The paradox of Israel

My article for Aljazeera net: "Yet, Israel faces many political and even existential challenges. A state that was arrogantly declared to be a "light unto the nations," has become a symbol of aggression, war crimes, and ethnic and religious discrimination. A state that sought US support to maintain military superiority vis-à-vis Arab regimes was humiliated on the battlefield in south Lebanon in 2006 by hundreds of armed youngsters. A state that bragged for decades about the skills and superiority of its intelligence apparatus, botched an assassination attempt against Khaled Mishaal, the Hamas leader, and kidnapped a Lebanese farmer in 2006 because his name was Hasan Nasrallah (and it took Israeli 'experts' a few days to decide that this was the 'wrong' Hasan Nasrallah). A state that signed peace treaties with several Arab regimes and which maintains secret relations with many others, remains hated by the Arab and Muslim public. It seems that the stronger Israel gets, the more impotent it becomes in influencing its status in the region...It is possible that the next phase of the Arab-Israeli conflict may shift from the battlefield to international organisations and courts. In such a scenario, Israeli military superiority is rather obsolete.""