It's rare to wake up to the Radio 4 news and be overjoyed at the first words you hear. The end of Alan Johnston's ordeal is good news in anybody's book.
Cynics will argue that any Brit who works in Gaza is asking to be kidnapped. But that misses the point. The respect shown towards Alan Johnston by Palestinians as well as others around the world demonstrates that professionalism and calm impartiality are a tremendously powerful force.
It will be interesting to see whether the international attitude to Hamas changes as a result of its role in Alan Johnston's release. Nothing will happen quickly, but this could be a catalyst.
Fascinating too to hear his abductors described in reports as one of Gaza's 'criminal clan'. That echoes (co-incidentally I suspect) the change in terminology from the Brown government following last week's incidents in London and Glasgow.
Suddenly it feels like we're trying to tackle common criminals rather than wage a war on some kind of -ism. Personally I feel more comfortable with the new approach.
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