The Israeli attack on the peace flotilla had the papers roaring. Doaa El-Bey and Rasha Saad took the temperature which was fever high The deadly Israeli raid on the Freedom Flotilla sailing to Gaza sparked strong international condemnation and prompted calls from various parties for Israel to lift its three-year blockade on Gaza. The UN Security Council also issued a statement calling for an impartial inquiry into the raid. Newspaper front pages ran long stories about the angry reaction. Al-Shorouk read, 'Another Israeli crime against humanity' while Al-Ahram 's banner blared, 'Israeli aggression on the Freedom Flotilla in international waters'. Al-Masry Al-Yom wrote, 'Israeli commandos kill 19 activists... widescale international condemnation of the crime... a late Egyptian reaction'. Al-Akhbar had, 'Israeli genocide against peace activists heading to Gaza' and from Al-Gomhuriya, 'Mubarak denounces Israeli aggression against the innocent and confirms support for Gaza'. Elham Abul-Fath described the incident as a humanitarian catastrophe and an international scandal. She wrote in the official daily Al-Akhbar that although the activists raised white flags and confirmed they were civilians on a humanitarian mission, Israeli forces attacked them. Abul-Fath wondered who could stop Israel from what it is doing to the Palestinians: "Tel Aviv sent 1,000 soldiers to confront the convoy as if it were going to war or showing off its power." However, she added, Egypt's presidential statement in reaction to the attack underlined that inter- Palestinian reconciliation is the way towards lifting the blockade and stopping these Israeli practices. Thus, Abul Fath concluded by appealing to the Palestinians to reconcile before it was too late. The editorial of the official daily Al-Ahram described the attack as a ferocious aggression that clearly violated international law. "The ruthless genocide that Israel committed cannot be justified. It was by all objective standards an international crime that was planned beforehand. It is a dangerous escalation that could lead to an explosion in the Middle East," the edit read. It added that the attack not only impeded peace efforts in the region, but will thwart them entirely and create an atmosphere of confrontation. Thus Israel should assume full responsibility for the raid and for its escalating aggression against Gaza. Egypt, which has always rejected and denounced the blockade against Gaza, condemned the attack against the convoy and called for an immediate lifting of the blockade. In conclusion, the edit called on the international community to take a decisive stand against the ferocious and aggressive Israeli practices against the Palestinians. Samir Ragab wrote that Israel added to its blood- stained aggressive record another crime by attacking the flotilla. People who joined the convoy were peace activists who came to show support for the people of Gaza. But Israel claimed that the participants carried guns and bombs. Ragab doubted what the international community could do. Nothing, he confirmed. Israel will come out of the problem -- as it has done before -- as the innocent victim of terrorism and violence. He based the argument on what happened to Goldstone, the unbiased judge who tried to speak the truth in the report that carried his name. His report was met with threats from the Israelis. What's the use of Amr Moussa's call to hold a meeting of Arab foreign ministers or the Turkish foreign minister seeking to hold an urgent Security Council meeting? And isn't UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon ashamed that he fell short in his reaction? Ragab asked in Al-Gomhuriya. Wael Qandil wrote that although it was Israeli navy forces which committed the genocide, we all share in the responsibility. "Those who tightened the blockade against Gaza by building a wall of separation and closed the tunnel to and from Gaza and those who pursued European activists on the streets of Cairo and imposed a siege on them in Arish to prevent the aid convoy from reaching the Palestinians took part in the genocide," Qandil wrote in the independent daily Al-Shorouk. He added that not only was Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit, who closed the Egyptian doors before the aid convoys heading to Gaza, responsible but every person who meets a Zionist leader or takes part in the absurd peace negotiations must take the blame. Qandil also blamed Arab regimes "that have failed to put into action resolutions taken in summit conferences and meetings to provide the Palestinians with financial aid. The media, which instigated conflict among Arab states as a result of a football match, have failed to be as influential in issues related to Gaza and the blockade. Mohamed Mustafa Shordi hailed the former leader of Wafd Party Mahmoud Abaza who peacefully gave up his position to his successor Sayed Badawi in the party's elections held earlier this week. "We will talk a lot about the election experiences of the Wafd Party and we may request that they be applied to all other political parties," Shordi wrote in the daily Al-Wafd, the mouthpiece of the opposition Wafd Party. However, he ascribed the success of this experiment to Abaza who set an example for proper democracy and fair elections. He could have used many tools to stay on top of the party, but refused to compromise the principles of the party and worked hard to support democratic elections. Abaza gave a lesson to all politicians, Shordi added, by accepting defeat, bowing to the will of the ballot box and leaving his position peacefully. He ended by thanking Abaza in his name and in the name of all members of the party. Abaza, Shordi said, would always be remembered as a respectful man who held elections within the party and worked so that the results would represent all its members. Samir Morqos bid Osama Anwar Okasha, the prominent screenwriter and journalist, farewell in the independent daily Al-Masry Al-Yom. Okasha died last weekend. Morqos wrote that Okasha managed through his drama to fill the gap caused by a decline in the theatrical boom that Egypt witnessed during the 1960s and 1970s. Thus, watching Okasha's soap operas substituted watching the theatre. In his writing, Morqos added, Okasha represented the Egyptian community in general. "He also managed to gather people around the TV to watch his serials. 'Did you watch Okasha's episode today?' had become a familiar question."
