Irish Examiner View: No clear solutions in Gaza peace deal

President Donald Trump clasps hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, last Monday, in Jerusalem. Picture: Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP

The peace deal in Gaza is in operation, which means the slaughter of thousands of people has ended for now, though that hardly means all is now calm and tranquility in the region.

Already there have been accusations that Israel has broken the ceasefire, while the United Nations and the International Red Cross are grappling with the issue of getting aid to reach those who are badly in need. Thousands of Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli onslaught, have returned to Gaza.

However, they have found their homes left in rubble.

Still, the peace deal which US president Donald Trump has taken credit for has some significant backers in the region.

The fact that Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey are supporting it is important in giving the peace deal credibility among other nearby states.

That said, the medium- and long-term implications of the agreement will come under scrutiny now that the guns are silent, and there is much to work out.

For instance, there is already a clear divide on the thorny issue of a two-state solution.

Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is against a two-state solution. However, in recent days, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reiterated the need for one. How to square that circle?

Perhaps characteristically, Trump was vague when this question was raised with him earlier this week.

He said: “A lot of people like the one-state solution. Some people like the two-state solutions. We’ll have to see.”

That has not been the only ambiguity the US president has come up with in recent days. He has also implied Hamas has approval to act as a Palestinian police force in Gaza “for a period of time”, not an innovation Israel will be quick to endorse. The fine print of this agreement will likely prove more and more challenging in the coming weeks.

We must end avian flu threat

Fota Wildlife Park was closed temporarily amid a bird flu outbreak. Picture: Chani Anderson. 

Bad news this week for those wishing to see the giraffes, tigers, and gibbons of Fota Wildlife Park, with the announcement that the park is to close for two days after a suspected case of avian flu was detected.

The facility has been in operation for over 40 years, and is a significant element in Cork’s tourism offering.

It has possibly been an even more significant element in generations of Cork parents’ plans to give toddlers and small children a run around in the fresh air to tire them out for bedtime. That said, any possibility that we have avian flu on our shores is a serious concern given recent events.

Earlier this month, there was a suspected outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza detected in a large flock of poultry in Tyrone.

In late September, an outbreak of avian flu proved fatal for a number of birds at The Lough in Cork City, a location far closer to Fota than Tyrone. It is little wonder then that the World Organisation for Animal Health warned recently that bird flu has evolved beyond an animal health crisis into a global emergency, threatening agriculture, food security, trade, and ecosystems, or that Fota Wildlife Park has already reported its potential case to the Department of Agriculture.

There are, of course, other concerns lurking beyond the potential impact on our agriculture and food sectors when we hear avian flu being mentioned.

Some readers may reach for comparisons with the covid pandemic, which turned the world upside down five years ago, but that disease is believed to have originated with bats or another mammals. Older readers may recall bird flu coming to global attention almost 30 years ago, when six of 18 people infected in Hong Kong died from the disease in 1997. For 10 years afterwards, there were sporadic outbreaks in south-east Asia.

It is imperative that we eradicate this threat for a whole host of reasons, and Fota Wildlife Park has done the right thing by shutting down to help halt its spread.

Looking a dope

Swimmer Shane Ryan. Picture: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

When Shane Ryan announced his retirement from international swimming last week, the response was along expected lines. 

Ryan may not have been a household name along the lines of Daniel Wiffen, but he represented Ireland in three Olympic Games — a monumental achievement — and Swim Ireland wished him well in his retirement.

The reaction to Ryan’s announcement this week that he intends to compete in the Enhanced Games was very different.

This is a controversial competition which will permit athletes to take performance-enhancing drugs — banned in regular competition — under medical supervision before competing. The first Enhanced Games are due to take place next May.

Ryan has said: “I’ve always wanted to know the absolute maximum of what my body is truly capable of.”

Swim Ireland has condemned his decision. The organisation described it “as the absolute antithesis of our work on behalf of the clean athlete”, pointing out that many performance-enhancing drugs can be harmful to users’ health.

Performance-enhancing drugs have been used by many athletes to help win medals at various Olympics, with some events particularly notorious for widespread abuse.

Can we say that these Enhanced Games are at least abandoning any hypocrisy about drug use?

Perhaps, but Swim Ireland’s essential point is inarguable: If such drugs are damaging for users, then the essential contradiction cannot be reconciled. Athletes training for sporting excellence while taking harmful chemicals should feature in a dystopian narrative.