Once again violence returns to Palestine when on last Monday(May 14)Israeli forces bathed Ghaza in blood. The peaceful Palestinians gathered near Ghaza strip to stage a demonstration against shifting the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Undoubtedly, the Israeli troops were fully backed by the USA in this act of violence.

To condemn the ghastly act of terror unleashed by Israeli forces and to display some semblance of unity among Islamic countries, OIC also sprang into action. The heads of state of 57 Islamic countries gathered in Istanbul, Turkey and denounced Israeli aggression against the unarmed Palestinians vehemently. But mere condemnation and denunciation will not suffice unless it is augmented by some concrete measures. The Islamic states which have clandestine diplomatic relations with Israel will have to mend their ways. The entire Middle East is rife with sectarian schism, regional rivalries, political upheavals and proxy wars. The anarchic situations in Syria, the chaotic conditions in Yemen and an unending war in Iraq provide an ideal scenario to foreign disruptive powers to further their own agendas. The USA is arming Saudi Arabia to the teeth only to aggravate the already volatile situation in the region. In the same way, in order to prolong their totalitarian regimes, the Middle Eastern monarchs can go to any length. Our religion is meant to bind us all together in one entity- the Muslim ummah- but our leaders are manipulating it to fulfill their own vested interests.

So the dream of a peaceful homeland for the battered Palestinians will be a pie in the sky unless the Islamic countries set their own house in order. Before blaming aliens for their oppressive and antagonistic policies against Muslims, the Islamic countries will have to end their internal rifts and differences. It is high time the leaders of Islamic states sniff the gravity of the situation and lean their heads together to sort out their external as well as internal differences. Otherwise, the US-Israel duo will wreak havoc on the entire Islamic world.

MUHAMMAD FAYYAZ,

Mianwali, May 23.