Israel Matzav

Analysis: How the Arab world views the conflict

As the Israel-Hizbullah war enters its third week, many Arabs are once again talking about the shattering of the myth that has haunted them since the humiliating defeat of the Arab armies in 1967 - that the IDF is invincible.

The fact that Israel has been fighting for two weeks against a relatively small militia in Lebanon - comprising several thousand fighters - is itself seen by the Arab masses as a kind of victory.

Many note that while in 1967 it took the IDF only six days to crush the armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq, the past two decades have proved that Israel is not as strong as it appears or claims to be - at least not in the eyes of its enemies.

Similarly, the ongoing confrontation with the Palestinians in general, and with Hamas in particular, has further shattered the myth of Israel's unlimited power. Scenes of IDF soldiers retreating in the face of Palestinian stone-throwers during the first intifada, which erupted in 1987, marked the beginning of the collapse of this widely-held myth in the Arab world.

Many Arabs continue to argue that that intifada ended in the defeat of Israel, which was forced to sign the Oslo Accords with the PLO and to withdraw from Palestinian cities, villages and refugee camps in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel's reluctance to use heavy weapons during the first intifada was also interpreted by many Arabs as a sign of weakness.

In May 2000, Israel reinforced the idea that it is running out of steam by the way it withdrew from Lebanon.

That unilateral pullout, where the IDF abandoned hundreds of its long-time allies in the South Lebanese Army, was viewed as a stunning defeat for Israel by the overwhelming majority in the Arab world.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:47 AM