THIS refers to the report ‘Israel, UAE boost ties with free trade accord’ (June 1). It is sad to see that the Arab states have turned a blind eye towards Israel’s practice of blatant apartheid and to the plight of their Palestinian brethren in the face of brutality unleashed and sustained by the Jewish entity over the last several decades.

This is obviously a choice in their own vested interests as Israel is a vibrant economy and offers abundant opportunities. But does that mean the Arab states should bend their knees in front of an apartheid state that has remained involved in the persecution of Palestinians for decades and is a serious violator of human rights?

The United States, like always, played a pivotal role in the 2020 Abraham Accords to help Israel get recognised by several Arab states, like Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), though they, or at least some of them, had been for long against Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory and demanding its withdrawal from the occupied lands.

It is an extension of this ‘normalisation’ process that we today see this free trade agreement between Israel and the UAE. This must have hurt the feelings of the Arab people who have stood by the Palestinian cause and for a just and amicable settlement of the dispute.

Since the paradigm shift in the dynamics of global politics has laid a disproportionate emphasis on economic interests, there is no such thing as ethical consumerism, unfortunately.

Individual place in international law dates back to the Grotian times when he propounded the natural theory that focussed on individuals as subjects, but it became obscure with the appearance of the positivist school of thought.

While the rights of victims living in occupied Palestine are not given the requisite sanctity, it is a harbinger of frailties and fissures in the international community and global organisations that make tall claims in the shape of the Declaration of Human Rights and through other charters and platforms.

Organisations like the United Nations and other regional ones are nothing but toothless tigers. Niccolo Machiavelli, the cunning Italian philosopher and political scientist, aptly remarked in this context that there are “no morals in politics”.

In order to keep pace with the fast-changing world, it is imperative for Muslim countries to encourage young people not to think like their politicians and decision-makers so that they may not end up living under the delusion of regaining what we pompously call the lost glory.

It is almost impossible at a time when the entire world order is dominated by Western powers that have an issue with the Islamic code of life in socio-politico and legal systems, and have actively promoted Islamophobia and the misplaced Islam-terrorism linkage.

Pakistan, being the only Muslim state with nuclear weapons, is feeling the heat as the Israeli lobby will not let Pakistani economy work smoothly by controlling it through financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. It is time for Pakistan to show the world that it can and will rebuild itself without crumbling under pressure

Israel is an aggressor state, and we should continue to condemn its tactics with the disdain that it so thoroughly deserves.

Abdul Qadeer Seelro
Larkana

Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2022