The six-party committee emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation concerned with Palestine held a meeting on the sidelines of the general meetings of the seventy-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, on September 19, 2023, headed by the Secretary-General of the Organization, Hussein Ibrahim Taha.

The Secretary-General delivered a speech in which he reaffirmed the organization’s firm position towards the issue of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and called for the mobilization of all political and legal efforts to harness the international consensus regarding finding a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions. He also called for the relaunch of a peace process under multilateral international sponsorship, according to a specific timetable, and on the basis of relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The Secretary-General also stressed the need to redouble efforts in the UN Security Council in order to approve the long-awaited full membership of the State of Palestine in the United Nations.

On the other hand, the meeting reaffirmed the centrality of the issue of Al-Quds Al-Sharif to the Islamic nation, the necessity of preserving its Arab-Islamic character, and defending the sanctity of Islamic and Christian sanctities, stressing at the same time the illegality of Israeli measures in occupied Jerusalem, and condemning in this regard all attempts to undermine its status. historical law or expose it to danger.

The meeting strongly condemned the policy of Israel, the occupying power, and its illegal colonial settlement practices throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and expressed its deep concern about the escalation of acts of violence, provocation, incitement and terrorism committed by extremist Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians, including Children and their property.

The meeting renewed its call on member states to adhere to the decisions of Islamic summits and Islamic ministerial conferences regarding the Palestinian issue and the Arab-Israeli conflict when voting in the United Nations and international forums.

Source: International Islamic News Agency