OIC holds international symposium on Jerusalem, Gaza war in Jeddah

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation held an international symposium on Jerusalem and the Gaza war at the organization’s headquarters in Jeddah on Monday.

Organized in conjunction with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the symposium was titled: “Jerusalem and the Gaza War: Palestinian Identity and Existence Under Threat of Erasure.”

“This meeting is being held at a time when we all feel the danger of the conditions that the occupied city of Jerusalem is enduring, as a result of repeated Israeli attacks on its Islamic and Christian holy sites, its people, and its Arab identity through settlement policies, land confiscation, house demolitions, building the Apartheid Wall, assaulting Muslim and Christian worshipers, and other serious violations,” the Secretary-General of the OIC Hissein Brahim Taha said.

He said that the city Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and is an integral part of Palestinian territory that was occupied in 1967.

He added that all Israeli policies and actions are illegal and illegitimate, and constitute an assault on the political, historical and legal rights of the Palestinian people, embodying a blatant violation of the rule of international law and United Nations resolutions.

Israeli actions threaten to expand the circle of conflict to a dangerous religious dimension that threatens security and stability in the entire world and require responsible international action, Taha said.

The head of the OIC also reiterated its condemnation of the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip which has killed nearly 38,000 people, destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings, properties, and civilian infrastructure, and displaced more than a million Palestinians from their homes.

He expressed disappointment at the failure of the UN Security Council to oblige Israel to implement its resolutions calling for an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire, a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces, and guaranteeing safe, sustainable and unhindered access to aid organizations so that humanitarian aid can be delivered to all parts of the Gaza Strip.

He added that he hoped the international community, states and organizations would bear their legal, political and moral responsibilities and put an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza which threatens to expand the cycle of violence and instability in the entire region.

The Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour said that Saudi Arabia’s position on the war in Gaza plays an important role in Palestinian people accessing their inalienable national rights.

He said: “Since the beginning of the aggression, we have been able to unify, in New York, the Arab and Islamic position regarding three goals that are extremely important for the Palestinian people. They are: stopping the aggression immediately in the Gaza Strip and in all of the occupied Palestinian territory, introducing enough humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip to respond to the needs of the people, and stopping war crimes and crimes against humanity including the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Mansour expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the Ministerial Committee Assigned by the Joint Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit, led by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to visit the five permanent members of the Security Council and other countries in an attempt to stop Israeli aggression and gain further recognition for Palestine.