As fighting has escalated between Israel and Hamas this month, the conflict is being watched closely in the region — especially by Arab countries that opened relations with Israel last year.
Israel continued to impose institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians living under its rule in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). It displaced hundreds of Palestinians in Israel and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Muslim countries, including Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), around the world has condemned the Israeli aggression, however, they drew severe criticism from Muslims for not taking any action. Let’s take an in-depth review of the Israeli aggression and the Muslim countries’ respond.
OIC statement
The Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in their emergency meeting condemned what they described as “barbaric” Israeli attacks on Palestinians and urged the UN Security Council to act swiftly to bring an end to the atrocities.
The participants of the meeting reviewed the latest developments in the occupied Palestinian territories, the escalating aggression by the occupying Israeli forces, the forced eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in East Jerusalem, the killing and maiming of civilians and the growing barbaric attacks on the Gaza Strip.
They warned against the “dangerous effects of Israel’s continued and deliberate inflammation and provocation of the religious sensibilities and feelings of the Palestinian people and the entire Muslim ummah with its heightened attacks on worshippers”.
OIC charter
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has once again come under heavy criticism for failing to come up with a strong response against the Israeli violence targetting Palestinians.
According to the OIC’s charter, the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia will be the body’s temporary headquarters “until the liberation of the city of Al Quds (Jerusalem) so that it will become the permanent headquarters of the organisation”. The OIC’s charter clearly shows how deeply embedded the Palestinian issue is in the existence of the Muslim body.
Yet we see today that there is an attempt by the Israeli government and by the settlers to take over the Al Aqsa mosque. We have witnessed this throughout the entire month of Ramadan. And OIC has not responded at all.
Recent tensions
Recent tensions with the Palestinians have been exacerbated by the harsh attitude of the Israeli police during the month of Ramadan. Israeli police also used tear gas and stun grenades inside Al-Aqsa Mosque and attack worshippers.
In an unusual move, Hamas issued an ultimatum to Israel to immediately withdraw its security forces from Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. An Israeli court is set to rule on evicting in Sheikh Jarrah which ignited the most recent conflict.
Challenges for Arab nations that made peace with Israel
While many Middle Eastern governments have kept with tradition in fiercely condemning Israel, the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has made no public comment at all.
After Israeli police charged the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem last weekend, the UAE foreign ministry delicately asked Israel to simply “prevent practices that violate the sanctity” of the mosque.
However, overall, criticism has been limited. The muted response reflects a new reality in the Middle East, in which the UAE and other governments that normalized relations with Israel — Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain — are now walking a diplomatic tightrope between their relationship with Tel Aviv and their own citizens.
Is condemnation enough?
Jerusalem has sanctity for all three Abrahamic faiths and their holy sites of Muslims, Jews and Christians are there within touching distance of each other. These holy sites cannot be safe as long as the conflict between Israel and Palestine continues.
The time when we could condemn and think that that was enough has long passed. The Israelis do not care about condemnation. The Muslim world must now take action against them.
