“War is not the solution”

Nice to see a former Israeli minister talking sense, unfortunately those currently in power seem incapable of it.

Israeli former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben Ami believes the fight in Lebanon will not destroy Hezbollah and suggests Israel should seek the solution elsewhere.

“War is not the solution” Ben Ami said, disclosing that Israel’s disarming of Hezbollah and the destruction of the organization’s military capacity was impossible. He also said that Israel’s plan for a security zone in southern Lebanon would not prevent Hezbollah attacks.

Hezbollah can only be disarmed by a comprehensive agreement, Ben Ami noted in his statement to BBC: “Hezbollah and Israel have created such a bloodbath that it will not be easy to deal with. I hope we will all come to our senses soon and deal with our problems in a civilized manner.”

Ami also claimed that the Olmert administration had intensely focused on Hezbollah since the administration lacked an agenda after everybody realized the escalating tension in Gaza and the impossibility of a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank. Emphasizing that Hezbollah was a political power in Lebanon and a part of an ethnic mosaic, Ben Ami claimed that disarming or destroying Hezbollah’s military capacity was impossible.

Source: The BBC via Zaman Daily