Mideast crisis--Blog from Jerusalem
Lo and behold, I had just parked my car on a Haifa street when suddenly nearby sirens began wailing hysterically--sending their all-too-familiar message that a Katyusha might be on its way to this neighborhood.
I looked around somewhat frantically for a place to take cover, but the residential street was lined with homes and devoid of people. The sirens' wails rose as did my sense of helplessness until I saw a covered parking lot. I ran inside, trying not to trip in my high-heeled black-leather sandals and black below-the-knee skirt. A woman and her three children were rushing down stairs that led into a bomb shelter. (Fortunately for Israelis, most buildings have them.) I followed.
Within moments, the thumps began. The children counted. One, two. That was three. Four, five. Was that six? No, that was a door slamming. Their mother looked ready to burst into tears. With each thump, she pounded her chest.
I wondered, had Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah and the manager of the Lebanese side of this conflict, not heard that Israel had won the war?
Indeed, I believe he did. And that's why he sent a record number of Katyushas Israel's way today. More than 225, each one carrying a message back to Olmert saying,'You did not win this war.'
Each side stakes its reputation on coming out of this conflict as a winner, not a loser. Neither can climb down the tall tree (although Olmert's statement was his first sign that he wanted the war to wind down), nor can they defeat each other.
For Arab leaders, this spells trouble. Countries like Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia originally criticized Hezbollah for sparking the war with the capture of the Israeli soldiers on July 12. But as their outraged peoples take to the streets demonstrating against the deaths of hundreds of Lebanese civilians by the Israeli military, those countries' governmentsnot exactly democratically elected--are forced to take a tougher stance against the United States for its support of Israel in order not to cause a regional earthquake.
What worries them is that if Hezbollah exits the conflict as a winner,"it will give credit to many voices calling for armed resistance against Israel," said the Arab diplomat. "But if Hezbollah is totally crushed that will silence the voices that say destroying the Zionist state is feasible."
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, whose country is a major U.S. ally and has low-level ties with Israel, slammed Arab states for their support of the Israeli mission to dismantle Hezbollah. "I am surprised at the Arab agreement ... for Israel to end this issue and end the presence of Hezbollah in this region," he told Al-Jazeera television Tuesday, noting that some Arab states agreed that Israel complete its mission before a cease-fire.
The continuing war is particularly painful for the Jordanian and Egyptian governments, because they have diplomatic relations with Israel and encourage other states to do the same. "The Israelis have embarrassed us," the Arab diplomat told me. "We want this to end as soon as possible."
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