Gaza: Walk the Talk?

Ordinarily, a disclaimer would be bolted on at the end of the introductory blurb. However, one of the key talking points in this podcast - Palestinian self-determination and the recognition of Palestine as a state - has taken on a whole new dimension since recording. On Tuesday, 29 July, our resident studio guest, Dr Harry Hagopian, sat down to discuss the headline topic of the human cost of the war in Gaza. Just an hour after the faders went down, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK's intention to join France in recognising the state of Palestine dependent on whether Israel, and indeed Hamas, meet certain conditions. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney then made a similar move saying Canada will also, under certain conditions, recognise a Palestinian state in September - the third G7 nation to make such a pronouncement in the past week. With that context in mind, this Middle East Analysis podcast spans a bumper 68 minutes, exploring many varied subjects, so to make things easier for our listeners, here are the topics and time codes: Start - 3m 46s Introduction. 3m 47s - 7m 15s Pre-analysis topic. 7m 16s - 42m 29s ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Gaza, humanitarian devastation, patriarchs' visit, Palestinian statehood, settler attacks in the West Bank and more. 42m 30s - 47m 39s LEBANON: De-militarisation, funeral of renowned musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, son of legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz. 47m 40s - 54m 55s ARMENIA: An unholy spat between Church and State. 54m 56s - 1h 1m 41s SYRIA: Armed conflict between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in Sweida. 1h 1m 42s - End AFTERTHOUGHT: Book recommendation on Contemporary Arab Thought.