In the final statement issued at the end of the open-ended extraordinary meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives, held in Jeddah, the Organization commended the leading role played by the Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, the operational arm of the Al-Quds Committee.
Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Isam’s first qibla and third holiest mosque, are “a red line for the Islamic Ummah, and there will be no security or stability without its complete liberation from occupation” and its return to the bosom of its Palestinian people and its Islamic Ummah, underlined the statement issued at the end of this extraordinary meeting, where the Kingdom was represented by Morocco’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mustapha Mansouri.
The statement called on member states to “join collective and individual efforts, to unite around Al-Quds, to defend its sanctity, to counter the crimes of Israel, to support the Palestinian people and provide them with the means of resistance against the Israeli aggression.”
It also urged Israel to respect and implement the OIC decisions on the Palestinian cause given the centrality of this issue for the Islamic Ummah.
The statement also condemned the Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people, particularly in the city of Al-Quds, expressing rejection of all illegal measures aimed at imposing the Israeli colonial control in the Holy City and changing its historical and legal status, its demographic structure, and its Arab-Islamic character.
The OIC condemned the continued attacks and raids by the occupation army and extremist settlers against the worshipers in the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the aggression against the Palestinian people, which have dangerously intensified during the last days of the blessed month of Ramadan, resulting in hundreds of injuries and arrests among Muslim worshipers as well as serious damage to the facilities of the Holy Mosque, in a repeated violation of its sanctity.
These violations are a blatant provocation to the feelings of Muslims and a chain of aggression against the Palestinian people, Al-Quds and its holy places, the statement said, holding Israel accountable for the consequences of these practices.
The OIC rejected all the unlawful measures affecting the Holy City, including the attempts to divide the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in time and space, demanding the immediate cessation of these measures.
There is no legal, religious or historical legitimacy to justify these dangerous measures that affect the sanctity of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Organization stressed.
The OIC reiterated its commitment to the sovereignty of the State of Palestine on the borders of 1967, including East Al-Quds, and its borders with neighboring countries, expressing its determination to confront any measure that could harm Palestinian rights.
The statement also stressed the Organization’s rejection and condemnation of any misleading names used to refer to Al-Aqsa Mosque, calling for refraining from using religious names that overshadow the history of the mosque and its legal and historical status, and contribute to fueling and perpetuating the conflict.
Furthermore, the OIC expressed support for the resistance of the Palestinian people and all their legitimate rights, including their right to freedom and to an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with international law, relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the Arab peace initiative.
It also called on Israel to cease its escalating practices and aggression in all the occupied Palestinian territories and to stop all measures that threaten peace and security and undermine the two-state solution as well as the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace, which is an Arab and Islamic strategic choice but also a regional and international necessity.
The OIC also calls upon all Member States and their permanent representatives to international organizations to act and address this escalation at all levels, including addressing the UN Secretary General and the Security Council regarding Israel’s illegal measures to create a new reality in Al-Quds and its attempts to divide the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa in time and space.
The organization also expresses its rejection of selectivity in the application of international law, particularly international human rights law, noting that the Palestinian people, who continue to be excluded, suffer from the lack of justice under a military occupation that has lasted more than fifty-five years.
The Palestinian people cannot be left at the mercy of a military occupation, cruel and illegal embodying all manifestations of violence, oppression and apartheid, continues the OIC, demanding the application of all rights and protections guaranteed under international law to all peoples.
On the other hand, the OIC highlighted the historical Hashemite custodianship of King Abdullah II of Jordan over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds as well as the historical and legal situation of the Holy City, stressing the need to remove all restrictions and obstacles that prevent the Jordanian Department of Awqaf from managing the affairs of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and maintaining its facilities.
It also called on the international community to respect the resolutions of international legitimacy relating to Al-Quds, with the aim of intensifying the pressure on Israel to end its illegal occupation of the lands of the State of Palestine occupied in 1967, and to oblige it to respect the principles of international law and the United Nations resolutions on the Palestinian question, including those adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which considers the Al-Aqsa Mosque as an “exclusively Muslim place.”
The final communiqué stresses the need for Israel to respect the historical and legal status of Al Haram Al-Quds Asharif, to return to the pre-2000 situation, and to ensure respect for the status of Al-Aqsa Mosque, with its one hundred and forty-four acres, as an exclusively Muslim place, adding that visits by non-Muslims will have to be arranged by the Jordanian Department of Awqaf in its capacity as the legal authority with exclusive jurisdiction to manage all the affairs of Al Haram and regulate access to it.
He called on the international community to compel Israel to rescind its illegal decision to annex Al-Quds, recalling the Islamic position that calls for mobilizing all capacities to deal with this decision and for compliance with all relevant United Nations resolutions, particularly Security Council Resolutions 465 (1980) and 478 (1980).
The path to peace and security in the Middle East begins with ending the Israeli occupation and withdrawing the occupation army and settlers from the territories of the State of Palestine, foremost among which is the city of Al-Quds, in accordance with the relevant international resolutions and the conclusions of the 4th meeting of the Arab Ministerial Committee for International Action against Illegal Israeli Policies and Measures in Occupied Al-Quds, held in Amman on April 24, the OIC stresses.
The organization calls for strengthening coordination and cooperation between the OIC, the League of Arab States, the United Nations and other relevant international organizations to address any measures that undermine the legal and historical status of the city of Al-Quds.
The Extraordinary Open-ended Meeting of the OIC Executive Committee at the level of Permanent Representatives was held at the request of the Republic of Indonesia in coordination and consultation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which currently holds the chairmanship of the Islamic Summit as well as the chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the Organization.
Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse