OIC condemns Knesset’s bill rejecting Palestinian State

 

JEDDAH – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has strongly condemned Israeli ‘Knesset’s approval of a bill rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state.

In a statement, the OIC views the act as nothing but a continuation of colonial occupation policies and ongoing violations of Palestinian rights, in blatant defiance of international law and relevant UN resolutions.

In this regard, the organization reaffirmed its steadfast support for the two-state solution and called on the international community to fulfill its responsibilities to end the Israeli occupation, achieve a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the region, and enable the Palestinian people to enjoy their legitimate national rights, including the right to return, self-determination, and the establishment of an independent sovereign state along the borders of June 4, 1967, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

The organization also condemned the intrusion today of the extremist minister in the Israeli occupation government, Itamar Ben-Gvir, into the courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.

It reiterated its condemnation of all Israeli occupation policies aimed at altering the geographic and demographic reality in occupied Al-Quds, and its efforts to undermine the historical and legal status of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The OIC stressed the shared responsibility to defend and restore it to Palestinian sovereignty, as it constitutes an integral part of the Palestinian territory occupied in 1967 and the capital of the State of Palestine.

The organization also affirmed its support for all efforts made by the State of Palestine to mobilize the international community’s responsibility, including activating the mechanisms of international justice to hold the occupying power, Israel, accountable for its war crimes and genocide, and to rectify the historical injustice that continues to be inflicted on the Palestinian people.

The organization, on the other hand, strongly condemned the actions of the Israeli occupation authorities aimed at undermining the status and role of UNRWA by intensifying direct attacks on its facilities, targeting its employees, and impeding its activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, considering this an extension of the serious Israeli violations of the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

The OIC reaffirmed its resolutions from successive summits and ministerial councils, urging continued collaboration with international actors to halt the ongoing Israeli military aggression against the Palestinian people throughout all Palestinian territories, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

It also called on all countries that have not yet recognized the State of Palestine to do so and to support its right to full membership in the United Nations.