Right now, many people who read only local liberal news outlets like The Star, NST, heck, basically every newspaper in Malaysia, would be screaming at Israel, condemning their ‘atrocities’ and what-not.

But before we start yelling for this use of ‘disproportionate force’, let’s examine the situation from a few simple questions.

1) Who started the latest round of conflicts?
2) Is this a war?
3) Who is the aggressor and who are the victims?
4) Who is causing civilian casualties?

We won’t have to answer these questions point-for-point but we’ll let the situation answer these questions for themselves.

Hamas is the democratically elected government of Palestine by a big majority. Obviously, they are well-qualified to represent the voice of Palestine. But here’s where they went wrong:
1) The militias launched rocket attacks into Israeli territories recognized by the UN. They launched illegal military attacks into Israel within internationally-recognized borders, not within occupied territories. This constitutes an act of war.
2) They dug a 300-metre tunnel under the Gaza-Israel border to launch terrorist attacks and kidnappings. This is obviously an act of war by any international law.
3) They labelled the Israeli kidnapping victims as "Prisoners of War". This is a declaration of war in no uncertain terms.

Therefore, we can conclude that the Hamas government has declared war on Israel. When one party has declared war on another, they have to be prepared to fight. But here, we have Hamas whining like cowards, crying out for the international community to tie up Israel’s hands so that Hamas can continue bashing Israel without facing such a strong military response.

However, Israel has done something insane. They are sending in humanitarian convoys to provide food, water, and fuel for the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, while Hamas militants are still waging a war against Israeli ground troops in the same area. What a stark contrast to the way Hamas operates, actively targetting civilians for destruction.

Now, what about this Lebanon thing, that is making some quarters scream "occupation" and "Arab-Israeli war"?

Well, let’s have a look:

1) Hezbollah launched Katyusha rockets from South Lebanon into northern Israeli territories. Again, into internationally-recognized Israeli territories. This is an act of war.
2) Hezbollah conducted cross-border raids into Israel and kidnapped 2 soldiers. Again, an act of war.
3) Hezbollah boasted that they have been planning this attack for quite a long time, and they plan to continue their terrorist attacks. This is a declaration of war.

The Lebanese government has provided safe haven for Hezbollah terrorists, and when asked by Israel to cooperate and undo this Hezbollah nonsense, they refused to. This makes the Lebanese government complicit in Hezbollah’s terrorist attacks, hence they’re also complicit in the declaration of war against Israel.

Lebanon is reaping what they sow. Why are they complaining and bitching to the United Nations when they were the ones who picked a fight?

Notice how this time around, the international community can only stand aside and slap Israel on the wrist for using "disproportionate force", but they can’t legally label it as "aggression" or "occupation". Even Kofi Annan, who’s usually anti-Israel, doesn’t have an opportunity to dig into his usual dictionary of anti-Israel terms.

Why?

Because Palestine and Lebanon have violated international laws and have declared war. Therefore, they can’t be defended by anyone, and have to shoulder the responsibility for bringing this crisis unto themselves.

Here’s a rare gem:

Saudis blame Hizbullah for Lebanon Crisis

Saudi Arabia indicated on Thursday that Hizbullah
bore the responsibility for the current crisis in Lebanon, Israel Radio
reported.

In an official statement, the Saudi government said that a
distinction must be drawn between "legitimate resistance" and
"adventurous, irresponsible acts" committed by groups in Lebanon who
don’t recognize the government and don’t coordinate with other Arab
nations.

The statement said that these groups must take responsibility and solve the crisis themselves.

The Arabs have picked a fight with Israel, forgetting the immortal truth that "It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it’s the size of the fight in the dog".

And they’re learning out the hard way just how much fight there is in this little dog.