The roots of 75 year long occupation, ethnic cleansing and the genocidal acts on Palestinians stemmed from the emergence of Zionism as a political ideology in late 19th-century Eastern Europe.

The ideology is based on the belief that Jews are a nation or a race that deserve their own state. The British supported this Zionist ideology for its imperial interest and helped in the establishment of a Zionist state in the land where the native Arabs made up more than 90 percent of the population.

Zionist immigration to Palestine, facilitated by the British, started from 1919 with the killing and expelling of Palestinians from their homeland by the Zionist armed groups trained in Britain.

1. The Historical Background of Judaism

The ancestors of the Jews are addressed as ‘Bani Israel’ in the Qur'an. More than 3,500 years ago prophet Yaqoob Alayhissalam (AS) lived in the near eastern region of ancient Canaan today which constitutes Israel and the Palestinian territories.

The name ‘Bani Israel’ translates to ‘Children of Israel’ while the title ‘Israel’ (meaning Abdullah in Arabic) was bestowed upon the Prophet Yaqoob (AS) who was the son of Ishaq (AS) and the grandson of the great Prophet Ibrahim (AS). The lineage of Bani Israel originated from Yaqoob (AS) and their journey began with the twelve tribes from the twelve sons of him.

The name of one of the sons of Yaqoob (AS) was Judah (Yahuda in Hebrew). After the death of Prophet Sulaiman (AS), the Kingdom of Bani Israel fragmented into two – the north and the south. Judah lived in the south Kingdom and after his name it was named as Judah which included Jerusalem. The people of Judah were called Judahean or Judean which was later changed into ‘Jew’ (Yahudi in Hebrew) and their religion got the name ‘Judaism’.

From the Qur'anic narratives we find the Bani Israel as the most privileged people in the human history on earth and at the same time we find them as the most disobedient and arrogant among all the humankind. They enjoyed enormous mercy and blessings of Allah Subhanahu Wa-T'ala (SWT) and never ever expressed any gratitude to Him for that.

As a mercy to them and to guide on the right path Allah (SWT) sent numerous Prophets to them. However, a recurring scenario of disobedience and ignoring tendency to the divine commands emerges every time in their history. Allah (SWT) reminded the Bani Israel in the Qur'an of their repeated transgression

يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ ٱذْكُرُوا۟ نِعْمَتِىَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا۟ بِعَهْدِىٓ أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّـٰىَ فَٱرْهَبُونِ

- O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [upon you] that I will fulfill your covenant [from Me], and be afraid of [only] Me.” - [Qur'an 2:40].

Despite the favors and mercy of Allah (SWT) they repeatedly disobeyed and break their covenant with Him. Their arrogant and rebellious attitude towards the divine command has been described in the Qur'an where Allah (SWT) says,

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ ٱلطُّورَ خُذُوا۟ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَٱسْمَعُوا۟ قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا

وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا۟ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُم بِهِۦٓ إِيمَـٰنُكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

- And when We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain over you: Take hold of what We have given you with firmness and be obedient. They said: We hear and disobey . [Qur'an 2:93 ].

Whenever a Prophet is sent to them with divine message they often turned a blind eye and deaf ear to that and chose their own way to go. Sometimes they didn’t hesitate to kill their Prophets. As a consequence of their disobedience and transgression Allah (SWT) sometimes punished and cursed them. It is stated in the Qur'an,

فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَـٰقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِم بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ ٱلْأَنۢبِيَآءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌۢ

And [We cursed them] for their breaking of the covenant and their disbelief in the signs of Allah and their killing of the Prophets without right and their saying: Our hearts are wrapped. ----.” - [Qur'an 4:155].

There are instances in the Qur'an of divine retributions for their waywardness such as wandering in the wilderness in the desert for forty years and passing periods of hardship as a result of their defiance to divine commands.

2. Peaceful Stay of Jews under Muslim Rules

In the Muslim states Jews lived peacefully with all kinds of social justice. In the Islamic empire Jews like Christians had full religious liberty. Indeed, this guarantee goes all the way back to 622, with the proclamation of the Constitution of Madinah by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which laid down the rights of the Arab and Jewish tribes of Madinah.

Before the Hijrah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to Madinah, a civil war broke out between the Jews and the polytheists living there. At this time the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ made his way to Madinah, where the seed of Islam had already been sprouted in the hearts of many.  Many polytheists had accepted Islam before the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ and this number grew rapidly after the Prophet’s ﷺ arrival. At this time the population of Madinah comprised of three major groups: the Muslims, the Polytheists and the Jews.

In a society having different groups of peoples with different outlooks, beliefs, and traditions in Madinah, the Prophet ﷺ judiciously proclaimed the constitution that equally bound all the groups to uphold peace and justice. Based on this constitution, the Prophet ﷺ always treated every single citizen of Madinah equally, be they Muslim, Jew or anyone else. In the Islamic law, every citizen is equal, irrespective of their faith, ethnicity, race, cultural background, and so forth.

Many people of other faiths, including many of the Jewish tribes that lived alongside Muslims preferred to be judged under the law of Islam during that era. Thus Islamic rule in Madinah protected the Jews and other non-Muslim groups in that time and it was also continued during the Caliphates.

When the Caliph Umar Radiallahu'Anhu (RA) conquered Jerusalem He allowed 70 Jewish families to stay in the city despite vehement opposition from the Christian patriarch. He allocated these Jewish families an area of their own in Jerusalem which is now called the Jewish Quarter of the Old City.

There they were allowed to build a religious college and a synagogue and were also allowed to pray in the neighborhood of the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon’s Temple.

It is known from some Jewish sources that when Umar (RA) conquered Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) he confirmed that the leader of the Jewish community there, then known as the Exilarch, would remain as Exilarch under Muslim rule, with authority over the Jews of the province.

Not only in the Caliphates, Jews lived peacefully in the Muslim states for many centuries as integral parts of the societies enjoying respectful positions and being entrusted with many important responsibilities of the states. This accommodation has a long history. Many great Jewish thinkers, scholars and poets lived in Muslim lands.

One of the most successful Jews in a Muslim land in the 12th century was Abu al-Munajja Solomon ben Shaya, a government official in Egypt. As the administrator of several districts, his fame was held high for the irrigation canal that he constructed over six years, bringing water to a parched agricultural landscape. So successful was he that he was given the Arabic title ‘Sani al-Dawla’ (The Noble of the State).

Jewish doctors, merchants and artisans lived prosperously and worked productively under Muslim rule. Jewish doctors for whom medicine had long been a traditional specialty were highly prized in Muslim societies. So too were Jewish linguists, writers and poets.

The great Muslim warrior, Salahuddin al-Ayyubi defeated the Christian Crusaders and conquered Jerusalem in 1187 after a five-month siege. Salahuddin encouraged the Jews to return to the city. Some came from as far south as Yemen, others from North Africa. Jews also reached Jerusalem from England, northern France and Provence.

Some 300 rabbis were also welcomed to the city by Muslim rulers.

Starting in the 14th century, the Ottoman Turks created a vast Muslim empire, in which Jews were an accepted and integral part of the fabric of society. Jewish merchants were the principal tradesmen in Baghdad. In Tunis and Algiers, Jews served as the conduit for Ottoman trade with Christian countries across the Mediterranean.

3. Beginning of Israeli Occupation and Oppression in Palestine

In 1916, the British and French governments secretly negotiated a treaty known as‘Sykes-Picot’ agreement to divide the Ottoman Empire`s territory in the Middle East between their respective countries in order to secure European control of the falling Ottoman Empire at the end of the First World War.

The question of who would rule Palestine remained unresolved in the ‘Sykes-Picot’ agreement, so the British government turned to another stratagem to ensure that Britain, not France, would secure that mandate at the end of the First World War.

The strategy culminated in the 'Balfour Declaration' of 1917, which announced British support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and was included in the terms of the mandate of League of Nations to Britain for ruling Palestine upon dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after World War II.

The mandate can be regarded as leasing out of an Arabian land by the Europeans to the European Jewish people without any permission of the owner of the land, the Palestinian Arabs.

The Europeans did not have any legal right on that land. So, this was completely an illegal mandate given to equip Jews with the tools to establish self-rule, at the expense of the Palestinian Arabs.

With this mandate, the British began to facilitate the immigration of European Jews to Palestine. The illegal mandate caused the 1948 Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine) when Zionist armed groups, who were trained by the British, forcibly expelled more than 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland.

Later, as a result of the six-day war in 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. In 56 years of occupation of these territories Israel’s ruthless policies of land confiscation, illegal settlement and dispossession, coupled with rampant discrimination, have inflicted immense suffering on Palestinians.

Entire Palestinian communities have been displaced by these settlements. Their homes and livelihoods have been destroyed; restrictions have been enforced on their movement, access to their own water, land and other natural resources. The communities have also been violently attacked by the Israeli military and settlers.

Since 2007, Israel has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the coastal enclave. It decides what food, water, medicines, fuel, construction materials and other commodities can go into Gaza, and stops their flow when it wants. The blockade, coupled with Israel’s recurrent military operations have plunged the Gaza Strip into one of the gravest human rights crisis of modern times.

4. Chosen People of God

Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an,

وَلَقَدِ اخْتَرْنَاهُمْ عَلَى عِلْمٍ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ

-And We certainly chose them by knowledge over [all] the worlds.” - [Quran 44:32].

It is quite evident from this verse that Allah (SWT) gave a privilege to the Bani Israel. He favored them over all the nations at that time with knowledge and wisdom. The reason for this favor is that they were among the descendants of the great Prophet Ibrahim (AS). In the Qur'an Allah (SWT) says,

وَإِذِ ٱبْتَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ رَبُّهُۥ بِكَلِمَـٰتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهْدِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

-And when his Lord tried Ibrahim with certain words, he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make you an Imam of men. Ibrahim said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the unjust, said He.”- [Qur'an 2:124].

Thus we see, Allah (SWT) had granted Prophet Ibrahim Imam to the people. Prophet Ibrahim asked the same favor for his offspring also. Allah (SWT) said that His covenant would not include the unjust ones meaning that only the righteous members among the offspring of Ibrahim (AS) would be included in the covenant.

Allah (SWT) fulfilled His covenant; we learn from the Qur'an that many righteous descendants of Ibrahim (AS) were selected as Prophets. In the history of mankind on earth, they certainly were exemplary human beings, peace be upon them all.

At the same time, there were many bad people among Bani Israel who transgressed and violated the commands of Allah, committed shirk (associating partners with Allah), killed Prophets, and changed scriptures. Their normal practice was accusing their Prophets of lying and attempting to kill them. Indeed Allah (SWT) Says,

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَى ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنۢ بَعْدِهِۦ بِٱلرُّسُلِ وَءَاتَيْنَا عِيسَى

ٱبْنَ مَرْيَمَ ٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَيَّدْنَـٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلْقُدُسِ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌۢ بِمَا

لَا تَهْوَىٰٓ أَنفُسُكُمُ ٱسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ

-Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some, you disbelieved and some, you killed?” - [Qur'an 2:87].

According to the Quran, the children of Israel were indeed selected over all the nations that existed at that time and greatly favored by Allah, the Almighty. In fact, many verses indicate this meaning. However, it should be noted that they were not granted such privilege for their race or color, rather this was because many Prophets were sent amongst them. Actually, they were privileged when they followed their Prophets, which was something they could barely continue to do.

Upon the seal of the Prophet-hood by sending Muhammad ﷺ, his followers have become the best people among all the nations. Allah, the Almighty declares this fact in the Qur'an,

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

-You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; ----” - [Qur'an 3:110].

Allah (SWT) does not limit His privilege to any particular race or nation or people of any particular time, but He bestows privilege and blessings to the righteous people of all times. During the time of every Prophet, their true followers could only attain the special favor of the Lord, Allah (SWT). In the Qur'an Allah (SWT) further declares,

وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْأُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

-And thus We have made you a medium (just) nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you; ----” - [Qur'an 2:143].

This message tells that on the Day of Judgment the rank of standing witness before all mankind on behalf of Allah (SWT) has been conferred to the Muslim community. It can be explained that the Prophet had been entrusted with the great responsibility of conveying the message received from the Lord to the people. In a like manner in absence of the Prophet a great responsibility has been laid upon the Muslims to communicate this message to all mankind. This means that the Muslims have been invested with the leadership of all mankind. This is a great honor and at the same time is an enormous responsibility.

Therefore, in the present time the Muslims are the chosen people to convey the guidance from the Lord to all the humankind. The Jews wrongly thinks that they are the chosen people for ever. They are no longer on the scene, since their time has ended. Only a group of righteous people among the Bani Israel during the time of each of their Prophets could attain the level of chosen people by their righteousness but not all who transgressed. This privilege is not racially transferred from one generation to the next.

5. A Promised Land to Jews

Throughout its long history, Palestine has been a pivotal location in the ancient world since it is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Thus due to its vital geographical location and economic importance Palestine has been occupied and shaped by numerous civilizations and empires over the centuries.

As a result the land became home to an incredible diversity of cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, each leaving their mark on the region and its people. It has experienced the rise and fall of ancient civilizations and empires and at the same it has witnessed the emergence of major religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam out of the ancient polytheistic belief.

After the Canaanites, the early inhabitants, the land suffered constant changes and transformations through occupations by various rulers and powers one after another such as the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Muslims, Crusaders, Mamluks, Ottomans, and finally, the British. The approximate tenure of various rulers of the Palestinian land has been summarized in the table below.

It is obvious from the above table that Palestine was occupied and ruled by many Empires and Rulers and transformed it into a part of their Empires or Kingdoms. In the history of this alteration of the ownership of Palestine, at one period of time the ancestors of Jews, the Israelites (Bani Israel) occupied the Palestine.

Similarly, a number of times Muslims also got control of Palestine. From the table we see that the Israelites lived in Palestine for 614 years while it was the home of the Muslims for a number of periods which totals to 1087 years. Nevertheless, Many Prophets were sent among the Israelites during their stay in Palestine.

All those Prophets and their true followers were Muslims. Therefore, Muslims have a significant share of the period of 614 years stay of Israelites in Palestine. It is quite apparent that altogether Palestine was the home of Muslims for much longer periods than that of Israelites.

The Jews today claim that Palestine was promised to them by God and they have a right to take Palestine as their homeland. But from the consideration of the length of period of possession of the land, Muslims have much more legitimate claim on Palestine than the today’s Zionist Israelis whose ancestors were mostly not among the followers of the ancient Prophets. Palestine could only be the Promised Land for the true followers of the Prophets i.e., Muslims.

We know from the Qur'an that being instructed by Allah (SWT) Musa (AS) said to his

people,

يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الأَرْضَ المُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ اللّهُ لَكُمْ وَلاَ تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَى أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ

-O my people, enter the Holy Land which Allah has assigned to you and do not turn back and become losers” -  [Qur'an 5:21].

But the Bani Israel did not listen to Musa (AS) instead they showed severe arrogance and disobedience. In fear of defeat they refused to fight with the people occupying that land as stated in the Qur'an,

قَالُواْ يَا مُوسَى إِنَّا لَن نَّدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَّا دَامُواْ فِيهَافَاذْهَبْ أَنتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ

- They said: O Musa! We shall never enter it so long as they are in it; go therefore, you and your Lord, then fight you both surely we will here sit down.” - [Qur'an 5:24].

Now we see that the ancestors of the present day Jews were so rebellious that they defiantly opposed to follow the command of God to enter into that land what they claim as their Promised Land today.

The Bani Israel refused Allah's command and faced consequences. They lost their statehood. Allah (SWT) declared in the Holy Qur'an,

قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً يَتِيهُونَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ

-Verily, it shall be forbidden for them for forty years; in distraction shall they wander through the land. So, grieve not over the rebellious people.” - [Qur'an 5:26].

For their rebellious attitude and strong denial to the divine command, Allah (SWT) decreed that they should remain in the desert for a period of 40 years. However, many years later during the period of another prophet, Allah (SWT) forgave them and allowed them to enter into that land.

The promise from Allah (SWT) stands so long as the people given the promise abide by Allah’s teachings. Once they show disobedience to Him, the promise no longer remains valid. The land which was promised to descendants of Abraham (Prophet Ibrahim) was on condition to them that they should fulfill the covenant with Allah (SWT).

In the verse 2:124 quoted before we saw that Allah (SWT) refused Ibrahim’s (AS) plea of general inclusion of his descendants in the covenant. Allah (SWT) demands the descendants to be righteous i.e., submitting to Him. The Israelites were not righteous and submitting to Allah and didn't fulfill the covenant.

In fact, the covenant has been fulfilled by Muslims, the spiritual descendants of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Besides, this promise was not for an infinite period; rather, it was confined to a certain period of time. Hence, after a long period the promise is no more valid today.

In the Qur'an Allah (SWT) states,

مَا كَانَ إِبْرَٰهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلَا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَـٰكِن كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُّسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

-Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was one inclining toward truth, Muslim (submitting to Allah). And he was not one of the polytheists.” - [Qur'an 3:67].

In this verse Allah (SWT) clarified that Ibrahim (AS) was not a Jewish Prophet but he was a Muslim. Not only that other Prophets whom the Israelites claim to be Jewish Prophets were actually Muslims as stated in the Qur'an

أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَآءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ ٱلْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنۢ

بَعْدِى قَالُوا۟ نَعْبُدُ إِلَـٰهَكَ وَإِلَـٰهَ ءَابَآئِكَ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ إِلَـٰهًا وَٰحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُۥ مُسْلِمُونَ

-Or were you witnesses when death approached Jacob, when he said to his sons: What will you worship after me? They said: We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac - one God. And we are Muslims (in submission) to Him.” - [Qur'an 2:133].

Even Prophet Musa (AS) who saved the Israelites from the grip of Pharaoh of Egypt and the recipient of Torah, was a Muslim as one can see from the Qur'an,

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰ يَـٰقَوْمِ إِن كُنتُمْ ءَامَنتُم بِٱللَّهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوٓا۟ إِن كُنتُم مُّسْلِمِينَ

-And Moses said: O my people, if you have believed in Allah, then rely upon Him, if you should be Muslims.” - [Qur'an 10:84].

Furthermore, we learn from the Qur'an that Allah (SWT) assigned Al-Aqsa to Islam by taking Prophet Muhammad ﷺ in a night journey from Masjid Al-Haram in Makkah to Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. Allah (SWT) states in the Qur'an,

سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَسْرَىٰ بِعَبْدِهِۦ لَيْلًا مِّنَ ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْحَرَامِ إِلَى ٱلْمَسْجِدِ ٱلْأَقْصَا ٱلَّذِى بَـٰرَكْنَا حَوْلَهُۥ لِنُرِيَهُۥ مِنْ ءَايَـٰتِنَآ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

- Exalted is He who took His Servant by night from Al-Masjid al-Haram to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa (Jerusalem), whose surroundings We have blessed, to show him of Our signs. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Seeing.” - [Qur'an 17:1].

It simply follows that Al-Aqsa is a chosen place of Allah (SWT) for the Muslims who fulfilled the covenant with Him. Prophet Ibrahim was a Muslim and being the spiritual descendants of him, Muslims deserve the possession of Palestine. The Bani Israel did not live continuously in Palestine for long time. They had Diaspora many times.

They were destroyed and dispersed over many parts of the world and so was their heritage and infrastructures. Their stay thus ended and so they cannot just claim Palestine belongs to Jews. On the other hand, Muslims ruled Palestine for about 1087 years and still continue to do so partly. So, due to their continued existence in the land Muslims are the rightful owner of this land.

Nevertheless, If Jews claim that the Promised Land is conditioned with racial identity with Israelites only, then the Jews today have no right to any land whatsoever. Israelites are long gone and their race has ended.

On the other hand, from the consideration of the real lineage it is obvious that the Arabs are the legitimate owner of Palestine as being direct descendants of Prophet Ibrahim (AS) through Prophet Ismail (AS) according to Islamic history and Prophetic texts. It is also due to the fact that lineage of Ismail (AS) and Ishaq (AS) are joined together as both of them were sons of Ibrahim (AS).

So from all considerations the holy land Palestine belongs to the Muslims who are the true followers of Islam, the only divine religion of all times and all Prophets; and also the true descendants of prophet Ibrahim (AS). Jerusalem, the city of Al-Aqsa is absolutely the Muslim Heritage and it has no connection to Judaism as evident from Islamic History and Prophetic texts.

6. The Current Genocidal Mission

Recently, Israel has launched a brutal military mission on Gaza and Israeli army has widely and indiscriminately targeted civilians and civilian objects; inflicted mass destruction, with over 70 percent of homes in Gaza destroyed or damaged.

In six months of the military invasion over 1.9 million Palestinians or over 80% of the total population have been displaced across Gaza; over 33,000 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 13,800 children and nearly 76,000 injured while many with life-changing mutilations. According to human rights organizations, Israel kills one Palestinian child every 10 minutes. Thousands of families have lost their loved ones.

More than one thousand families have been entirely wiped off the population registry in Gaza. They have been decimated from grandparents to grandchildren. Many could not bury and mourn their relatives and instead were forced to leave their bodies decomposing in homes, in the street or under the rubble. Thousands have been detained and systematically subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment.

The incalculable collective trauma will be experienced for generations to come. The Israeli Military targeted journalists, medical personnel, ambulances, schools, places of worship, universities, shelters and hospitals. They also destroyed water, electricity, telecommunications and energy infrastructure among others.

In this current military attack, Israel has committed a number of war crimes and crimes against humanity, which are taking place in the context of an ongoing 75-year settler colonialism and apartheid and 56-year of illegal occupation of the Palestinian territory.

It has been reported in the media that in just three weeks, Israeli military dropped 12,000 tons of explosives on Gaza, nearly the same amount of explosives that were dropped on Hiroshima. This has included the use of white phosphorous and other weapons causing extensive burns and deformation.

The overwhelming nature and scale of Israel’s assault and destruction on Gaza clearly reveals the intent of Israel to physically destroy Palestinians as a group. Accoding to the leading human rights organizations and observers a genocide in plain sight is being committed against the Palestinian people in front of the eyes of the whole world and with total impunity. Israel’s genocide on the Palestinians in Gaza is nothing but the gravest devastating part of the longstanding settler colonial process through ethnic cleansing.

7. Islamophobia and Racism Behind the Genocide

The on-going military mission on Gaza started by Israel has put the Palestinians to pass through the deadliest period of Israeli occupation of Palestine since 1919. They are being mass murdered by indiscriminate Israeli bombing after cutting off their water, electricity and food supplies. The humanitarian catastrophe has turned Gaza into a hell on earth which over shadows the Nakbah of 1948. This has been described as an act of war crimes by leading human rights groups.

The western politicians in particular, the Americans and British often rationalize the attack on Gaza by citing Israel’s right to self-defence. But the hidden element at play which motivates this support is Islamophobia. It is found that there is a perpetuation of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racist tropes in the global media and Western political circles, claiming that Muslims and Arabs innately hate Jewish people.

This anti-Muslim and anti-Arab racism is the main obstacle on the way of realizing the civil, political, national, and human rights of Palestinian people. In Israel, Islamophobia has taken the form of anti-Palestinian racism. It is a deep-rooted prejudice within the Israeli society. The current atrocity and genocide in Palestine is deeply linked to Islamophobia and Anti-Palestinian racism.

The leading scholars on genocide, international law experts, and global human rights organizations warn that the world is “witnessing a genocide, unchecked war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity” in Palestine.

Besides these reports, the hateful and odious comments of the Israeli leaders about the Palestinian people clearly manifest their ‘genocidal intent’ in Gaza. They openly declare that they want complete incineration and annihilation of Gaza. Due to such hateful comments some human right organizations reports that the genocidal act is rooted in the Islamophobia and Anti-Palestinian racism.

8. Plausible Fate of the Jews

Before the forceful immigration to Palestine there has been no evidence of any battle between Bani Israel and the Muslims in the entire history of Islam of fourteen hundred years. Muslims consider Bani Israel as their biological, geographical, and spiritual cousins since both of them descended from the great Prophet Ibrahim (AS). All other Prophets of Bani Israel are also recognized as Prophets by the Muslims.

Throughout the history Muslims as owners of Jerusalem and Palestine have shown tolerance and maintain peaceful co-existence with Jews and people of other faiths.

On the other hand in the Christendom Jews suffered persecution many times. An eminent Jewish historian, Bernard Lewis commented, “There is nothing in Islamic history to parallel the Spanish expulsion and Inquisition, the Russian pogroms, or the Nazi Holocaust”.

In practical terms, thousands upon thousands of Jews were murdered during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and at various incidents in Europe and Russia. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German occupied Europe which was around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population.

Muslims made Palestine a sanctuary for persecuted Jews, fleeing Christian tyranny from Christian Europe after World War II. The Muslims were not responsible for any disaster, any misfortune and any execution of Jews at any point of time in the history. Instead, they enjoyed social justice and every human right under the Muslim rules and always found Muslims to be generous.

It is sarcastic that instead of being hateful and hostile to their murderers they developed hatred and hostility with Muslims who always extended cooperation to them. This Islamic tolerance is the reason to why Allah (SWT) only included the righteous servants in His covenant with Ibrahim (AS) mentioned in the verse 2:124 of the Qur'an (cited before).

Racists and greedy sinning servants are not in Allah’s covenant due to their violent nature and unwelcoming behavior. However, the Zionists Israeli society believes that racially they are the chosen people of the God and the Land of Palestine has been racially promised to them by the God.

The forceful entry of the Zionists to Palestine is not their return to the Promised Land but rather an occupation, leading to widespread destruction and genocide to Palestinian. They will not be able to remain there forever. Their fate will be similar to that of their forefathers, because their atrocity and evil acts have crossed the limit.

They will suffer another defeat and severe blow; hopefully this will be in the hands of Muslims once they become unified. In this regard Allah (SWT) says in the Qur'an,

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ مَن يَسُومُهُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَسَرِيعُ ٱلْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

–And then your Lord declared that, until the Day of Resurrection, He would send people against them to inflict terrible suffering on them. Your Lord is swift in punishment but He is most forgiving and merciful.” - [Qur'an 7:167].

In this verse Allah (SWT) promised that whenever the children of Israel would transgress further, He will send to them again people who would destroy them. There is no doubt that the level of their transgression at present time has surpassed the previous records, and they will not be an exception from their predecessors who were destroyed. Soon Allah (SWT) will send to them people who will afflict them with the worst torment and destroy them.

Dr. Shaikh Muhammad Yunus is a retired Physicist of Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (BAEC), Bangladesh. He worked in BAEC from October, 1984 to June, 2015 at different positions and capacities. Initially He joined BAEC as a Scientific Officer and he was raised up to the level of Chief Scientific Officer during his carrier. He worked as the Director of the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology under BAEC during the last four years of his carrier. The area of his research includes Neutron Physics and its applications with special emphasis on materials characterization in the neutron scattering technique using neutron beam of Research Reactor. His last academic degree is Ph. D. on neutron scattering research. He has about 70 publications in the area of his research.