BERLIN/TEL AVIV/BEIRUT (own report) – Even after the wave of Israeli attacks on Lebanon yesterday, Monday, the German government is upholding its support for the Israeli government’s bellicose policy. Hundreds of people were killed in the attacks, including numerous civilians, paramedics and children. Berlin had already sought to legitimise Israel’s strikes on population centres by declaring that the threat posed to Israel by Hezbollah is decidedly “intolerable”. Berlin failed to criticise the attacks last week with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies. They were deliberately triggered in civilian areas, killing and horribly maiming Hezbollah members, many in civilian roles, along with civilian bystanders. The German government’s own strategy for the Middle East is based heavily on cooperation with Israel, the region’s player most wedded to the West both socially and politically. The bigger picture is that Berlin, acting in lockstep with Washington, aims to strengthen German-European positions in the Middle East in order to make it easier for the US to redeploy its forces as it shifts to a power struggle against China in the Asia-Pacific region. China is now a major priority for the US military.