Creating a lasting peace

It is heartening news indeed to learn the Scottish Labour conference has, this weekend, backed Anas Sarwar’s unambiguous position that there needs to be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In the last week also the governments of Canada, Australia and New Zealand issued an unparalleled joint statement making the same call.

So dire is the humanitarian catastrophe that all possible pressure must be added.

It is therefore very much to be hoped that Shetland Islands Council will join other local authorities in Scotland and across the UK, Unison and other trade unions, Amnesty International, Oxfam and the Red Cross etc. in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The hostages on both sides must also, of course, be released, allowing all concerned to focus on how to address the aftermath and how to create a just and lasting peace.

Peter Hamilton
Edinburgh