Pessimism has taken hold of Israel

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THE ISRAELI artillery fire that claimed 18 civilian lives in Beit Hanoun this week is the worst single attack in Gaza for six years. Whether it will prompt an end to Hamas' moratorium on suicide bombings hangs in the balance, but the attack — said by Israeli officials to be an error — has clearly put Israel on the moral defensive.

Even if the shells had been properly aimed, they would still reflect the same shockingly disproportionate response that Israel inflicted on Lebanon this summer after two soldiers were captured in a cross-border operation by Hizbollah guerrillas.

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Mr. Brom believes the air force achieved considerable success in the first 10 days of the war by hitting most of Hizbollah's long-range rockets, doing enough damage to force Lebanon's government to confront Hizbollah politically, and showing that Israel's threats to strike hard were credible. The error was to launch a ground invasion with troops who were unprepared for determined guerrilla fighters.

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But for Palestinians to launch homemade rockets into southern Israel is pointless and counterproductive, serving only to strengthen Israelis' hard-line views. Looking back on the decades since Israel occupied the West Bank and Jerusalem, Mr. Segev adds: "In 1967 there was a choice: give the territories back and make peace, or settle them and make Israel strong. It hasn't worked. What a terrible waste of time the last 40 years have been.

Hindu