Chains of Sand — Jemma Wayne

As war looms, a Londoner decides to move to Israel, as an Israeli at the same time yearns to leave: “Moving, absorbing…a great read.” -- The Times
 
In the heat of an Israeli summer, amid fresh attempts to restart peace talks with the Palestinians, Udi struggles to fill a UK immigration form. At twenty-six, Udi is a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces and has killed five men. He wants a new life, in a new country, and dreams of moving to London.
 
Daniel is twenty-nine, a Londoner, an investment banker, an Arsenal fan, and a Jew. He wants for nothing, yet he too is unable to escape an intangible yearning for something more, and for less. He looks to Israel for the answer.
 
But as the war with Hamas breaks out, Daniel cannot know that the star-crossed love of a Jewish girl and an Arab man in Jerusalem ten years earlier will soon complicate all that he thinks has become clear…