A seasoned observer of all things middle East might be forgiven for a degree of cynicism about any proposed peace deal in that fractured region. Certainly America under Bush the Second did absolutely nothing apart from coining the catchy phrase "the road map to peace", and Obama, of whom we might have expected better, did even less. Thus it has fallen to Pope Francis to step in and cut through the cant and hypocrisy and come up with an amazing plan: to bring the heads of state of Palestine and Israel together to pray for peace in the neutral venue of the Vatican. Incredibly, they have agreed. And while we should have no illusions about any really meaningful outcome from these prayers, I still say this is a truly remarkable development in the Arab/Israeli conflict, perhaps the most remarkable since Israel was born in 1948.
I don't think anyone will ever forget the image of Pope Francis praying at the Apartheid fence, his head resting against the unforgiving reinforced concrete. To me it is compatible with the breaking down of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela in its significance for the region and the wider world. And although I fear that the Zionist faction within Israeli politics will already be scheming how they can torpedo any agreement that may come from it, never mind the hard-liners in Hamas who still refuse to recognise Israel's existence, I am naïve and hopeful enough to believe there might just be a tiny window of opportunity to get a little justice for "the forgotten ones" of Palestine. All we can know for sure is, Pope Francis hasn't forgotten them. What a guy!
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