There are many people in the Arab and Muslim world who might have been encouraged by US President Barack Obama’s words in his interview with Al Arabiya television network when he said, “... and so what we want to do is listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years ... and I think if we do that, then there is a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs.” However, the vast majority remains skeptical about America’s efforts to repair relations with the Arab and Muslim world. Allow me to explain their reasons and I hope President Obama is listening.

Arabs and Muslims find it difficult to acknowledge the positive points in Obama’s speech simply because it included the statement that “the US is and will remain a solid ally of Israel.” It is as if he is saying to the Arab and Muslim world that the US is and will remain its solid enemy. This biased remark ruined Obama’s message since it was declared after Israel brutally launched a disproportionate war against the people of the Gaza Strip, deliberately targeting the civilian population, mainly women and children, while arrogantly stating it was acting in self-defense against Hamas. The so-called Hamas rocket barrages have so far killed only a few while the numbers of women and children who died in Gaza are horrific. More than 1,400 people died, including 410 children and 100 women. Another 5,300 were wounded — 1,855 of them children and 795 women. More than 10,000 Palestinians were displaced. Israel continues to repeat its blatant lies, labeling the freedom fighters of Palestine as terrorists while going on a killing spree in Gaza claiming that it is the Palestinians who have no respect for human lives. For how long will the Jewish state act upon these distorted claims with the support of the US — its “solid ally” — defying international condemnations and ignoring the demands of all human rights organizations? In its war against the Gaza Strip, Israel did not hesitate to use banned lethal weapons, bomb the UN relief agency headquarters, or target schools, hospitals and ambulances; it was adamant in denying medical help to the injured leaving them to die a slow and painful death. Unless the US holds Israel accountable for its war crimes, many will find it hard to believe that America can act as an honest broker for peace and that it is not a formidable enemy to Arabs and Muslims?

The US has been an accessory to the Israeli brutality against innocent Palestinian women and children for many years. It bears responsibility for providing lethal and sophisticated weapons that have killed and maimed hundreds, and destroyed a defenseless community that has suffered a life of poverty, hunger and indignity under Israeli occupation for many years. It is the Palestinian people who need protection against the strongest army in the Middle East. The Arab and Muslim armies are incapable of waging war against the American war machines that are freely provided to the Israeli Army; they cannot save or defend their brothers and sisters in Palestine. This is the main reason for the rage and anger in the Arab street.

Ultimately, it is America’s blind support that puts Israel above the law, allows it to break every international law and gives it the green light to crush anyone who stands in its way.

In his interview, Obama said, “If we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab and Muslim world that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.” Well, the Muslim world will hold him to his words and demand fair treatment and expect him to address the root causes of conflicts and wars that have been waged for obvious American interests and to promote Israel’s hidden agendas. The total disrespect for Arab blood and an inability to feel the pain of Arabs and Muslims does not give the US any credibility. How can such a nation bring justice and peace to the region?

If Obama wants to apply a policy of mutual interest, there should be no more vetoes of UN resolutions that condemn Israeli atrocities or any American aggression against Arab and Muslim states. If Obama is serious about applying a policy of mutual respect, he must allow equal support for the helpless and the defenseless, and put a stop to Israeli settlements on stolen Palestinian land. America should not deny the Palestinians the right to resist occupation; it should not continue to aid Israel to confine a whole nation into Bantustans and concentration camps and deny its people the right to fight for their freedom and basic human rights.

In his inaugural address, Obama spoke of the American ideals of justice, opportunity and community. We urge him to apply these ideals for the Palestinians, and offer them an opportunity to exist and live in dignity. President Obama said that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity. Well, the innocent Palestinian civilian population has been calling for this right for decades; we need to hear America apply its sense of justice and stop Israeli ethnic cleansing of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, call for tearing down the apartheid wall, end the siege of Gaza and remove the humiliating checkpoints and release over 11,000 Palestinians who are in Israeli jails.

According to the latest survey conducted in Gaza on the conditions of Palestinian children, 70 percent said they had witnessed a killing. Almost 30 percent had post-traumatic disorder: Inability to sleep, violent outbursts, nightmares, flashbacks during the day, withdrawal from ordinary activities and emotional numbness. America has a responsibility to check the continued criminal behavior of Israel. The conditions in Gaza call for immediate action from the US. The siege imposed on Gaza is creating a humanitarian crisis. Poverty, hunger and diseases are prevalent due to the lack of food and fresh water, a broken sewage system, destroyed homes, displaced women and children, and meager medical supplies and facilities.

All this cruelty is directed at defenseless and helpless people, while Israel continues to claim it is acting in self-defense. Obama says he wants to listen. There are many grievances and lots of pain. We, in the Arab and Muslim world, hope he would stop listening to the Livnis and Olmerts of Israel and lend his ears to the voices of wisdom and the seekers of peace like the members of the Peace Now movement and the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network who grieve with the people of Gaza, who feel the pain of Palestinian women and children, hear their cries and want a just settlement with the Palestinians. They openly criticize the blind support of America for the war criminals of Israel. They also condemn the silence of the leaders of Western countries.

Every Arab and every Muslim, and all the people of conscience in the world, Christians, Jews, Hindus or otherwise, will forever support the brave Palestinians to resist Israel’s attempts to destroy them. President Obama, please listen carefully to all the outcries from every capital in the world and act wisely to save the innocent.

Yes Mr. President, people will judge you by your actions. Many of us sincerely wish you luck and hope you will be brave enough to live up to your promises and ideals, and recognize the Palestinians’ right to exist. It is time for America to desist from pursuing the old policy of blind support for Israel and correct the injustice that is causing so much pain and anguish to this region and to the rest of the world.

— Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist. She can be reached at [email protected].