By Abdulfatah Babatunde
Thousands of Nigerians under the aegis of the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO) rallied at the weekend in Lagos to call on the United Nations to ask Israel to cease its bombing of Gaza and other areas.
They lament that the indiscriminate destructions have brought horror not just to the Palestinians but to the entire world.
TheNewsZenith reports that notable Islamic scholars, political analysts and international affairs commentators as well as the academia attended the rally, held at Ojota Park in Lagos.
At the gathering, the leadership of CIO read a 14-point resolution, largely addressing insensitivity of the UN to call Israeli terrorist nation to order.
Prof. Isa Maishanu, Dean, Faculty of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto read the resolutions.
Maishanu is also an Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor of Afro-Asian University, Somalia.
He said the Pan-Nigerian Front for the support of Palestine, to which CIO aligned, demanded the international community to prevail upon Israel to cease its bombing of Gaza and other areas.
“That the United Nations should lead efforts at creating humanitarian corridors. It should ensure that aid and relief packages have access to Gaza and other places.
“That any interim peace process must, as a matter of necessity, incorporate the lifting of the siege of Gaza.
“That we consider as irresponsible, reprehensible and barbaric the show of support by the United States and the European Union for Israel.
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“And we hold them complicit and culpable in this human tragedy happening before the global audience,” CIO resolved.
Maishanu said ICC should urgently begin prosecution of war crimes committed by Israel both now and prior to this time.
ICC should take into consideration Israeli’s violation of all extant international law, he added.
This also includes failure to protect the people under its occupation as written in the Geneva Convention.
“We affirm that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation, but rather elected representatives of the people engaged in arms insurrection against an occupying force. This is as allowed by international law, rationality and necessity.
“The international community led by the UN must retrieve the peace process from the monopoly of the United States. Washington has become part of the Israeli occupation machinery.
“The world must work to bring Israel to the two-state solution, compel it to halt settlement building and lift its siege of Gaza.”
CIO also called on the Arab League, The African Union and other regional organisations to exert pressure that would change the apartheid character of the Zionist state of Israel.
This is compellingly necessary to make Israel conform to international laws and norms.
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“We sound the note of warning to the Arab States, who have normalised relations with Israel, to halt forthwith.
“This is the credential that Israel needed to wipe out Palestine. Netanyahu made this clear in his speech at the recent United Nations General Assembly session.
“We encourage the global audience, horrified by this Israeli genocide activities to patronise The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (The BDS) campaign.
“Individuals should boycott all Israeli products and those of its affiliates. Corporate entities should divest from any outfit having anything to do with Israel
“And governments should impose sanctions on the apartheid state.
In this vein, CIO demanded that the Nigerian government put on hold all diplomatic relations with Israel. And this should subsist until the Two-States resolution is achieved.
“We also encourage all African nations to put on ice relations with Israel as sufferers of the brutality of colonial occupation in their history.
“The support groups unanimously agree that this shall be a permanent front, gears to action till Freedom and Statehood are achieved for Palestine.”
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