THESE are cartoons to make you wince, not laugh. Both Israeli and Arab cartoonists have been invigorated by the Lebanon crisis, finding in it a rich seam of villains, whose caricatures are recognisable worldwide, and gracing them with bitter captions that draw on decades of resentment.

Israeli cartoonists have been torn between the rival contenders for the role of chief foe: the pudgy, turbaned figure of Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, or the slight, heavy-browed figure of President Ahmedinejad of Iran.

Haaretz captures Israel’s scepticism at the gaps in this week’s United Nations deal. Under the caption “They’re looking for volunteers for the multinational force”, it has Ahmedinejad thrusting up his hand to volunteer, as President Assad of Syria looks on.

The blunt point is clear: Syria and Iran are a more solid “multinational force” behind Hezbollah than the UN has yet mustered to keep the peace. But the subtle comedy is in the sketch of Assad: tall and tentative, his Western business suit suggesting his ambivalence about which side to take, bending down towards the noisy, animated Ahmedinejad almost with deference.

The Telad sketch of Ahmedinejad pulling the strings of puppet Nasrallah is hardly subtle. But the image chosen by Ha Merkaz (The Centre), a local Israeli newspaper, shows him exultant in front of a bank of microphones, and captures his unquestioned worldliness. Six weeks ago, he did not command world headlines; now, he has eclipsed Osama bin Laden, to al-Qaeda’s chagrin.

The Jerusalem Post shows a thin-haired, wrinkled Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, dressed as Superman, looking perturbed as he encounters a rival Superman in Nasrallah, expansive and beaming.

It is the Post that also captures Israel’s harshest dilemma: how to justify its military action in the face of Lebanese civilian casualties. It does so awkwardly, in its Dry Bones cartoon strip, suggesting that the “dumb civilians” are exploited by Hezbollah. They are; but many will feel this does not get Israel off the hook.

The Arab cartoonists range more widely in their choice of target. The prominence with which the UN features may dismay those trying to broker the deal. It is no surprise that President Bush and Israel are there too, but there are also a few tentative hits at Arab leaders.

The Arab News has the stooped figure of the UN, crowned with a top hat, suggesting the authority of a past era, struggling to “tailor” a resolution to the bloated waistband of an Israeli soldier, who looks down in satisfaction. In bulk, at least, the Israeli figure resembles Ariel Sharon, the former general and Prime Minister, who still lies comatose.

A cartoon from al-Hayat shows, with no subtlety, a block entitled “human rights” lying in a dustbin (of a distinctly European design, and a far cry from towering New York garbage cans). But the point is clear: the UN has discarded its role as defender of human rights by failing to act over Lebanon. The looming, blank tower of the UN headquarters reflects the impenetrability of the institution, in Arab eyes.

Another image of President Bush as ringmaster credits him with a control over events that the US may well not feel it has. The audience (unidentified, but passive, and apparently approving), is asking what the US will do for its next trick when it has destroyed Lebanon (with the help of the Israeli warplane circling the arena).

A more subversive gibe comes from the Lebanese newspaper al-Nahar. Lebanon is the patient on the stretcher, borne by two crippled Arab ministers, under the caption “Still trying to save Beirut”.

Most Arab commentary on the crisis, in words or pictures, has focused on the alleged sins of Israel, the US and UN and not on the silence of Arab leaders. This image does them the courtesy of suggesting that it is impotence rather than reticence that explains their lack of effect.

That may now be out of date. The Arab League meeting yesterday produced an untypically coherent statement, calling on the UN to impose tougher demands on Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. The UN will want to be seen to respond to this.

But the common message of many of these cartoons, on either side, is that there is huge appeal in portraying the crisis as a battle between two main players: the US and Iran. That caricature ignores the role that others, including Arab governments and Israel, will have to play to solve it.

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