Call it a tragedy or farce, the people of Gaza have been facing innumerable challenges since the birth of a Zionist state: Israel. The war that started on October 7 between Israel and Hamas had taken the lives of more than 32,000 innocent Palestinians, yet the global community balked at taking robust steps. The far-right wings blame the Zionist-Christian lobby for this delay, while the far-left circles hold geopolitics accountable for this deferral. But in reality, it is the feeble cord of humanity that is bearing the burden of this dilemma.
The Muslim community at the individual level showed harmony with the Palestinians by encouraging boycotts of Israeli products, whereas a few Muslim states passed resolutions in solidarity with the Palestinians. However, in reality, the role of majority Muslim states at the international level is of negligible importance. The Muslim states, through the OIC, failed to compel Israel and the US to stop the war in Gaza. The majority of Muslim states only perpetrated a few placards in solidarity with the Palestinians, yet no one vibrantly fought the case for Gaza in the International Court of Justice for the sake of humanity.
South Africa must be applauded and hailed for its commendable efforts. The African state under the Genocide Convention of 1948 spoke in support of Gaza and humanity in the ICJ. The court, under Article IX of the Genocide Convention, directed Israel to take immediate and effective actions to enable the provision of humanitarian relief to Gaza. The way South Africa stood in the face of Israel’s flagrant violations of human rights made her the champion of humanity.
In the same way, the iron-clad partner of Israel, the US, abstained from voting in the UNSC’s Israel-Gaza Ceasefire resolution, 2024. No doubt the pressure brought by the world in the name of humanity made the US bow down her knees. Again, it is astonishing that the superpower took three vetoes in support of Israel, which continued its genocide against Palestinians. The UN and the US seem like blind spectators to the casualties of children, women, and innocents in the Israel-Hammas war, and it took more than six months for the major players to recognize the gravity of the issue.
The words of Albert Einstein, “The world is a dangerous place,not because of those who do evil,but because of those who look on and do nothing,” clearly highlight the need of the hour. The Muslim states, instead of increasing the number of debating clubs for the Palestinian cause, must make the OIC vibrant so that it can take action for the sake of humanity. The Muslim states must learn lessons from South Africa about how a state can intellectually speak for humanity and bring forth fruits for oppressed and marginalized communities. Last but not least, if the UN sincerely wants the trumph of humanity, then it must restructure the working mechanism of the UNSC so that no state can unilaterally dictate to the world either to maintain peace or to continue war.
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