Tony Blair is the man for a crisis. He managed to orchestrate peace in Northern Ireland, FFS, so how hard can the middle east be? Compared to a bunch of militaristic kneecapping Irishmen who’d been murdering each other for 30 years? Oh, the Israelis and Palestinians have been doing it for nearly 80 years and disputing land-rights dating back to the burning bush. And on a more ‘industrial scale’ than Ireland. Oh.

Either way; peace must come. Says everyone whose not directly involved. So send in Tony Blair; he can charm anyone, and peace will ‘flow’, as surely as night follows day.

Well Tony, welcome to the white nights.

Jared Kushner went to Cairo to ‘speak to Hamas’. Even though they’re terrorists and ‘we don’t negotiate with terrorists’. And Jared told them ‘they had to disarm’ and ‘leave government in Gaza’. They probably told Trump’s son-in-law to fuck off. And they in turn ‘demanded’ a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Which Benjamin Netanyahu would agree to in a minute. Just not this particular minute.

Whatever you think of Hamas; they are the ‘government’ over there, ‘duly elected’. Ok, that was back in 2007, but as there’s been no elections since, they’re still there. Where they’ve spent their truly massive (on a per capita basis, more aid than any other nation, by a long way) funds not on their population, not on building businesses and infrastructure, but on building 500 miles of terrorist tunnels and filling them with missiles and arms with which to attack Israel. The ‘education funds’ from UNWRA famously went to schools teaching lovely young children how to hate Israelis, how to despise Jews and how to wear a suicide vest when they get older. Along with the ‘joy of martyrdom’, 101.

The fundamental problem is that Israel wants peace and Hamas wants Israel. And the murder of all current occupants. Plus a few relatives currently living overseas. That’s the whole ‘from the River to the Sea’ thing.

Israeli elections are coming up in October. Most Israelis want Bibi out. Others want any government which doesn’t include horrible, inflammatory extremists like Ben Gvir and Smotric. The hard right orthodoxy are happy with the status quo. Normal, decent people aren’t.

But first; Tony Blair and ‘the peace deal’.

He likes a challenge. He’s got one.

Happy Monday

A xxxx