A coalition of Islamic organisations, in collaboration with the Muslim Community of Oyo State, on Friday, called on the United Nations to intervene in the war between Israel and Palestine.
The call came on a day that Israel asked over one million people living in a part of Gaza to leave within 24 hours.
The Muslim coalition made the call on the UN during a peaceful rally in Ibadan to express displeasure with what it called the inaction of the world body over the “bombardment” of Palestine by Israel and its allies.
The coalition comprising the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO), The Muslim Congress (TMC), Jama’atu Ta’awunul Muslimeen, Jama’atu Tadhomunul Muslimeen, among others, converged on the Central Mosque, Oja’ba, bearing placards with various inscriptions.
One of the organizers of the protest rally, the Direc-tor, Institute of Human Heritage (IHH), Mr Abdurasheed Atta, said there was the need for Muslims and other Nigerians to join in the “international struggle for the emancipation of Palestine from the clutches of Israel and its allied forces.
“Nigeria, regardless of its internal crises, has always been on the side of the oppressed for justice. We urge world leaders to rise up in defence of Palestinians as they rallied against Ukraine’s invasion by Russia,” he said.
Atta advocated a boycott of Israeli products and patronage of the country for tourism.
He described the cutting off of food, water, light and other aids to Palestinians as a grievous crime against humanity which he said was condemnable in strong terms.
The Chief Missioner of the Muslim Community Oyo State, Dr Dawud Amoo-Alaga, explained that the it was necessary for Muslims to always pray for restoration of peace and victory for the suffering Palestinians.
While leading the gathering on a special prayer for Palestine, Amoo-Alaga affirmed that the Qudus Mosque in the country is an Islamic heritage which must be protected by all.
According to him, Al-aqsa Mosque in Palestine “is the third sacred mosque and a point of convergence of humanity on the Day of Reckoning.”
Explaining the rationale behind the rally, an educationist, Dr Ismail Akintola, pointed out that Muslims “are one and united family, hence the sympathy and concerns for the Palestinians whose ancestral home has been encroached on by the Jewish since 1948.”
Israel orders one million Palestinians to leave Gaza
Meanwhile Reuters reported that some Gaza residents were abandoning homes on Friday to escape from the path of an Israeli onslaught, after Israel ordered more than a million people to leave the northern half of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. Hamas told them not to go.
Israeli military spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said troops backed by tanks had mounted raids to attack Palestinian rocket crews and seek information on the location of hostages taken by Hamas.
Several thousand residents could be seen on roads heading out of the northern part of the Gaza strip, but it was impossible to tell their numbers. Many others said they would not go.
Hamas, which controls the densely populated Palestinian territory, vowed to fight until the last drop of blood.
The Israeli military said a significant number of Gazans had begun moving southwards “to save themselves.”
“Death is better than leaving,” said Mohammad, 20, standing in the street outside a building reduced to rubble in an Israeli air strike two days ago near the centre of Gaza.
“I was born here, and I will die here, leaving is a stigma.” Mosques broadcast the message: “Hold on to your homes. Hold on to your land”.
“We tell the people of northern Gaza and from Gaza City, stay put in your homes, and your places,” Eyad Al-Bozom, spokesman for the Hamas Interior Ministry, told a news conference.
“By carrying out massacres against the civilians, the occupation wants to displace us once again from our land.”
UN, Egypt, Red Cross kick against quit order; US asks Israel to respect civilians
The United Nations said Israel’s call for Gaza civilians to leave was impossible to carry out “without devastating humanitarian consequences,” prompting a rebuke from Israel which said it should condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defence.
“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated war zone in less than 24 hours?” U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social media.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it would be impossible for aid organisations to assist “such a massive displacement of people in Gaza” while it remains under Israeli siege.
“The needs are staggering, and humanitarian organisations must be able to increase aid operations.”
The US, which has called on Israel to protect civil-ians, showed no hesitancy in public support for its ally.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said such a huge evacuation was a “tall order” but that Washington would not second guess the decision to tell civilians to get out.
“We understand what they’re trying to do and why they’re trying to do this to try to isolate the civilian population from Hamas, which is their real target,” he said on MSNBC.
Israel’s evacuation order applies to the northern half of the Gaza Strip, including the enclave’s biggest settlement Gaza City. The UN said it had been told that Israel wanted the area’s entire population – around half the 2.3 million Gazans – to move across the Gaza Wadi wetland that bisects the enclave.
“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the Israeli military said.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority that is a rival of Hamas, told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan that the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza would constitute a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were driven from what is now Israel. Most Gazans are the descendants of such refugees.
Gaza is already one of the most crowded places on earth, and for now there is no way out. Israel has imposed a total blockade, and Egypt, which also has a border with the enclave, has so far resisted calls to open it to fleeing residents.
Egypt said Israel’s call on Gazans to leave their homes was a violation of international humanitarian law that would put civilians in danger.
Since Hamas fighters burst across the barrier fence and killed 1,300 Israelis on Sat-urday, Israel has responded with the most intensive air strikes of its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians. Gaza authorities say 1,800 people have been killed; the United Nations says 400,000 people have already been made homeless.
“We are fighting for our home. We are fighting for our future,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said, meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who came a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“The path will be long, but ultimately I promise you we will win.”
Austin said military aid was flowing into Israel but that this was the time for resolve and not revenge.
On Friday Blinken travelled to Jordan where he met King Abdullah as well as Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Blinken later travelled to Qatar, a U.S. ally with influence among Islamist groups.
In the West Bank, demonstrators supporting Gaza fought gunbattles with Israeli security forces. Palestinian officials said 11 people were shot dead.
There have also been fears of hostilities spreading to new fronts, including Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where clashes this week have already been the deadliest since 2006.
Israeli shelling struck a Lebanese army observation post at the border on Friday. The Israeli military said it fired in response to a suspected armed infiltration, which turned out to be a false alarm.
. TheWitness
