Marc Lynch and Kristen Lord warn:
If Obama genuinely believes in the urgent strategic imperative of rebuilding relations with the world's Muslim communities, he must quickly--and personally--address the ongoing blockade of Gaza and use the crisis as an opportunity to underscore the need for a peace process and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians. If he tries to ignore the issue or simply defend Israel's actions, then the first anniversary of the Cairo speech will also be its epitaph.
From the very beginning of Obama's election, it seems to me that the prime objective of the Israeli government - both Kadima and now Netanyahu - was to use Gaza to destroy the U.S.'s attempt to reach out to the Muslim world. This is a chance to fight back - for the sake of broader American interests.