At the United Nations, a lynch mob for Israel is always just a moment away. The Islamic countries are a reliable source of venom, led by the Arab bloc; what we used to call the “non-aligned” are all aligned against Israel and happy to join the fun; and the Europeans can be counted on for hand-wringing rather than staunch resistance. Only the United States, and a few brave allies like Canada and Australia, can be counted upon to oppose diplomatic lynchings year after year; and only the United States can stop them in the Security Council. More at : http://xrl.us/bhnrw8

Israel is an easy target for the coward and his UN They will never go after the Muslim genocider in Sudan or Syria's Assassin Bashar. No punishment for Hamas' indiscrimninate fireing of missiles into Israel or for their call to exterminate Israel. No punsihment for Iran's call to do the same. No punishment for Syria's brutal assassination of Lebanese PM Rafik Hararri,http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/h/rafik_hariri/index.html No punishment of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for his genocide in Darfur, http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/07/14/darfur.charges/ crimes against humanity because they are Muslim, but Israel defending themselves against extremist Islamic terrorists Hamas and their supporters is targeted by the world for punishment.

What we really need is a global inquiry on why the UN has not endorsed the embargo of Gaza. It is a terror state bent on the destruction of a UN member nation. The principles upon which the UN was founded are clear: the UN should be doing everything possible to insure that Gaza does not succeed in its plan to destroy Israel.

Turkey has announced that more aid ships will follow and that they will be escorted by the Turkish Navy. Israel thus finds itself in the unenviable position of having to fire the warships of a NATO ally or allow the blockade to fail, neither of which are particularly desirable options. Firing on a NATO warship would constitute a clear and unequivocal attack upon a NATO signatory, thereby triggering Article 5 of the NATO charter and forcing the United States and most of Europe to choose between the Cold War alliance and their loyalty to Israel. Allowing the blockade to fail would flood Gaza with supplies, including weapons and bomb making materials. Neither outcome is one Israel will like. In failing to allow the peaceful passage of humanitarian aid, Israel has set itself up for catastrophe. Hamas knows this, which is likely why Israel’s offer to turn over supplies from the seized ships was so rapidly rebuffed. Turkey also knows this; it called an emergency NATO meeting after Israel interdicted the flotilla and while NATO can turn a blind eye to the hostile boarding of a humanitarian vessel, an attack on a warship is another matter. Israeli drones are out of the game.

Even al-Jazeera

We have nothing to hide at the same time can he help us free Gilad Shalit. How about making a deal, we will open the blockaid if they free Gilad Shalit.

1. Israel has nothing to investigate, aside from its own internal operational considerations & planning mistakes. It certainly has no need for anyone to stick their nose into an entirely legitimate prevention of a deliberate provocation & possible delivery of weapons. If Bibi, Barak, or Lieberman, or any other "leader" agrees to ANY international inquiry of ANY type, it will only provoke more intrusion into Israel's affairs, & legitimisation of a terror entity; 2. I am more concerned about Turkey's using non State actors & known terrorists to advance its political agenda. Turkey's conduct & slide into Islamism has many repercussions for NATO (intelligence, nuclear weapons, air bases); Eastern European defense; & political stability, from Kurdistan to Greece, & the wider Mediterranean. As Zvi Mazel wrote, Turkey should be investigated, not Israel 3. Israel is repeatedly making the mistake of "going in weak", in the hope that "The international community will see that we really are the good guys, doing the right thing". NOBODY CARES. The barbarians have an automatic UN majority; they have oil money; & they are jealous of what Israel stands for. They are like ganglords wanting to prevent redevelopment of a slum. It is just like a group of schoolyard bullies targeting the weakest kid, until he stands up for himself-& there is no teacher to intervene. Every country-including the US-will use this for their own geopolitical purposes; & the end game is known: destruction of Israel. The rest is fluff, commentary & excuses. The problem is NOT that Israel is too aggressive-it is that it is not aggressive enough, clearly & unapologetically, from the start. Pussyfooting around only ultimately increases violence. "Spare the rod & spoil the child" has been around for a while. Churchill said: The Arabs are either at your feet, or at your throat". Still true. 4. The "Rachel Corrie" was taken over peacefully because they knew Israel meant business. When Israel announces that it will consider State sponsored attempts to break the blockade an act of war, & consider sinking any ships attempting to do so, provocations will stop ( I am aware of the relative sizes of other countries vis a vis Israel, but no one wants to attack a determined adversary, bent on survival); 5. When the UN investigates: * N Korea recently sinking the S Korean ship (40+ killed) * Massacres in Darfur, Rwanda, & Mumbai; * Russia invading Chechnya & Georgia; * UK occupying the Falklands; * Pakistan selling nuclear blueprints; * Iran using Hezbollah & Hamas as international terror arms; * Syrian intervention in Lebanon & assassination of Hariri; * Never ending Shia-Sunni terror, killing TENs of THOUSANDS of innocents; Then, we can talk, rather than the UN bleating about some dead hired gangster scum. 6. Last, rather than continually trying to "Be like everyone", & joining organisations where conditions are set for you, & there is an automatic majority against Israel , take the lead, & initiate creating a "League of Advanced Democracies & Societies" (LOADS), based on (similar to OECD), the myriad criteria & scoring of democracies-freedom of the press, speech, travel, education, work, etc. There are about 50 recognised criteria. Only (say) the top 20 countries can join (Premier League!), & the next 20-30 (limited to 30-40) have to improve across the scoreboard to move up. Benefits & concessions can be obtained only within the top echelon; "One Country, One Vote", a Management Committee made up of (at least) the 3 smallest countries, 2-3 largest, rotating the rest. A little like the others-Organisation of Unaligned States, Arab League, OECD, or G-20, but with REAL substantive philosophy, action, & RESULTS-not just economic or political power. Israel led in civilising the world with monotheism & the Ten Commandments. Time to take the lead again. Enough with UN BS. Ban Ban!

...not Helen Clark. ...and why is a inquiry needed anayway..we all know that the Israelis acted as they should and got more than they bargained for.

First inquiry needs to be the Islamofascist Hamas harrassment of NGO,s in Hamastan over the weeekend ,when does it start ,Ban ki Moon ?

Like typical leftist cowards Ban ki Moon is to terrified of even mentioning the North Korean meshugganeh who blew up a South Korean naval vessel with enormous loss of his fellow countrymen,let alone try to instigate an inquiry it figures ?

No need to conradict youself Peter as thee,s no proof whatsoever of stolen New Zealand passports by Israel and you need to understand impartiality in it,s true sense ,not as you would prefer to understand it ?

Like most of the looney leftist cowards round the world all looking for free lunches and other handouts from the Muslim controlled UN what a farce .

Poor Peter Morris doesn,t know if he,s coming or going just like his looney leftist clowns he hangs out with ,how did he manage to confuse Clark with Palmer unless he,s dyslexic ?

Actually Ban ki Moon was to busy fretting over his response to the nutcase in Pyongyang who sank one of his native country,Souyh Korea,s naval vessel with enormous loss of life ,typical leftist looney cowardice ?

To think of all those leftist looneys in GAza,currently employed by the Muslim controlled UN being paid with Muslim blood money ,how sick.

who is appeasing to whom and what and at whose orders?