Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 11/05/2021
The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Tuesday 11 May 2021 held a virtual emergency meeting of the OIC Committee of Permanent Representatives under the chairmanship of the Republic of Niger, chair of the 47th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, to discuss the aggression by Israel, the occupying power, in the Palestinian territories, especially Al-Quds Al-Shareef.
In his statement at the meeting, the OIC Secretary General, Dr Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, praised the Palestinians in Occupied Al-Quds for their resilience and standing up to the Israeli aggression in the holy site, particularly the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque. He reiterated the status of the Al-Quds Al-Shareef as an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 and renewed the commitment of the OIC to defend the rights of the Palestinians there as it continues to work towards ending the Israeli occupation and actualizing the sovereignty of the State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its capital.
Read on his behalf by the Assistant Secretary General for Palestine and Al-Quds Affairs, Ambassador Samir Bakr Diab, the Secretary General’s statement hinted that the meeting was being held at a time when Al-Quds Al-Shareef is passing through one of its most critical phases, resulting from the irresponsible announcement by the Israeli occupation authorities of the decision to forcefully evict dozens of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood, to be replaced by extremist settlers. This dangerous development also coincides with heightened barbaric attacks by the Israeli occupation forces on worshipers in the compound of Al-Aqsa mosque, with hundreds of them arrested and injured.
The statement strongly condemned the Israeli military aggression on Gaza Strip in which more than 25 people were martyred and dozens more wounded, in a new crime added to the never-ending record of Israel’s violation of international law. The statement called for necessary practical steps and urgent political and diplomatic measures to be taken at the international arena.
For his part, Ambassador Aboubacar Hassane Dan Sokoto, Ambassador of the Republic of Niger to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and permanent representative to the OIC declared that “we must go beyond simple condemnations,” and instead confront the measures being taken by Israel, through its army, against the Palestinian people.
