A Framework for Peace

What’s good for Israel and its Arab neigh­bours could be the end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. US President Donald Trump’s peace proposal for Gaza, on the eve of the US government shutdown, left Netanyahu with little choice at the White House on September 29 but to nod along. Trump has given Hamas a “three-to-four day” deadline, else it will be “a very sad end”. With an immediate end to hostilities, the deal also proposes the release of the remaining Israeli hostages as well as detained Palestin­ians.

Hamas has to lay down arms and relinquish any role in governing Gaza. A technocratic ‘Board of Peace’ headed by Trump and perhaps former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, et al will administer the Gaza Strip. The door is left open for a future Palestinian state and the return of the Pales­tinian Authority to Gaza. And that is where it goes bad for Netanyahu whose far-right coalition partners will quit the government and bring it down. Hamas cannot accept a deal that wants it to disarm and sur­render its weapons, which would work out just fine for Netanyahu. Trump’s Nobel thirst and Bibi’s political survival don’t have much in common anymore. But there is finally a realistic framework for peace from the White House.

  Defence against Drones

 Drones can be made of sty­rofoam and plywood. But if Patriot-missile interceptors are fired in response, the projectile costs much more than the targeted UAV. The discovery of additional fuel tanks in the drones shot down by NATO fighters over Poland recently prove that Russia had made them capable of flying longer distances and deliberately sent them into Polish airspace via Ukraine. But the drones over Denmark last week were not shot down because it was deemed too costly to do so; there were safety concerns about civilians on the ground; and rules of engagement for unmanned weapons are only now being framed by an alli­ance built for warfare involv­ing tanks and nukes. This isn’t even Al Qaeda or Taliban-style asymmetric warfare. Defend­ing against drone incursions is a problem stretching beyond NATO and Europe’s eastern flank against Russia. Forces have been mobilised under Eastern Sentry in case the Ukraine war spills over to NATO territory, and the Baltic states plus Poland and Finland are building a “drone wall”. Yet, Brussels bureaucrats are still shooting down funds for the project. Part of the problem is early detection of UAVs, followed by tracking and in­terception. As NATO grapples with the new threat, others are watching and taking notes.

  A Fork in the Road

 British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is right to talk about a fork in the road, but it holds true as much for the UK as for Labour. With the party’s ratings abysmal and Starmer’s leadership under challenge, he didn’t hesitate to name Nigel Farage’s Reform UK as the main enemy at the Labour conclave. Britain, he says, faces a stark choice: the “hard path” of “renewal and decency” or division and decline. Calling Reform’s immigration plan downright racist is matched by lofty words on rebuilding. Except, Britain isn’t buying it. There will be more trouble before the November budget.