Middle East erupts

[Hippikos]

that if Israel allowed the attacks to go on and did nothing about it, they would eventually be seen as the highly moral actor.

To remind you, below the timeline of the beginning of this conflicts. Now who attacked? Do you consider the kidnapping an attack? Kidnappings happened all the time. BTW Chief of Staff Dan Halutz sold his stocks hours before the start of the Israeli attacks, he knew that something big was coming long time before...

July 12
Hezbollah fighters seize two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid. Three Israeli soldiers are also killed in the attack.

It says it will release them if Israel frees Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

"Fulfilling its pledge to liberate the prisoners and detainees, the Islamic Resistance ... captured two Israeli soldiers at the border with occupied Palestine," a Hezbollah statement said.

Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, said the attack was an "act of war" by Lebanon and said he would make the country pay a "heavy price".

July 13
Israeli jets bomb the runway of Lebanon's only international airport, the Rafiq Hariri Airport in Beirut, at dawn. The airport is closed and flights are diverted.

Israel announces an air and sea blockade of Lebanon, and says that Hezbollah will not be allowed to return to its former position along the border.

July 14
Israel bombs targets across Lebanon including bridges, roads and power stations. Israeli aircraft also hits Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut.

Israel also attacks broadcasting facilities belonging to Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel.

Hezbollah fires an Iranian-made anti-shipping rocket at an Israeli naval vessel off Beirut. The attack kills four Israeli sailors. Israeli accuses the Lebanese army of assisting Hezbollah.

July 15
Israeli aircraft destroy Hezbollah's headquarters in southern Beirut in an attempt to kill Hasan Nasrallah, the group's leader.

Israel bombs Lebanon's ports and other sites across Lebanon. The attacks kill at least 35 people.

Eighteen Lebanese civilians die when an Israeli rockets hit their van near the southern city of Saida.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, promises "open war" against Israel.

Hezbollah rockets hit Tiberias, an Israeli city in Galilee. The attacks are the deepest so far.