ANY hope that Hamas’s decision to disarm would lead to a breakthrough has been dashed for one simple reason: Israeli impunity. Tel Aviv has reacted to the Palestinian group’s announcement by saying it would not withdraw from Gaza until there was ‘genuine’ disarmament. What this actually means is that Israel has no intention of ending the occupation. Frustration at the Zionist state’s intransigence has been expressed by eight Muslim states, including Pakistan, that recently issued a statement condemning Tel Aviv’s violence in Gaza. Israeli attacks on health facilities and civilian targets were particularly highlighted in the statement, whose signatories include Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkiye. According to Unicef, Israel has killed 300 children over the last 300 days. Such a ‘ceasefire’, the UN agency said, “is failing children”. Meanwhile, the situation in the occupied West Bank is not any better, with violent settler attacks continuing. The settler community in Israel is known for its extremism and use of violence against Arab civilians. They aim to uproot the Palestinians from their ancestral lands and cement the occupation. While the Israeli state claims to investigate such attacks, this means little when rabid supporters of the settler movement sit in the cabinet. The statement by Muslim states also highlighted the situation in the West Bank.
The Muslim states have urged the UN Security Council to compel Israel to fulfil its obligations. This is wishful thinking, because if the UN and the international community had played their role, there would have been no campaign of extermination in Gaza, and the tens of thousands of Palestinians murdered by Israel since 2023 would have been alive today. If the Muslim world wants to end the carnage in Gaza and the West Bank, it must take practical steps against Israel, such as a diplomatic and trade boycott. Resolutions and condemnations will not save the Palestinians from Israeli terror. Moreover, President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace must be asked what it aims to do to make Israel honour the Gaza peace deal. It is clear that Tel Aviv does not intend to stop its murderous campaign in the Strip. The Palestinians have been making concessions for peace. It is now time Israel’s Western benefactors asked it to put its money where its mouth is.
Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2026
