Israel, which as a nation does not celebrate the Gregorian New Year, nonetheless woke up on January 1 to learn that their little country is set to be more than ever at the center of world scrutiny and pressure in 2007.

In an interview published concomitant with his assumption of office on the first day of the year, brand new United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon revealed that he, like British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the majority of world leaders, saw solving the Israel-A-Palestine- conflict as key to sorting out the rest of the mess in the Middle East.

This does not necessarily mean Ban believes Israel per se is to blame- Israelis have expressed the hope that he would be friendly towards their country.

It strongly suggests, however, that under his leadership the international community which is pushing so hard to see Israel surrender its land to the Arabs will continue - and very likely intensify - that push; and all the more as an appeasement-inclined West becomes desperate to defuse the Iranian nuclear standoff.

“If the issues with the conflicts between Israel and Palestine go well, [resolutions of] other issues in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Iran, Iraq and Syria, are likely to follow suit. I will meet with the concerned parties as soon as possible,” Ban told the South Korean Hankyoreh.

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