Islamic states urge UNSC to meet on Gaza

22 Jan, 2008

The 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference urged the UN Security Council on Monday to hold an emergency meeting on the Israeli blockade of Gaza where a humanitarian crisis is looming.
OIC secretary general Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu also urged "the international community, the quartet and the (UN) Human Rights Council... to act rapidly to put an end to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian territories and lift the blockade imposed on the Palestinian people in Gaza."
The so-called quartet is made up of the four main sponsors of the Middle East peace process - the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States.
As the Israeli closure entered its fourth day on Monday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned it would be forced to stop food distribution to hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents within days if the lockdown continues. The territory's sole power plant shut down late Sunday for want of fuel, plunging much of Gaza City into darkness.

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