The fallout from the Israeli hijacking of the Freedom Flotilla of humanitarian assistance to the besieged Palestinian people of Gaza focuses world attention on the predicament of the inhabitants of the Strip. A vast spectrum of public opinion around the world is more determined than ever to find a way out of the impasse in Palestine. The world now acknowledges that the Palestinians have the right to national self-determination. Israel's crass cynicism in presenting doctored videos, lies, and otherwise attempting to censor eyewitnesses has finally broken through into the world's consciousness. The Egyptian border at Rafah has become a major lifeline for the beleaguered Gazans and is being kept open indefinitely in defiance of Israeli wishes to starve the people of Gaza into submission. Humanitarian aid from many countries will be passing through Rafah in the next few months as the world finally puts real pressure on Israel to end its illegal siege of Gaza. European official response, as embodied in the statement on the subject by Franco Frattini, Bernard Kouchner and Miguel Angel Moratinos -- Italian, French and Spanish foreign ministers respectively -- has become palpably more even-handed since the flotilla fiasco. Even United States President Barack Obama, has told the Israelis that the siege is counter-productive and must be eased. Western countries must not condone Israel's continued occupation of Palestinian lands in defiance of international law. Israel's existence as a nuclear-armed monster threatening its neighbours, while denying Palestinians any means whatsoever to defend themselves is a threat to regional and world peace and stability. True even-handedness means disarming Israel of its nuclear arsenal in the first place, forcing it through international sanctions to immediately engage in the final status negotiations with the Palestinians to grant them their legitimate right to statehood and national independence. There is no remorse being shown on the part of Israeli leaders for their piracy in the Mediterranean. We cannot count on US policymakers to stand up to its ally, but we can hope that Western public opinion, including that in the US, can put pressure on their governments to end Israeli impunity. We, in the Arab and Muslim worlds, count on the sympathetic forces the world over to stand by the underdog and the oppressed. Israeli officials threaten to use even more force against any future attempts to break the blockade. Just as alarming is the danger that Israel could go into high gear and once again invade Lebanon. Persistent rumours are emanating from Israeli sources to this effect. We must not let the Israelis "get away with murder" anymore. The critical moment for resoluteness is now. It is vital that Arab countries work together with non-Arab regional powers to keep the pressure up on Israel. The Palestinians have carried the burden of resisting Israeli brutalities long enough. Calls such as those emanating from pro-Israeli quarters for "peace talks" and "ceasefire" and cries of "anti-Semitism" against critics, no longer wash with public opinion in this part of the world or anywhere else for that matter.
