LONDON -- Opinion polls show that a large majority of Britons believe that the British government should have sided with the U.N. secretary general and other countries in demanding an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon. There is also increasing disquiet in Britain at the way Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly supports U.S. President George W. Bush in his backing of Israel.
The British public does not dispute Israel's right to defend itself. The Hezbollah rocket attacks that have killed and maimed Israeli citizens and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers from Israeli territory by Hezbollah guerrillas operating from Lebanon were outrageous acts and could not be ignored by any government. But has the Israeli response been proportionate?
The majority in Britain do not think so. Why, people ask, has it been necessary for the Israelis to inflict such losses on the ordinary people of Lebanon? Shouldn't Israel have restricted its action to attacks on Hezbollah rocket sites and strongholds? Couldn't Israel have given an ultimatum to the Lebanese government and allowed a pause while civilians moved out of the danger zone?