A step towards Peace

With the Pope doing some importance confidence building in the Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, King Abdullah of Jordan having just been to Washington, and President Obama planning his three days Peace Building mission in early June, Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel heads to the US this week.

Before I turn my mind to things local ( Seeking Peace in Luton -- and Multicultural UK  ), on which more soon, I wanted to make my plea for whoever might read this, that he hear and be heard. I work on the basis that what happen in the Middle East impacts us here in Luton, and what happens here can make a difference there. That is Glocal thought  ( Global, Local = Glocal ).

King Abdullah has been making some strong statements in an interview with the Times. ( 

King Abdullah: 'This is not a two-state solution, it is a 57-state solution' )  with a report here (  Netanyahu meeting with Obama decides Mid-East’s future, says Abdullah ).

On the Pope's visit: 

"I said to His Holiness that this is the right time. You’re coming here on a spiritual pilgrimage with a message of peace … as a signal of hope for what we’re planning to do on the political aspect. It is all part of one major effort. This is a critical crossroads that we need to take advantage of."

And on the need for action now:

We are sick and tired of the process. We are talking about direct negotiations. That is a major point. We are approaching this in a regional context. You could say through the Arab peace proposal. The Americans see this as we do and I think the Europeans.

What we are talking about is not Israelis and Palestinians sitting at the table, but Israelis sitting with Palestinians, Israelis sitting with Syrians, Israelis sitting with Lebanese. And with the Arabs and the Muslim world lined up to open direct negotiations with Israelis at the same time. So it’s the work that needs to be done over the next couple of months that has a regional answer to this — that is not a two-state solution, it is a 57-state solution.

That is the tipping point that shakes up Israeli politicians and the Israeli public. Do you want to stay Fortress Israel for the next ten years? The calamity that that would bring to all of us, including the West? This has become a global problem. We are saying to the Israelis that this is an issue that is far bigger than you Israelis and the Palestinians. This is where I think the Obama Administration gets it. I am very, very concerned about having a conference in six months' time, and another one in a year’s time, that doesn’t work. I think we’re going to have to do a lot of shuttle diplomacy, get people to a table in the next couple of months to get a solution.

And if there is no movement:

We’re going to have a war. Leading up to the Lebanese war, I said there was going to be a conflict with Israel. I said it four or five months before. I said it would happen either in Lebanon or Gaza. It was Lebanon. In November, I said there would be another war in Lebanon or Gaza. I thought it would happen when Obama was in office but was surprised by it happening a month earlier. If we delay our peace negotiations, then there’s going to be another conflict between Arabs or Muslims and Israel in the next 12 to 18 months — as sure as the other conflicts happened.

So that’s the alternative — to have another round of war, and death and destruction. But its implications now resonate far beyond the Middle East region. There are other challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We have a lot more on our plate to deal with. If the call is in May that this is not the right time or we are not interested, then the world is going to be sucked into another conflict in the Middle East.

And on Jerusalem:

It is not an international problem, it is an international solution. Jerusalem unfortunately has been a symbol of conflict for so many centuries. From the start of this new century what we desperately need is for Jerusalem to become a symbol of hope. How do you encourage the three monotheistic religions to make Jerusalem into a pillar for the future of this century? I am sensing a lot more maturity and understanding in these troubled times of cultural and religious suspicions that Jerusalem could be a binder that we need.

This is the sort of thinking that is needed. And that is certainly the Biblical hope - a city that is a model of Peace, a city hosting a Banquest for all nations. 

Goals for a visit to the Holy Land!  I posted the other day on what he needs to aim for on this trip. By all accounts he has done well so far. Next step Israel.

On the Presidents three days Peace Building mission: Obama: Making a bold bid for peace?