Turkey proposes 'protection force' for Palestine in emergency OIC meet
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu calls for an international protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians, as 57-member Muslim bloc meets to discuss ways to prevent Israel from killing more Palestinians in besieged Gaza and occupied West Bank.
People rescue a wounded child from a debris after Israeli air strikes hit buildings in Al Rimal neighbourhood of main Gaza City, on May 16, 2021. (AA)
Turkey has recommended an "international protection mechanism" for Palestine's civilians in an emergency meeting of
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as Israel continued its aggression in besieged Gaza on the seventh consecutive day where death toll jumped to 181, including 52 children.
"These efforts should also include physical protection through forming an international protection force with military and financial contributions of willing countries," Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told the virtual meeting of the 57-member Islamic bloc on Sunday, adding such a mechanism is in line with a 2018 UN General Assembly resolution.
It is time to show unity and determination for Palestine, and Turkey is ready to take any necessary step, he said.
Stating that efforts to normalise ties with Israel have emboldened it, he added: "We should stand for justice and humanity. There should be no other considerations. This is time to show our unity and decisiveness. The ummah (Muslim community) expects our leadership and courage, and Turkey is ready to take whatever action is necessary."
Cavusoglu told the OIC that Israel should be held accountable for war crimes and that the International Criminal Court could play a role.
READ MORE: Israel kills 33 more Palestinians in Gaza as death toll nears 200
OIC meets as deaths near 200
The OIC meeting comes as Israel continues its relentless bombing of Gaza where it has killed some 181 people, including 52 children, while attacking Palestinians in occupied West Bank.
Israel has reported 10 dead, including two children.
The Israeli bombardment began on Monday, after Hamas fired rockets in response to bloody Israeli aggression at the flashpoint Al Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, as well as a brutal crackdown on protests against the planned Israeli expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in annexed East Jerusalem.
READ MORE: Thousands rally across European cities in support of Palestine
Saudis condemn Israel's 'flagrant violations'
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister condemned Israel's "flagrant violations" of Palestinian rights and called on the international community to act urgently to put an end to military operations.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud called for global action to end military operations while fellow Gulf states that forged ties with Israel said a ceasefire was needed for regional stability.
He also condemned what he called the violation of the sanctity of Islamic holy sites.
The Saudi minister also denounced the "forcible" eviction of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem and urged the international community to end this "dangerous escalation" and revive peace negotiations based on a two-state solution.
READ MORE: Tens of thousands protest across North America in solidarity with Palestine
Sensitive time for Arab states
The fighting comes at a sensitive time for Arab states like the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain which last year broke a longstanding taboo in the region by establishing formal ties with Israel, with tacit approval from Gulf power Saudi Arabia.
Emirati and Bahraini ministers at the gathering of the 57-member OIC called for a ceasefire and stressed the importance of preserving the identity of occupied Jerusalem, which contains sites sacred to Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
"De-escalation and the highest degree of restraint are important to avoid dragging the region to new levels of instability," said UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation Reem al Hashimy.
But Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al Maliki
criticised countries that moved to normalise relations with Israel last year.
"Normalisation and running towards this colonial Israeli system without achieving peace and ending the Israeli occupation of Arab and Palestinian lands represents support for the apartheid regime and participation in its crimes," Maliki told the OIC meeting.
"This colonial occupation must be confronted, dismantled, ended, and banned. The recently accelerated normalisation will not have an impact on the sentiments of the Arab world or change their assessment."
READ MORE: OIC slammed for its 'weak' response to Israeli violence on Palestine
Malaysia slams OIC's 'inaction'
Malaysia said OIC's "lack of political will" should no longer be tolerated as an excuse to lengthen Israel's occupation of Palestine.
"While unintentional, we have
shamefully contributed to encouraging the occupying power [Israel] through our inaction," Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein told OIC members.
"
I believe and remain convinced that the OIC must continue to play a central role to take all maximum possible efforts to protect Palestinians against Israel’s hostile acts," he said.
READ MORE: Are Israeli mobs becoming armed militias?
Pakistan ready to join moves to end bloodshed
In his speech, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, "
Pakistan remains ready to join hands with other OIC member states in any move to stop ongoing bloodshed of Palestinians."
He said attempts to "creating false equivalence between Israel, the aggressor and Palestinians, the victims, is inexcusable."
"Attempts to silence media through tyranny is unacceptable. OIC owes genesis to Palestinian issue. Muslim Ummah must exhibit strong solidarity for people with action."
"There comes a time in the history of nations when decisions taken are remembered by posterity and it is important to be on the right side of history. This is one such moment. We must not fail the Palestinian people at this critical juncture," Qureshi added.
In a joint statement later, the OIC said it "condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric attacks launched by Israel... against the Palestinian people and their land and holy sites".
The pan-Islamic body demanded a complete cessation of hostilities, saying the violence was causing "severe suffering" to civilians and increased the "risks of instability" in the region.
Israeli aggression flares tension
Tensions have been running high in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of the occupied East Jerusalem and at the Al Aqsa Mosque since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as Israeli forces and illegal settlers assaulted Palestinians.
The tensions spread from occupied East Jerusalem to Gaza after Palestinian resistance groups there vowed to retaliate against Israeli assaults on the Al Aqsa Mosque and Sheikh Jarrah if they were not halted.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem, where Al Aqsa is located, during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It annexed and occupied the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognised by the international community.
Source: TRTWorld and Agencies
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu calls for an international protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians, as 57-member Muslim bloc meets to discuss ways to prevent Israel from killing more Palestinians in besieged Gaza and occupied West Bank.
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IN POINTS
- Condemns in the strongest terms the barbaric attacks launched by Israel, the occupying authority, against the Palestinian people and their land and holy sites; demands complete and immediate stop of these attacks that have affected innocent civilians and their properties, in gross violation of international law and United Nations resolutions on the question of Palestine; and warns that the continuation of and incitement to these attacks and provocations, the threat on the lives of innocent civilians, causing severe suffering to them increase the risks of instability, with serious implications for security in and outside of the region;
- Warns, in particular, against the dangerous effects of Israel’s continued and deliberate inflammation and provocation of the religious sensibilities and feelings of the Palestinian people and the entire Islamic ummah with its heightened attacks on worshippers, especially starting from the beginning of Ramadan, blocking worshippers’ access to the holy sites to perform their religious rites, including Muslims’ access to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Christians’ access to the Church of Holy Sepulchre during the Easter celebrations, violent storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Shareef by the occupation forces, terrorising and attacking peaceful worshippers, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law;
- Demands a stop to all violations being carried out by Israel, the occupying authority, including disrespect for the holy sites, in particular, the sacredness of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Shareef, and not to undermine their historical and legal status; reiterates that Israel is an occupation force and does not possess any legitimate right whatsoever on occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Shareef, and that all measures undermining its status are null and void and of no legal effect;
- Reaffirms the importance of the historical Hashemite custodianship of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Al-Quds and its role in preserving them and the existing legal and historical status there, and in preserving the Arab, Islamic and Christian identity of the sanctuaries; and affirms that the Hashemite management of Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque waqfs is the only body authorized to manage all affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Al-Quds Haram Al-Shareef;
- Reiterates its rejection and condemnation of the ongoing Israeli settlement colonisation of occupied Palestinian land, including East Jerusalem and the establishment of racial segregation system there, in particular through the building of settlements, destruction of Palestinian properties and building of an expansion wall, confiscation of lands, homes and properties, forceful expulsion and eviction of Palestinians from their homes and land; and affirms that all these acts constitute gross violation of international law, attaining the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity for which the occupation must be held accountable and the colonial system boycotted and sanctioned;
- Expresses particular concern at the rapid pace of the Israeli policy of colonisation of Palestinian lands, especially the threat to forcefully evict hundreds of Palestinian families from their homes in the occupied East Jerusalem, including families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan neighbourhoods which face imminent evictions from extremist colonialist groups with the support and backing of the Israeli occupation authorities, in cooperation with the racial courts; demands immediate cessation of those illegal policies and practices that are at variance with the occupation’s obligations under the United Nations Charter, the Fourth Geneva Convention, international human rights law and United Nations resolutions, including Security Council resolution 2334 (2016); and calls for these illegal measures to be challenged at all levels and for urgent international measures to be taken to confront them;
- Holds Israel, the occupying authority, fully responsible for the deterioration of the situation caused by its systematic crimes against the Palestinian people across the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular, the extensive barbaric military attack on the besieged Gaza Strip, with rising number of victims and large scale destruction of properties and basic infrastructure; calls for the importance of protecting medical and first-aid crews and of allowing them to do their work without hindrance, in line with the provisions of international law in this regard; and stresses the need to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, in conformity with international humanitarian law standards as has been repeatedly advocated by the United Nations General Assembly, including in resolution ES-10/20 of 13 June 2018 and in line with the Final Communique of the 7th Extraordinary Islamic Summit, by dispatching an international protection force to save innocent lives from ongoing attacks and terrorism by the occupation forces and the extremist colonialist militias;
- Underscores the responsibility of the Security Council to act swiftly to end the Israeli occupation’s barbaric attacks on the Palestinian people, in line with its Charter mandate to preserve international peace and security; expresses its denouncement of the Security Council’s inertia in dealing with the Palestinian question, the oldest on its agenda; and invites it to assume its responsibility towards the Palestinian people and to respond to the calls of states and peoples around the world to rise to its responsibilities to stop these violations, save innocent lives, act without delay to stop the deterioration on the ground and the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people, implement its own resolutions and ensure that they are fully respected, being the foundation and key to a just and lasting solution supported by the prevailing international consensus;
- Reiterates that failure of the Security Council to assume its responsibility to deal with this crisis will necessitate approaching the United Nations General Assembly to assume its responsibility, including resumption of the proceedings of the Tenth Emergency Special Session to stop Israeli aggression in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds Al-Shareef, to ensure provision of international protection for the Palestinian people, to take measures to hold Israel, the occupying power, accountable for its crimes and gross violations of the rules of international law and human rights, and to blockade its colonial system;
- Calls upon the international community as a whole, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to abide by its collective commitments and take measures and steps to compel Israel, the occupying authority, to fulfil its obligation as occupying authority, including ensuring protection for the Palestinian population; and affirms that the time has come to take serious measures to hold Israel accountable for its gross violations and to stop exempting it from the same rule that are binding on the rest of the world;
- Reiterates its readiness for engagement in all efforts to support the just Palestinian cause and guarantee the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination and subsequent just and comprehensive solution on the basis of the two-state solution, in accordance with the internationally agreed principles on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative leading to the establishment of the independent State of Palestine with Al-Quds Al-Shareef as its capital, and to continue to work with the international community to achieve that end;
- Notes that the extensive Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people coincides with the 73rd anniversary of the catastrophe, the 1948 tragedy during which widespread ethnic cleansing operation was conducted leading to the forceful removal of 800,000 from their homes and land, after the barbaric massacre carried out in more than 400 Palestinian towns and images by Zionist terrorist groups in Palestine; recalls the historical responsibility of the British mandate authority for the catastrophe and the permanent responsibility of the United Nations for the Palestinian question until all its aspects are resolved; and reiterates on this painful anniversary the right of the Palestinians to return as a fundamental collective and individual right, in conformity with international law and United Nations resolutions, in particular resolution 194 (III), which cannot be diminished with the passage of time, and that respecting it is essential for a just and lasting solution;
- Reiterates that Al-Quds Al-Shareef and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam’s first qibla and third holiest sanctuary, is a red line for the Islamic ummah, that only with its full liberation from occupation and its return to the Palestinian people and the Islamic ummah will there be security and stability; invites Member States to make concerted and individual efforts, to rally round and defend Al-Quds and its holy sites, face up to Israel’s crimes, provide the Palestinian people with support and the wherewithal for steadfastness to confront the Israeli barbaric attacks; and requests them to respect the OIC resolutions on the Palestinian cause and work to implement them as the central issue of the Islamic ummah and the raison d’etre of the OIC;
- Appreciates the role played by the Chair of the Al-Quds Committee in protecting the sanctuaries in Al-Quds Al-Shareef and standing up to the measures taken by the Israeli occupation authorities to Judaize the holy city;
- Salutes the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land and for their historic stand in the face of aggression and occupation, and epic defence of their legitimate rights, standing up to the obliteration, eviction and revocation attempts by the Israeli racist, colonial regime; and reiterates its support and backing for the Palestinian leadership;
- Invites Member States to provide all forms of support and backing for the Palestinian people to strengthen their resilience on their land and to stress the importance of activating the financial safety network, in accordance with the resolution of the 14th Islamic Summit, particularly for the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure, properties and homes sheltering hundreds of Palestinian families who have been rendered homeless because of the heavy destruction carried out by the Israeli occupation forces;
- Calls for international legal action through specialized international courts and various United Nations agencies to compel Israel, the occupying power, to pay the necessary material and moral reparations for the damages done to the Palestinian infrastructure as well as public and private properties;
- Decides to move urgently and carry out the necessary contacts to implement this resolution and convey its contents to all relevant bodies, to mandate the Secretary General to contact the President of the European Commission, the United Nations Secretary General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other representatives of relevant international organizations and groups to convey the contents of this resolution, and to invite the councils of ambassadors of the OIC group in countries of the world and at international organizations to act urgently to convey the contents of this resolution to the states and organizations of their accreditation.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Sunday strongly condemned the ongoing barbaric Israeli attacks on Palestinians and warned against the dangerous effects of such deliberate provocations if they continue.A...
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ISLAMABAD – Strongly condemning Israel’s attacks against the Palestinian people, the Muslim world on Sunday warned against dangerous consequences of Israel’s deliberate inflammation and provocation of religious sensibilities and feelings of Palestinian people and entire Islamic Ummah. In a...
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