18th October

18^th October

“Most believe that a satisfactory future requires a return to an idealised past” Dune

So it turns out that the Israeli prisoner who was released today is the cousin, of my dad’s cousin’s wife. So while hardly a close member of the family, it’s still nice to see he was released after all this time. I also hope that this signifies a shift in the negotiations for a separate Palestinian nation. The 1000 prisoners returning will either bring with them a desire for peace, or renewed aggression.

From everything I have read, the modern Israeli state is financially committed to continuing the conflict, both in terms of American aid, and its own military and defence industry. Indeed, it is not in Israel’s interest to end the status quo, which makes the farce of all of these ‘Middle-east peace plans’. They are not peace talks, if one side already knows it doesn’t want peace.

Now, the Palestinians are hardly innocent in all of this, and the rocket attacks and bombings are destructive and dangerous. But it’s possible to argue that they are fighting from a position of desperation, and history has shown what desperate people are willing to do.

So my hope is that this release moves both parties move together, but both will be doing it for different reasons. Hammas has now played its only trump card, and now the only thing it can bring to the table is an end to all acts of violence. If it able to maintain a ceasefire then its image abroad will be bolstered, and it will remove Israeli claims that all of their actions are in self defence.

Israel is currently basking in international praise for its action. Swapping 1000 people for a single person was a big risk for them, and while not universally popular domestically, it has certainly helped their image abroad. Outside of the USA, I think many people, while not being anti-Israel, are more likely to be against the Israeli occupation of Palestine, and this latest action will have helped Israeli PR no end. Hopefully this will mean that all future decisions made in regards to Palestine will consider the international support such actions could gain, rather than simply pandering to domestic voters. If Israel wants to help improve its relations with Turkey – and as a major purchaser of Israeli weapons I am sure it does – then such actions will only help.

Of course, all of this is just my humble opinion, based on what I have read, and I could be completely wrong. And this has nothing to do with Kazakhstan, so sorry!