CONTINUING their atrocities against the oppressed Palestinians, in a renewed wave of violence, Israeli security forces have once again raided the Al Aqsa compound that echoes the events of last May, which resulted in the 11-day war between the Hamas and Israel.

The Israeli police raided the compound when the Muslims were finishing morning prayers. More than 150 Palestinians were injured. It was a pre-planned raid, assaulting and blockading the worshippers inside the prayer halls only to clear the way for Israeli settlers to enter the holy site in the occupied East Jerusalem.

The Israeli forces also reportedly used stun grenades and in the silver-domed Qibli prayer hall, teargas shells were fired at the worshippers, blocking them indoors for almost four hours. Far-right Israelis and settler groups had already planned to storm Al Aqsa to mark the Jewish Passover holiday.

According to an agreement between Jordan, which is the custodian of Islamic and Christian sites in occupied Jerusalem, and Israel, non-Muslims can visit Al Aqsa, but are not allowed to pray there. But Israel has been violating this understanding for long and the frequency of such violations has increased in the recent past. Israeli forces, settlers and high-profile politicians have been involved almost on a daily basis without Palestinian permission.

While the Muslims are always associated with terrorism, and Western media links all terrorism-related events with the Muslims and Islam, it does not condemn, or at least actively ignores, Israeli state terrorism and Hindutva ideology being imposed on and promoted in India and in India-occupied Kashmir.

Is this not hypocrisy and double standards of the international community? Is belligerence and oppression by Israel not state terrorism? Are the Hindutva goons, who have unleashed communal violence and hate towards the Muslims in India and the occupied valley, not terrorists?

Although Pakistan has made numerous efforts to debunk the myth that Islam teaches violence, the religion continues to be used for political advantages by Western political leaders. This can be witnessed during the elections in European countries, like France, and even in the United States.

During the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, the entire international media focussed on the issue, and protests erupted across the US. And these days we see the West being sympathetic to Ukraine and its white-skinned refugees while condemning Russia for military intervention. Is the blood of Palestinian people cheaper than the blood of those in the West?

The Muslim world is not united and this factor has been one of the reasons for the misery of the Muslims in occupied Kashmir, Syria, Palestine, Myanmar and Yemen. Although we recently had a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Islamabad where Muslim unity was stressed, the Palestinian issue remains unaltered. If anything, the issue is a collective failure of the international community.

There are scores of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions that have repeatedly called for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine. But these efforts have gone down the drain as Israel is backed by the US to serve its interests in the Middle East.

Emboldened by American support, Israel has expanded its settlements and continues to do so. It has even abandoned the so-called two-state solution. Now this fresh round of violence in the occupied territory is ample evidence that, like India, the Jewish entity, too, has no respect for international humanitarian law.

Inaction on UN resolutions is an indictment of those members of the global community who possess the power to effect a change, but are unwilling to act because of a blind commitment to Israel. Despite claims to the contrary, such powers have no respect for international law.

We cannot expect Israel and its partners in crime in the US to save the innocent Palestinians. The only solution to this grave issue is unity within the Muslim ranks.

Abdul Qadeer Seelro
Larkana

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2022