The Palestinian blood is again being spilled mercilessly. It appears that Israelis have been given the license to hunt and kill already oppressed Palestinians as and when it deems fit and that is nothing but a slap on the face of so-called human rights champions who never get tired of blowing the trumpet of human rights yet when it comes to rights of Palestinians and other Muslims, they turn their backs.
In the latest despicable Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, at least 24 Palestinians including 6 children have been martyred and over 200 wounded during the last two days.
The air raids have levelled homes of Palestinians, stoking fears of another major escalation fourteen months after the last war.
Observers believe current escalation is a calculated move on part of the Zionist entity.
Israeli elections are due in November this year and unfortunately there is a callous trend in Israeli political leaders to use Gaza as a weapon to rally support of Israeli settler population.
One political observer rightly pointed out that Israel is using Gazans as sacrificial pawns in their ongoing struggle for power and are acting with impunity because they know nobody can hold them accountable.
It is shameful that Israeli leaders are rendering the blood of innocent Palestinians for political purposes.
The West Bank, too, has also seen a rise in Israeli attacks by soldiers and settlers alike, as well as arrests of Palestinians and home demolitions.
Israel is also arming settlers in the West Bank to shoot and kill Palestinians.
What is most unfortunate is bizarre attitude of some powerful countries that do not hesitate to defend Israel by saying that ‘Israel has the right to defend itself’.
The question is what about the rights of those who actually own this land for centuries?
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif while condemning the Israeli aggression in a tweet correctly pointed out that if impunity and barbarism had a face, it would have been that of Israel, which has targeted Palestinians without any care for consequences.
In the current situation, the Palestinian groups also have the right to exercise their right of defence.
Instead of taking sides, it will be better for major capitals especially Washington to come forward and avert another major conflict in Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel must be reined in.
Double standards on human rights on the one hand are emboldening oppressors such as Israel to break all records of atrocities and on the other hand pushing anti- West sentiments in Muslim population across the world.
For peace and stability in the world, resolution of this conflict is a must, for which international players will have to play their role whilst staying impartial.
The Muslim rulers who in recent months have established diplomatic and trade relations with the Jewish state or are in the process of doing so must also speak for the rights of Palestinians during negotiations with Israeli leaders.
It would have been better if they had expressed solidarity with the Palestinians and linked the normalisation of ties with the resolution of this longstanding conflict.
All Muslim countries should forcefully speak for the rights of Palestinian people at all international forums.
