Prominent lawyer and Central Senior Vice Chairman of the International Human Rights Movement (IHRM), Makhdoom Waseem Qureshi, has said that the Gaza crisis is a test of the world’s conscience, arguing that a conscience that stays silent in the face of Gaza’s suffering is no living conscience at all. In a statement issued in Lahore on Friday, he said the people of Gaza are enduring the worst form of aggression, and that the global conscience, despite the cries of young children, remains unwilling to wake up.
Qureshi said Israel has left no shelter where unarmed Palestinians can take refuge, and described the situation in Gaza as a slaughterhouse. Those responsible for turning Gaza into such a place, he said, are criminals against humanity. He added that even milk is unavailable for infants in Gaza, while explosives are available in abundance to kill them.
FAKTA: Gaza crisis world’s conscience
- Who spoke: Makhdoom Waseem Qureshi, Central Senior Vice Chairman of the International Human Rights Movement (IHRM) and prominent lawyer.
- His central message: The Gaza crisis is a test of the world’s conscience, and statements alone are not enough to help Gaza’s orphans.
- Death toll he cited: 74,494 Palestinians killed since the Israeli aggression began on 7 October 2023.
- After the peace agreement: 1,538 Palestinians martyred and 5,486 seriously injured, according to the figures he quoted.
- His demand: Serious measures must be taken, and the criminal silence of influential powers must end.
A conscience that refuses to wake
Qureshi said the criminal silence of influential powers over the Gaza crisis is both shameful and alarming. In his view, the use of Israeli force against unarmed Palestinians can only be stopped through the use of force, and the tears of Gaza’s children are the consequence of the insensitivity of the global conscience. He argued that statements are not enough to help the orphans of Gaza, and that serious measures must now be taken.
He further said that Israel has not only destroyed the olive crops of Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank but has also wiped out their generations. He also condemned the arrests of American citizens who were helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives, calling those arrests condemnable.
Figures cited in the statement
According to the figures quoted by Qureshi, the death toll resulting from Israeli aggression, which began on 7 October 2023, has reached 74,494. He also said that even after the so-called peace agreement, 1,538 Palestinians have been martyred, while 5,486 have been seriously injured. These figures are presented here as cited by the advocate in his statement.
Qureshi closed his statement with a warning to those involved in what he called the genocide of Palestinians, saying they will suffer a crushing defeat in Israel’s elections. His message, in essence, was that the world will be judged by whether its conscience finally wakes up to Gaza’s pain.
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