planned US-Israeli strategy in the region.

Another possibility, if sanity prevails, is that if the show of military might does not frighten the Palestinians and Lebanese to release the captured Israeli soldiers, Israel would be forced to seek a negotiated settlement.

Even if there is a settlement, it is well neigh impossible for the Arabs to demand compensation from the Jewish state for the damages caused to the people of Palestine and Lebanon.