Israel is not really an egalitarian, representative democracy in the mode that the U.S. wants to encourage; it's a nationalist state fixated on one cultural identity, which is running scared from its own "demographic problem" ( to see echoes of that in America, just watch Fox News ).

I agree with you that at this point Israel's willingness to use overwhelming force in *all* circumstances is less of a necessary defensive posture and more of a case of terminal overreaction. Yes, Israel faces enemies from without, including Hezbollah to the north. Yes, Hezbollah is a terrorist organization designed to destabilize the region. However, it takes two to fuck up a region.