ISLAMABAD: The extraordinary meeting of OIC’s executive committee on Saturday strongly condemned the Israeli occupation forces continued attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the worshipers, and urged the state parties to the Geneva Conventions to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international humanitarian law.
The extraordinary meeting of the Executive Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held on Saturday in Jeddah to discuss the continuous Israeli attacks on the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. The meeting was held at the request of the State of Palestine and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and in coordination and consultation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the current Chair of the Summit and Executive Committee.
“Proceeding from the principles and objectives of the OIC Charter, affirming all OIC resolutions on the Question of Palestine and Al-Quds Ash-Sharif, reaffirming the centrality of the Palestinian Cause, with Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and its sanctities at its heart, for the entire Islamic Ummah, and the eternal attachment of Muslims all over the world to the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, the first of the two Qiblas and the third of the Holy Mosques, as well as affirming the Arab and Islamic identity of occupied East Al-Quds, the capital of the State of Palestine and dismissing any prejudice to that in any way,” said the final communique issued after the meeting.
The meeting “condemned in the strongest terms the dangerous escalation by the Israeli occupation forces and terrorist settlers by repeatedly storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif during the blessed month of Ramadan, culminating in the atrocious brutal attack on the night of Ramadan 14 on worshipers and those stationed in its courtyards while performing their prayers and rituals, including women and children, wounding and arresting hundreds of them, and damaging the Qibli Mosque in a flagrant provocation to the feelings of Muslims all over the world, an attack on the existing legal and historical situation, and a severe violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.”
“Warns of the consequences of the continued infringement by the Israeli occupation authorities, their officials, and terrorist settlers on the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, including continuous provocations, abuses, daily severe assaults, and incursions in gross violation of international law and unprecedented tampering with the existing historical and legal situation to perpetuate the temporal and spatial division of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and stresses that the Israeli occupation has no sovereignty over any part of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif and that Muslim worshipers have the absolute right to pray freely and safely in and around it, at any time, without any hindrance or violence inflicted on them,” said the communique.
It added that the meeting: “Holds Israel, the occupying Power, accountable for the consequences of these dangerous and provocative actions of its racist government, as it continues to seek, through systematic brutal attacks, deliberate provocation, and repeated incitement, to inflame the situation and provoke a religious confrontation with unforeseen consequences, warns of the possible repercussions on international peace and security, and calls on the international community, and in particular the UN Security Council, in its capacity as responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, to assume its responsibilities and take urgent action and necessary measures to deter and stop the dangerous Israeli escalation and all other illegal and provocative measures and policies that affect the occupied city of Al-Quds and the sanctity of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, without selectivity or double standards.”
It also appreciated the positions of the countries that expressed their rejection and condemnation of the provocative and aggressive Israeli incursions into the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, calls on them to take practical steps, including imposing sanctions on the Israeli colonial regime, to stop these practices and all its illegal measures and policies, and stresses in this context the responsibility of the state parties in the Geneva Conventions, that Israel, the illegal colonial occupying Power, must be held accountable for all its violations of international humanitarian law, whether by its government officials, military forces, or extremist settlers.
The meeting also paid tribute to the steadfast Palestinian citizens in the city of Al-Quds, and affirms its standing with them and supporting their heroic steadfastness in all possible ways. “It also affirms the sovereignty of the Palestinian people over Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and all its holy places and the old town of Al-Quds and its walls and that all measures taken or intended to be taken by the Israeli colonial occupation authorities, which seek to change the character and legal status of the city or its demographic composition, are null and void and have no legal effect,” it added.
It affirmed the historical Jordanian Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy places in the city of Al-Quds and its role in protecting these sanctities and preserving the existing legal and historical status therein and emphasizes that the Department of Al-Quds Endowments and Affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif affiliated to the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs, and Holy Places is the authority authorized to manage the affairs of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif.
The meeting also called on the OIC member states and General Secretariat to take urgent action to address these severe attacks and activate the mechanisms stipulated in its relevant resolutions to move at all levels and send urgent messages to the concerned international bodies, including the UN Security Council, reflecting the OIC positions in this regard and stressing the request to provide international protection for the Palestinian people and the occupied city of Al-Quds Ash-Sharif and its sanctities, specifically the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Qudsi Ash-Sharif, in the face of illegal attempts to change their current legal and historical situation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
Comments
Comments are closed.