In this article, I will clarify my opinion and feelings about the Israeli-Lebanese conflict, and the Hizbullah

It has started at September 1970, when the King Hussein of Jordan expelled the Palestinians from Jordan to Lebanon. Since that time, Palestinian terrorists infiltrated into Israel occasionally.

At 1975 the Lebanese civil war erupted and Israel started to support the Christian Phalanges.

At 1978 Palestinians captured an Israeli bus that was for a family tour and murdered dozens of Israelis. After that Israeli forces entered Lebanon for the first time.

1981 was a quiet year, but then in 1982 the Israeli ambassador in the United Kingdom was assassinated by terrorists that were based in Lebanon. The hot-minded Sharon used this as an excuse to start a war and invade Lebanon. Sharon was the security minister at this time (Minister of Defense) and told Menahem Begin, the Prime Minister then that we will only create a security zone of 40 kilometers. Begin wasn't a bad Prime Minister. He was the one who made the peace with Egypt. But he was fooled by Sharon, and authorized this operation until the army reached Beirut.

At 1985 Israel started to make a progressive withdrawal to Lebanon, and till the end of that year all the IDF forces got behind the international border except of a security zone that was made for preventing Lebanese from infiltrating into Israel and bombing the Israeli settlements in the north. The effectiveness of this security zone has been proven to nothing: The Hizbullah could reach the border fence many times, and they could bomb northern Israel any time they wanted.

As a result from the new conditions, another Shiite organization was founded in Lebanon: the Hizbullah. They started a fight there, which lasted many years. Hundreds of IDF soldiers were killed in these fights.

Sometimes, IDF bombing missed, and hit Lebanese civilians. At these cases, the Hizbullah bombed the North of Israel in response. These bombing turned the north into hell, especially the town of Naharya, which is very close to the border and populated with 40,000 people. But Naharya suffered less from the Hizbullah, because it is in the Western Galilee. The most famous town who suffered was Qiriat Shemona, population: 20,000. When the Hizbullah bombed, the life in the town stopped. Businesses didn't open; Tourists didn't come; Schools didn't open. My school since September 1999 is in a village near the border, and before the withdrawal from Lebanon we didn't come to school some days, because of the bombing or the fear from it.

It is hard to find the blame here. Who is to blame? Israel, that invaded another country? The Palestinians, that provoked Israel to enter? The Hizbullah, that provoked Israel into escalating the conflict and staying in Lebanon? The smartest words about this issue I heard from a Lebanese: "I blame Israel for entering Lebanon in the first place, and I blame the Hizbullah for making them stay".

Anyway, in the 90's, the Israel public opinion started to get frustrated from the soldiers who lost their life at the Lebanese mud. The peace organizations were in favor of quitting Lebanon, and a new organization, "four mothers" was founded, promoting one-sided withdrawal from Lebanon. My mother was a member of this organization.

At the elections of 1999, Ehud Barak promised to withdraw from Lebanon within a year if he gets elected. He got elected, at July 1999 and IDF withdraw to the international border at May 2000. UN inspectors went to the region and confirmed the withdrawal was full.

The Hizbullah were under Syrian pressure and didn't unarm themselves. They took positions near the border, prevented the UN officers from reaching their positions and prepared to take the offensive. But the public opinion in Lebanon didn't like it. Finally IDF out of Lebanon, they need peace to rebuild Lebanon, they don't need to start a war just for the heck of it. But the chance of the Hizbullah didn't come late.

At the end of September 2000 the Intifada started. The Hizbullah took a lift from those events, made a claim on Shabba farms that they belong to Lebanon (although the UN says they are Syrian) and started to carry a series of attacks against the IDF forces deployed at the border, this time on the Israeli side.

The first action was to take a vehicle of the UN, dress up as UN officers and kidnap 3 Israeli soldiers. No one knows where they are, or if they are alive at all. After that incident the Hizbullah continued to launch rockets and killed 3 or 4 IDF soldiers, one at a time. They also wounded some soldiers.

There is a myth that the Hizbullah are not terrorists. That they only shoot soldiers. But what rights do they have to shoot soldiers now, after the withdrawal? You can't shoot soldiers and say you are a good civilized people. It's exactly the same thing if the US attack the Canadians army. The current actions of the Hizbullah are only hurting Israel, Lebanon and contributing to the end of lives. If you want peace then you have to make concessions. An example is to not kill your neighbor with the excuse of things he done in the past.

The characteristics of the Hizbullah is different than most of the organizations against Israel. They are not pure terrorist organization. But they have black spots in their past as well. They are responsible to the bombing of Jewish institutes in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Those bombing killed 115 people. This is a horrible act. Acts like those bombings, the bombing of the Northern Israel, their enslavement to the Syrians and the continuation of the attacks after the enemy has got out of their land placing the Hizbullah in the uncomplimentary list of terrorist organization and preventing them to be an advanced guerilla warfare based liberation organization.

The Hizbullah also never tried to negotiate for their freedom. People who believe in peace and the sacredness of life must make every effort before going into killing and getting killed.