New Year, new war

Today saw thousands of people, mainly British born, march through the streets of London to protest against Israel's air attacks on Gaza. In many respects it was the usual suspects:

Ken Livingstone, Tony Benn, a few "leaders" of the British Muslim community and a handful of "socially concerned" actors and similar.

Therefore it would be easy to dismiss. However there are some things that should be noted. First I should say that every inclination in me whether political, intellectual or emotional is to favour Israel. Israel in its tiny territory has a right to exist despite broadly hostile neighbours on every side. Ordinary Israelis seem to face daily pressures that people in London could hardly imagine. The worst it generally gets in London is deciding on whether a particular area is safe after dark. For many in Israel the prospect of a rocket coming through the ceiling is a very real one. Additionally the risk of suicide bombers has only been managed through extraordinary security measures.

Nonetheless ,I cannot help feeling uneasy about the assault on Gaza. This is not out of any shred of sympathy for Hamas but due to the fact that there are some innocents caught up in a territory even smaller than Israel.

In essentially approving (by silence if nothing else) of a massive military assault (that has become a ground war this evening) we are approving of high levels of civlian casualties. Of course, any German could point out that Britons had no such sensitivities when they cheered the firestorms in German cities that killed far more than have ever been killed in Gaza.

So war is essentially grim and innocents always get killed. That aside I do think that a victory in Gaza at any price may yet come back to haunt Israel. Will thousands of young Palestinian and Arab people become inspired to become suicide bombers ? Will Israel ultimately become more isolated as a result particularly in the year that the US president changes ? There are not many subjects that create marches of 10,000 people in London but Gaza managed that today. Last but not least will Israel create a greater degree of unity amongst Islamic states. Today I saw reports of the Turkish PM visiting Saudia Arabia and high level Iranian officials flying to Damascus. The differences between the Islamic states is a key part in Israel's foreign policy. United islamic states would be a far bigger threat to it than disunited states.

I support the state of Israel but despite this I find myself uneasy this evening. I suppose that is a luxury to have, to be uneasy. Thousands of Israelis have no time to be uneasy- they have to risk their lives this evening.

I do not envy them and I am thankful I live in a place where I get time to be uncomfortable about the wars in foreign countries.

My hope is not simply for an Israel victory which would seem inevitable but for a lasting peace. That of course is the holy grail that no one has yet obtained.