'Is there really a "solution" to the Israel-Palestine conflict?'

Israel is trapped by Western guilt

Tom McTague for UnHerd

At the heart of the Israel-Hamas war "is a troubling question", writes Tom McTague for UnHerd. "Is there a 'solution' to the Israel-Palestine conflict, or does the search for solutions ignore the lessons of history itself?" Prime Minister Netanyahu's "understanding of Israel's predicament and, indeed, of Jewish history itself" is that it is "fated to fight for survival and to be hated", says McTague. "And today, it feels harder than ever to argue that it is wrong."

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Can Sunak convince Tory MPs to hold their nerve?

Isabel Hardman for The Spectator

"There isn't much of a way to spin two safe seats crashing into opposition hands," says Isabel Hardman in The Spectator, "which is why the Tory MPs I've spoken to this morning are pretty dejected." The response from Rishi Sunak "will largely be to tell his party to hold its nerve" as "there are more chances to give voters a sense that this is a new government", she adds. "So far though, they don't seem to be buying that."

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£8 meals and staff who care about you – it's time we all quit coffee shops for the caff

Gary Nunn for the i news site

"Our local caffs, often independently run, and dependent on customers hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis are at risk of disappearing altogether," writes Gary Nunn for the i news site. "I hope they continue despite gentrification and the cost-of-living crisis," he writes. "In these local haunts, time seems frozen. Chaos gives way to order." But "when times are as dark, upsetting and confusing as right now, they restore me with their respite", he concludes.

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The Irish Times view on the digital euro: the ECB and Europe’s politicians need to make the case

The Irish Times editorial board

This week the European Central Bank (ECB) gave the go-ahead for further planning for the digital version of the euro, but "a lot of work remains to be done", says The Irish Times in its leader article. "Developing and agreeing the rules and how the digital currency would be technically managed is challenging," the paper adds. And consumers "may well ask what advantages the digital euro can offer. It is up to Europe’s central bankers and politicians to make the case for a digital currency." 

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