Today witnessed another sickening twist in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Tonight's picture of broken bodies and bombed victims in agony arouses anger and despair.
Can anything ever be done? Tony Blair has taken on the task of mediation of what he admits is an intractable problem. I have visited Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza strip on officials visits and on a family holiday. After the Oslo agreements there was real hope that a peace settlement could be achieved. On a visit to Gaza shortly after wards, I was shocked by the third world conditions of the refugee camps situated a few miles from the five star luxury of Israeli hotels.
Then came the worst blow with the assassination of Yitshak Rabin by fanatics. The divides within both communities are deep and deadly as the ancient enmities of Jews and Arabs.
It took courage for the Israelis to leave their settlements in the Gaza strip. Their presence was always provocative and self-defeating. But the gesture was hailed as a victory by Hamas and an excuse to increase the rain of rocket fire on Israeli homes.
The hated wall that is blighting Arab life and the still continuing land grab of Arab land are deepening hatreds. A new invasion of Gaza will be as bloody and as doomed as the last invasion of Lebanon. All the hopes that have arisen in the past 50 years are now in ruins.
Many similar ethnic conflicts in the world have run their course and peace prevails. After decades of repeated failures of peace and military initiatives the outlook in the Middle East has rarely looked more dangerous than now.
With Hamas on one side and a re-elected Netanyahu on the other, peace will be more elusive than ever.
In a final sick gesture Bush is apparently awarding the Presidental Medal of Freedom next week to ex-PM, "peace envoy" and religious foundation fopunder Tony Blair.
One last sick joke from a sick president to a smirking disgrace of a "Labour" (?) Prime Minister.
Who said crime doesn't pay?
Posted by: Graham Marlowe | January 07, 2009 at 07:26 AM
This article by Johann Hari in the Independent offers a very interesting perspective.
The true story behind this war is not the one Israel is telling
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-the-true-story-behind-this-war-is-not-the-one-israel-is-telling-1214981.html
Posted by: Adam | December 30, 2008 at 12:18 AM
Israel behaves like a bully because it knows it will get away with it, since the USA behaves towards it like an over-indulgent mother, giving it unconditional love. Because Britain is so afraid of offending the "special relationship" Brown, whilst leaking part of his pious "New Year message" to us, remains mute on this horror.
The usual Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev, is wheeled out on BBC news programmes like Today, and mouths the usual platitudes about not wishing to harm civilians, but he cannot be so styupid as to think bombing a very narrow area like this, including a University, will result in anything other than civilian casulties. A pity he doesn't join Ariel Sharon in the land of the living dead.
Posted by: Graham Marlowe | December 29, 2008 at 07:04 AM
It seems the world is turned upside down.
Israel is occupying Palestian lands, and furthermore it is making life intolerable in the areas they are left in. That is prior to outrightly bombing and attacking them like they now are. Yet so many identify the root problem as the Palestinians not recognising the rights of Israel.
What do the zionists mean when they say Israel has a right to exist that palestinians "should accept"?
It means that a jew from anywhere can go and settle in the illegally occupied West Bank, but a Palestinian who was pushed there as a refugee in 1948 or 1967 cannot go to the village or neighbourhood they were ethnically cleansed from.
Posted by: Adam | December 29, 2008 at 01:40 AM
If there was any justice in the world, Blair would be standing "shoulder-to-shoulder" with his bosom pal Bush for war crimes in the Hague, and, if found guilty, I wouldn't object to him falling through the trap door of the gallows.
I think the most offensive remark that ever came from that effeminate mouth was when he said "I am prepared to pay the blood price". Of course, it is so easy to say that when you know you are protected 24 hours a day. I think the relationship between that pair was always unhealthy, though of course, we all know public schoolboys develop "crushes" on older boys. Pity Blair had to wait till his was nearly 50 to do so....
Posted by: Graham Marlowe | December 28, 2008 at 08:28 PM
I can't understand why Blair hasn't been arrested.Lying about WMD'S ,being involved in stealth bombing innocents, the strange goings on with Dr Kelly.
Failing the above i would hang him for damage to the labour party.
Posted by: Patrick | December 28, 2008 at 06:43 PM
I think Blair is one of the most insincere, self-interested, money grubbing creeps who has ever fouled parliament: no wonder he and Mandelson are such pals - like goes to like.
He only got the "peace envoy" gig as a reward for being such a toady to Bush: I think a more apt "tribute" to him would have been if Bush had renamed Camp David as "Camp Tony"
Posted by: Graham Marlowe | December 28, 2008 at 05:29 PM
You are not Blair's biggest fan, Graham
Posted by: Paul Flynn | December 28, 2008 at 05:25 PM
You will wait a damned long time for Blair to do any good Paul, apart from the fact that he is seen as biased towards Israel (a former Labour Friend of Israel like Purnell and Abrahams), can he take time off from his American college lecturing, his lucrative speaking engagements and his "religous" foundation (which sounds a bit like an ecclesiastical corset)
Posted by: Graham Marlowe | December 28, 2008 at 02:09 PM