Israel and Lebanon

Sir, – Fintan Lane decries the Israeli attack on the Hamas headquarters in Beirut as “an attack in the capital city of a neighbouring sovereign state” (Letters, January 5th).

Lebanon is a failed state. Its French-devised constitution requires control by a network of religious accommodations which result in the same dysfunctional governance as that pertaining in Northern Ireland. Hizbullah and Iran are in de facto control of large swathes of the country. Neither the Lebanese army, nor 350 Irish UN peacekeepers for that matter, have prevented Hizbullah operating south of the Litani river in defiance of UN resolution 1701 and launching missile attacks into Israel displacing 40,000 people from border towns.

Sovereign is not a word to describe the tragedy that is Lebanon, and any threats to the genuine sovereignty of Israel that emanate from it must be dealt with. – Is mise,

KENNETH HARPER,