Monitoring Desk
JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) condemned in the strongest terms the storming of the Aqsa Mosque on January 3, 2023, by an Israeli minister in its final communiqué following the extraordinary open-ended meeting of the OIC Executive Committee on Tuesday.
The OIC Executive Committee meeting was called at the request of Jordan and Palestine and in coordination with Saudi Arabia at the OIC headquarters. The meeting reiterated that the minister’s action was a serious provocation that hurt the feelings of Muslims across the world.
The action was also a clear violation of relevant UN resolutions, international law, the existing historical and legal situation in Al-Quds, its sanctities, and all relevant international norms.
OIC warned against the consequences of the continued assault on Al-Aqsa Mosque, including provocations, continued abuses, and serious daily attacks by the Israeli authorities in a blatant violation of international law.
It also pointed toward the dangerous attempts by extremists to fuel religious conflict by imposing a temporal and spatial division of the Haram Al-Sharif, which threatens international peace and security.
OIC asks UNSC to notice of Israel’s actions
The OIC communiqué demanded the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), in its capacity as the guarantor of international peace and security, to shoulder its responsibilities and urgently act to take the necessary steps, without selectivity or double standards, to deter and stop the dangerous Israeli escalation along with all other illegal and provocative measures.
It also called for the imposition of sanctions on the extremist minister who attacked the sanctity of Aqsa Mosque and anyone who deliberately does so, issue threats, or performs provocative actions against it, incites against the Palestinian people, adopts a racist discourse against it, or calls for to violence and terror.
The communiqué stressed the responsibility of the state parties to the Geneva Conventions to hold Israel accountable for all its blatant violations of international humanitarian law, whether by its military forces, government officials, or extremists.
OIC also condemned the imposition of collective sanctions by the Israeli occupation authorities on the Palestinian people, Palestinian civil organizations, and their officials and underlined the need to counter these actions.
It also requested the OIC Secretary-General to communicate with relevant international officials and religious leaders to convey the OIC position and message and to ask them to take a firm stance towards these serious developments.
