Unity of Muslim countries vital for a free Palestinian state

Md. Zillur Rahaman :

The barbarity and brutality that Israel has shown in the long 75 years from 1948 to 2023 has never been imagined by people of the world.

During the 1948 Palestine Israel War, the West Bank was occupied by Jordan and Gaza by Egypt. Later in 1967, Israel recaptured them in the 6-day war.

In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon killing 17,500 innocent people. In the same year, 1700 innocent people were killed in the Shabra-Shatila massacre in Lebanon.

Israel’s invasion of Lebanon forced Yasser Arafat to move his PLO base from Beirut to the Tunisian capital Tunis, but Israel also attacked Tunis in 1986, killing many people. Then in 1996, 106 ordinary Lebanese people were killed in the Qana massacre. They were UN refugees and many of the victims were children.

In 2006, they asked residents of the Lebanese village of Marwahin to leave their homes, and as they all complied, they were shot dead from a helicopter. In addition, since 2007, Hamas has engaged in several wars with Israel. In 2008-09, 2012 and 2014, Hamas fought fiercely with the Israeli army.

Hamas historically wants an Islamic Palestinian state over the combined territory of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and rejects the West’s two-state solution.

Last October 7, 2023, the country reported that 1,200 Israelis were killed in an unprecedented attack by Hamas in the southern part of Israel near the Gaza border. At this time, Hamas captured about 240 people from Israel and brought them to Gaza.

On the other hand, after the attack of Hamas, the Israeli military started a massive and terrible attack on the Palestinian territory of Gaza from that day. Over 14,500 Palestinians living in Gaza were killed in their 48 days of relentless attacks, nearly 70 percent of whom were women and children.

This time, after the sudden attack by Hamas, Israel started continuous air and ground attacks and in support of the attack, influential Western countries including the United States came forward to fully support Israel.

On the contrary, among the influential countries of the Muslim world, no country other than Iran was seen to speak loudly. Rather, the reaction of some Muslim countries like cowards was absolutely clueless.

Although the people of the Muslim world are united in favor of Palestine, it is almost impossible for the governments to take a strong stand due to the weakness of the internal political structure.

In this case, the position and perspective of the West is a major limitation in speaking out against Israel or taking a strong position.

The major Muslim countries have always supported the formation of an independent state for the Palestinians and solidarity with the ‘oppressed’ Palestinians, but when a major crisis comes, the entire Muslim world does not seem to take a strong and firm stand for the Palestinians.

Even the OIC or the Arab League, the organization of Muslim countries, cannot play a strong role for Palestine during the crisis with Israel, rather they sit with their tail folded like a dog.

But it is true that since the time of former US President Donald Trump, there has been a big change in the way of thinking in Arab countries around Israel and Mr. Trump has to normalize Arab-Israeli relations.

Trump’s role and opposition to Iran in the region have led many Arab countries to engage in the process of building ties with Israel. But all these things, analysts think, have basically weakened the Muslim world in taking a strong position on the Palestinian issue.

The fact is that democracy and representative government are very rare in the Muslim world, and the governments of such countries have no chance to go beyond the Western view that they have to rely on powerful Western powers to maintain power. They want to keep their power forever.

For related reasons, they may feel that it is not right for them to bash Israel or the West, regardless of popular sentiment. That is why their voices are not seen raised.

There is no democracy or elections in the Arab world, which is dominated by Muslim countries. It is important for them to maintain a compromise or balance with Israel.
In most countries of the Muslim world, two trends are noticeable: the majority of the population is in favor of Palestine, but the governments have less weight.

Because of the complexities of their internal and geopolitical systems, they cannot take a strong position and the ruling families of the Middle East countries never make any kind of compromise on the question of power. Democracy or people’s representative government system does not work in these countries.

However, many believe that after the events in Libya, Yemen and Syria, the royal families of Arab countries are more concerned about maintaining their power.

Muslim countries are unable to stand up for Palestine because of their complicated internal political systems and increasing dependence on the West.

However, because of the nature of regime in Iran, the country has long taken a strong stand against the US and Israeli occupation.

But although Turkey used strong language in the statement, President Erdogan has to take a strategic role in several issues, including NATO membership.

In addition, American support is withdrawing from many countries, as a result of which Israel acts as a security guarantor for them. Most countries, except Iran, have become increasingly dependent on the West and therefore have to maintain a balanced relationship.

In general, most of the countries in the Muslim world do not have democracy, even if it exists only in name, and because of this, the governments of these countries have to compromise with the West.

No one wants to weaken their power by beating the West. Countries like Egypt and Tunisia are not out of it. Everyone knows that speaking up for Palestine will bring pressure from the West and it is very difficult to handle this pressure. Rather, their reconciliation with Israel is essential to maintain power.

The OIC or Arab League is also silent for the same reason. Besides, the countries outside the monarchy – Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia – have no influence to speak up.

Mainly because of all the disunity and non-cooperation of the Muslim world, even though the “International Palestinian Solidarity Day” is celebrated, an independent Palestinian state cannot be established. That is why the unity of the Muslim world is vital for the establishment of an effective free and sovereign Palestinian state.

The writer is a banker.