CONSIDERING Israel’s long list of barbaric acts in Gaza — bombing hospitals; wiping out families; mass starvation; parading semi-clothed prisoners, etc — Tel Aviv has set the bar quite ‘high’ where state-sponsored violence against defenceless civilians is concerned.

Yet, as this monstrous campaign of violence continues, Israel has proved that it is adept at inflicting even more cruelty on the Palestinians. An example of this was the slaughter in Gaza City on Thursday, as Palestinians had gathered to collect food aid. Israeli troops were accompanying the convoy of aid trucks, and butchered over 100 Gazans; desperate, hungry people who are living in hellish conditions.

Instead of showing concern — Tel Aviv is bereft of all compassion — Israeli troops mowed down these forsaken people as they sought to grab what they could to feed their families. As usual, Israeli spin doctors are obfuscating the facts behind the atrocity, with some saying the deaths were the result of ‘pushing and trampling’, while others blamed ‘Palestinian armed groups’ for killing their own people.

Media reports have debunked these doubtful claims, with some sources confirming that Israeli troops opened fire, while UN observers, who met survivors of the massacre, said that most of the injured suffered from gunshot wounds.

There has been global outrage over the latest Israeli atrocity. But will it translate to an end to Gaza’s nightmare, and a long-term ceasefire? The signs are not encouraging. The US president has said he will initiate aid air drops for Gaza. Perhaps the Palestinians would appreciate it more if Mr Biden stopped supplying American arms to his Israeli friends — weaponry that has been used to butcher over 30,000 Palestinians since Oct 7. Israel’s extremist leaders are on an apocalyptic mission to ethnically cleanse Gaza.

The least the Arab and Muslim states can do is to initiate a total economic blockade of Israel until it stops the slaughter. Perhaps they can take a cue from brave non-Muslim states such as South Africa, which has initiated genocide proceedings at the ICJ against Tel Aviv, or Brazil, which has recalled its ambassador.

On the other hand, many of the Muslim states that have established relations with Israel have refused to sever them, while the Zionist state sources much of its oil and gas from Muslim-majority states. Until these double standards end, the massacre in Palestine will continue.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2024