The Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday called for an immediate halt to Israel’s so-called barbaric attacks on Gaza and blamed “systematic crimes” against the Palestinians for hostilities on their seventh day.
File photo: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo credit: Reuters)
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Sunday called for an immediate halt to Israel’s barbaric attacks on Gaza and blamed “systematic crimes” against the Palestinians for hostilities that are now taking place on the seventh day.
The OIC statement came after a virtual meeting where Saudi Arabia condemned violations of the sanctity of Muslim holy places and the eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem.
The 57-member panel accused the United Nations Security Council of indolence. Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei on Sunday issued a separate statement, tweeted by Malaysia’s prime minister, calling for an emergency session of the UN General Assembly.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates called for a ceasefire. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, along with other Arab states, broke a long-standing taboo in the region last year by establishing formal relations with Israel with the tacit consent of the Gulf power Riyadh.
“De-escalation and the highest level of restraint are important in order to avoid the region being brought to a new level of instability,” said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem al-Hashimy.
Before dawn Israeli strikes in the center of Gaza City on Sunday the death toll in Gaza rose to 181, including 47 children, health officials said. Israel has reported 10 deaths, including two children.
Palestinian militants began rocket attacks on Israel Monday after weeks of tension over a lawsuit to displace several Palestinian families in east Jerusalem and in retaliation for clashes by Israeli police with Palestinians near the city’s Al-Aqsa mosque during the holy month Ramadan.
Israel has retaliated with air and artillery strikes in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud opened the OIC meeting by calling on the world community to end the escalation of violence and relaunch peace negotiations based on a two-state solution.
Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians want the eastern part as the capital of a future state. The annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel is not internationally recognized.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for an international protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians and told the OIC that Israel should be held accountable for war crimes and that the International Criminal Court could play a role.
His Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the international community to launch a “political and legislative” campaign against Israel, Iranian state media said.
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