Islam Times - Palestinian Cause, the Driving Force for Muslim Unity

Islam Times - The continuation of the Israeli crimes in Gaza Strip that have reduced the coastal enclave to ruins puts a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of Muslim countries to take steps to stop the Israeli massacre machine. The birthday of the Prophet Muhammad that starts the the Week of Unity of Muslims provides a proper opportunity for the Muslim ummah to bring back Palestine to the center of the global attention and show that the Palestinian cause is still a priority to the Muslim countries.

In this connection, the 36th international conference of Muslin unity titled "Muslim cooperation to achieve common values with an emphasis on Palestine" was held on Thursday in Tehran with the presence of representatives from the Muslim countries. In this pro-unity event, the representatives emphasized that political and economic synergy will enable Muslim advances, adding that with mutual respect, the inter-Muslim unity is achievable.

In this year's conference, which was held while Gaza war is ongoing, the unity in support of the Palestinian issue was the obvious point that all the representatives of the Islamic states emphasized on. The members present at the conference condemned the crimes of the Israeli regime in Gaza and demanded more cooperation between the nations against the Tel Aviv.

The conference was held as the Palestinian people, who have been oppressed by the Israeli occupation for several decades, are hoping for the all-round support of the Islamic countries to move forward more determinedly in the struggle for the liberation of their occupied territories. Since the Islamic conference is held every year with the theme of strengthening unity among Muslims, in this situation that the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank need international support, the unity of the Muslim world with 57 countries and a population of nearly 2 billion can play an important role in supporting the Palestinians and stopping the Israeli crimes in Gaza immediately.

Though Muslim countries may differ on various issues, the Palestinian cause is a point of consensus for them, and defending the Palestinian right to form an independent Palestinian state is the common vision of all Muslims, and this can be the most important driving force for liberation of Palestine.

One of the factors that has made the Israeli regime more daring about massacring of the people of Gaza is the silence of some Arab countries, which instead of supporting the Palestinian people, secretly support the occupation regime. If cooperation between Muslim countries is strengthened, the Israeli regime will be encircled by the Muslims and will have no choice but to surrender, something that was brought up in the conference by the mufti of Yemen, Sheikh Shamsuddin Sharafuddin, who called on the Arab countries "to break their silence regarding Israel's crimes and take action against this regime.

Since Gaza people are living a catastrophic situation, the Muslim governments should not be indifferent to the Palestinian developments and any silence is a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.

Muslim world's options to punish Tel Aviv

Given the relatively large number of the Muslim countries, they can use different options to force-stop Israeli crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. Islamic countries, some of which openly doing business with Israel, can put strains on Tel Aviv by applying economic sanctions. Experience has proven that lack of effective international deterrence measures have only encouraged the child-killer regime to continue its crimes unpunished, something we have seen in the past 11 months in Gaza. Having in mind that economy is one of the main enablers of occupation, the Muslim countries can cutt off Israeli economic arteries and put the brakes on its occupation.

Boycotting products supplied by allies of Tel Aviv is another option the Muslim world can rely on to press the West to rein in the barbarous Israel. After all, the driving force behind Israeli crimes is the staunch support provided by the US and Europe that have given Israel a leeway for heinous crimes with their arms support to it.

In the current situation that the West provides all-out supports to the Israeli regime, the Islamic countries must also act coherently and support the Palestinians in response. Because the West has shown that it has not been faithful to any of its claimed principles towards Palestine, and it will not be in the future, and this is an important signal to Islamic countries not to count on the West's backing to formation of a Palestinian state and end of the decades-long dispute.

In recent years, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone to great lengths to convince the Arab countries to embark on normalization project, but Arab public opinion is strongly against openness to relations with Israel and considers joining this project as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and an complicity with the war criminals in Tel Aviv. Therefore, given the wave of anti-Israeli sentiments that has started worldwide, the Islamic countries with resolute positions against the crimes of the Israeli in Gaza can isolate the Arab countries that in recent years have taken steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, betraying the Palestinian cause. A crackdown on such countries can help raise the costs of repeating such a betrayal.

Muslim countries are present in the UN at a large number and can put pressure on this international body to pass resolutions against this regime and raise its political costs. Wide-ranging international support for the Palestinian people and political condemnation of Israel will isolate this regime on the world stage and in the long run will cause other countries to reconsider their policies with Tel Aviv.

Today, the Zionist regime seems shakier than ever as it is rocked by internal political and security crises, and its further isolation is considered the biggest scandal for it in the world. The Western supporters of this regime, which have supported crimes against Palestinians for seven decades, are now busy with their own internal problems, and in such a situation, Islamic countries should bolster their alliance and cooperation and, by tightening the noose on the Israelis, force them back from their occupation of Palestine.

Now the situation is different from the past and it demands that Muslim governments activate legal mechanisms and hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians. If the Islamic countries stand by the Palestinian nation with all their strength, they can stop its occupation and apartheid policies. Suing Israel in the International Criminal Court is one of the cases where Islamic countries can force Tel Aviv to stop its crimes.

In recent months, South African case with the International Criminal Court against the Israeli genocide has distressed the Israeli leaders. If all the Muslim countries back this move, they will pave the way for Netanyahu and other war criminals' trial. If the ICC can issue a arrest warrant to the Israeli criminals, it can make the future Israeli government conservative in its occupation and massacre policies.

76 years of occupation have shown that Israelis only know the language of force and diplomacy does not work with them. So, the Muslim countries should build pressures on them by arming Gaza and the West Bank. The Muslims should back the resistance against this apathetic regime to block easy pursuit of ambitious occupation plans by the Israelis. Operation Al-Aqsa Storm of October 7 that killed and wounded thousands of Israelis demonstrated that defeat of the enemy is not out of reach if these resistance groups are provided by massive military support.