Organization of Islamic Cooperation calls for international protection for Palestinian

Final communique of the 7th special session of the Islamic conference to the summit on serious developments of the situation in the state of Palestine.

The communique stated that “the General Secretariat to act without delay to form an independent international committee of experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by Israeli forces against peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip” and “decide to take all necessary steps” by preventing “other countries from following the illegal example of the United States, by transferring their embassies to Al-Quds”.

The communique further relay that OIC will “to take appropriate political, economic and other appropriate measures against” OIC countries “that recognize the city of Al Quds as the capital of Israel or would transfer their embassies there”.

Full communique:
We, Kings and Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), meeting on the occasion of the Seventh Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul, Republic of Turkey, 18 May 2018, at the invitation of the President of Turkey, HE Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Thirteenth Session of the Islamic Summit, in response to the serious developments of the situation in the State of Palestine, consecutive to brutal Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and the illegal inauguration of the US Embassy in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.

Having reviewed the alarming situation and growing tensions within the occupied territory of the State of Palestine;

Expressing our deep gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling for and hosting on the soil of Turkey this extraordinary Islamic Summit to deliberate on an issue of such importance to the Ummah;

Congratulating on the resolutions on the cause of Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif, capital of the State of Palestine, adopted by the 45th session of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in Dhaka, 5-6 May 2018;

Welcoming the resolutions on Palestine and Al-Quds Al-Sharif adopted by the 29th Arab League Summit in Dhahran and welcoming the decision to name it “Al-Quds Summit” on the initiative of the Servant of Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud;

Stressing that the primary mission and purpose of the OIC is to protect the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, preserve its historical and legal status as well as the spiritual dimension, and take all the measures necessary to put an end to the violations committed by Israel and any other party supporting this regime and endorse its colonialist and racist policies;

Starting from the historical, moral and legal responsibility of the Islamic Ummah and its full solidarity with Palestine and its people:

CONDEMN in the strongest terms the criminal acts of the Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and, in particular in the Gaza Strip , where unarmed Palestinian civilians exercise their legitimate right to peacefully protest against this inhuman and absolute illegal occupation; and TAKE UP Israel, the occupying Power, for full responsibility for the atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the last planned massacre of at least 60 civilians in addition to the 2700 wounded of 14 May 2018 <that these acts represent barbaric crimes committed by Israeli forces with the support of the US administration, including through the protection of the Israeli occupation of the UN Security Council against any form of accountability; Let us also note that these crimes were committed against the backdrop of the US administration’s illegal decision to officially transfer its embassy from Israel to the occupied city of Al-Quds, which further encouraged the Israeli government to persist in its uncompromising behaviour and in its suppression of the Palestinian civilian population.

Call on the international community, in particular the United Nations Security Council, to respect its legal obligations to defend international law and order, particularly with regard to Palestine, to act in accordance with its legal and moral obligations as to ensure accountability for these abject crimes that Israel, the occupying Power, is committing with impunity, to put an end to these atrocities and to provide international protection to the Palestinian people.

Call for the granting of international protection for the Palestinian population, including the sending of an international protection force.

REQUESTS the General Secretariat to act without delay to form an independent international committee of experts to investigate the crimes and massacres committed by Israeli forces against peaceful and unarmed demonstrators in the Gaza Strip, in order to establish the culpability of Israeli officials and to communicate its findings to the relevant international bodies.

I INVITE the UN Security Council, the UN General Assembly, the UN Secretary-General, the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteurs and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to take the necessary steps to form an international investigative committee on recent atrocities in the Gaza Strip, to enable the committee to carry out field investigations within the prescribed time, and to ensure the implementation of a transparent mechanism to determine the culpability of Israeli officials, to provide justice to the victims and to put an end to the impunity of the perpetrators of such crimes.

INVITE the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council to assume their responsibilities in this regard; and CALL all countries to mobilize to put this matter urgently on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council.

CONSIDER the role played by the State of Kuwait as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and welcome its immediate response to the bloody events in Gaza and its request to the Security Council to hold an emergency meeting; and also, welcome Kuwaiti initiatives to propose a draft resolution on the protection of civilians, regretting the blocking by the United States of a press release in response to these tragic events.

REAFFIRM the need to work in coordination and to work together on this issue with international and regional organizations, including the League of Arab States, the European Union and the African Union.

REAFFIRM the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif for the Islamic Ummah; RENEW our principled support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for the recovery of their inalienable national rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of their own independent and sovereign Palestinian State, within the borders of the country in June 1967, and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as Capital; and INVITE all countries to officially recognize the State of Palestine.

REITERATE our rejection of the US President’s illegal decision to recognize Al-Quds as the so-called capital of Israel, the occupying Power; REJECT this decision as legally null and void and in violation of the resolutions of the international legality; and CONSIDER it as an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people and a deliberate attempt to undermine all prospects for peace, endangering international peace and security.

CONDEMN the inauguration of the US Embassy in Al-Quds and CONSIDER it as an act of provocation and hostility against the Muslim Ummah, the national rights of Palestinians, a flagrant violation of international law and an attack on the international order, including the United Nations, which further encourages Israel, the occupying power, to step up its illegal and criminal actions against the Palestinian people.

REAFFIRM our position that al-Quds will remain the eternal capital of Palestine and that the inauguration of the American Embassy in Al-Quds cannot alter the legal status of the occupied city, nor legitimize its illegal annexation by Israel, occupying power.

EXPRESS our support for the historic Hashemite tutelage assumed by His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussain at the Islamic and Christian holy sites of Al Quds, which was sealed by the agreement between His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Majesty Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine on 31/03/2013, and the role of the Jordan Department of Al-Quds Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Mosque in the preservation and defence of Al-Haram Al -Qodsi Al-Sharif.

COMMEND THE continued efforts of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee, to defend the Holy City and support the resilience of the Palestinian people and APPLY the efforts of Agence Bayt Mal al-Qods dependent on the Al-Quds Committee.
Consider that any State which follows, accepts or acquiesces in the decision of the American Administration or in any similar measure adopted by other countries is complicit in the violation of international law and order; EXPRESS our determination to respond to these shameful actions by appropriate measures; DECIDE to take all necessary steps to prevent other countries from following the illegal example of the United States, by transferring their embassies to Al-Quds; and, in this regard, CONDEMNS the relocation by Guatemala of its embassy to Al-Quds, and decide to take appropriate political, economic and other appropriate measures against countries that recognize the city of Al Quds as the capital of Israel or would transfer their embassies there;
Call on all Member States to openly condemn such actions and to use all possible legal and diplomatic remedies to defend the national rights of the Palestinian people against any hostile and illegal action by the United States or any other party, and to support the recent decisions of Palestinian leaders to promote and recognize the rights of Palestinians.

AFFIRM that candidate countries for international posts, seeking OIC support, will be evaluated on the basis of their positions on the issue of Palestine, especially on Al-Quds.

INSIST ON that the OIC Member States adhere strictly to the OIC resolutions on the Palestinian cause and pledge to vote in favour of this cause and to take measures that would help to defend this just cause; and CALL for the adoption of necessary measures against those who refuse to comply.

ASK Member States, the OIC General Secretariat and OIC subsidiary and specialized and affiliated agencies to take the necessary measures to apply economic sanctions to countries, officials, parliaments, companies or individuals who recognize annexation al-Quds by Israel, the occupying Power, and follow the decision of the US Administration to move its embassy to al-Quds al-Sharif or comply with any other provision relating to the consecration of Israeli settlement on the territory occupied by the Palestinian.

INVITE the Member States and the international community as a whole to prohibit the entry into their markets of products from illegal Israeli settlements, to take action against persons and entities implicated or beneficiaries of the continuation of the occupation and colonization.

DECIDE to take all necessary measures and to use all possible political, legal and diplomatic remedies to defend the legitimate rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people against the Israeli regime of colonization and aggression and against the states that defend and support this regime of oppression.

INVITE the United States to adhere to the resolutions of international legality relating to the city of Al-Quds, which is an integral part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory in 1967, and the CALL to urge Israel, the occupying Power, to put an end to its colonial plans and its grave violations that pose a threat to peace and security in the region and around the world.

DEMAND the United States to take a stand against the Israeli occupation and colonization and to be impartial in seeking a comprehensive solution based on the relevant UN resolutions, international law, the terms of reference of the process peace initiative, the Arab Peace Initiative and the two-State solution, always in the context of concerted and multilateral efforts.

REITERATE our adherence to all the resolutions adopted by the ordinary and extraordinary sessions of the Islamic Summit concerning the cause of Palestine and the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in particular those emanating from the 5th Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Conference in Summit, held in Jakarta on March 6, 2016 and the Extraordinary Islamic Summit Conference on Al-Quds Al-Sharif, held in Istanbul on December 13, 2017, and INVITE all Member States to ensure the respect of these resolutions in their daily speeches and their foreign policy agenda, particularly in the context of their relations with their counterparts in other parts of the world and within international organizations.

REAFFIRM our determination to continue to act in accordance with international law and to cooperate with states that share our values in upholding international law and order, and REITERATE our unwavering commitment to the two-State solution, which is the only solution internationally accepted in the context of self-determination, international law and existing United Nations resolutions, in accordance with the International Terms of Reference and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative approved by the 2005 Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Mecca; and SUPPORT in this regard the Palestinian political initiative presented by HE Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, to the Security Council on 20 February 2018.

CALLS on the implementation of previous resolutions related to the financing of the multi-sector strategic plan for Al-Quds, as a framework identifying Islamic financing priorities for the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif; Also urge Member States to respond to the needs of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, its institutions and its population, in accordance with the revised strategic plan, and to support the projects being started there, especially in the educational field; and REQUESTS the General Secretariat to monitor the implementation of the said plan, in coordination with the State of Palestine.

UNDERLINES our determination to allocate all the necessary resources to counter any attempt to change the Islamic and Christian identity – or to falsify the history of the city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif, in particular by collaborating with UNESCO, which has classified the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls as World Heritage, and CONDEMN, in this regard, the continuing Israeli occupation aimed at changing the historical status quo of the Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as other religious and sacred places in the city of Al-Quds, including through continuous raids by the Israeli occupation forces and allowing groups of Israeli terrorist settlers to daily profane the holy mosque.

UNDERSCORING the special importance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides vital services to more than 5.3 million Palestinian refugees; and URGE Member States to strengthen their support for UNRWA’s initiatives to provide a sustainable budget.

WELCOME the establishment of a Waqf Endowment Fund for Development, as advocated in the preliminary study submitted by the Islamic Development Bank, to further support Palestinian refugees and host countries, to promote collective assistance Member States and ensure the sustainable financing of UNRWA operations in the field of humanitarian aid, development and social protection; and URGE Member States to expedite the operationalization of the Waqf Development Fund.

REITERATE our support for the inalienable right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194; Also REAFFIRM the need to recognize the crimes of ethnic cleansing and premeditated murder perpetrated against the Palestinian people during the NAKBA, which took place seventy years ago, as a necessary first step towards the restoration of the justice and peace.