Israel Mourns Crash Victims

SHAAR YESHUV, Israel: As Israel mourned 73 soldiers killed in Tuesday's helicopter collision, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the disaster will not stop the government from sending troops to into Israel's self-declared 'security zone' in south Lebanon. The accident has refocused attention on Israel's heavy military presence in the area; including Tuesday's disaster, 254 Israeli soldiers have died in the security zone since its creation, though mostly in clashes with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas. "In a country of Israel's size, that is an alarming number," says TIME's Bill Stewart. "This is certain to add fuel to the debate whether such areas of occupation are truly necessary to the defense of Israel." This week, Israel's Public Security Minister proposed that Israel unilaterally withdraw from the zone, saying Israeli soldiers were unnecessarily a target for Lebanese guerrillas. While Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai rejected the idea, Stewart thinks that could change. "Israel is a nation whose identity rests largely on its security. But the crash occurred within Israel's borders, without any involvement from Lebanon or Syria," he said. "There is certain to be outrage over what, exactly, these soldiers died for." Former Prime Minister Shimon Peres said Tuesday that the lesson of the disaster was that Israel needed to pay the "price for peace" with Lebanon and Syria. While Stewart did not foresee any such immediate effect on Israeli policy, a withdrawal would be an important first step. As Israel mourns its sons, it remains to be seen whether the nation's worst-ever military air disaster can provide some impetus for diplomacy.