Khilafah.com

"There are people (Muslims) who control spacious territories teeming with manifest and hidden resources. They dominate the intersections of world routes. Their lands were the cradles of human civilizations and religions. These people have one faith, one language, one history and the same aspirations. No natural barriers can isolate these people from one another ... if, per chance, this nation were to be unified into one state, it would then take the fate of the world into its hands and would separate Europe from the rest of the world. Taking these considerations seriously, a foreign body should be planted in the heart of this nation to prevent the convergence of its wings in such a way that it could exhaust its powers in never-ending wars. It could also serve as a springboard for the West to gain its coveted objects." Prime Minister Henry Bannerman, Campbell-Bannerman Report, 1907

The terrorist state of Israel has launched what can only be described as a massacre against the Muslims of Gaza. Israeli officials have been leaking information for nearly two weeks about an impending invasion where nobody would be spared. In one leak to the media an Israeli official mentioned Israel was waiting for the right weather conditions to begin the massacre.

Israel launched the war in the early hours of Saturday 27^th December during the morning rush hour.

The first strikes came in a coordinated three-minute blitz with 60 F-16 fighter jets pounding over 50 targets, aimed primarily at taking out what remains of Gaza's crumbling infrastructure. The second wave of strikes targeted HAMAS compounds (it should be remembered such compounds due to the size of Gaza are amidst the normal populace.) In the first hour of strikes over 155 people were confirmed dead as bodies continued to be dumped at hospitals.

As the sun set on Gaza it is likely Israel will continue with strikes throughout the night by its drones. At the current rate Israel will run out of targets and bring Gaza to its knees. Israeli tanks are on standby surrounding Gaza for what looks like a possible ground invasion. Israeli officials continued to reiterate that this is only the beginning, Israeli's defence Minster confirmed, "the time to fight in Gaza has come and the operation won't be short, the operation will widen as necessary."

Israel justified its current slaughter as a response to an apparent escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza. Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni defended the air raids, saying Israel had "no choice". "We're doing what we need to do to defend our citizens," she said in a television broadcast. Israel has accused HAMAS since it won the election over 18 months ago of being backed by Iran and regularly launching Qassam rockets into Israel.

Israel however conveniently accuses HAMAS of being a radical Islamist group that works to wipe Israel of the planet whilst it blockades Gaza. Israel has regularly closed the border crossings into the Gaza strip, which has led to mass starvation. Over the past month, the border crossings have been open for just five days. John Ging, head of the UN's Gaza relief operations, confirmed that more than a million people in Gaza depended on the United Nations for their next meal. He described the dire situation as: "Daily life is a struggle to survive. People were hungry, literally. There was a shortage of everything here, including food, and we actually ran out for a couple of days, the fact that it continues to get worse and worse adds to the despair... so we're searching desperately for reasons to have realistic hope."

Politics

The response from the world has been predictable. Israel continues to be the spoilt child of the West. Britain's Gordon Brown in an interview for the BBC said he was "deeply concerned," but then called on Palestinian militants to halt all rocket attacks on Israel, even though Palestine was being invaded and Muslims slaughtered.

The response from the Muslim rulers who have historically done little when Muslims are being slaughtered was predictability muted. Egypt which shares a border with the Gaza strip had been holding talks with Tzipi Livni to broker a ceasefire over the past few weeks. HAMAS withdrew from the ceasefire, as it viewed a truce was irrelevant when Israel was blockading Gaza. Relations between Egypt and Gaza strained due to this. It is also widely understood that the Egyptians are furious with Hamas for boycotting peace talks with Fatah last month, which were due to be held in Cairo. Hosni Mubarak was reported in the Arab media of accusing HAMAS of making a big mistake in abandoning the ceasefire. The London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi reported that Egypt would not object to a limited Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, aimed at toppling Hamas. Tzipi Livni travelled to the Egyptian capital at the personal invitation of the government. This is rare given that Hosni Mubarak usually only meets Israeli officials in the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

In an Al-Jazeera interview Azzam Tamimi, director of the Institute of Islamic Political Thought and expert on the Palestinian issue described what he saw as: "I suspect that the operation is not only intended to be limited, but aimed at toppling the regime in Gaza altogether, otherwise why would Israel target the police force? "They are not the ones firing missiles in Israel - the police force keeps the order in Gaza. This is an operation that will create disorder and I suspect that Egypt and Ramallah are colluding in this. "Israel would never have carried out such a massive attack had it not been for a green light from people that matter - for instance the United States, some of the European powers and also from Egypt and Ramallah.

Israel uses Muslims as pawns

Israel's domestic political scene has been anything but stable for over a year and is at the heart of Israel's opportunistic assault on Gaza. Since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, which Israel is regarded to have lost by Israelis, Ehud Olmert the Israeli prime minister along with a number of other officials were disgraced by such an event and a number of other scandals, where public pressure forced him to stand down as head of the ruling Kadima party. His replacement Tzipi Livni, has been unable to keep together the fragile coalition that makes up the government and due to this she has been forced to call an election which will take place in February 2009. She is in no position to win against the popular Benjamin Netanyahu of the right wing Likud party. Netanyahu has made very clear in his election manifesto that he would topple HAMAS.

Polls on the eve of Israel's assault confirmed the centre right Kadima was gaining ground against Likud and the timing of the assault shows this grotesque act is nothing but an attempt by Tzipi Livni to salvage electoral points for the upcoming election. With the US occupied with the transfer of power from the Bush administration to Obama's, Israel can freely carry out its murder of innocent Muslims for gains at the electoral polls safe in the knowledge that the US has other preoccupations. 

Conclusion

Israel has shown once again that it has no regard for Muslim life as it butchers Muslims in Gaza, after blockading and starving them for months for some gains at the electorate. The Muslim rulers have shown once again that they are spineless in defending the honour and blood of the Ummah. They forget when the Messenger صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم was standing in the vicinity of the ka'ba, admiring its grandeur, he صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم said: "The blood of a Muslim is worth more than the Ka'ba and all its surroundings." 

Saudi Arabia that for years was the world's largest purchaser of military equipment sits idle when Muslims are being massacred just a stones throw away. It should be remembered that the Israeli superiority bubble burst in 2006 when Hizbollah effectively defeated Israel. In the report by the Israeli government-appointed commission into the conflict, it listed a series of severe failings and shortcomings, it fundamentally concluded that the Israeli armed forces were not designed for guerrilla type warfare and ground assaults. A paramilitary group of Muslims with Iman in Allah سبحانه وتعالى, held an army backed by a government at bay. Israel's first large scale ground assault after nearly three decades exposed their weakness and burst its superiority bubble.

Any army from the Muslim world can end the massacre in Palestine. The armies in the Arab world must stand up, unite and complete their duty to Allah سبحانه وتعالى in saving the lives of the Muslims of Palestine.

This is not the time for meetings, summits and ceasefires. Israel has once again spilt Muslim blood and Allah سبحانه وتعالى has designated Jihad as the solution to such cowardly acts. Only by establishing the Khilafah can the Muslim armies be liberated and the obstacles in the path of conducting Jihad in Palestine and making Allah's word the highest in the land be realised.

The armies should take heed from Allah سبحانه وتعالى when He سبحانه وتعالى says:

لاَّ يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُوْلِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فَضَّلَ اللّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ دَرَجَةً وَكُـلاًّ وَعَدَ اللّهُ الْحُسْنَى وَفَضَّلَ اللّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا

"They are not equal from amongst the believers who sit (at home) and receive no harm, compared to those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah with their goods and their persons. Allah has granted a grade higher to those who strive and fight with their goods and persons than to those who do not fight." [An-Nisaa:95]

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