The Israeli reaction

By all indications, Israelis are not very happy with the outcome of this conflict - as of course they should not be.  The ceasefire is being hailed by Hezbollah as a victory, and no one really knows how much damage Israel was able to do.  A month of bombing, and what does the Israel have to show for it?

 

With the ceasefire in place now, the Israelis are having a debate - as any democracy should.  Let's hope it brings about the required changes and the necessary moral clarity.

 

There were failures in identifying the threat, in managing the war, in dealing with the homefront…There is no doubt that we must learn our lesson and correct our mistakes. We were asleep and we received a wake-up call."

"In 2000, we withdrew from Lebanon without guarantees and without security agreements, and this action brought about Hizbullah's speech about spider webs, which was adopted by Hamas. The resulting Intifada made us decide, out of pain and out of good will, to withdraw unilaterally once more," Netanyahu declared. 

"These unilateral withdrawals deteriorate our deterrence, and lend credence to our enemies, a credence that improves their ability to bombard our cities and towns. This concept (of unilateral withdrawals) is now disappearing, and rightly so," he added.