Muslim world is facing multiple problems but some issues, such as Palestine – Gaza crisis and foreign military occupation of their natural resources by the Western countries, pose existential challenges for many Muslim nations. The fact remains that process of Western domination that had started in seventeenth centuries with European colonization had accelerated after decline of Ottoman Empire. With Ottoman Empire’s downfall, in early twentieth centuries, Muslims lost their unitary and solidarity and the political center of gravity that provided an umbrella of safety and security to them, despite many internal difference and disputes.
The scared land of Palestine, which houses the scared holy place of Al-Qudas Sharif to Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike, has witnessed many upheavals. Damascus, the first major city of the Eastern Roman Empire which fell to the Muslim Army was, conquered as early as 634 AD. The second major city to surrender, in 637, was Jerusalem. Second Caliph Hazrat Umar travelled to Jerusalem in person to receive the submission of the city as agreed by Patriarch Sophronius. The Caliph promised to protect the lives and properties of all non-Muslim residents of Jerusalem. The promise was kept by subsequent rules.
The major conflict between the Muslims and Christians started in 1099 when European Christian celery, princes, and feudal lords jointly launched The Crusades that continued for next two hundred years, till 1291. During these troubled times, the ‘Land of Palestine,’ especially Jerusalem, remained contested. It was captured, lost, and recaptured by Muslims and Crusaders many times. The most historic moment in the Crusades came on October 2, 1187, when the city of Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin’s army after remaining in the hands of the Franks for 88 years. While the Muslims and Christian armies were contested fiercely to gain and retain then control over Palestine, there were only a small number of Jews who lived in this land. Most of them had migrated to Europe or other parts of the world much earlier.
Moving fast forward, the Land of Palestine was largely habitated by Muslims and a small minority of Arab Christians for over a thousand years. It was ruled by Muslim Sultans including Ottomans from twelfth century to early twentieth century. British troops captured Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in 1917. In 1922, the League of Nations awarded an international mandate to Britain for administering Palestine during the post-war period. Meanwhile, in 1916, the United Kingdom and France had a conclude a secret treaty which is called ‘The Sykes–Picot Agreement’. Under this Agreement, the Ottoman provinces outside the Arabian Peninsula were divided into areas of British and French control and influence. The control of Palestine (Israel today), Jordan and Iraq were given to the United Kingdom. France was to control southeastern Turkey, the Kurdistan Region, Syria, and Lebanon.
During the World War I, in 1917, to attract sympathies of Jew in Europe and seek financial help, the British Government issued a public statement, which is known as ‘The Balfour Declaration’. Arthur James Balfour, the Foreign Secretary, wrote a letter to Lionel Walter Rothschild announcing the British Government’s support for the establishment of a ‘national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.’ At that time, only a small Jewish population was living in Palestine. This declaration speaks volumes of British intentions to deprive the Palestinians of their ancestorial land ae early as 1917. Surely, it must have been planned much earlier.
During and after the World War I, Jews from all over Europe and other parts of the world were encouraged to immigrate to Palestine. Rather, they were brought there under British and French facilitation. In 1948, after creation of the United Nations, in the aftermath of defeat of Germany, the Britain, France and the United States surrogated the birth of Israel with total disregards to the right of Arabs Muslims and Christians to have their homeland at a place where they had lived for over many thousand years. They were promised an Arab homeland but that was just a grand deception.
After 1948, Arab Muslims were hounded and driven out of their homes by organised military militia groups of Zionists who forced them to leave their homes for eventual occupation but Jews and Zionist settlers. Many thousand Palestinians were killed, and millions were forced to flee to neighbouring countries or to become displaced in their own land. The United Nations security Council, which was dominated and controlled by victors of World War II, the United States, the United Kingdon, and France, kept playing with the Palestine issue. Such political gimmicks and diplomatic, financial, and military aid provided to Irael strengthen its colonial occupation over Palestine.
In 1967, Israel occupied and annexed the whole of historical Palestine. It also occupied some territory of Egypt and Syria. By the end of the war, Israel had expelled another 300,000 Palestinians from their homes, including 130,000 who had already been displaced in 1948. It also gained the territory that was three and a half times its size. Thus, the concept and hope for two states solutions; Israel, a Jewish State; and Palestine, an Arab State, was completely buried.
Since then, Israel has adopted a consistent and uninterrupted policy of complete annihilation of Palestinians. Indeed, it aims to create a Greater Israel that would expand much further and will occupy a large area from the surrounding Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the current military operations of Israeli Defence Forces in Gaza must be seen and understood in the larger context.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, through its brutal military attacks, has killed over forty thousand Palestinians in Gaza, including a large number of elderly persons, women, and children. Number of the wounded and injured persons is over many hundred thousand. Many thousand are still buried under the rubble. Israeli Defence forces have destroyed all infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and mosques in complete Gaza Strip. They have not even spared the United Nations designated and protected shelter for displaced people. It has executed a land, areal and see blocked of Gaza, causing worst kind of famine situation, using shortage of food as weapon of war. The United Nations food and relief conveys were also attacked ruthlessly. The United Nations, International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, and all human rights organization all over the world, have condemned Israeli brutalities. Israel has blatantly and arrogantly refused their demands to end the war immediately and allow humanitarian assist to reach helpless Gazans.
Such inhuman and misplaced arrogance is only possible due to unconditional support of the global powers like the United Staes, the many European countries. The recent shameful standing ovation accorded by the U.S. Congress, during his war boosting address, to Netanyahu is a clear testimony of the hypocrisy and bigotry of the West. If Israeli leadership and Israeli Defence Forces continue to get unlimited and unconditional diplomatic, financial, and military support from the U.S. and the West, it will not stop its killing machine. It will, rather, feel more emboldened to continue committing such crimes against humanity.
In fact, Israel is a forward post of Western European Christendom in the Middle East. It acts as a vanguard of its foreign policy to ensure their dominance over all Arab states in the Middle East and protects their political, commercial, and military interests of global hegemony in the region. Rest, all stories of cease-fire negotiation, peace efforts, and mediation, are part of strategic deception and psychological warfare.
Currently, Israel has embarked upon military operations to kills Palestinian leaders and their sympathisers outside the conflict zone. Recent assignation of Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyah in Tehran and Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr in Beirut are clear example of such fearless outreach of aggression in the region. The situation is Middle East is precariously dangerous, but Israel has no intensions to deescalate the conflict. A fresh airstrike has killed more than a hundred school children. Such barbaric acts have no parallel in human history.
Iran and Hezbollah have wowed to take revenge and strike at their time of choosing. The conflict may escalate and engulf the whole region into greater chaos, anarchy, and destruction. The U.S is reported have deployed their aircraft carriers and other forces in the region. It is no secret that U.S. forces are already stationed in many Middle Eastern countries under bilateral security arrangements, though essentially to safeguard the U.S. interests and Israel. Some other European countries may also be evaluating to jump in case the war escalates. Many would like to cause irreparable damage to Iran under the military leadership of U.S. Who knows that NATO recourses may also be employed as many countries have threatened of serious retaliation if any harm is causes to Israel. Many global conflict and war experts fear that miscalculations by any party to the conflict can lead to unintended and horrendous consequences, which would be highly dangerous and destructive.
Regional or global war have very serious consequences. It must be avoided. The only way-out is to accept the right of Palestinian people to establish their Sate on their own land and to support them to live in harmony and peace. Otherwise, the conflict will continue causing more destruction and devastation. (The author is a retired army officer and former High Commissioner of Pakistan. Currently, he is affiliated with Hebei Normal University China as a Senior Advisor and Visiting Professor). Source: Daily Minute Mirror
