Kan du forklare kvifor vanlege internasjonale reglar ikkje gjeld for Israel? Eit "normalt" land ville vore interessert i å etablere gode forbindelser til nabolanda, faste grenser etc. I Norge hadde vi same systemet med 10-dobbel hemn for ca. 1000 år sidan. Eg trur ikkje at mange ynskjer seg tilbake til denne lovlause tida. Husk at dersom Israel fortsetter på same møten i fleire 10-år framover vil dei ligge veldig tynt an den dagen USA ikkje er verdens leiande supermakt lenger.
Hallgeir Wuttudal, Gamlem

Miryam Shomrat The historical fact is that when the State of Israel was established the Arab countries attacked it a war of aggression and at the end of the war refused to sign peace agreements and establish recognised borders - which Israel wanted. It is difficult for me to believe that you seriously think that Israel does not want to live in peace with its neighbors as any normal country would do.

Er det sånn at Israel selv kan avgjøre hvilke FN-resolusjoner som skal følges??? Kjell
Kjell på Furuset, Oslo

Miryam Shomrat One must distinguish between resolutions decided upon by the UN General Assembly, which are not binding, and resolutions made by the UN Security Council which are binding according to International Law. Israel is adhering to Security Council resolutions. It is some of our neighbors in the Middle East that unfortunately disregard Security Council Resolutions, like Syria who only in 2005 fulfilled resolution 425, calling for its withdrawal from Lebanon and resolution 1559 which is not yet carried out by Lebanon.

I flere tiår har vi vært vitne til at Israels ledere - med noen få unntak - har fremstått som poltiske ekstremister ute av stand til å forstå eller å i vareta landets nasjonale langsiktige interesser. Aksjonene mot Libanon og Gaza inngår i et mønster hvor Israel "masse-produserer" nye terrorister og bidrar til en politisk radikalisering i den muslimske verden. Kan ambassadøren tipse oss om et Israelsk enegelskspråklig nettsted som gir oss et annet bilde av politisk/akademisk tenkning i Israel - et håp om at innsikt fortsatt finnes og tross alt kan gi håp for Israel.
Slashbee, Göteborg

Miryam Shomrat Thank You for your question. The following research centers should provide the academically based information: The Jaffe Institute - Tel Aviv University The Dayan Institute for Strategic Studies - Tel Aviv University The Truman Institute at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. The MEMRI Institute Your question has induced us to put the links to these institutes on our website http://oslo.mfa.gov.il

Du synes ikke at antall drepte på de to sidene i krigen er noen relevant faktor når man skal vurdere hvem som er den verste undertrykkeren. Ville du sagt det samme om det hadde vært drept ca 20 ganger fler israelere enn libanesere?
Gunnar Wold, Oslo

Miryam Shomrat I do not understand who you refer to by "oppressor." Israel at any case has evacuated Gaza completely as of September 2005 and was aiming to do the same with most of the West Bank. This has been said both by PM Ariel Sharon at the time and by PM Ehud Olmert on several occasions. Israel did not have any presence in Lebanon at the time it was unprovokedly attacked by Hezbollah. Israel, as Lebanon and I believe most of the Palestinians would like to get on with life peacefully. Unfortunately in the Middle East there are powers that aim to disrupt any peace process, like Iran and Syria who support the Hezbollah and use it for their own ends as a proxy.

Hi How is it to live in Israel surrounded by countries and terror groups bent on destroying you? "Wipe you off the map" as the maniac in Teheran says. I am sure you do everything in your power to avoid hitting civilians, but unfortunate mistakes happen. Do you think Hizballah care much about Israeli civilians? Do you agree with Jan Egeland that these terrorists are cowards when they hide behind women and children? It must be very frustrating that no matter what you do to defend yourself, you get the blame. Wish you all the best and that real secure (rocketfree) borders will be the outcome of this war. Regards, Einar p.t. Sverige
Einar, Sverige

Miryam Shomrat Thank You for your remarks. Jan Egeland is descibes the situation accurately. I think Hezbollah has proved not to care about Lebanese civillians and certainly not for Israeli civillians, otherwise they would not have placed their explosives and missile-depos in residential areas and would not have targeted deliberately Israeli civillians by thousands of rockets and missiles.

Hvor mange sivile tap er akseptabel for Isarel i en krig, både på fiendens side og Isarels side.
Alexandra Wiland, oslo

Miryam Shomrat It is unacceptable for Israel to be attacked from the territory of a neighboring country. It is unaaceptable for Israel that its civillian population is threatened, attacked and targeted by some 12.000 rockets and missiles. These are positioned on Lebanese territory in contradiction to international law. Israel does have a conflict with the Lebanese government or people. Both Lebanon and Israel have a problem with Hezbollah. Any loss of life as a result of Hizbollahs aggression is to be very much regretted.

Hvordan oppleves det å være ambassadør i et etterhvert stadig mer israelfiendlig land som norge. Er vel ikke så helt balansert og objektiv dekningen i norske media? Eller regjeringen for den del..
nordmann, hgsd

Miryam Shomrat I admit that Norway does not pose the easiest task for an Ambassador of Israel. I feel that there is much work to be done to explain the threats that Israel is exposed to. Much of the press has focused on the plight of the Palestinians, neglecting to show the plight of Israelis living in Sderot and the villages and Kibbutzim next to the Gaza Strip, that have been and are targeted daily by Palestinian missiles. As for the northern front the coverage of the plight of the Lebanese is being covered extensively, while it took some days until Norwegian press reported the Israeli side. There are more than 100 rockets per day targeting Israeli civillians.

Hva vil Israel gjøre for aa unngaa nye angrep paa FN observatører? Skønner man at bevisst beskytning av en FN-observasjonspost over timer ødelegger sympatien med Israel selv hos landets venner?
Arne Solaas, Hamburg

Miryam Shomrat The UN observers post was certainly not targeted deliberately by the IDF. There was heavy fighting going on in the region and inquiry is ongoing to find out what went wrong that such a tragic incident occurred. Israel expressed its deep regret on the incident although we do not know yet for certain that it was Israeli fire.