Outside of Western politicians too afraid to express honest views, I find it hard to believe that there can be much sympathy left in the world for the State of Israel. Seemingly hellbent on expansion, extirpation of the Palestinians (does that sound more polite than genocide?) and the elimination of all who are perceived as hostile to the state, Israel is now engaged in what can only be called state-sponsored terrorism.
While the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank continues apace, the war has been extended to Hezbollah in Lebanon with the explosions of pager and walkie-talkies in Lebanon, killing and maiming both targets and innocent bystanders, including children.
On Tuesday, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding up to 2,800 others across Lebanon. A day later, 25 people were killed and more than 450 wounded when walkie-talkies exploded in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals, stoking fears that a full-blown war between Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, and Israel could be imminent.
It now appears that this was a long-term, carefully-planned act of terror. It came about after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah pushed to expand the use of pagers after cellphones were being used to target people.
Even before Mr. Nasrallah decided to expand pager usage, Israel had put into motion a plan to establish a shell company that would pose as an international pager producer.
By all appearances, B.A.C. Consulting was a Hungary-based company that was under contract to produce the devices on behalf of a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. In fact, it was part of an Israeli front, according to three intelligence officers briefed on the operation. They said at least two other shell companies were created as well to mask the real identities of the people creating the pagers: Israeli intelligence officers.
On Tuesday, the order was given to activate the pagers.
To set off the explosions, according to three intelligence and defense officials, Israel triggered the pagers to beep and sent a message to them in Arabic that appeared as though it had come from Hezbollah’s senior leadership.
Seconds later, Lebanon was in chaos.
It is the wanton taking of innocent lives that the world must single out for special condemnation.
In Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, in the village of Saraain, one young girl, Fatima Abdullah, had just come home from her first day of fourth grade when she heard her father’s pager begin to beep, her aunt said. She picked up the device to bring it to him and was holding it when it exploded, killing her. Fatima was 9.
There was also the unspeakable depravity of more explosions through rigged walkie-talkies during, of all things, a funeral procession.
On Wednesday, as thousands gathered in Beirut’s southern suburbs to attend an outdoor funeral for four people killed in the blasts, chaos erupted anew: There was another explosion.
Notably, the U.S., while disavowing any direct knowledge of or hand in the acts of terror, did not condemn the Israeli action. In the twisted and corrupted currents of this world , I guess that can only be considered par for the course.
