The conference illustrated the plight of the Gazans, underlying why the issue remains key to moving forward the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and why it is such a focus for Hamas, other radical groups, the wider Arab world and the Iranians.

As is his wont, he went back to first principles and his old bête noire — imperial Britain. The first principle, in this case, being the Balfour Declaration which, he observed violated that first principle of English justice: that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. The declaration, by England's first Jewish prime minister, Arthur James Balfour, violated every tenet of English jurisprudence in that it ignored the interests of the majority non-Jewish population in the territory, which it clearly designated as Palestine. The British, too, ignored the accepted management of mandated territories, which normally revert to the control of the majority at the conclusion of the mandate.

'There was no provision for the holders of the mandate to do just what they like to the territory concerned,' Dr Mahathir told the gathering. 'But it was the British who proposed that the mandated territory of Palestine be established as a national home of the Jewish people and not to the people indigenous to the territory. It was an ill thought-out decision, for the British government must know that taking other people's land to give to other people is very wrong. They must have known that it would lead to violence… Palestine was not a piece of real estate owned by Lord Balfour or the British government, to be given away at their whim and fancy. There is no legal basis whatsoever, be it in English Common Law or existing international laws for this act. It was an expropriation without parallel in history.'

The Malaysian elder statesman said that it was only right that to find a solution to the problem of the Palestinian people the 'atrocious injustice' of the Balfour Declaration should be revisited and it be replaced with another declaration of intent emanating from London to be called The London Declaration for Peace and Justice in Palestine.

'The British people must atone for this injustice and the horrors that followed by ensuring that the British parliament unanimously adopts such a declaration of intent and ensure that the international community implements its basic principles…I am convinced that there are enough men of goodwill here and elsewhere to ensure that it sees the light of day…if justice must be done and be seen to be done, at the very least, the British parliament, representing the entire British people, must confront this injustice, as the Germans and Germany since the Second World War were made to confront the injustice and crimes committed against the Jews…as William Wilberforce did with the slave trade, so must members of parliament redeem their honour by abrogating the Balfour Declaration.'

Mahathir said that there could be no peace without admission of guilt and contrition by the culprit. Then, and only then, would there be atonement for the grievous wrong which has wreaked havoc and death in the Middle East and elsewhere over the past 60 years, he said denouncing the appointment of former prime minister Tony Blair as peace envoy for the quartet. 'When a known warmonger who told lies is appointed envoy for peace, it is cynicism at its worst.'

He urged that the parties be encouraged to move towards the status quo ante, the recreation of a state where Arabs and Jews can live together in peace and at least relative harmony.

'I propose this because this was the solution for my own country, Malaysia, where the Malays agreed to share their country with the Chinese and Indians whose forebears migrated to our shores and decided to settle down there. They retain their ethnicity but they are all Malaysians.'

Lauren Booth who has been at the sharp end struggling to get aid into Gaza and challenging the Israeli stranglehold had harrowing stories to tell of the plight of Palestinians trapped in the concentration camp that the area has now become. She told of the three days it took to get through the Rafah crossing which featured a riot by 600 Egyptian policemen but still did not allow her to see through a batch of Libyan aid on its way to the designated recipients.

She told of the woman trapped inadvertently in Gaza who had lived in Ramallah for 17 years — she hadn't seen her sons aged three and ten for 14 months and saw no prospect of ever seeing them again; and of the 450 students who had been studying abroad who were not allowed through the crossing and therefore stood virtually no chance of being allowed to resume their foreign university studies. They, like all Gazans, were 'begging for freedom but suffering humiliation without end.' And of the 64 year old Palestinian woman who had been receiving regular treatment at a Jewish hospital for a chronic illness but had been turned back seven times at the Eretz crossing and could not continue her treatment.

Trying to get out was terrifying but life in Gaza was equally so with drones overhead, missiles and watch towers everywhere — they're sitting ducks in a shooting gallery.

'It's not a prison — prisoners have rights; prisoners get three meals a day; prisoners have committed a crime but they will have a release date. One million Palestinian children are in Gaza and they are all criminals. Gaza is a concentration camp controlled by Israel and the Egyptians: there are no visits from the outside world and no release date.'

She told of heart-warming scenes when their flotilla had been able to make landfall in Gaza despite attempts by the Israeli Navy to ram their boat. The blockade of Gaza by sea was so tight that since 2000 the Gazans had not been free even to fish in their own waters. One of the most disturbing things, she said, was that the blockade was not being challenged by anyone, not even the Palestinian Authority.

She said that their vessel had eventually been able to get access because they had taken care to publish their passenger list thereby precluding the Israeli option of declaring their voyage 'a threat to freedom.' With that principle established it was important for there to be follow-up voyages to reinforce the fact that Gaza is accessible by sea: 'We want the United Nations to come with us,' said Booth. 'Will you come with us Ban Ki-moon (Secy-Gen of the UN)? We want to establish the world's first humanitarian ferry service.'

Cynthia McKinney, black U.S. presidential candidate for the Green Party, had been one of the passengers on the same boat as Booth and had been terrified, as a non-swimmer, when it appeared that the Israeli Navy would sink them. McKinney noted that the murderer of a single person goes to jail but the killer of 100,000 gets invited to peace talks. 

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