Overseas

Just back from a brief trip to London - work rather than pleasure this time but I did manage to squeeze in a few friends. Perhaps because they think I'm well informed, pretty much everyone wanted to ask me about what I thought of the most recent developments.

I've been writing a lot about my thoughts on Syria and Lebanon and so it's pretty clear what I think on that. I've also written about the Palestinian track and am extremely cautiously optimistic on that. So in actual fact, what worries me most right now is not actually the Arabs but the Jews.

The confrontation has already started; the rhetoric and name calling is gathering pace and we're really facing a test which has the potential to damage the nation to the point of creating a rift in society, the effects of which we'll be dealing with for years.

Even if the withdrawal from the Gaza strip and the settlements in the North Shomron go off peacefully (which they won't) then there will be a trauma for those physically leaving their homes as well as those who support them and a far larger group who, either agreeing or disagreeing with them, certainly empathise and feel their pain.

The fact that confrontation is virtually assured however will make the withdrawal far harder for the entire country. Settlers will square off with soldiers, people will be imprisoned for seeking to stay in homes that they have built over many years, brother will protest against brother. It is likely to come to violence and the fact that both sides are armed does not bode well.

I'm scared that the fabric of our wonderful country is unravelling all around us as we try to do what we believe is the correct thing. We have stood up to incredible tests but it is possible that this, and internal one, is the biggest one so far.

Gilly