In the recently concluded 11th summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference at Dakar, the capital of Senegal, the participating countries unanimously demanded that Israeli leaders and military commanders be put on trial at the international court for war crimes.

The delegates urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for the inhuman attacks on children, women and the old besides depriving the civilians of the medical care facilities. Israel’s actions such as blocking food supplies and medical supplies triggered acute malnutrition and diseases such as anemia among the people of Gaza, especially the old and children, while the denial of fuel and electricity to the civilians amounted to collective punishment.

The conference pointed out that the collective punishment of civilians is a violation of international laws and that therefore the occupation force should be held accountable for committing serious war crimes.

The conference also called on the international community to apply pressure on Israel to end its siege of Gaza with immediate effect.

Spelling out the OIC stand, Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said, “Israel has repeatedly been attempting to undermine the initiatives for peace with the Palestinians from whichever quarter it came with the intention of perpetuating the tragic and miserable situation in Palestine.”

“In my view the United Nations should take necessary steps to officially record all the Israeli acts of violation of international law so that the record could be produced as evidence against Israel at the International Court of Justice,” Ihsanoglu said.

It appears that the US administration never expected the OIC leaders to go to the extent of demanding the prosecution of Israeli leaders as war criminals.

To no one’s surprise in the Arab world, the Bush administration was quick to condemn the attack on Israel and used strong words to express its outrage at the OIC resolution.

The US also reiterated its unwavering support to Israel. It echoed the views of Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert’s spokesman who accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who raised war crime charges against Israel at the Dakar Summit, of bringing in issues that would jettison the “progress” of the peace talks. The Israeli official also wondered why Mahmoud was attempting to spread the idea that Israel was bent on violating others’ rights.

In a clear move to intimidate the Arab and Muslim states, the US charged the Muslim countries with indulging in anti-Semitism, describing those who spoke against Israel as anti-Semites. The US State Department alerted the world Jewry to the increasing signs of anti-Semitism, particularly in the form of hate campaigns against Israel and comparing its policies to that of German Nazis.

Washington pointed out that the anti-Semitic tendency was growing in the Middle East and Near East and among the Muslim communities in Europe. It highlighted the role of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, the Syrian government and the Arab media in spawning anti-Semitism with renewed vigor.

There is nothing new in the US reaction to the criticism of Israel as the present American policy is strongly supportive of Israel’s actions as it is inimical to Muslim interests.

The US silence in the face of repeated Israeli violations of the Palestinian rights gives the impression that Israel is infallible and has the license to violate every international law, convention and charter governing human rights, freedom and treatment of prisoners and civilians in the occupied territories.

If anyone challenges this, he would, undoubtedly, be labeled and hounded as an anti-Semite. Sadly enough, the Arabs do not expect any sign of fairness and moderation even after Bush leaves the White House, as both Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are vying in declaring their fealty to Israel.

Whatever the US position, Muslims the world over looked at the Dakar Summit to chalk out an effective plan to counter the Israeli plan for a replay of the Holocaust in Palestine. Just the usual condemnation would not do, particularly when the US has threatened the Muslim countries in general with dire consequence if they practice anti-Semitism, which now means even mild criticism of the Jewish state.