The Middle East Conflict

As I write this, Israeli armed forces are fighting Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip, Israeli hostages are being held in Gaza, Hamas rockets are falling on Israel and there is death, destruction and misery on both sides of the border.

At the same time there have been repeated marches and protest meetings around Australia with supporters of Hamas blaming Israel for this devastating war, whilst Israel's sympathisers blame Hamas.

What is there to gain in these mass demonstrations? Support for Hamas simply encourages them to keep fighting whilst support for Israel does likewise for the Israelis.

If Hamas and Israeli leaders around Australia got together to organise mass protests that didn't blame one side or the other, but in fact condemned the fighting and urged both sides in the war to sue for peace, they would be putting pressure on the combatants on both sides to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

If the organisers of these rallies in Australia's relative calm can't get together to push for peace, how on Earth can they expect Hamas and Israel, locked in the throes of battle, to do this?