Analysis UN Resolution 1701

Many of you have written wishing an explanation of the recent U.N. cease-fire resolution 1701 to the Israel-Hezbollah war. The following are points from various sources in Israel, including The Jerusalem Post, commentator Naomi Ragen, and the Israeli conservative periodical, IsraelInsider. My thoughts are added to the points below:

The resolution represents a near-total victory for Hezbollah and its sponsors, Syria and Iran, and a defeat for both Israel and America, though America pushed the cease-fire through late last week.
It makes it impossible for Israel to defend itself against aggression without being exposed to international condemnation on a scale never seen before.
The responsibility for determining compliance is placed in the hands of Kofi Annan who has distinguished himself as a man capable only of condemning Israel for its acts of self-defense. By empowering Annan to evaluate compliance, the resolution all but ensures that Hezbollah will not be forced to disarm and that Israel will be forced to give up the right to defend itself.
A catastrophic precedent has been set for the future. Because Lebanon is receiving international support for legally unsupportable territorial demands on Israel (Shaba Farms on the Golan Heights), in the future, the Palestinians, Syrians, Egyptians, and even Jordanians will feel empowered to employ aggression to gain territorial concessions.
It places the power to oversee an arms embargo against Hezbollah in the hands of the Lebanese government, of which Hezbollah is a member.
Israel is expected to withdraw before a full deployment of Lebanese and UNIFIL forces is carried out. Thus, Hezbollah will reinforce its positions in south Lebanon.
The resolution treats the Lebanese government and military as credible, though it is under the de facto control of Hezbollah and Syria.
The situation empowers Iran--the main victor. It was not condemned in the U.N. action although it is clear that Iran was the engine behind this war.
No Israeli leader before Ehud Olmert has caused so much damage to Israel. He destroyed more than 24 thriving Jewish communities and plans to destroy dozens more unless his government collapses. He has displaced more Jews than any Arab enemy in Israel's history. And he squandered much of Israel's military image and deterrence. He surrounded himself with second rate politicians for political reasons.
The morale among soldiers is at an all-time low and the nation is torn apart.
At this point, the return of captured Israeli soldiers is undetermined.
Israeli soldiers will be replaced by notoriously anti-Israel U.N. forces and European forces who will allow Hezbollah to rearm.
Those promoting this resolution and those accepting it including Olmert and Peretz, have squandered the lives of Israeli soldiers and civilians and the opportunity to free Israel from a deadly enemy. They have set the stage for the next war which will be sooner rather than later.
The resolution treats as equivalent Hezbollah's illegal aggression against Israel's legitimate military actions taken in defense of its sovereign territory.
Will this cease-fire last a day, week, month, or year? That is the unknown question as this is written.

Christian commentator and author in Jerusalem, David Dolan, says, "The atmosphere in Israel is surreal." He says the heavy death toll after this "agreement" was accepted has left the country reeling.
On a more positive note, the door has opened for the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu and General Ya'alon who was kicked out because he refused to go along with the disengagement.
God has an end-time role for Israel that cannot be altered by resolutions and corrupt leaders. How the details above play out only time will tell; however, God's plan for His land will be fulfilled exactly as the Bible outlines. No, she will not be destroyed again and then be re-gathered once again as many have asked.
"The Lord your God . . . will gather you again from all the peoples where your God has scattered you. If the outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord will gather you and bring you back. The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers" (Deut. 30:1-5). "I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them. . ." (Amos 9:14).
While it is true some of the greatest promises will be fulfilled in the Millennium, still God's promise to Israel is as certain as the existence and fixed order of the universe (Jer. 31:35-37).

God is not just a covenant maker, He is a covenant keeper.