Israeli Blockade Crumbles

In the fact of Lebanese resistance, strong international pressure, and open statements of intent to break the blockade, Israel is giving up its failed blockade of Lebanon.

Israel imposed a total air and sea blockade on Lebanon in the first days of the Israel-Hezbollah war.  They supplemented this by bombing every significant road leading out of Lebanon into Syria, despite the fact that these roads were often being used by refugees that Israel had ordered to leave southern Lebanon.  Israel did relent very slightly in the face of international pressure and allow a few cargos of humanitarian medical supplies to enter, but beyond that the air and sea blockade was total.

Israel has been maintaining the blockade of Lebanon despite the end of the war nearly a month ago.  This has been quite devastating for Lebanon, hindering the re-entry of refugees and making it difficult to bring in supplies to help rebuild the shattered country and to get the economy going.

There has been significant pressure by the UN and the world community to end the blockade.  Israel had been letting a few flights into Lebanon from Amman, Jordan, and now the blockade appears to be collapsing completely.

The key event in breaking the blockade was action by British Airways.  After receiving permission from the British government, though not from the Israeli government, British Airways announced it would fly to Beirut.  This put Israel in an impossible position.  It was forced to decide to shoot down a British civilian aircraft, or acknowledge the blockade was ineffective.  From Haaretz:

"We regret the fact, but we have no choice. We do not want to hit civilian planes," a military official was quoted as telling the German news agency, when asked whether Israel would allow civilian aircraft to break the air blockade.

Meanwhile, an airliner from a British Airways franchise took off from London's Heathrow Airport earlier Wednesday for a direct flight to Beirut, in what it said would be a breach of the air embargo imposed at the start of the war with Hezbollah eight weeks ago.

Lebanon recognized the inherent weakness of the Israeli position and vowed to force it's way through the blockade if it was not lifted within 48 hours.  From the Times of Oman:

Lebanon vowed on Wednesday to bust Israel's eight-week-old blockade of its ports and airport unless it is lifted within two days as envisaged by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Israel imposed the embargo, bombing Beirut airport and denying ships access to Lebanese ports, one day after Hizbollah fighters captured two of its soldiers on July 12 and sparked a war that was halted by a UN truce nearly five weeks later.

"We will wait for the 48 hours given by Kofi Annan, and if the situation is resolved, we will thank him," Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh told journalists on the sidelines of an Arab foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo.

"If it is not, the Lebanese government will take the necessary measures and we will break the blockade with all our might," he said, without specifying what steps he had in mind.

For a sea blockade, Israel's position is slightly stronger.  It could, at least, physically intercept and block ships without killing everyone on board, as it would have to do to aircraft.  However, Israel would still be using force against civilian ships when not at war, little different from piracy.  This would have destroyed all support from Israel, support which Israel needs to make the new UNIFIL successful in Israeli terms.  

Israel has now announced the blockade will be lifted as of 6 PM Thursday.  This is a major victory of Lebanon.  It restores an important measure of Lebanese sovereignty, and allows the economy to restart and hopefully the rebuilding to accelerate.  Israel's blockade was unnecessary, immoral for the damage it did to an already weakened Lebanon, and ineffective, since if Hezbollah desires to import arms, it can easily bring them over the long land border with Syria.  Given this ineffectiveness, Israel's blockade had the flavor of sour grapes, a meaningless punishment exacted on Lebanon in revenge for the embarrassment Israel and the Olmert government suffered in the recent war.

The ending of the blockade is a very positive step for Lebanon and region.  Let's hope further positive steps follow.