Staff Reporter:
The Bangladesh government wholeheartedly supports ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s efforts to seek an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over widespread human rights violations committed by Zionist forces in Palestinian territories, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said Friday.
Speaking at a discussion session at Institution of Diploma Engineers in the capital, the minister also took a veiled dig at the US for vetoing every single bid submitted at the UN Security Council for establishing a sovereign Palestine state, as Washington keeps disregarding the massacre of innocent Palestinians at the hands of Israeli armed forces.
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan on Monday formally applied for an arrest warrant against Netanyahu and his defence minister as well as three leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group fighting Israel in Gaza Strip.
US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rejected the appeal for issuing arrest warrant against two top Israeli leaders, with Sunak specificially stating that London does not yet recognise Palestine as a state.
Some powerful countries are ignoring the call from almost all corners of the world for founding an independent Palestine, Dr Hasan Mahmud said Friday.
However, Netanyahu is not paying heed to even the US, its main backer, the joint general secretary of the ruling Awami League remarked, terming the Israeli premier an enemy of entire humankind.
He urged recognition of Palestine as an independent state to facilitate peace in the whole world.
He also categorically criticised BNP, Jamaat and some Islamic organisations for failing to stage a single big rally against the genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, even though they protested against the ruling Awami League before elections.
Instead of these parties that claim to vouch for the rights of Muslims, it is Awami League and its affiliated bodies that are spearheading protests against Israel’s atrocities, Dr Hasan Mahmud claimed branding the BNP-Jamaat alliance as an agent of Israel.
At the event, lawmaker Awlad Hossain said the Gaza War again highlights Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as the Mother of Humanity as she has been consistently supporting the plight of Palestinians during the war.
Minister of religious affairs Md Faridul Haq Khan said Bangladesh has always supported Palestinians’ right to an independent state, and has repeatedly criticised Israel’s killings of Palestinians.
The country rejected Israel’s move when it recognised Bangladesh after 1971 Liberation War, he reminded the audience present at the event. The two-state solution is the only way out of the Middle East crisis, he noted.
