Oh, I See!

The ongoing carnage in the Gaza Strip at the hands of Israeli forces has emerged yet again as a blatant example of state terrorism fully supported by Israel’s Western allies and global cronies. However, it is worth mentioning that the West boasts itself as a standard bearer of human rights and fundamental freedoms, a fallacious notion projected as a universal truth by the world media. But there is all quiet on the Western front as far as their media outlets and press organs are concerned, coupled with the foreign missions of almost all Western nations, leaving no stone unturned to legitimise the continuing holocaust of Palestinians and supporting the Israeli occupants in the guise of their so-called right to self-defence.

Be that as it may, the defining moment of October 7, 2023, has not only exposed the shallowness of Western ethics and morality, it also has unmasked the hidden lie lurking in the annals of history in the guise of European enlightenment and their conformity to global order and human rights. Having completely closed its eyes over the human rights violations in Palestine, the premeditated reticence of the West is simply an emblem of hypocrisy, brutal negligence, and a clear double standard. As history suggests, the West has always presented itself as a defender of human rights while being a perpetrator of blatant breaches of the same. The rights of the Palestinians have no significance for the West, just as the rights of the Muslims of Iraq and Afghanistan were not important to them. As of today, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7th, 2023, including over 4,000 children and 3,000 women, while more than 25,000 have been injured in the Gaza Strip. The calculated silence of the West on Israel’s war crime spree in Gaza is tantamount to openly disobeying international legal norms as well as manipulating globally acclaimed socio-ethical values because such tactical taciturnity suits their vested interests.

In the words of Dr Peter Singer, a renowned Australian philosopher and supporter of animal rights, “We are responsible not only for what we do but also for what we could have prevented. We would never kill a stranger, but we may know that our intervention will save the lives of many strangers in a distant country and yet do nothing. We do not then think ourselves in any way responsible for the deaths of these strangers. This is a mistake. We should consider the consequences both of what we do and of what we decide not to do”. The historical evidence is replete with praise and commendation for those Western powers that violated well-established interstate norms and international conduct to force their will on less powerful and vulnerable nations, disrespecting the global order as well as disregarding the UN Charter violations by using their all might and main. As things currently stand, this has only become more evident when millions of people in Palestine, including East Jerusalem, are being brutally subjugated. The strategic silence of Western countries, which have an influence on Israel, over brutality in Gaza is alarming. However, when it comes to the massacre of Palestinians, the self-styled Muslim umma would also be counted as a partner in crime since the OIC has, once again, proved itself an ‘Oh, I See!’ forum, which can do nothing to protect the Muslim genocide other than lip service.