The Arab world and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) should strongly condemn the act of Israeli aggression in Gaza, in which about 2,000 Palestinians have been killed, including 541 children and 250 women.
In a statement, Robert Serry, the United Nation’s (UN) Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, told BBC that approximately 16,800 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed, affecting some 100,000 Palestinians. In addition, he said that more than 100 installations belonging to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees have been damaged. According to local non-governmental organisations and the UN, up to 80 per cent of the Palestinian casualties were civilians.
In the past, Israel grossly committed human rights violations in Al Quds, resulting in unrest amongst Muslims all over the world. During Operation Cast Lead from 2008 to 2009, up to 1,166 people were killed in Gaza and in 2012’s Operation Pillar of Defense, over 150 Palestinians were killed.
It is quite interesting to note that the US and its allies insist that they are against terrorism, but according to history, this has not always been so. Now, the same story is repeating in Gaza, as Israel insists that it wants to disarm Hamas and other factions in order to maintain control over Gaza’s crossings and to prevent the smuggling of weapons. In order to do so, Israel is continuously and deliberately engaging in the killing of innocent people.
It has been established that Israel is not only affecting peace in the Middle East, but also is a blatant violator of various UN peace resolutions. If Israel does not comply with UN resolutions, Arab countries should jointly pass a strong resolution to completely boycott Israel and cut off all ties. It is time for Muslim countries to wake up and understand the ulterior motives of Israel, which is the actual war criminal.
— Mumtaz Hussain is a Pakistani office manager based in Dubai
