I have been following the arguments over Gaza,Israel ,Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East with some interest. I thought I would write in and reccomend two books which I found very informative when I read them last year.
The first one is a general account of the Middle East and is written by Robert Fisk called The Great War For Civilisation and the second book,also by Fisk is Pity the Nation about the first invasion of Lebanon.
Both books ring true!
yarrow