Helping Israel's case? To whom? Israel gets the shaft in world opinion 90% of the time. Why would they give a rat's ass about world opinion when they already know its most likely to be negative, or at best ambivilent, regardless of the facts at hand? As many others have said already, it's about survival.

You know, to look at this isolated incident in isolation is ridiculous. Israel isn't merely reacting to the capture of two soldiers, it's reacting to centuries of hate directed at them. You may think that they're flying off the handle, but try to imagine being surrounded by people who would love nothing more than wipe your seed from the earth. I think you might react strongly when provoked. Key word: provoked.