Hope for peace
TODAY marks the dawn of a new era of hope for the Middle East.
As US Vice-President JD Vance said yesterday, a truce brokered by Donald Trump has brought the region to “the cusp of true peace”.
1
While other world leaders postured and bewailed, the US President used his extraordinary power of persuasion to force Hamas and Israel to strike a deal to end two years of bloodshed.
It means thousands of Palestinians will return to what is left of their homes and get the food and medical aid they need, and Israelis can welcome back loved ones taken hostage during the terrorist massacre which started the conflict.
The 19th Century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck once said that politics is “the art of the possible”.
But hard-nosed businessman President Trump has proved it can also be “the art of the deal”.
The path to lasting peace is still littered with pitfalls.
Hamas must be made to disarm and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will have to be persuaded to drop his opposition to a future, self-ruling Palestinian state.
More tears will be shed in the days to come.
Much trauma awaits Israeli families whose loved ones return alive but emaciated or, tragically, in body bags.
There will also be anger if terrorist killers are freed as part of the deal.
Yet despite these hurdles, this is the brightest glimmer of hope the region has seen in a generation.
And if, one day, it leads to a lasting peace, the whole world will rejoice.
Win for justice
THE phrase “justice must be seen to be done” is as relevant today as when it was first uttered in court a century ago.
That is why The Sun challenged an order banning a child rapist from being identified as an asylum seeker.
In a shocking example of two-tier justice, both the prosecution and the offender’s lawyer had opposed our attempt to report his status.
But this newspaper chalked up a landmark victory for open justice and Press freedom by fighting to have the order overturned.
Judge Maria Lamb gave an instant ruling that we were right.
The jury took just two-and-a-half hours to convict the serial offender.
A double triumph for common sense.
Silly Mili
ED Miliband’s fixation with Net Zero gets more desperate and costly by the day.
The Energy Secretary is targeting well-off families with £7,500 “bribes” to fit green heat pump systems most of us can’t afford.
His barmy campaign confirms what we already knew about Mr Miliband’s obsession with meeting unrealistic carbon emission targets.
It’s a waste of money — and he is a waste of space.