By: Dr. Sabir Abu Maryam
Secretary-General, Palestine Foundation Pakistan
After the Gaza ceasefire agreement, while the usurping Zionist state of Israel continues to violate the terms of the pact, American and Israeli brokers around the world are simultaneously engaged in negative propaganda against the Palestinian people and against Palestinian resistance Hamas. At the same time, U.S. President Trump keeps issuing threats to Hamas, yet there has been no response to numerous Israeli violations, including the seizure of parts of the West Bank.
Bought journalists and intellectuals across the globe have been deployed to create the impression that if any breach of the agreement occurs it will be the responsibility of Hamas and the Palestinians; these people are unable or unwilling to report Israel’s violations. This behavior itself indicates that they have been assigned this task for a specific purpose: to weaken the Palestinian cause and to employ whatever means are possible to make it forgettable.
Recently, the newspaper Times of Israel published a report claiming that, under the guise of a “peace force” in Gaza, the militaries of Pakistan, Indonesia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey are to be deployed there. What is most surprising in that report is that an Israeli daily is announcing the possible deployment of Pakistan’s armed forces to Gaza while there is no corroboration of this in Pakistani media.
Another important point is that most of the other countries named have, in one way or another, established relations with Israel but why Pakistan? This question has already caused unrest in Pakistan and has generated unease in political and religious circles.
All of this is happening at a time when, only days earlier, a religious organization was apparently proscribed on the pretext that it intended to protest against Israel and the United States while the government and political and religious parties knew there were other motives behind that decision. Under such circumstances, the prospect of deploying Pakistan’s forces to Gaza under the pretext of peace is being presented to Pakistani citizens through Israeli newspapers.
There is additional anxiety among the people of Pakistan because the U.S.-brokered ceasefire is being overseen by President Trump, a figure in whom people worldwide have little to no confidence. He has still not condemned Israel for the killing of some seventy thousand Palestinians in Gaza through what many have called genocidal actions. Therefore, the declaration to deploy Muslim countries’ forces to Gaza in accordance with Trump’s wishes worries people globally and particularly in Pakistan: there is concern that President Trump intends to use Muslim troops against Hamas and Palestinian resistance groups, attempting to neutralize Palestinian resistance by placing Muslim militaries at their service. If these fears are well founded, then nothing could be more humiliating or disgraceful for the Muslim world.
Viewed historically, we know that U.S. and Israeli policy has always focused on achieving full control of Palestine and crushing resistance forces.
During Trump’s earlier tenure, an attempt was made to eliminate the Palestinian cause under the banner of the “Deal of the Century,” though Trump failed. In that same period he recognized Jerusalem (al-Quds) as the capital of Israel, striking at the heart of the Muslim Ummah, an action that drew severe criticism worldwide.
If now, in continuation of that trend, Trump or his supporters order the deployment of Muslim countries’ forces to Gaza under the pretext of peacekeeping or oversight, the true objective will be to disarm the resistance and break Palestinian resolve. In the past, Muslim militaries were used under the pretext of allied forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libya, which ultimately served to advance colonial agendas.
Therefore, understanding the intentions of the U.S. president, rulers in the Muslim world must avoid making any decision that would not only harm the Palestinian cause but also undermine Muslim unity and solidarity.
Washington’s agenda is precisely to fragment the unity of Muslims. The use of Muslim forces in accordance with the political agenda of a non-Muslim or colonial power is contrary to Islamic dignity.
Now the question is: what will Pakistan’s scholars and jurists (ulama and muftis) say on this matter? Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Indonesia already maintain relations with Israel to varying degrees, so one might expect less resistance from them, but why is Pakistan being dragged into this quagmire? If the aim is to implement American policies rather than to protect and support the Palestinian people, then this act is tantamount to humiliation and servitude.
If Muslim forces are sent to Gaza with the aim of weakening Hamas or Palestinian resistance, that would be the worst moral defeat for the Ummah. Such decisions negate Islam’s political independence, the philosophy of legitimate resistance, and the principle of a united Ummah. The fundamental question is: will Muslim forces be used to suppress the oppressed at the command of tyrants, or to stop the oppressors?
In summary: for two years Gaza has endured continuous genocide while the combined twenty-five million-strong armed forces of the Muslim and Arab world stood silent and watchful. Now there is talk of deploying Pakistan’s and other Muslim countries’ forces to Gaza to carry out the directives of U.S. President Trump, not to fight Israel’s occupying forces, but, on the contrary, to protect Israeli and American interests. It is extremely regrettable to say that if Muslim rulers, under American pressure, make decisions contrary to the sentiments of their people and in opposition to support for Palestine, this will be a symbol of political servitude.
If any military action centers its political allegiance on Washington, it will bring disgrace upon the Ummah. The scholars, intellectuals, and the public must expose such “peace deception” plans at both the scholarly and popular levels.
If Muslim countries truly wish to help Gaza, genuine assistance would be for them to provide Palestine with arms, diplomatic backing, humanitarian aid, and political support, not to send forces under the name of a peacekeeping mission against the very people they should be protecting.
True honor lies in rising to change the system of oppression rather than bowing before tyrants. That is the message of the Quran, the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), and the lesson of Palestinian resistance.
