Editorials

Dateline Israel

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-05 07:12

Israel's ruthless move has cast a shadow on efforts to restart the Middle East peace talks.

Israel's attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy is evolving into a political storm. But the international community should continue exerting pressure on Israel to change its hard-line stance and release the ships and aid workers it has detained.

World leaders are justified in lashing out at Israel because its Monday raid was targeted at a humanitarian fleet of ships in international waters, in which nine people were killed. There is no excuse for such blatant defiance of international rules and attack on humanitarian aid.

Related readings:  Israel shadows new Gaza-bound ship, activists  Israel seizes new Gaza-bound aid ship  Israel tightens Jerusalem security  Israel boat raid

A day after the deadly raid, Israeli officials and international activists both said they would not budge from their positions and were preparing for the next round. This is even more worrisome because it could lead to another fatal clash.

The UN responded quickly, calling for an investigation into Monday's tragedy. The UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution Wednesday to send an independent fact-finding team to investigate Israel's deadly attack. The UN move has won the support of many countries, including China.

Shocked and enraged by the attack, Cairo-based Arab League said Thursday that it would move the International Court of Justice over Israel's attack.

Before an impartial, credible and transparent investigation into the incident is conducted, Israel should promise not to organize similar attacks.

Israel's ruthless move has cast a shadow on efforts to restart the Middle East peace talks. The international community, led by the US, the European Union, Russia and the UN, had stepped up diplomatic efforts over the past few months to break the impasse in peace talks. With anti-Israel sentiments flying high in the Arab world, the positive momentum these efforts had built faces an uncertain future now.

(China Daily 06/05/2010 page5)