Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is right. Muslim nations must strengthen themselves through cohesive communities, robust economies and the courageous defence of human dignity, as he was quoted as having told the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit in Doha on Monday.
“We must not support any oppressive country that oppresses people.” Obvious as it may be, there is much truth in the saying “united we stand, divided we fall”.
To be brutally frank, we have not seen the show of such strength yet. There is so much division, not just among the Arab nations in the Middle East, but also among Muslim nations elsewhere, even in the face of continued genocide of Palestinians.
As this Leader goes to press, the Zionist regime led by genocidal Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has begun a ground offensive in Gaza City with the aim of annexing Palestinian territory. Earlier, he said that Palestine is “our land”, falsifying historical facts and religious texts. A nation built on the foundation of deceit and theft will do these and more.
Would the bombing of Qatar’s capital Doha change that? There has been quite a bit of talk of that at the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit on Monday. Whatever happens, Muslim nations must stand together “against Israel’s plans to impose a new reality in the region”, to quote the summit’s statement.
One way to stand together against this “new reality” is to follow Anwar‘s prescription, including his call to the Arab and Muslim world to not recognise, establish diplomatic relations with or trade with Israel. For some unfathomable reason, some Arab nations do have “cordial” relations with Israel.
Another way is to follow the Arab League Council’s ministerial-level resolution that calls for collective security, shared destiny and joint confrontation of common threats. Although not made explicit by the text, non-Arab Muslim nations must be roped in to contribute to the “collective security”.
Some are labelling this as a Middle Eastern Nato. So be it. The oppressive aggressor must be stopped. This is the only way Netanyahu’s “Greater Israel” dream can be turned into his nightmare.
Israel’s barbarism isn’t just a problem for the Middle East. The international community of nations has a moral duty, if not a legal one, to end the ethnic cleansing of innocent Palestinian women and children.
Now that the United Nations commission of inquiry has declared that Israel’s offensive in Gaza is genocide, there is no excuse for the rest of world to watch in silence from far, especially those countries which are signatories to the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.
Israel has killed 64,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children since Oct 7, 2023. Another 160,000 have been injured. The United Kingdom, the nation which is primarily responsible for the creation of the barbaric Zionist regime, the United States and the European Union can’t afford to look the other way. As The Guardian editorial says, UK must now “stop hiding behind legal fictions and recognise reality”.
Its editorial calls for political action, “especially from those, including the UK and the US, who have for too long treated Israel as an exception to international norms”. Under the 1948 convention, states have a duty not only to punish genocide but to prevent it.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
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