European Press Review: "No Way Out"

"There's no way out of this lost situation," lamented the Berliner Zeitung. "The armed forces cannot resolve the conflict. (…) UN troops would only embarrass themselves there. It is completely absurd to bring up the possibility of German participation in an intervention that can hopefully be prevented." The paper concluded that is is up to the US, Russia, Germany and France to "put pressure on their friends. They can't do any more than that."

"Since Israel is not antagonistic to President Chirac's suggestion to set up a humanitarian corridor, it is feasible that French diplomacy will get involved in the Middle East game again," wrote France's Le Télégramme. "France must intervene," concluded the paper, "in order to limit the destruction that is yet again being caused in this country."

"Israel and the rest of the Middle East are not listening to Europe," commented the Dutch newspaper Trouw. Peace would have to be attained before peace-keeping troops can be sent, "and that lies far off in the distance." Sending intervention troops while the conflict is still hot would mean they "would have to establish a stable buffer zone," which would be "futile in the Middle East because all sides are against it." Nevertheless, the paper concluded that, "while the influence in the Middle East has to come from Washington, Europe can better approach this conflict diplomatically, financially and militarily."

"While both Hezbollah and Israel have blundered, Israel is likely to come off worse," wrote Britain's The Guardian. "In earlier wars, Israel fought and won against the conventional armies of Arab states. It always enjoyed superiority. But today's asymmetrical warfare is proving far harder for Israel to handle, and is exacting a deadlier toll." As for the "human catastrophe in Lebanon and, to a smaller but still terrible extent, in Israel," Bush and Blair seem "unmoved." The British and US heads of state "ought at least to understand what political damage (the catastrophe) is causing," criticized the paper.

Switzerland's Tages-Anzeiger calls for an end to military relations with Israel. "In small Switzerland, which is committed to international law, the only possibility is an open rejection of military violence again the civilian population," the paper wrote. However, it continued, "Israel has effectively been conducting a war for days now against a country that cannot defend itself. And the issue is not neutrality, but political credibility: Switzerland must end army contacts and arms trade with a military power that violates international law."