Reply #26: The justification

[tinnypriv]

For the bombing of Syria was a terrorist attack in Israel, not a Hezbollah attack. Israel bombed a "training camp" or something.

As for your comment about Syria not being serious, that is irrelevant -even if it had any basis, which it almost certainly doesn't- since Syria's proposals were dismissed without any test, or even any formal response. Unless you happen to assume that any diplomatic channels are pointless with Assad's dictatorship (I don't), I don't see how that "non-serious" statement applies.

Note that even if it did apply, it would still be erroneous, since Israel has happily negotiated with Hezbollah itself, even on an issue of minimal importance. Why not with Syria? Sure, Syria might be lying, or "non-serious" as you say, but it might be worth finding out if that is the case, and in this example, all Israel would have to do would be stop breaking international law with illegal flyovers of another country, namely Lebanon. In return, many Israeli lives could be saved in the context of this specific proposal.

Remember, this "Syrian Proposal" (as termed by Ma'ariv) was backed by formal visits to Israel, obviously leaked to the (domestic Israel) press by somebody unhappy with the IDF/Israeli government stand, and is amply backed up by the tenor of subsequent reporting, culminating in the apt "Jerusalem's Rejectionist's" description in Ha'aretz (far from the most vocal, or anguished term used, even in the right-wing media; can give you the citations if you like).