The ongoing genocide on Gaza and the wider Palestinian territory has gone far beyond the confines of a political conflict. This is not just a war. This is not a “security operation.” What we are witnessing is a systematic and brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing –a genocide by the Israeli state. The numbers are staggering, the images unbearable, and yet, the silence of much of the international community remains deafening.
The genocide of Palestinians is nothing new. Since the Nakba of 1948, when more than 700,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced to establish the state of Israel, the Israeli occupation has relied on military aggression, apartheid laws, illegal settlements, and repeated genocide to expand its control. The recent escalation, in which thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed– most of them women and children– reveals not a defensive strategy, but an extermination campaign, rooted in a colonial mentality that considers Palestinian lives expendable.
Entire areas of Gaza have been reduced to rubble. Hospitals, schools, mosques and refugee camps have been targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Families are being wiped out in the blink of an eye. Water supplies have been cut off, humanitarian aid has been cut off and journalists have been silenced. What kind of “defence” justifies this level of brutality? The answer is none. What Israel is doing is committing genocide in broad daylight, under the false pretense of security and self-defence.
The Western world, particularly the USA and major European powers, is directly responsible for enabling and encouraging this killing. The billions of dollars in military aid and diplomatic protection given to Israel in international forums like the United Nations have made them complicit in the bloodshed. When refugee camps are bombed with Western-made weapons, when UN resolutions are vetoed to shield Israel from accountability, the message is clear: Palestinian lives do not matter to the so-called guardians of human rights and democracy.
It is time to break this hypocrisy. The West cannot continue to promote human rights while arming a state that uses banned weapons on civilians. It cannot call for peace while funding apartheid. The international community must demand an immediate end to Israeli aggression and hold its leaders accountable for war crimes. War criminals should not sit in parliament or be celebrated in international forums– they should be tried in the International Criminal Court.
But perhaps the most tragic silence is coming from within the Muslim world. While the Palestinians are bleeding, many Muslim-majority governments are paralyzed by inaction, prioritizing trade deals and political alliances over human lives. Statements of “deep concern” and “calls for restraint” are not enough. The time for talk is long gone; what is needed now is decisive action.
History will judge this moment. It will remember who stood for justice and who stood for genocide. The Palestinian people have shown unparalleled resilience. Now, it is time for the Muslim world to stand up for them, and for the West to consider its role in establishing one of the greatest human rights treaties ever.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) must move beyond rhetoric. Muslim countries have enormous political, economic, and strategic power. They control vital trade routes, energy supplies, and global markets. United, they can put pressure on Israel and its allies through targeted sanctions, diplomatic isolation, and severing ties with those who support genocide. The Muslim world must work together to provide direct assistance to the Palestinians and support legal efforts to hold Israeli war criminals accountable.
Ordinary people in Muslim countries have shown unwavering solidarity with the Palestinians – organizing mass protests, raising funds, and speaking out on social media. But this grassroots movement must now be matched by state-level action. We must ask: What good is our faith, our unity, and our resources if we cannot protect the most oppressed among us?
This is not just a Palestinian issue. It is a test of our collective conscience. Today, it is Gaza. Tomorrow, it could be anywhere. Genocide cannot be normalized. Racism cannot be tolerated. Ethnic cleansing cannot be justified. If we allow it to continue, we will lose a part of our humanity.
As people of conscience, we must all stand with Palestine– not just in prayer and slogans, but in action and resistance. We must pressure governments, boycott companies involved in Israeli war crimes, support Palestinian voices, and refuse to accept media narratives that portray the oppressor as the victim. We must rewrite our own story, because the mainstream narratives fail to capture the truth.
We must be clear: Israel is not defending itself. It is erasing a nation. And those who support it —through weapons, silence, or propaganda —are complicit in genocide.
History will judge this moment. It will remember who stood for justice and who stood for genocide. The Palestinian people have shown unparalleled resilience. Now, it is time for the Muslim world to stand up for them, and for the West to consider its role in establishing one of the greatest human rights treaties ever.
