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That, I am afraid, is a question no one can answer. For a start, what is the right thing to do?

Clearly, preventing more deaths would be one, even if not from a humanitarian point of view, then cynically to at least make up for the bumbling act that is the current Israeli leadership. But what about another raid to stop the boat from approaching, in the name of Israeli national security? Does the Israeli army have a better entry and exit strategy? Do they have better intelligence as to what to expect this time?

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"We were shocked by the Israeli attack which led to severe casualties and condemn it." - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu in a statement.

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“Out beyond ideas of rightdoings and wrongdoings, there is a field. I will meet you there.” Persian poet, Sanai

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Oops, we messed up.

While not in those words, that was effectively the response from Israel's Interior Ministry to what happened on Sunday.

It all started when Noam Chomsky, renowned US academic and a vocal critic of Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, was trying to cross into the West Bank from neighbouring Jordan. He was  interrogated for hours by a border guard receiving instructions from a superior over the phone.

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Tomorrow thousands of Palestinians will march in the West Bank and Gaza to remember what they call the nakba, or the catastrophe.

On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed in Palestine. That was the day when the Palestinians, the Arabs living on that land became displaced from their own homes. That day, Palestine ceased to be. That day, the Palestinians became a people without a home.

This is an episode that has not been forgotten in the Arab world. This is a wrong that has not been right till now, more than six decades later.

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It's been just a couple of days since both sides started indirect talks with the US in the middle and already, it's not making very much sense.

President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy Senator George Mitchell said, Israel has agreed to freeze construction on the Ramat Shlomo Jewish settlement.

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When the Israeli army laid siege on the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's compound in Ramallah back in 2002, one of those who visited frequently was an elderly Jew.

His name was Moshe Hirsch. Five years Arafat's senior, he was there by the younger Arab's bedside praying, as he laid dying in a French hospital two years later. When Hirsch himself died this past weekend, the current Palestinian leadership did not neglect to pay their respects.

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A friend sent me this news story that was shown on Al-Jazeera television the other day.

Now for the record, though al-Jazeera persists on being the media outlet of choice for al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, it should be pointed out that its English channel has been giving industry veterans CNN and BBC a good run for their revenue with insightful stories and features that the big players miss.

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Every year, Christians all over the world celebrate Easter Sunday, marking the end of the Christian Holy Week and the resurrection of Jesus Christ who was crucified on Good Friday.

This year, someone else was brought back to life from the dead : Muhammad al-Farmawi.

On the Tuesday before Good Friday, the 15-year-old Palestinian boy was reportedly shot by Israeli forces during demonstrations in Gaza. According to local Palestinian media, the violence was so heavy the ambulances could not approach to retrieve the body.

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There is a piece in the Israeli daily Haaretz today with the headline : Israel to engage in 'trust-building' moves in wake of East Jerusalem row.

According to the article, these 'trust-building' moves would include: the release of Palestinian prisoners, the removal of West Bank checkpoints and perhaps even a willingness to transfer West Bank territories to PA control.

Another piece quoted from the Washington Post has the Israeli ambassador to the US saying 

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“Send regards to Israel, I miss it. I respect Israel and admire it as a country.”

This is not a Jew speaking. It is a Palestinian, the firstborn son of a top minister from the militant Palestinian organisation Hamas. (“Hamas' Christian convert: I've left a society that sanctifies terror” Haaretz, 31/07/2008)