Hagai Segal, lecturer, analyst and consultant on Middle- Eastern affairs and terrorism was warmly welcomed at the Hong Kong Jewish Community Centre on 12 January 2010.

Born in Jerusalem to British and Australian parents, Segal grew up in the UK and has worked in Belgium, South Africa and Australia.

Following years of extensive formal study and personal interest in the areas of the Middle-East affairs and terrorism, Segal has been widely used as a keynote speaker at leading corporate conferences across the globe and has been actively involved in interreligious and interfaith dialogues.

Speaking to a packed audience, he was answering questions for nearly two hours. His main views during his speech focused on the Middle East Peace Process. Segal has been present at various mechanisms and forms of Middle East Peace talks.

He saw an amazing openness and understanding amongst the negotiators, but the negotiators are not politicians and the weakness of the system is that neither side believes that the other has the means to implement any deal reached.

The Israeli government is perceived as being weakened by its parliamentary democracy (proportional representation means that in reality there is government by coalition - no single block capable of pushing through a deal).

The Palestinian side is torn by internal politics between Fatah and Hamas. Although there has been talk of a two state solution, there is actually a three state situation with Islamic Hamas, Israel and Secular Palestinian Authority involved in any solution.

Regarding Iran, Segal’s views echoed the threat of Persian Shiites against Arab Sunnis seen as a destabilising force. It is what also isolates Iran from the rest of the world and has led it to seek a nuclear deterrent, he infers, despite Iran’s denials.

If Iran did launch WMDs at Israel or another country, the likelihood of reprisals would be far greater than the damage that they inflicted.

_{(Issue February 2010)}