Daily Times

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in its extraordinary summit, has strongly condemned the criminal actions of Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly in the Gaza Strip where unarmed Palestinian civilians were exercising their legitimate right of peaceful protest against the inhumane and absolutely illegal occupation.

In its final communiqué at the conclusion of the 7th extraordinary OIC summit in response to grave developments in the state of Palestine, it demanded holding Israel fully accountable for the grave atrocities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the latest episode of willful murder of at least 60 civilians and injuring of nearly 2700 others on May 14.

The OIC communiqué declared that these acts constituted savage crimes committed by the Israeli forces with the backing of the US administration, including through shielding the Israeli occupation in the UN Security Council from accountability. It also noted that these crimes had been committed against the backdrop of the illegal decision by the US administration to officially move its embassy from Israel to the occupied city of Jerusalem, which had further emboldened the Israeli government in its reckless behaviour towards the civilian Palestinian population.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on the special invitation of prime minister of Turkey attended the summit, besides the kings and heads of state and government of the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The OIC called on the international community, in particular the UN Security Council, to uphold its legal obligations to defend the international law and order as they were related to Palestine. It urged the council to act in line with its legal and moral obligation to ensure accountability for these unchecked crimes that Israel was carrying out with impunity and to put an end to these atrocities, and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people. It called for the international protection of the Palestinian population including through dispatching of international protection force.

The OIC General Secretariat was requested to act immediately to establish an international independent committee of experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by the Israeli forces against the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip.

It also called for determining the culpability of the Israeli officials and communicating the findings to relevant international bodies.

The OIC called upon the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary General, UN Human Rights Council, the special rapporteurs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take necessary actions to form an international investigation committee into the recent atrocities in the Gaza Strip, and enable it to initiate field investigation, within a precise time-frame, and ensuring enacting a clear mechanism to determine the culpability of the Israeli officials.

The communiqué also called on the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council to uphold their responsibilities in this regard and invite all countries to mobilize their efforts to bring this issue to their agenda. It re-affirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Muslim Ummah; renewed the principled support for the Palestinian people in their pursuit to attain their inalienable national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of their independent and sovereign Palestinian State on the borders of June 4, 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. It invited all countries to officially recognize the State of Palestine.

The OIC also reiterated its rejection of the illegal decision of the President of the United States to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel. “Reject it as legally null and void and violation of international legitimacy resolutions; consider it an assault on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people and a deliberate attempt to undermine all peace prospects, threatening international peace and security,” it added.

It also appreciated the role of the state of Kuwait as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and its immediate reaction to the bloody events in Gaza and its request to the Security Council for an emergency meeting.

It also commended the resolutions on the cause of Palestine and al-Quds Al-Sharif, the capital of the State of Palestine, adopted by the 45th Session of Council of foreign ministers on May 5-6 in Dhaka.

The OIC summit further re-affirmed the need to coordinate and work together with the international and regional organizations, including the Arab League, the European Union and the African Union on this issue.

Published in Daily Times, May 20^th 2018.