US President Barack Obamas call for the creation of a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967 deserves to be taken seriously. That the call was made in a speech at the State Department which addressed the turmoil in the Middle East must be given due weightage, as also the fact that this was Mr Obamas first policy statement on the region since he had announced the killing of Osama bin Laden by US Special Forces. It is interesting that though the protesters all over the Middle East have not taken up the Palestinian issue, Mr Obama sees its solution necessary for peace in the region. This is a thinking approach, which realises that the issue was ever present in their psychological background. Without its resolution, the region cannot be rid of unrest. Mr Obama deserves kudos for the fact that he took a clear position unpleasant to Israel, even though he was due to meet the Israeli President the very next day, and even though he is running for re-election on the ticket of a party that is heavily funded by American Zionists. However, analysts found the speech pro-Israel, which was probably a necessity President Obama faced. This would not be the first time that a US President appeared evenhanded, only to have Israel go its own way, ignoring international opinion. As Mr Obama pointed out, the world would like an outcome. The Israelis failure to accept the just solutions of the remaining outstanding issues, like the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the Israeli settlements, and the fate of Jerusalem, has prevented movement. It is therefore time for Tel Aviv to pay attention to the USA, and negotiate seriously. With the so-called Arab Spring, there has been a unity movement which has seen the PLO and Hamas enter into a unity forced on it by the Palestinian people. That too should show that Israel must negotiate seriously. At the same time, President Obama should realise that Palestine is not a mere Arab question, but a Muslim one. The Muslims of the world are also concerned about a just solution to the other illegal occupation of Muslim lands like that of Kashmir. That is a dispute more or less coeval with Palestine, and thus deserves resolution ahead of the illegal occupations carried out by the USA itself, of Iraq and Afghanistan. Pakistanis, though very directly concerned at the Kashmir issue, and the development of ties between its illegal occupier, India, with Israel and the USA, are also very concerned about the fate of the Palestinians. So the government must watch the situation very closely and play whatever facilitating role it can.