Muslim scholars call for lifting ‘siege on Gaza’

The International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), headed by Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, has called for lifting the “unjust siege” on the Gaza Strip.

According to a statement by the union, the “brutal crimes” that are being committed by the Israeli occupiers against the Palestinian people are considered “major crimes against humanity”.

“The Israeli violations won’t be accepted,” the IUMS stressed, calling on neighbouring countries to intervene and help in lifting the blockade.

It also called on the world’s Muslims “to work together to alleviate the Palestinian people’s sufferings.”

“Muslim scholars must act and stand in the face of the Zionist measures on the Gaza borders,” the IUMS statement added.

Read: ‘Unprecedented humanitarian crisis’ in Gaza, says UN update

On 14 May, Israeli forces committed a massacre against peaceful Palestinian protestors on the Gaza border, leaving more than 65 Palestinian civilians killed and 3,188 wounded. Palestinians had been protesting against the inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, marking 70 years since the Nakba which saw them forced out of their homes to make way for the formation of the state of Israel and calling for their right of return to the homes they were ripped from.

Home to nearly two million Palestinians, the Gaza Strip has been reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007 when Palestinian resistance group Hamas was voted to power in a parliamentary election.

The UN has warned that the Gaza Strip could become “uninhabitable” by 2020 if no action is taken to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians.