The outrage caused by the attack on worshippers, including women and children, in Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest mosque in Islam, was inevitable, and typical of the kind of atrocity that will keep recurring as long as Israel continues to remain in illegal occupation. It was also typical of the kind of thuggishness towards Palestinians particularly, and Muslims generally, than has been associated with the Netanyahu regime. The Israeli law enforcement agencies used the excuse of the pandemic to attempt clearing the mosque, but the matter could have been amicably settled if the matter had been approached with goodwill.
However, the matter is not simply about public health, and feckless Palestinians not behaving. There is the underlying issue of Zionist settlements, both newly built and planned, which the Palestinians are trying to resist. The recently postponed Palestinian Authority election, due on 22 May, was specifically put off until residents of Jerusalem had their right to vote guaranteed.
As the Palestinians and their Israeli occupiers jockey for position, the Israelis should realise that they cannot play with the religious sentiments of the Muslims of the entire world. Jews would realize that this is not just a mosque, but the site of the Temple of Solomon, and thus the target of Jewish extremists who wish to expel Muslims from it. The Indian destruction of the Babri Mosque is within recent memory, and the Masjid Al-Aqsa is a major reason why Muslims detest the Israeli occupation, not to mention the striking parallels between Israel’s illegal existence, and India’s own illegal occupation of Kashmir. It should not be forgotten that Pakistan played a key role in the United Nations in 1948, when it was seized of the matter of the birth of Israel. Pakistan cannot ignore this latest outrage, not least because it merely reinforces the impression of Islam being under threat, something which received much stress during the recent Tehrik-e-Labbaik Pakistan agitation. It should not be forgotten that the OIC was founded after the Masjid Al-Aqsa was set on fire; Pakistan played an important role, it should realise that it cannot hold back now.
