Since 7 October 2023, the people of Gaza are facing a deadly genocidal Israeli onslaught that has extinguished the lives of over 45,000 Palestinians and left countless others severely wounded. The Gaza strip presents a scene of carnage. 55 Muslim countries of the world – or the so-called Muslim Ummah – have remained a silent spectator of this genocidal conflict unleashed by the state of Israel with the support of their political partners and backers like the USA and the EU. After a yearlong wait and just issuing statements of condemnation for Israel and sympathy for the Palestinians, the heads of Muslim nations decided to meet In Riyadh to review and discuss the ongoing solution to the conflict and the crisis in Gaza. After many passionate speeches and promises of support and sympathy for the Palestinians, they failed once again to come up with a concrete plan of action to rein in the forces of Israel and to put a stop to the Israeli invasion – a conflict that now includes Syria and Lebanon.
The international Muslim alliance conceived by the government of Saudi Arabia issued an interesting joint resolution after the conclusion of the summit. This resolution once again was a repeat of many such resolutions of the past: that is, condemnation of the Israeli aggression and sympathy for the people of Palestine. But there was nothing new to urge an immediate end to the senseless war and the establishment of an independent state of Palestine.
Many Muslim countries like Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait have diplomatic and trade relations with Israel, despite the atrocities being committed by the Zionist state. The Gaza strip has been completely blockaded by Israel and about Two million people are suffering starvation and lack of medicines and yet not a single Muslim country has broken off diplomatic ties with Israel.
It was the initiative of South Africa to challenge the state of Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but no Muslim country took that initiative. The total blockade of the Gaza strip means that around two million Palestinians are facing death and starvation. Mere condemnation of Israel by the so-called Muslim Ummah will not put a stop to the aggression and bloodlust let loose by Israel.
Now perhaps the Muslim Ummah is pinning its hopes on the incoming Trump presidency to coerce Israel into accepting a ceasefire and agreeing to the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine. This is nothing but wishful thinking
This inaction by the Muslim world is nothing short of a total betrayal of the Palestinian nation. Disunity and lack of practical response from the Muslim countries of the world has further encouraged the Zionist state to continue with their aggressive actions and wreak havoc on the occupied areas of Palestine. Gatherings of Muslim leaders on a yearly basis provide no relief to Palestine when the heads of Muslim states cannot even agree on any plan of action to face Israel and put a stop to their genocidal actions.
The Arab League and OIC resolution issued after the Riyadh conclave is nothing but the usual condemnation of Israel and a show of verbal sympathy for Palestine. Arguably, this resolution too is a toothless tiger like all other resolutions adopted by the Muslim countries in the past. The surprising part of the resolution states “to affirm support and express appreciation for the tireless efforts made by the Arab Republic of Egypt and the state of Qatar in cooperation with the United States of America to achieve an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
Critically, the ongoing war in Gaza has the full support of the USA. It is well known that American financial, military and diplomatic aid has allowed Israel to carry on its nefarious actions in the region. Throughout the Arab Israel conflict, since 1948, the USA has never put any pressure on Israel to implement any UN resolution for a ceasefire. On the contrary, during the Biden administration, many resolutions in the Security Council were vetoed by the US that called for a ceasefire.
US military bases are spread all over the Arab world. It must be remembered that these Arab countries have not stopped the Americans from using these bases for funnelling supplies to Israel for killing Palestinians.
The latest summit under Saudi auspices took place on the eve of Donald Trump’s election victory in the US, and now perhaps the Muslim Ummah is pinning its hopes on the incoming Trump presidency to coerce Israel into accepting a ceasefire and agreeing to the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine. This is nothing but wishful thinking, because we are all aware of Donald Trump’s soft corner for Israel and his negative attitude towards the Arab states and Palestine.
Trump happens to be rabidly pro-Israel, even more than his predecessor Biden. He is on record encouraging Israel with the remarks to “get the job done” so as to end the war. And he went on to say that he would “defend our friend and ally the state of Israel like nobody has ever.” It was during the Trump presidency that the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was shifted to Jerusalem, thus stamping the American seal of approval on the Israeli illegal occupation of Palestine territories. Trump has also approved the Israeli occupation and settlements in the West Bank, and it was he who under the Abraham Accords was instrumental in establishing diplomatic relations between Israel the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco.
Before the Gaza conflict, Saudi Arabia too was on the brink of extending diplomatic recognition to Israel in return for security, trade and economic benefits – but insisted that it will do so only after the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The latest gathering and the statements issued in Riyadh are nothing but a clear indication that the Saudi government remains a strong ally of the US and will lend its complete support to the new incoming Trump administration. This could include help in extending American interests in the region by helping the US to bring an end to the war in Gaza.