The Tree That Almost Started a War

Events on the northern border of Israel last week have demonstrated just how fragile the ceasefire with Lebanon really is. This, in turn, mirrors the fragility of the relationships that exist around the Middle East, not only between Israel and the Arab countries that surround her, but also between the Arab countries themselves. This fragility has reached a point where the situation has become totally ridiculous.

Since the end of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006, a fragile peace has held between Israel and Lebanon. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) was deployed to police the implementation of the UN resolutions that were passed calling for maintenance of the peace. Despite this, Hezbollah has succeeded in rearming itself to levels beyond those prior to the war, in clear transgression of the UN resolutions. Numerous transgressions have been reported to UNIFIL by both parties. Somehow, however, the peace has held up to now. Last week's incident was the closest that the situation has come to bubbling over into a war again. This was all precipitated by something as unlikely as a tree growing along the border fence.

In last week's incident, Israeli soldiers approached the border fence with Lebanon with the intention of trimming back a tree growing along the fence. The gardening activity had been previously coordinated with UNIFIL and this had in turn been relayed to the Lebanese army. As such, all parties along the border should have anticipated the arrival of the Israeli soldiers to trim back the offending tree. Despite this fact, the work by the IDF soldiers attracted angry attention from the Lebanese army soldiers on the north side of the border, all in full view of UNIFIL soldiers stationed there. Senior Israeli officers were sent to a lookout post along that stretch of the border to oversee the events and to try to diffuse the tension. Instead, a Lebanese sniper fired at the lookout post, killing one officer and seriously wounding another. This act of aggression on the part of the Lebanese army was met with Israeli tank fire, and also an air force attack on Lebanese army positions in Southern Lebanon. Two Lebanese soldiers and a journalist were killed in the Israeli response. At this stage, the situation might easily have escalated into all-out war. Fortunately, sense prevailed and the parties stepped back from the brink. A tripartite meeting between UNIFIL, the Lebanese army and the IDF ensured that there was no further violence and war was avoided.

In analysing the situation from a slight distance, a number of questions can be asked. The first question is why the IDF was so insistent on trimming the tree that started the conflict? Surely, this seemingly unimportant activity may have been forgone in the interests of preserving peace along the border. Linked to this is the question as to why the Lebanese took such offence to the trimming of the tree? Although I don't have the official answer to this question, I can only speculate about the importance of trimming the tree. I suspect that the tree probably disrupted the clear view of the Israelis into Lebanon, and their attempts to ensure that the border area is kept clear. An alternative is that the tree may have disrupted the view by Israeli cameras into Lebanon. As such, the trimming of the tree was critical to maintaining security along the border fence. For the same reason, the Lebanese may have been unwilling to allow Israel to clear the tree.

A possibility was raised that the Lebanese sniper was a lone rogue soldier, and not acting on orders from higher up. The Lebanese government had the opportunity to disown his actions, but rather took responsibility for them and even defended the sniper fire. It is of note that Israel's traditional enemy on the Lebanese border, Hezbollah, seems not to have been involved in the incident at all. I say this somewhat half-heartedly as I understand that the Lebanese army does have fairly substantial representation from Hezbollah fighters. It may be possible that the sniper, whose shots resulted in the death of four people and serious injury to one, may have had links to Hezbollah.

To be fair to the UN on this occasion, they came out quite quickly defending Israel, and confirming that it had acted correctly. This was strongly supported by the US administration, although the European countries were auspiciously silent. The Lebanese government, by contrast, continued to claim that Israel was to blame, and that its sniper was justified in his shooting of the Israeli officer.

These events serve to remind us how ridiculous the situation is in the Middle East. It seems crazy that an event as unremarkable as trimming a tree could force countries to the brink of war. As much as Israel has managed to survive for more than 60 years, in some ways, she seems less secure now than she was on the day that independence was declared. Ultimately, the Israeli government and the IDF understands that we can only rely on ourselves for our protection. We are extremely fortunate that this point is well understood, and that the IDF and our soldiers are fully prepared for every event.

Not Déjà Vu

When I heard the news on Thursday morning that bombs were landing on Nahariya, it felt like déjà vu. It took my mind racing back to the Lebanon War in the summer of 2006 when bombs were raining down on the northern parts of Israel.

But this is no déjà vu. Almost two weeks into the Gaza War, I can safely say that this war bears no resemblance to the Lebanon War whatsoever. And I am really happy to be able to say that. In retrospect, the Lebanon War was not a loss for Israel, but it was certainly not a victory. It contained certain aspects that none of us were proud of. Some of the problems experienced during the war could be felt even by civilians, and these feelings were borne out in the findings of the commission of enquiry that was established to investigate the conduct of the war by Israel. Suffice it to say that this war was not Israel's proudest military moment.

In saying this, I should add that I am no military expert or commentator. In military terms, I am a complete outsider and novice. I made aliyah at an age when the military was not interested in my services. As such, I have little or no understanding of the internal workings of the IDF, of military terms, tactics or strategies at all. My comments are being made in my capacity as a citizen of the State of Israel who expresses a purely amateur and uneducated view on military matters.

From the very outset, the Gaza War seems to have been conducted in a highly professional manner. Everything about it seems to have been well thought-out, communicated and executed. The initial strike took Hamas by surprise. The politicians were well prepared in their addresses to the Israeli and foreign press. Their messages were consistent, the text well drafted and well presented. This is a welcome contrast to the haphazard briefings during the Lebanon War, many of which came too late and with poor language and message choice. The Minister of Defense at the time, Amir Peretz, was a poor choice during peacetime. During a time of war, he proved to be hopelessly out of his depth and a disastrous choice.

During the Lebanon War, there was a constant stream of complaints coming from serving soldiers and reservists alike. The equipment was inadequate, old and outdated. Soldiers were not being provided with food and water required for a basic survival. The military plans appeared poorly thought out, and many soldiers felt that their lives were being unnecessarily placed at risk by being sent into operations that had no prospect of success. This amounts to negligence on the part of the military leaders as a minimum. Private individuals and organisations were raising funds to buy their loved ones, and fellow members of their units, protective military equipment to compensate for the extremely poor way in which the soldiers were equipped. The call went out up and down the country for food and water to be provided to feed our soldiers and to quench their thirst. This does not leave a country feeling confident that its military is "on top of things" and ready to defend the nation. In fact, quite the opposite, it left the army with low morale, and the citizens with a view that they army could not be depended upon. On a daily basis, the citizens of Israel had the impression that the military actions taken by our army were having little or no impact upon our enemies. I have no doubt that the lack of preparedness also cost lives of soldiers and civilians.

The messages coming back from the front-line this time are completely different. Soldiers are well equipped with all that they need including military gear, food and water. Organisation of the call-up of reservists has been good, including training and preparation work done after the call-up. Morale on the front-line is high, and the nation is right behind our military in supporting them emotionally as best we can. There has been loss of life including some soldiers unfortunately killed by friendly fire. But there is no sign of the haphazard way in which things were previously done. On the contrary, we have the feeling that our soldiers are able to influence and impact the behaviour of our enemies, albeit not stop them entirely - yet. We are being told how the protective equipment has saved numerous lives and injuries. Overall a most positive picture which indicates the best is being extracted from our military effort under enormously difficult circumstances.

So what has happened in 18 short months since the last war, that can make this one feel so completely different? Ironically, we have the same Prime Minister at the helm. Olmert is what would usually considered to be a lame-duck Prime Minister in the final days of his tenure. He has been smart in keeping a low public profile during the course of the war, and has preferred to give Tzipi Livni (Foreign Minister) and Ehud Barak (Defense Minister) greater public roles. We cannot escape from the fact that Olmert, lame-duck or not, is leading this effort. Whatever one may think about Olmert (and he has provided significant food for thought), he seems to be doing an admirable job on this occasion. Barak and Livni are new to their roles since Lebanon 2006, and have presented themselves excellently. Barak is a breath of fresh air in comparison to Amir Peretz. Not only has he been well prepared, he is a military man who engenders a sense of comfort in the population by his actions and confidence.

Most significant since the summer of 2006, is the fact that the Chief of General Staff, and almost the entire upper echelon, of the IDF have been replaced. With those changes have come new training methods, additional equipment and a new approach to fighting terrorism and groups like Hamas. The army has been well prepared and well equipped for the task. The results of these changes are evident in the method of approaching the task, the morale of the soldiers and the casualties that we have suffered to date.

But I do not have any illusion that this war will lead to any greater prospect for lasting peace in the Middle East. On the contrary, I see it as yet another battle in the ongoing war for Jewish survival. It is said that there will only be peace when the Arabs recognise Israel's right to exist. With groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, whose main objective is the demolition of the State of Israel and it citizens, this will not happen any time soon. Golda Meir's famous quote is as relevant today as it was when she first stated: "We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children, but we can never forgive them for making us kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us."

Until that day comes, our army will defend our right to exist in this land, and protect our Jewish freedoms. It is my prayer that each of our soldiers will return safely to their families after having safely seen off this latest threat to our existence.