A year has passed since the Israeli onslaught on Gaza but nothing seems to have changed. The Israeli campaign left almost 1500 Palestinians dead and the whole area in complete ruins in a bombing barrage in which Israel is alleged to have used even phosphorous bombs. There have been mild condemnations from the international community but nothing really serious. The Goldstone Report, perhaps the only serious attempt by the UN to address the issue, has also been pushed into oblivion. The public demonstrations, though, are being held worldwide to rebuke Israel. The role of the Egyptian government in all of this has been truly baffling. Cairo's decision to construct an iron wall along its border with Gaza for 'enhancing security' has come as a shock to even the most pro-government analysts in Egypt. What makes the entire plan even more suspicious was that the whole project remained shrouded in secrecy until its exposure in mid-December. It is, of course, an open secret that the Egypt-Gaza border has served as a lifeline for the passage of everyday necessities to the Palestinian Muslims in the face of Israeli blockades. The critics in Egypt and elsewhere have, thus, construed the government's actions as an attempt to please the US and Israel. Some have rightfully dubbed the barrier a 'Wall of Shame'. This activity, of course, comes in the wake of other similar incidents such as the recent refusal to allow international activists from different countries to reach Gaza from Egypt to participate in a freedom march. It has definitely put a huge question mark over the sincerity of the Egyptian government in helping their Palestinian brothers in their hour of need. -AKRAM KHAN, Islamabad, January 2.