GIVE DIPLOMACY A CHANCE

Israel’s decision to send troops

farther into Lebanon shows that its military strategy to weaken Hezbollah is not working. That is all the more reason to pursue a diplomatic end to the fighting that has raged for nearly a month.

An agreement drafted by the United States and France, which called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, had support in the United Nations Security Council but Arab nations refused to back it because it did not require Israel to withdraw its troops from Lebanon. This is a difficult, but not impossible, objection to overcome.

Israel, until 2000, had troops in southern Lebanon. After those troops left, Hezbollah periodically attacked Israel military personnel and equipment. Then, this July, Hezbollah militants crossed into Israel, killing three soldiers and kidnapping two others. Israel responded by bombing targets

in Lebanon and Hezbollah began

firing rockets into Israel.

Israel, naturally, does not want Hezbollah to again take over southern Lebanon when its troops retreat. The Lebanese government, which has been unable to disarm or rein in Hezbollah, has come to realize the problem. On Monday, its cabinet, which includes members from Hezbollah, approved sending 15,000 troops to the south of the country. These troops would work beside international peacekeepers to replace Israeli troops when there

is a cease-fire.

Israel said this proposal is worth studying although it wants this new force to be authorized to prevent Hezbollah attacks and to stop their acquisition of weapons. Questions also remain about the composition

of an international force.

This is a large diplomatic opening.

It could overcome Israeli objections

to withdrawing in the absence of a

military force able to stop Hezbollah’s attacks. It also allows Lebanon to regain some control over its own territory.

Writing in Wednesday’s Washington Post, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said a military solution to the war was “totally unrealistic.” He is likely right but not for the reasons he cited – Israel’s disregard for international law and its threats to Lebanese security. Mr. Siniora says Lebanon wants “full sovereignty over all its territory.”

To do this, it must not only get Israeli troops to leave, but it must stand up to Hezbollah, which operates freely in southern Lebanon. Involving Syria, which drafters of cease-fire plans have not done in a real way, would help on this front.

Because Hezbollah continues to fire dozens of rockets a day into Israel, it has won militarily in the eyes of many of its supporters. That leaves only

diplomatic means to stop the Hezbollah rockets and Israeli bombs.