International Day of Prayer For Peace

Today is the International Day of Prayer for Peace, so I thought I'd weigh in on a particular area area that particularly needs some peace right now- the Middle East.

Israel is getting a new Prime Minister, who may change things there. I hope.

I think there are two things that needs to happen-

• The Israelis need to alter their counter-terrorism strategy radically so that they do not create more terrorists than the ones they remove.
• The Palestinians need to show willingness to accept Israel's existence (Hamas) and make serious effort at stopping this terrorism.

With regards to the former, the Palestinians may well be, in some regards, the victims, but that does not excuse their actions or lack thereof on some issues.

Israel also should not be using past suffering as an excuse for its own actions. While they are certainly entitled to a state, they still have to keep to the rules of civilised politics.

I have some concerns over the viability of a Palestinian state- especially one cut in twain by Israel. Like Weimar Germany, this tends not to work too well. Perhaps someone ought to build an oil pipeline to the West Bank.

This has lasted 60 years. Let's ensure it doesn't last 60 more. People are going to need to compromise.

Thoughts are welcome.