Larry Derfner gets dangerously close to blaming Israel for the Burgas attack.

When Israel assassinated Hezbollah’s Imad Mughniyeh and five Iranian nuclear scientists, it was picking a fight, and the payback – or part of it – was Wednesday’s bus bombing.

I agree that when Israeli leaders decided to assassinate Iranian scientists, they increased the probability of an attack on Israeli citizens. I think that this point needs to be present in the Israeli debate following the attack. For me, this is another reason to fear the judgment of the odd couple, Barak and Netanyahu.

Yet when raising this issue, it’s even more important to make it clear that the responsibility for the attack on Israeli tourists lies with those who planned and carried it out. They are the ones who murdered innocent civilians; Israeli decision makers could only have taken part in the escalation that led to the attack. There is a big difference between the two.

Assuming that Iran, Hezbollah or both were behind this attack, and assuming it was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian scientists – are we supposed to exempt Iran or Hezbollah from responsibility for their actions, just because it was retaliation? This logic, it seems to me, actually de-humanizes the Iranians, because it doesn’t apply to them the highest of moral expectations, which are only saved for our community. Yes, it’s tempting to say something like: “What can you expect after killing one of theirs? Obviously, they will hit whatever Israeli they find.” But why is it so obvious?

The assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, which was also mentioned in this context, makes the case even clearer. I have criticized the Israeli tendency to blur the line between Palestinian civilians and militants. Recently, an army official even told a British foreign office team that every Palestinian child is a potential terrorist. Naturally, I find this position horrifying. Why should we therefore see an attack on Israeli tourists a “natural” response to the killing of a high-ranking Hezbollah commander?

Let’s be clear: I don’t think Larry Derfner supports attacks of any kind on Israelis. Not in a million years. But when we discuss the escalation between Israel and Iran, I think we shouldn’t forget that there are two sides here, and unlike the Palestinian issue, where Israel has all the cards and therefore bears way more responsibility for every development, Iran is a regional super-power which has many policy options before it. If Iran did carry out the attack, it bears responsibility for it. If Israel retaliates against civilians, the recent attack cannot serve as an excuse. Nothing is inevitable, and we always have a choice.