I realize that I have been remiss in keeping the blog updated. There is so much that I want to write about - movies that I’ve seen, books that I’ve read, my new novel (which I promise I will write about). But I am afraid that I have to return to the ongoing carnage in Gaza.

I remember 2004, and the appalling bombings of the Cercianas trains in Madrid. These happened against a background where the incumbent Popular Party, under José Aznar, had contributed forces to the US invasion of Iraq a whole year earlier. At the time, the Socialist Party opposed this involvement, and pledged that, if elected, they would withdraw Spanish forces from Iraq. 

When the attack happened, Aznar’s instant reaction was to blame the Basque terrorist organisation, ETA. Understandably in many ways, he had a visceral hatred of ETA, so he may well have wanted to be able to blame them. But it emerged quite quickly that it was Al Qaeda that was responsible.

He could have been statesmanlike at that juncture. He could have said: “Yes, it appears that this was carried out by Al Qaeda. And yes, we might have expected this. But we intend to stand firm on our participation in the Iraq war, because we believe it was the right thing to do.” Of course, I wouldn’t have agreed with him but I could have anticipated this as a reasonable response. However, instead, he doubled down on the ETA lie, even as it unraveled around him. And it probably cost him the subsequent election, which he only lost by a whisker.

Yes, when the Socialists came to power and withdrew from Iraq, instead of acknowledging that they had simply acted on a long-standing pledge, the popular narrative in the media, including such supposedly reputable outlets as the BBC, was that Spain had capitulated to terrorism.

Today, Tom Hand, Irish grandfather of dual Irish-Israeli citizen Emily Hand, has said that he is now ashamed to be Irish, accusing Ireland  of “rewarding terrorism” by recognising the State of Palestine. Nine year-old Emily was abducted by Hamas and held hostage for 50 days, in grim conditions. She was released, hungry and dirty, only to find that her “second mom” had been killed on the day she was abducted (her birth mother died when she was two). We are all glad that she is safe and, although they say she is recovering, she must be deeply traumatised, and it is understandable that her father views her treatment in stark terms. 

And, for what it’s worth, I utterly condemn Hamas, yet again. I don’t count the fact that Palestinian casualties in Gaza outnumber the victims of Hamas by a factor of over 50, because I know that Hamas would likely kill tens of thousands if they could.

But Ireland has long been sympathetic to the wider Palestinian cause, which is by no means inextricably bound with Hamas, but includes Fatah, as well as human rights activists and concerned humanitarians all over the world, not to mention some Israelis and many non-Israeli Jews. Furthermore, we are in a situation where a war has gone on for 8 months, which has failed to eliminate Hamas as an effective force and which has no other apparent justification except Netanyahu’s desire to stay in power, when he is massively unpopular and facing well-deserved corruption charges. It is understandable, therefore, that Ireland, Spain and Norway, finally decided that enough was enough. It is quite clear that they considered all the consequences of this action, and the possible - even inevitable - negative reactions. They certainly took a long time to make up their minds.

So, Tom Hand, I wish your granddaughter a full recovery and happy life. I understand your pain. But Ireland rewarding Hamas? No. Just - no.