Israeli Response - Justified?

[Jedburgh]

Could it be that Israel has reached it's limit regarding unprovoked acts of violence against her? And that they are simply going to go after Hezbollah and let the chips fall where they may?

I trust you realize that "let the chips fall where they may" refers to hundreds of innocent Lebanese civilian dead.

How many times do you let some punk punch you in the face before you turn around and knock him on his can?

This situation is more akin to an individual being beaten by a bully, then, without bothering to take the time to talk to his parents or call the police, going over and burning his family's house down with the bully's parents and siblings inside. The mindset is that the family deserves whatever happens to them because they couldn't control the kid.

No one is stating that Israel is unjustified in responding to Hizballah's provocation and to the threat it poses. It is the nature of the reponse that is under debate. My opinion is that the response is wholly disproportionate to the border clash and kidnapping. And now, after wreaking massive destruction across Lebanon and killing large numbers of civilians, they are no closer to destroying Hizballah than they were at the outset. The results of Operation Summer Rain look to be strategically counter-productive - much like the way Operation Grapes of Wrath turned out.

It puts a different light on the subject I think when you are literally fighting for your life.

Israel is not fighting for its life. Yes, Hizballah poses a security threat on its northern border; but it is a long way from threatening the existence of the state of Israel. Again, much like Operation Grapes of Wrath, domestic Israeli politics plays no small role in the decision-making process of the Israeli government.