DESERTION IN THE HOUR OF NEED

              Mahmoud Abbas signs international agreements, including the ICC's Treaty of Rome

A deserter-friend gives you his word, stirs up desires in you, excites and urges you with false promises of succour only to deceive and backslide when you need help most. A bad comrade deserts you in the hour of need, and leaves you in the lurch!

After submitting that resolution which aimed at ending Israeli illegal and cruel occupation, Palestine leaned its ladder against the wrong wall by assuming that a Judas  would honour the pact of a yes vote. The other eight nations fulfilled their vow by voting yes to the resolution which ‘outlines a framework for negotiations based on the borders that existed before Israel captured the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank in the 1967 Middle East war. It also sets a deadline for a peace deal within 12 months and the cessation of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories by late 2017.’ Nigeria would have been the ninth, but it reneged on a ratified covenant of supporting the resolution. By its abstention, Nigeria has sealed the fate of the resolution, and supported the status quo, which is ‘continued Israeli defiance, settlement construction and violation of international law.’

Nigeria has exchanged peace, dignity and statehood of Palestine for telephone calls from Natanyahu and Kerry - a profitless traffic. World leaders worth their salt take decisions with the interests of their countries at heart, weary of the approbation of their fellow citizens. They are, thus, not overawed or carried away by hidden agendas, sugarcoated in diplomatic artifice. But what do you expect from a leadership that does ‘not give a damn’?

This abstention by Nigeria is likely to cause another problem for Palestine in its application for membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC), because in a similar attempt in 2009, the ICC Prosecutor rejected the request ‘arguing it was unclear whether Palestine was a state. However, its status was since upgraded by the UN General Assembly and more recently by other ICC member states, making it likely the court will accept Palestine's bid this time.’

As expected this application by Palestine for ICC membership was opposed by Israel and the self-appointed ombudsman in all crises, the US. Israel said  that ‘$127m collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority last month would be held back.’

‘This is “robbery and an act more appropriate to pirates and not governments,” chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Israel’s move. The tax money is used to pay public sector salaries and is critical to running the Palestinian Authority.’

What is the difference between Putin and Netanyahu? The one is America’s foe; the other a bosom friend. Crimea became part of the Russian Federation through a Referendum Vote which America and the European Union considered illegal, and "nothing more than a land grab.” Israel, on the other hand, an illegal occupier of Palestine, a war criminal and violator of human rights, is portrayed by America and her allies as the victim of Palestinian violent attacks, and has, therefore, ‘every right to defend itself.’

It is high time the world, and our quisling-nation realised that the injustice in Palestine is the catchphrase for new recruits into terrorist organisations. They draw attention to the hypocrisy and double standards  of America and the West in handling the Palestinian crisis. Moreover, if there is one issue on which the entire Muslims have consensus - Sunni, Shi’ah, Al Qaeda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Hamas, Fatah,  and whatnot - it is the injustice of Israel against the Palestinian people with the support of America and her allies. Muslims may disagree on the approach of ending the suffering of Palestine, as some will want to use any means necessary including killing the occupier, launching rocket into the enemy territory, and even suicide bombings; while others may prefer the roadmap to nowhere option, or the creation, on the cobweb, of a two-state solution in an endless peace process (read a process without peace) adjudicated by a biased arbiter! We can disagree on solutions, but as far as the problem is concerned, Palestine is a unifying nucleus for the entire Muslim Ummah.

In his 2008 audio message titled ‘A Message to the Peoples of the West…’ on the 60th anniversary of creation of the state of Israel, Sheikh Usama Bin Laden said ‘that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has always been the primary cause for friction between the West and the Muslim world’; this conflict, according to Sheikh Bin Laden, was made more difficult because of American and European policies that are biased in favour of the state of Israel.

"The Palestinian cause has been the main factor that, since my early childhood,… to stand by the oppressed, and punish the oppressive Jews and their allies," the al Qaeda chief said.

Sheikh Bin Laden went on to say "that 60 years ago, the state of Israel did not exist. It was forcefully created on Palestinian land under the fire of the weapons, and this is evidence that the Jews are invader occupiers who should be fought.

"We shall continue the fight, Allah willing, against the Israelis and their allies, in order to pursue justice for the oppressed, and we shall not give up one inch of Palestine, as long as there is still a single true Muslim alive.”

In the same message Sheikh Bin Laden accused the Western media of misleading the public to show "the Israeli invaders as the victims.

"On the other hand, they portrayed the Palestinians, who are claiming back their lands, as merciless terrorists," he said. "The media has contributed to the shaping of a misled public opinion that made it possible to involve Western nations in an unjust war against us, as has been the case in Iraq."

Not a few Muslims and even non-Muslims will concur with Sheikh Bin Laden on this issue. It is this type of speech that attracts people to jihadist movements around the world. The perpetrators of bombings and other acts of violence advance the Palestinian question as one of their reasons for striking at America and her allies. If the world halt the injustice against Palestine, extremist groups, jihadist and false claimants of Islamic caliphate will lose 60% of the ‘convincing points’ they employ in the rhetoric of recruiting new members. 

With Boko Haram conquering territories that even the armed forces could not reclaim, Nigeria should have put her interest at curbing insurgency first before playing Judas in an issue that will impact negatively at home.