Israel's attack in Qana on Sunday not only shredded the bodies of at least 54 civilians, mostly children - it also tore open the wounds of the recent past. The atrocity immediately conjured images of another massacre committed in the same village a little over 10 years ago, on April 18, 1996, when during "Operation Grapes of Wrath" the Israelis slaughtered 106 civilians who had taken refuge at a United Nations compound. Although that massacre, which is commemorated in Lebanon every year, went unpunished, the Lebanese have long vowed that they will never forget it.

Now that fresh images of the broken bodies of the women and children of Qana are being shown on our television screens, the idea of forgetting has become all the more unthinkable. These images have stirred the anger and outrage of even the most moderate Lebanese, proving that Israeli brutality - not Hizbullah - has become Israel's own worst enemy. Israel's unabashed butchery in Qana has only demonstrated to many of those who were on the fence that there is indeed a legitimate need for resistance.

Despite a decision on ending the aerial attack, the IDF is continuing in its mission of reshaping the new border. Forces are scheduled to complete the destruction of all Hizbullah posts two kilometers from the border by Thursday, and according to a senior officer, "there will be no sign of Hizbullah, including their flag, in this area."

"Every target that represents an immediate threat – will be attacked," a senior IDF officer said. "At this stage there is no intention to attack targets that can be attacked at a later stage, but we won't remain apathetic if we identify a terrorist cell or a Katyusha rocket launcher in operation."

This is a massive military defeat for Israel. Not only have they been shown down by a Hezbollah Army far better trained and led than they knew, they have been surprised at every turn. From missiles to bunkers to mined roads.

The problem for Israel is that they have revealed that they cannot beat Hezbollah or control land occupied by Hezbollah without taking unacceptable casualities. When dealing with Hezbollah, victory can only come with a clear, concise defeat. Anything less is a massive defeat.

What is even worse for Israel is that their attack on Lebanon has created massive sympathy for Arabs in the West, making Israel a bad guy and discreting their legitimate security arguments, even in the United States.

Bush did a very foolish thing in not stopping the Israelis. Cheney, despite ALL evidence, wanted to take a second bite at the apple in beating down Iran and Syria and not only did it fail, it made Hezbollah stronger, and even worse, established them as the defenders of Lebanon. When the chips were down, it was the Shia of Hezbollah who faced down the IDF while the Army sat impotent.

I can't stress enough how badly this has gone. The IAF has become reknowned for blowing up hospitals. The IDF cannot take a Lebanese town without getting shot up, one with bunkers their intel and special ops never came across. One their spies never heard of.

In intellectual Seattle, where even the most fractious political debates can be discussed over coffee, Friday's shooting at the Jewish Federation building left both pro- and anti-Israeli activists struggling to distance their views from extremism that might erupt in violence.

But the fact of a self-described Muslim announcing his rage at Israel before opening fire was impossible to deny, and brought front and center opinions about conflict in the Middle East that have simmered here for years.

He told friends he felt alienated from his own family, in part because his career had disappointed his father and also because he had disavowed Islam last year, converting to Christianity. ...

Last winter, Haq began attending a weekly men's group meeting led by a member of the Word of Faith Church in Kennewick.

The group's leader, Albert Montelongo, said Haq started studying the Bible and in December he underwent a water baptism at the non-denominational church, performed by Montelongo. He said Haq accepted his new faith, though he knew that he would also be offending his own family and its deeply rooted culture. His father, Mian Haq, was among the founders of the Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities in Richland.

In war as in war: Israel is sinking into a strident, nationalistic atmosphere and darkness is beginning to cover everything. The brakes we still had are eroding, the insensitivity and blindness that characterized Israeli society in recent years is intensifying. The home front is cut in half: the north suffers and the center is serene. But both have been taken over by tones of jingoism, ruthlessness and vengeance, and the voices of extremism that previously characterized the camp's margins are now expressing its heart. The left has once again lost its way, wrapped in silence or "admitting mistakes." Israel is exposing a unified, nationalistic face. ...

Haim Ramon "doesn't understand" why there is still electricity in Baalbek; Eli Yishai proposes turning south Lebanon into a "sandbox"; Yoav Limor, a Channel 1 military correspondent, proposes an exhibition of Hezbollah corpses and the next day to conduct a parade of prisoners in their underwear, "to strengthen the home front's morale." ...

Chauvinism and an appetite for vengeance are raising their heads. If two weeks ago only lunatics such as Safed Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu spoke about "wiping out every village where a Katyusha is fired," now a senior officer in the IDF speaks that way in Yedioth Aharonoth's main headlines. Lebanese villages may not have been wiped out yet, but we have long since wiped out our own red lines.

The Zionist left has also been made irrelevant. As in every difficult test in the past - the two intifadas for example - this time too the left has failed just when its voice was so necessary as a counterweight to the stridency of the beating tom-toms of war. Why have a left if at every real test it joins the national chorus?

Peace Now stands silently, so does Meretz, except for brave Zehava Gal-On. A few days of a war of choice and already Yehoshua Sobol is admitting he was wrong all along. Peace Now is suddenly an "infantile slogan" for him. His colleagues are silent and their silence is no less resounding. Only the extreme left makes its voice heard, but it is a voice nobody listens to.