The Israelis, reeling from the shock of the death of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, decided it was their privilege to prune the cypress trees on the Lebanese-Israeli border. The Lebanese army, much to the chagrin of the Israelis, retaliated. The resistance, spearheaded by Hizbullah, has shown restraint, though Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened brimstone and fire in characteristic fashion. For the time being the fracas precipitated by the Israelis has been a storm in a teacup. What it demonstrates, however, is the bellicose nature of the Israeli political establishment and their thirst for blood. They anxiously await any excuse, even the pruning of a single cypress tree, to vent their venom on the Lebanese and unleash their formidable arsenal. The territorial integrity of Lebanon is not up for negotiation. The Lebanese demonstrated admirable determination to defend their sovereignty. Arab and Muslim states firmly back the Lebanese, an unprecedented show of solidarity that no doubt left the Israelis surprised. Egypt, like all Arab states, denounces Israeli aggression. Israeli atrocities in Lebanon and Gaza only serve to turn Arab public opinion more defiantly against the Israeli aggressor. Israel is the ultimate loser. In a telephone conversation to Lebanese Prime minister Saad Al-Hariri, President Hosni Mubarak admonished the Israelis for their aggression and warlike attitude. Egypt stressed the importance of peace as the modus operandi of regional relations. Other Arab leaders concurred. Nobody wants war. The Arab and Muslim worlds, and peace- loving people around the world, condemn Israel's violation of UN Resolution 1701, one of an estimated 7,000 violations of UN resolution in the past few years. The Israeli aggression serves to unite the Lebanese people against the Israelis. The timing of Israel's actions is curious. It came just days after the rapturous reception of the emir of Qatar in southern Lebanon. Qatar has been crucial in funding the reconstruction of southern Lebanon following the devastation caused by Israel's invasion in 2006. The Lebanese populace expressed its gratitude to the Qataris. The Battle of the Cypress Tree only reinforces the differences in attitudes between the Israelis and their Arab neighbours. The Israelis are destructive, the Arabs constructive. The Israeli policy of targeting civilians in the hope of turning them against the forces of resistance actually produces the opposite results and incurs the wrath of the Lebanese civilian population and intensifies its hatred of the Israeli aggressors. This time round, the Israelis are clearly the losers, not least on moral grounds.
