International reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War 39% disapproved, and 16% were not sure. When asked to think about the events of the past week in the Middle East, 54% of Americans answered that their sympathies are more with Israel, 11% answered more with Arab nations, 11% both, 11% neither, and 13% not sure. In August 2006, University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer accused Israel of using the kidnapping of its soldiers by Hezbollah as an excuse to attack Lebanon and start the 2006 Lebanon War. Mearsheimer stated that "Israel had been planning to strike at Hezbollah for months. Key Israelis had briefed the administration about
European reactions to the 2006 Lebanon War is indeed the case, certainly there will be repercussions from the entire humanity. The children of Palestine are as valuable as those of Israel." Erdoğan criticized the Israeli counterattacks, stating that "While the kidnapping in Palestine was both negative and wrong, a tenfold use of excessive force is even more so. No reason can justify bombing civilians and laying waste to cities in a merciless manner." Erdoğan also mentioned that he got a phone call from Fuad Sinyora, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, where Sinyora explained to him that "they were being wrongfully accused of a crime they did not