Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
The Collective Voice of The Muslim World
Date: 23/09/2010
(UN HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK) 23 SEPTEMBER 2010 Your Excellencies the Ministers, Ladies and Gentlemen, Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatu Lahi wa Barakatuh It gives me great pleasure to be with you today as we meet to discuss together a top priority issue for our Organization, especially that the situation in Palestine in particular and the Middle East in general constitutes a matter of grave concern given the tension characterizing the region and the absence of any prospects for peace and stability, with the threats to resort to armed force options and the widening of the circle of injustice and oppression resulting from the continuation of occupation and its practices. The recent ordeal of the city of Al-Quds is a source of grief that requires our collective action to put an end to the suffering of this steadfast and resolute city which undergoes several forms of Judiazation and obliteration attempts intended to establish control over the holy city, alter its demography and falsify its Arab Islamic identity, in addition to Israel’s attempts to isolate the Al-Quds from its Palestinian environment with barriers and walls and its aggressions and excavations against Al-Aqsa Mosque, which put its foundations in danger. The mounting daily aggressions endured by the city of Al-Quds require the Ummah to take a firm position to support its sacred places and shore up its steadfast inhabitants. We are all required to work vigorously to exert efficient international pressure which would compel Israel to stop its aggressions of the holy city. Meanwhile, we have to provide support to Al-Quds’ institutions to enable them to continue their role in defending its identity against all the blurring attempts it faces. Despite our limited resources at the General Secretariat, we spare no effort to support Al-Quds’ institutions, prop up its inhabitants and shoulder their steadfastness. We have started recently to implement a six-month programme to support the capacities of youth institutions in the city of Al-Quds. In the meantime, I am currently conducting contacts with a number of institutions and individuals in the Member States to provide support to the city. We managed, thanks to Allah, to support many projects in the education and health sectors, which are among the most vital sectors that contribute to the preservation of the identity of the holy city against the Judiazation attempts it faces. The siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip is one of the major preoccupations of the Organization. It is a war crime and a serious violation of international law as well as a collective punishment that causes suffering to over 1.5 million Palestinians who are deprived of the most basic means of subsistence, as Israel does not allow in humanitarian aids intended for Palestinians. The recent aggression on the freedom flotilla vessels, targeting civilians from dozens of countries representing different religions and expressing the universal conscience. This crime which was perpetrated in international waters and claimed the lives of people whose sole intent was to extend a helping hand to their oppressed brothers in Gaza, has awakened the conscience of the world to see the truth about the Palestinian tragedy. This tragedy resulted in massive international sympathy for Palestine and its just cause. Palestinian leaderships and the leaderships of the Islamic world should not miss the opportunity of turning this international sympathy into political support to the Palestinian cause. I Therefore reiterate my call to work together to pursue justice for the victims of the attack and to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. Every possible effort must also be made to lift the unjust siege on our people in Gaza. It is time to end the agony of more than a million and a half Palestinians through lifting the siege and enabling them to live free, in dignity and peace. In this regard, we have to mention that we held a meeting of the Executive Committee following Israel’s aggression against the Freedom Flotilla. A meeting of a group of legal experts is scheduled to be held next month to examine possible means to lift the siege imposed on Gaza. Ladies and Gentlemen, Amid such difficult circumstances, Israel continues its intransigence and its denial of international laws and the principles upon which the peace process and the agreements signed were based. Furthermore, its extreme right-wing government is deliberately hampering the political efforts aimed at achieving the two-state solution within the 1967 borders through impositions and preconditions. Israel's illegal and illegitimate actions and extreme positions require serious intervention by the international community and its influential actors to compel Israel to comply with the international will which is the necessity to reach a political solution to end the occupation that began in 1976, enabling the establishment of a Palestinian State with East Al-Quds as its capital, consistent with international legitimacy resolutions, the Roadmap and the Arab Peace Initiative, whose clauses we do support towards the achievement of comprehensive peace in the region, while stressing that such initiative should not remain tabled indefinitely. History has taught us that only just solutions do persist and do last over time. The success of negotiations resumed recently depends mainly on their addressing of all files related to the final status with a clear reference based on international legitimacy resolutions, signed agreements, with a specific timetable and compulsory implementation mechanisms. These negotiations must lead to the termination of occupation which started in 1967 and the establishment of the independent Palestinian State, with East Al-Quds as its capital, and to the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. In conclusion, I pray God Almighty to grant our meeting all success for the good of the cause of Palestine. Wa-Ssalamu Alaykom wa-Rahmatullahi wa-Barakatuh.
