July 17th, 2008 by Sarah

An editorial in The Daily Star (Lebanon) declares Hizbullah victorious after the prisoner exchange with Israel.  Hizbullah is stronger for having prevented Israel from setting the terms of the outcome and Israel is now “more susceptible to the genuine diplomacy that their governments have traditionally disdained.”

An editorial in The Guardian argues that by agreeing to the swap, “Israel has tacitly admitted that its real purpose [of the 2006 war] was not the release of its soldiers, but the dismantlement of Hizbullah’s military infrastructure,”  ultimately leaving Hizbullah stronger today than 2 years ago.  Above all else, the editorial laments that the exchange “recognises Hizbullah, rather than the Lebanese government, as Israel’s negotiating partner,” reinforcing the idea that violent resistance bears more fruit.

The Times Online editorial suggests that with the swap, Israel has broken its policy of not engaging with terrorists and has perpetuated a cycle of using hostages as bargaining chips. Meanwhile, an editorial in Now Lebanon bluntly asks “Was it worth it?”

Michael Young in The Daily Star argues that the combination of the recent swap, which bolstered Hizbullah and weakened Prime Minister Siniora, the collapse of Resolution 1701, and a lack of U.S. involvement, means that “the independence intifada is over and Syria has entered a new phase in its effort to re-create in Lebanon what it was made to surrender in 2005.”

Posted in Hezbollah, Israel, Lebanon, Military, Syria |