Once Franklin D. Roosevelt-the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945 said, “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.” But when a glance is put on the present world, things appear totally in a different way.
Today, more power means automatically more cruelty towards others. The addiction to power has turned many blind eyes towards several unjust events. There is a line from the Spider-Man series that ‘with great power comes great responsibility.’ However, the peace of the world is vanishing day by day.
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If a cruel event blurs, a new one or even more remain ready to hit human visions at once. There are many such examples including Indian Occupied Kashmir, Palestine, and a few others.
Jerusalem is one of the holiest places for Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The latest event of cruelty is the injustice happening in Palestine. Al-Aqsa is not a battlefield; it’s is a place of worship.
The recent brutal escalation happened when praying Muslims in Al-Aqsa Mosque was attacked suddenly earlier this Ramadan by Israeli security forces. Tear gas was thrown inside the mosque. On the night of 7th May, Israeli forces terrorized thousands of Palestinian worshipers, unleashing rubber-coated steel bullets and stun grenades inside Al-Aqua Mosque.
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Injustice rampant
Such brutality is against the very spirit of humanity and human rights law. Pakistan also stands steadfast in support of the Palestinian cause since the beginning. All are aware of the history that how Israel occupied the land and settlements in Palestine And especially in West Bank. This is not only a clash but a carnage and apartheid prosecution which started in 1948 between Muslims and Jews.
Additionally, it has a history of inhuman behaviors with motives of ethnic cleansing of Muslims. Both nations have a combined 13.6 million population involved in this humanitarian crisis. From the 1st Arab-Israel war to today, things are being scattered and there is no uniting force that can save both sides from further oppressions.
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Today, the world is more advanced to resolve issues on its own but where there is injustice towards a certain nation, then being biased essentially destroys the other.
Muslims in Palestine are forced to evacuate their lands and homes. Apart from being a Muslim, one should only be human to stand up for Palestine as human rights are being severely violated.
According to United Nations Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Article 1, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 2 says that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms without discrimination of any kind of race, color, sex, language, religion, national, political, or social status.
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As per Article 3, everyone owns the right to life, liberty, and security. Article 5 says that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and hence articles 6,7, and 8 narrate about the right to recognition before the law, equal protection against any discrimination, and the right to an effective remedy for acts violating the fundamental rights by law.
The suffering of Palestinian families
The horrendous acts of cruelty are being made in order to oust Palestinian families from Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan in the neighborhoods Of East Jerusalem. The eviction is not the only problem but the mass massacre of Palestinian Muslims is another brutality even though these Palestinians are living there for generations.
Constant bombing, killings of innocents including children and homes, and buildings demolitions are completely acts of terrorism. State terrorism of Israel led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost the sense of protecting human rights at all and it continues unabated.
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Hamas and Israel are fighting to defeat one another meanwhile, humanity is suffering brazenly. Missile attacks have destroyed a large number of homes and residential buildings ignoring the future of children in this war crime. Such actions are illegal under international humanitarian law and only serve to fuel tensions on the ground.
A mind-boggling number of casualties is rampantly increasing day by day including children. Humans are losing not only their shelters but also their belongings, memories, and security. Generations are living in constant shock and trauma while humanity is suffering at large.
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Even European Commission condemned this brutality and violence expressing serious concerns. The United Nations (UN) Office Of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on May 7 that the law is applied in an inherently discriminatory manner,” adding that the transfer of Israeli civilians onto occupied land could be “prohibited under international humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime.”
A need for pragmatic steps
Muslims are not children of a lesser God. The world must realize and has to act wisely because it is utterly wrong and unjust to corner one nation. But only condemnations will not resolve things. Pragmatic steps must be followed. UN and OIC must also move beyond rhetoric on Palestine and Kashmir issues.
Israel is violating UN resolutions on Palestine for decades. These violations are the root cause of unrest in the Middle East. It is completely unthinkable and against human rights to prevent medicos by the Zionist army from aiding Palestinians in need.
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Firstly, all sides including Israel and Hamas must step back to de-escalate the violence. Jerusalem is a city of importance to people of mainly three faiths around the world, so it must become a place of co-existence.
Forced displacement of Palestinians from East Jerusalem must be stopped and it is a potential war crime according to the UN under the Rome Statute.
Secondly, Israel must immediately halt all forced evictions in occupied Palestine, including those in Sheikh Jarrah, and must cease any activity that would further contribute to a coercive environment and lead to a risk of forcible transfer.
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Human Rights Watch report “A Threshold Crossed” is something that is worthy to follow. When things can be sorted out through dialogue then force must not be an option at all.
Lastly, human rights and international law must be followed by everyone to establish justice and peace irrespective of their military or economic might.
Dr. Zeeshan Khan is a renowned columnist. He is also a content writer, freelance writer, social commentator, analyst, and contributor to the Op-Ed pages of different newspapers in India and Pakistan. He tweets @DrZeeshanKhanA1. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.