Israel has crossed the line, should stay off Al Aqsa

It has become a regular ruse for Israel to harp on security concerns to trample on the rights of the Palestinians while carrying out unlawful building activities in the occupied territories. The regime’s recent provocation of installing metal detectors and turnstiles at the entrance to Al Aqsa Mosque is another violation against oppressed people, which the world must not ignore. Jordan is the custodian of the compound under the international consensus, and Israel has no authority to take such decision, but it did because the regime believes it can get away with anything as the world is embroiled in other conflicts and disputes. Moreover, PM Benjamin Netanyahu has a new friend in US President Donald Trump. Israel’s biggest backer has chosen to turn a blind eye and Tel Aviv is back to its old ways by denying the Palestinians the right to worship on their terms. The occupier decides who enters the mosque and who doesn’t. The impunity with which Israel forced Palestinian shopkeepers to close their businesses for the first time since 1969 is in contravention of international law. A Unesco resolution in May this year had reaffirmed the importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions. Yet, Netanyahu’s government blatantly flouts advisories and continues to pursue its own agenda. Palestinians are enraged, and rightly so. The new measures of the Israeli government are clearly an attempt to change the status quo at the holy site.

Human rights violations have been a defining feature of the 50-year Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza strip. There is no restraint from the regime, no mercy for the Palestinians as brazen land grab continues unchecked. The world must not forget that the root cause of problems in the Middle East stems from the occupation of Palestine. It is not Syria or Iraq, which are mere symptoms of a larger malaise. There can be no enduring peace without a Palestine state. For that to happen, Israeli settlements have to first end. Until then, peace will remain elusive and we will be merely treating the symptoms that cause this unrest.