War and Peace

The war in Middle East seems likely to continue with all sides blaming every side other than their own.

Perhaps after WWII,  surviving Jewish people, millions of  whom had been mercilessly  killed by Germany, should have been provided with an area of Germany as their new home land, rather than a new Israel in the Middle East.

However we are in C21, where we are. Whether the killing this week of Yahya Sinwar the Hamas leader, will accelerate a peace process, seem unlikely to me as Israel's threat to bring about a major retaliatory blow to Iran for the latter's blow against Israel has not yet taken place. Retaliation would be likely to create more 'retaliation' and so war will not come to an end anytime soon.

The United Nations  appears sadly to be tied in by its failure to demand the release of the kidnapped Israelis which led to the current bouts war in the Middle East, as vociferously as its demands for Israel to cease fighting. Releasing the kidnapped Israelis should surely lead to negotiations for the ending of further fighting and killing.

Far more people are being killed and oppressed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine though the UN  seems to have far less to say about Russia which is a member of its security council, than about Israel. Russia has rights of veto at the UN which Israel does not.

My personal view, mirrored recently in a good article in The Times, is that the Commonwealth of Nations should come up to the plate. Israel, Palestine and Lebanon are not members; neither are any countries from the Middle East though were invited.  However, many countries in Africa are members and there is a sizeable number, 56, worldwide. 

There is no Commonwealth security council, so resolutions there cannot be blocked by partisan members unlike at the UN, although  opposition would still be heard.

Perhaps Commonwealth member countries will take note of the Times article if not the above, at their forthcoming meeting.