On the ongoing conflict in Gaza, with discussions on the political situation, international support, and potential future scenarios getting nowhere. The podcast emphasises the importance of peace negotiations and the need for continuous efforts toward peace. It also discusses the potential role of the international community in mediating the conflict, mired as it is in confusion. Listen to the full episode through Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podcast Addict and Buzzsprout:

The War in Gaza continues to fail to come to an end: Transcript

[0:00] Well, it’s time I said something about Gaza. I mean, this is going to go out on Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, the 12th of February, 2024, I guess, or thereabouts.

[0:15] And it’s a recurrent theme, isn’t it, that we talk about Gaza. The situation is becoming more difficult to talk about. I find it hard. I find it hard because my daughter, Loveday, is in Jerusalem reporting on the situation, and because I have many friends in Israel who are pained if I do not talk about their pain when I do a podcast, who are pained and hurt if I do not acknowledge the trauma that Israel is going through at present. The existential trauma or so they feel and I have many friends in Gaza some of whom have died under the bombing that is taking place.

[1:18] I’m just gonna say what comes to my heart I was touched I mean I’m recording this on Sunday. It’ll go out on the Monday. I was touched. I was in church this morning, and there was a little group of people to whom the church had been donating or helping fund, and there were children who had  [1:49] Down’s syndrome and their mothers. And Down’s syndrome children are three times as difficult as ordinary kids to look after. I mean, they need a lot of love and care and attention.

[2:07] And it was poignant. It brought a tear to my eye to meet these children because they’re so loving, but yet so challenging. And I remembered, brought back to my mind’s eye, the last time I met a significant number of Down’s syndrome children, and that was in Gaza, where I visited a home for Down syndrome children. Gaza has the highest proportion of Down’s syndrome children per capita in the world. And that’s not because of cousins marrying cousins. Cousins marrying cousins happens in the Middle East, and it’s more prominent, if anything, in the Arabian Gulf, where you do get problems with children because of it, deformities, and so on. But no, it’s not because of that.
Nobody knows why Gaza has such a high proportion of Down’s syndrome children.
There’s been no proper research, but the predominant theory has to do with the water supply, which is saline because the water table has been lowered because Israel has needed water for agriculture.  [3:24] And that’s brought saline water, seawater, into the water table because of incautious use of water drilling, deep water drilling. And so the Gaza wells are saline. And of course, you can only afford bottled water if you’re wealthy, and therefore you have to drink what you can get if you’re poor.  [3:50] That’s one theory. I remember how poignant it was meeting the Down syndrome children in Gaza.
One of them had woven and spent the last week or two weaving a Palestinian flag out of wool. And it was beautiful. And he gave it to me, that little boy. He gave me that flag. He gave it to me. And I cherish and still cherish that flag. And it lay on the back of the sofa in our living room for years, and I will bring it out again and lay it down. My brother-in-law today gave me a Palestinian scarf woven in Gaza.

[4:39] So poignant. And what? And what? What’s happened to those children now? Those children I met in Gaza. They were near Gaza City. What’s happened to them now? God knows. I mean God knows. The situation is disheartening and everybody is in pain and Premier Netanyahu has said he believes in a one-state solution. Do you know under the kind of rules that apply to the behavior of broadcasters and politicians in the United Kingdom,  [5:27] you cannot and should not imply that Israel is in any way a racist state.
Well, of course, it’s not. And yet what is a one-state solution? You will have to have two classes of citizens, or you have a subclass who are not citizens. You know, Palestinians and Israelis. So you’ll have West Bank Palestinians who are not allowed to vote, who are now part of one state of Israel. I mean, this becomes an apartheid state if you have a one-state solution.

[6:10] And that’s not an answer for the children of Israel or the children of Palestine. And it has to be called out as wrong. It has to be called out as seriously as possible.

[6:24] Ah, awful. There is a need for the international community to man up and care about a two-state solution. If you say you care, and you want to express that care in any tangible way, then presumably you should start recognizing a Palestinian state. Countries like Switzerland, who are supposed to believe in neutrality recognize Israel but do not recognize Palestine. Only Sweden in Europe recognizes a Palestinian state. Only Sweden. Shame on the rest of you. Bury your heads in shame.

[7:10] And Palestine has a corrupt and decadent leader in Abu Mazen who won’t allow presidential elections. They must be held. And in order to hold them, on the top of the hostage release list, the top request for Palestinian prisoners to be released is Marwan Barghouti, the Nelson Mandela of Palestine. And he should be released by Israel. Because why? Because you can’t hold credible Palestinian presidential elections. Without them, you have to have Palestinian presidential elections, if you’re going to have a credible Palestinian authority, and we need a Palestinian authority that has chutzpah, that can make a difference. Because the current one is so decaying and decadent that it cannot control Gaza, and certainly could not control Hamas. We need a new start and we need a new interest in a Middle East peace process from countries like Britain and America.

[8:22] That or, I mean, put up or shut up. It is shaming to hear people talking about a temporary ceasefire. We need a permanent ceasefire, and when it comes in Israel’s time, fine. But don’t beat them with a stick, then put the stick away, and then come back and beat them again. That’s so cruel. No, do what you want to do, but then finish a permanent ceasefire.

[8:55] Whoever talks about a temporary ceasefire, whether it’s President Biden or Prime Minister Rishi Sumac, they are obscene. Temporary ceasefire, however long, when you’re going to come back and resume the Gaza war.
And I’ve heard Palestinians don’t want to call it a war anymore.
Well, because they feel it’s not really a war Well, whatever it is, whatever you’re resuming, it cannot be a temporary ceasefire.

[9:35] Shame on you, state of Qatar, state of Egypt, for suggesting to the Palestinians that they should have a temporary ceasefire.
That’s not right, you know. It needs to be permanent, and Israel has to do what it wants to do and then finish. Finish. There has to be an end to this so that the rebuilding of Gaza can start and people can rebuild their lives. We need that. And we need it because I notice, I notice, I speak to people from Gaza.

[10:14] We had a meeting with Palestinians in the room, diaspora Palestinians. And the anger, the level of anger, well, you may not think they have a right. Depends on your mood or your position or whatever it might be. But I’m just telling you, the level of anger has increased, and it has to stop. We have to cut this back, or we are going to have extremism promoted worldwide on a mega scale. And that would be a disaster for the State of Israel and for the world.

[11:06] I feel it’s time for a new beginning. I don’t know whether you do, how you feel.
I love the Jewish state of Israel. We must have a sustainable Jewish state in the Middle East, which is a state we can respect and love and cherish and uphold, that stands for basic freedoms, that is honorable, honorable, and that deals with Palestine and Palestinian issues in an honorable way. We must have a sustainable state of Israel for all time.

[11:45] Why? Because, well, because it’s fundamental that there’s a Jewish state for the Jewish people.
It has to be. That’s an absolute. absolute, but it has to be a state that believes in fair play. Hamas put Israel on the line when it allowed such a brutal and atrocious attack on October 7th. Israel was challenged. Israel was challenged to the core. Its humanity was challenged. The trouble with atrocity is it breeds atrocity. Do not allow this horror to corrupt Israel. Corruption must not create corruption. We need a better tomorrow, a fairer tomorrow, a tomorrow that brings hope even to the Palestinians.
Bless your heart. Thank you.

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Featured image by Amrulqays Maarof from Pixabay