Self-Defense

People often ask, "Doesn't Israel have a right to defend itself?" As phrased, this question serves to evade fundamental issues and to legitimate a moral, political, and military blank check for the Israeli government. (It's like asking, "Don't you support the troops?") Israelis have the same right to self-defense that Palestinians and Lebanese do, namely, the right to protect innocent life, liberty, and honestly acquired property. It does not include the right to threaten and destroy those things.