The Organization of Islamic States (OIC) condemned Israel at an “extraordinary” meeting at its General Secretariat’s headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, accusing the Jewish state of a laundry list of crimes.
Foreign ministers of OIC member states came together in Jeddah at the behest of Iran, “to discuss the ongoing crimes by Israel, the illegal occupying power, against the Palestinian people and its infringing on the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iran called the meeting after the death of Ismail Haniyeh, head of the Hamas’s political bureau, in Tehran on July 31. Iran holds Israel responsible, though the Jewish state has remained mum on the killing.
A final communiqué issued following the meeting condemned Israel of “war crimes, aggression and genocide” against Arabs in Gaza, Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem (the latter two referred to as the “West Bank” and “Al-Quds Ash-Sharif”).
It also held Israel responsible for the death of Haniyeh, described as a “heinous attack,” “a crime of aggression,” “a flagrant violation of international law” and “a serious infringement” of Iran’s sovereignty.
The OIC also accused Israel of causing “the martyrdom and injury of more than 140,000 Palestinians,” of pursuing a “policy of torture, starvation and collective punishment,” of unspecified “brutal crimes,” of violating Arab prisoners, of pursuing “racist, illegal laws,” of “incursions” into Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, of undermining the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, and other actions.
The OIC also warned against a “surge in colonial settlement” and the danger of annexation of areas in Judea and Samaria.
Referring to various anti-Israel rulings by international bodies, the OIC called on the United Nations and U.N. Security Council “to put an end to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.”
The ministers reiterated their “unwavering solidarity” with the “Palestinian people” and its right to a sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital, calling for an international conference to implement the two-state solution.
