JEDDAH (Saudi Arabia) An open-ended extraordinary meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) executive committee was held in Jeddah to discuss the ongoing Israeli aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque. The meeting was held at the level of permanent representatives to OIC. The OIC executive committee is currently composed of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, The Gambia, Niger, Mauritania and the OIC secretary general. Other member states were also invited to the meeting so as to develop a unified stance.
The final communiqué issued by the meeting condemned in the strongest terms the ongoing incursions of the extremist colonialists into Al-Aqsa Mosque, with the protection and support of Israeli forces. The communiqué affirmed that there could be no security and stability without return to Palestinian people and Muslim Ummah of Al-Quds Al-Sahrif and Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s first Qibla and third holiest site.
At the meeting, Pakistan’s permanent representative to OIC, ambassador Rizwan Saeed Sheikh strongly condemned the attacks on innocent worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque by the Israeli occupation forces. Rejecting the attempts to divide the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, temporally and spatially, ambassador Sheikh urged the OIC member states to do their utmost to stop Israel from crossing this red line. He stated that closure to worshippers of Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil was yet another affront to the sanctity of Islamic holy sites in the occupied territories.
Reiterating Pakistan’s steadfast support to the Palestinian Cause, the permanent representative expressed deep concern over the series of Israeli actions in the occupied Al-Quds Al-Sharif, aimed at changing its legal status, demographic composition and Arab-Islamic character. He added that the letter and spirit of UNSC Resolution number 2334 must be upheld not only to the extent of occupied Palestinian territories, but also in other similar situations characterized by blatant disregard and violation of the relevant UNSC Resolutions.
Condemning the widespread and systematic Israeli crimes against unarmed Palestinian people, he emphasized the importance and urgency of ending the Israeli occupation of Palestine, which was the root cause of all systematic violations against basic human rights and freedoms of Palestinians.
The permanent representative called upon the international community to take urgent steps to protect innocent Palestinian lives, and uphold international law and principles of the UN charter.
Ambassador Sheikh assured the meeting that, as the current chair of the council of Foreign ministers (CFM), Pakistan remained ready to steer the process for implementation of the relevant OIC resolutions, adopted recently during the Islamabad CFM session.
The meeting reiterated the need for a two-state solution in accordance with the relevant United Nations and OIC resolutions, with the pre-1967 borders, and Al-Quds Al-Sharif as the capital of a viable, independent and contiguous Palestinian state.
