Word: hezbollah
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...indulged in vitriolic rhetoric that presses the Israeli public's most sensitive nerve. In recent weeks, the official Syrian press--the mouthpiece of the regime--compared the Jewish state to Nazi Germany and denied the Holocaust. To further alienate Israelis, Syria has stepped up support for the terrorist group Hezbollah. Barak has promised his people a referendum should he reach an agreement with his Syrian interlocutors, but these statements, coupled with Syrian-backed violence in Lebanon, harden the Israeli electorate against a peace treaty with Syria and make it increasingly difficult for Barak to sell a future peace...
...This could become very dangerous now because Israel will quickly press ahead with a unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon," says TIME Jerusalem bureau chief Lisa Beyer. "And, of course, if Israel comes under attack from Hezbollah in the course of that retreat, or after, it has made clear that its response will be a lot harsher than in previous exchanges. And that, in turn, could potentially spark a new war with Syria...
...move in the delicate Middle East, however, leaves a wide wake. After Israel's withdrawal, the militia groups in Lebanon that Israel currently supports will likely disband and flee, leaving the Hezbollah, the Islamic terrorist group financed by Iran, in control of the southern half of the country. Hezbollah could continue to fire missiles at Israeli cities, and the withdrawal will certainly make it a greater threat to the weak Lebanese government and to Syria, which has tried, like Israel, to balance the situation in Lebanon in its favor...
...that Israel has tired of the pain and bloodshed of more than a decade of low-intensity warfare, it must find another way to protect its northern areas from Hezbollah attack. Having withdrawn from Lebanon, it can now seek international help to secure its borders. Yesterday, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that the U.N. has been helping to draft the withdrawal plans...
...Even if Israel is making moves toward realizing Hezbollah's prime demand, its air strikes on the guerrilla movement's positions Monday highlighted the fact that it's not retreating with its tail between its legs, and will extract fearsome retribution for any attacks across its northern border. But such attacks may be unlikely even without Syria leaning on the guerrillas, since Hezbollah would lose much of its Lebanese public support if it attacks the Israelis after they've withdrawn. And the realization that peace in Lebanon may be possible without it may yet spur Damascus back to the negotiating...