The international conference in Rome held July 26th to address the destruction of Lebanon ended without a call for a ceasefire. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice stood virtually alone in opposing any language in the conference statement suggesting that the Israeli onslaught, which has already caused close to 500 civilian deaths and destroyed much of the country’s infrastructure, should be ended any time soon.

Israel says the decision by a summit of world powers not to call for a halt to its Lebanon offensive has given it the green light to continue its attacks. "We received yesterday at the Rome conference permission from the world... to continue the operation," Israeli Justice Minister Haim Ramon told the press.

Rome talk-fest wraps up without apparent progress on cease-fire | Lebanon burns while the US feeds the flames | Lebanon summit fails to agree truce call | Rice leaves bloody footprints in Lebanon

While Bush, US Democrats, Blair, Harper and Merkel stand solidly behind Israel, public opinion worldwide is against Israel's attacks on the people of Lebanon. On July 27th, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee held a protest against the war in Lebanon in front of Senator Feinstein’s Office in San Francisco. After a spirited rally, hundreds marched to the SF Chronicle building, where 8 activists were arrested
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Protests in Ireland and Greece Against Israeli Destruction Of Lebanon | DC: Israel’s Barbarism in Lebanon/Gaza Protested | July 22nd Protest in London against Israeli aggression | Australia: thousands join global protests to condemn Israel’s war on Lebanon

In Israel public opinion is still supportive of the war but that could change soon. Nine Israeli soliders were killed and a large number wounded Wednesday in fierce gun battles with Hezbollah in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbail. Wounded IDF troops described the Bint Jbail battle as 'hell on earth'.

The US has been trying to exploit sectarianism in the Middle East to get the US backed regimes in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states to justify anti-Hezbollah stands based off stated fears of increased Shia influence in the region. While the governments of the Middle East support Israel behind the scenes (while enaging in public condemnations of the brutality of Israeli attacks on civilians), public opinion in most Arab and Muslim countries is strongly behind Nasrallah and Hezbollah. Fundamentalist Sunni groups are starting to take note of the outrage growing among many Arabs and Muslims against their own governments support for Israel and even Al Qaeda (which is normally anti-Shia) has issued a video calling for solidarity with Hezbollah.
Fomenting Sunni-Shia conflict is now Washington's and Israel's preferred method of pursuing their aims | Rice: "we and the Saudis have the same goals" | Arab puppet regimes provide 1st line of defense for Israel | American smart bombs to be delivered to Israel through Qatar | Why no one's turning against Hezbollah | Lebanese Author Says New Poll Shows Overwhelming Support For Hezbollah | War Unites Lebanon's Muslims, Christians