Will we ever have peace in the Middle East?

On some days I take the view that we may never see peace in the Middle East. There are several reasons for this.

The Israeli/Palestinian question must be resolved before that thorn in the side of world peace can be removed but until all parties genuinely seek an agreement, then my hopes will be dashed.  I know that there is no simple answer. It is more than a question of giving up land.’ The sources of the issues go back many centuries, based upon broken promises and conflicting desires. Add in the religious zealots on both sides and you see a solution even further away.

When you look at the wider geographical area an even more unpromising situation reveals itself. Iran and its leaders are increasingly threatening a new conflagration, all based on their desire to build a nuclear weapon. I doubt that anyone on the Middle East, including fellow Islamic nations feels comfortable with the prospect of a ‘nuclear Iran.’ No amount of protestation on the part of Iran’s leaders will quell the fears.

Israel will never fold when it comes to survival. The history of the Jewish people only adds to their determination to never face annihilation again. They have returned to a land where their history began. For many Israelis, no one or any country will be allowed to threaten their survival again. If that means taking out the Iranian nuclear project, then they are prepared to go to war.

The wider implications of such an action for the Middle East and the world as a whole are indeed dire. Years of talk and yet more talk have achieved little to resolve this issue. Iran is a ticking time bomb and I believe it is a matter of months before we see an Israeli attack on Iran. The sad fact remains that such an action will not lie to rest the question that has persisted for decades--- the place of Israeli in the region.

The riots we have seen around the Arab world and in other large cities over the so-called film that insulted Islam, will be as nothing compared to the ramifications of a conflagration between Israel and its neighbours, because rest for sure, such a conflict will not be one between Israel and Iran alone. The possibilities for world peace are mind numbing.