India's "Counter-Terrorism Cognoscenti" and "specialists" could barely contain their excitement. Some believed that India might not have exclusive access to Tunda, since "rendered" to the United States. But access there would be.

"Tunda" soon turned out to be Ismoila Olatunde Rufal, a British national of Nigerian origin! He was deported to Britain.

This confusion is deplorable -- even more so than the FBI's harassment in the 1960s of US anti-Vietnam war activists because they possessed books on "Cubism," a school of painting, which the bureau confused with Cuba!

The Tunda episode exposed the desperation of intelligence agencies and media eager to find any evidence for their preconceived notions.

Yet, the story's collapse hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of those who feel Pakistan-sponsored terrorists were responsible for Mumbai's blasts; to punish their masters and deter terrorist violence, India should launch surgical attacks on Pakistani targets, such as terrorist training camps.

There's no tenable evidence for the first. And Indian military personnel have repeatedly said that the make-shift "training camps" cannot be effective targets.

Clearly, what inspires the proponents of strikes on Pakistan is not military efficacy, but an urge to declare India is no longer a "soft state." It'll wage a "do-or-die" battle against terrorism.

Their chosen model is Israel, which practises what may be called "maximum deterrence" against "terrorists," using overwhelming force. Ultra-nationalist hawks admire Israel precisely for this. They support Israel's current actions in Lebanon and hold that these will deter "terrorists" from attacking Israeli civilians. India must emulate the "Israeli model" and demonstrate its "manhood."

This is a recipe for courting insecurity and making Indian citizens more vulnerable to terrorism. Consider four arguments.

First, Israel was wrong to invade Lebanon, and earlier, Gaza and unleash savage attacks on non-combatant civilians. It waged a war of aggression on Lebanon. True, on July 12, Hizbollah raided two patrolling Israeli jeeps, and killed three soldiers and abducted two. But that's not a legitimate cause for all-out war.

Hizbollah is not a Lebanese state agency, but a private militia. It's one thing to retaliate against Hizbollah with pinpointed force; quite another to invade a whole country, kill 400 civilians, and destroy its infrastructure, including ports, highways, bridges and water supply.

Israel acted not in self-defence, but to destroy a whole society, rebuilt slowly after the long trauma of war and Syrian interference.

Second, legally and morally, Israel is a terrible model. It has the world's longest history of violating Security Council resolutions (e.g. 242 and 338) and the worst contemporary record of occupying another nation.

As I observed during my visit to Israel/Palestine two years ago, the occupation oppresses the civilian population comprehensively, controls all its movements, and confiscates its land and water. It consciously impoverishes Palestinians and uproots them at will.

The occupation makes South Asia's humiliating experience of colonialism look like a picnic.

Israel's anti-terrorism rhetoric is deeply hypocritical. It was itself born in Zionist terrorism, practised by groups like the Haganah and Irgun, to which leaders such as Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon, and present Prime Minister Ehud Olmert belonged. Terrorists were crucial to Israel's establishment. As Begin put it: "Blood brought our revolt to life."

Last week, Israeli leaders, including former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, celebrated the 60th anniversary of one of the Zionism's worst attacks, on the King David Hotel. Ninety-one people perished in the attack.

It's relevant to recall this because Israel's own history of terrorism has desensitised its leadership to barbarism. It's no longer even capable of proportionate use of force.

Third, Israel has annexed Palestinian territory and is expanding its illegal settlements on the West Bank -- not least through the 700 kilometre-long Security Barrier or Apartheid Wall, which has been pronounced illegal by the International Court of Justice.

Worse, Israel has practised collective punishment of innocent civilians and laid siege to Gaza and Beirut. It has cut off power and water supply, thus depriving people of the means of survival, including food -- crimes that are punishable under international law.

Israel's invasion has created half-a-million refugees. All these actions are unconscionable and unworthy of any civilised state. Even Western governments allied to Israel, barring the US, have condemned its savagery.

India is being asked to emulate this disgraceful model, rooted in illegality, gross immorality, and terrorising of innocent civilians.

The present violence was deliberately provoked by Israel when it recently liquidated the Palestinian Authority's internal security chief, Abu Jamal Samhanada. This impelled Hamas to fire primitive home-made Qassam rockets at Israel.

Israel retaliated ferociously, even killing picnicking civilians. In the escalating violence, Hamas militants killed two Israeli soldiers and abducted one.

Now, an occupied people are within their legal rights to militarily target and kill occupying soldiers, although not to abduct them. But it is even more illegitimate to abduct civilians, as Israel has often done. It recently arrested one-third of the PA cabinet.

Finally, Israel has not gained security through these actions. Its civilians have become more, not less, vulnerable to terrorism. Although Israel has the world's thickest density of security barriers, bomb detectors and so on, Hamas militants regularly manage to kill Israelis.

The more savage Israel becomes in response, the more hatred it generates in its own neighbourhood. The present invasion has inflamed the entire region.

If India emulates the Israeli model, it will discredit itself as a lawless and irresponsible nation. Worse, it'll promote unspeakable violence in its own neighbourhood.

There is a sane, sober and peaceful alternative to this: build confidence among the neighbours, strengthen people-to-people contacts and pursue the dialogue with Pakistan while bringing the culprits of terrorism to book.

Praful Bidwai is an eminent Indian columnist.