Looking around, it was difficult for me to see any cause for concern. The stony hill-country of Jebel-Amil in South Lebanon seems an idyllic place; most of the flat-roofed houses have olives, figs and almonds, or at least grapes, growing on trellises over their yards.
Like the proverbial glimmer of hope in the midst of total despair, and despite the dark cloud of gloom and defeat hovering over the Arab world, South Lebanon has once again emerged as the theatre of some of the most dramatic and promising developments in the Israeli-Arab conflict.