THE latest round of tension in south Lebanon appeared to be dissipating yesterday as Israel opted not to prolong its aerial bombardment of guerrilla positions in Lebanon, preferring to wait and see whether the Iranian-backed Hiz bullah organisation would respond by firing katyusha rockets into northern Israel.
The latest escalation in the ongoing conflict in south Lebanon, where Israel occupies a so-called security zone, followed the death on Sunday of four Israelis, including Brig-Gen Erez Gerstein, the most senior officer to be killed in Lebanon since Israel's invasion in 1982. But yesterday, Israeli sources hinted that if Hizbullah refrained from retaliating, the situation would most likely wind down.
One sign of the decreasing tension was an announcement by the army yesterday evening that northern Israel was no longer on a state of alert and that residents - many of whom had spent Sunday night in air-raid shelters for fear of a Hizbullah rocket attack - could return to their homes.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, who convened senior cabinet ministers yesterday to discuss Israel's response, was evasive when asked whether the military operation would continue. All he would say was that Israel would attack Hizbullah positions "at the time and in the way we see fit".
Some cabinet ministers, however, argued that Israel had to decide between an extensive strike and unilateral withdrawal from south Lebanon. That was the view of the Minister of Internal Security, Mr Avigdor Kahalani, who was quoted as saying in the cabinet meeting: "Why did we not knock out the electricity in Beirut?" Later, Mr Kahalani added that if Israel is "not capable of making such decisions, then we must decide on a unilateral withdrawal".
The latest deaths have reignited the debate in Israel - which cuts across party lines - over its prolonged presence in south Lebanon, where over 900 Israeli soldiers have lost their lives since the 1982 invasion. Polls indicate about one-third of Israelis support a speedy withdrawal.
Mr Yossi Beilin, a senior member of the opposition Labour Party, has regularly argued that Israel should withdraw from south Lebanon and deploy its forces massively along the country's northern border. That way, Mr Beilin has said, Israel would no longer be seen by the world as an occupier and it would be free to respond with massive force if Hizbullah continued its attacks.
Opponents of a speedy withdrawal, however, insist that Hizbullah would not cease its operations, and Israel would have to respond with ever greater force, leading to an escalation of the Lebanese conflict - a development that would ultimately leave the army with little choice but to re-invade back across the border. The solution, they have argued, lies in negotiations with Lebanon's patron, Syria.
With national elections scheduled for May 17th, the latest escalation in south Lebanon leaves Mr Netanyahu in something of a political bind. While he is keen to present himself as a strong leader who does not balk on security issues, a muted response to events in Lebanon could send the opposite message. He is, however, acutely aware of the potential negative fallout of a protracted military operation in south Lebanon which could lead to Israeli troop casualties and would force residents in northern Israel into air-raid shelters for an extended period of time.
To give the impression that he was actively tackling the Lebanese problem, Mr Netanyahu told worshippers gathered in a synagogue in the border town of Kiryat Shmona for the Jewish festival of Purim yesterday, that the bombing raids deep inside Lebanon had been successful and indicated a "change in policy".
But military commentators were quick to point out that the aerial attacks were not a departure from past policy, and they estimated that the impact of the bombardment had been limited, especially with Hizbullah leaders and fighters having gone to ground before the assault.
In response to Mr Netanyahu's remarks, the Labour Party released a statement attacking the Prime Minister: "Like in every area he gets stuck in," it read, "Netanyahu thinks he can solve the problem of Lebanon on TV."