ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has condemned Israel’s deadly attacks on the besieged Gaza Strip that killed at least 21 Palestinians.
Even Philippines’ Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman branded the attacks -
which occurred during the holy month of Ramadan – as an act of terrorism.
“This attack by Israeli forces
on Muslims in the midst of prayer during Islam's holiest month and just before
one of the holiest days we celebrate is an act of terrorism. The Israeli forces
attacked the mosque and the people inside because they were Palestinians, and
Muslim. These people were not combatants,” he said, referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem.
Among those killed in the May 11 attacks were children, according to the
Gaza health ministry.
Israel’s attacks came after Hamas fired rockets into the Jewish state in
retaliation to the raid by Israeli police who fired rubber bullets, tear gas
and stun grenades to drive away Palestinians praying at the mosque.
The OIC, during its virtual emergency meeting held on Tuesday, discussed
the aggression by Israel, calling it “the occupying Power in the Palestinian
territories, particularly, the ancient and sacred city of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
Having reviewed the grave situation in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the hazing
which the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian people have suffered at the hands
of the Israeli colonial occupation forces, the OIC released a long statement
and “condemned in the strongest terms the repeated attacks by the Israeli
occupation authorities against the Palestinian people in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and
the entire occupied land of the State of Palestine.”
It said the growing attacks by Israel since the beginning of the holy
month of Ramadan are targeting citizens in Al-Quds Al-Sharif and preventing
worshipers from accessing the holy sites for their religious rites in the
blessed month and during the Easter celebrations.
The OIC branded as “barbaric” the storming by the Israeli occupation
forces of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound and attacking the Palestinian worshipers
there. It also condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ for the continuous colonization,
building settlements, attempting to confiscate Palestinian properties, forceful
eviction of Palestinians from their land in flagrant violation of international
humanitarian law;
It said the attacks are part of on-going and systematic policies of the
Israeli authorities through which they seek to change the historical and legal
status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif and the land of the State of Palestine, paving the
way for the implementation of annexation and colonial expansion policy, which
risks further destabilizing the region, threatening international peace and
security, and undermining international efforts to create a conducive climate
to launch a credible political process;
The influential body also denounced the widespread aggression by the
Israel across the entire occupied Palestinian territory, especially the
barbaric bombardment deliberately targeting civilians in the blockaded Gaza
Strip, which killed and injured many, including innocent children.
The OIC called on its 57 member states to act urgently at all
international levels, including the UN Security Council, to condemn the
repeated Israeli occupation’s contempt for the lives of the Palestinian
civilians, targeting them deliberately and repeatedly to kill them, and to work
to stop the aggression and prevent its recurrence.
“Holds Israel, the illegal occupying authority, fully responsible for
these heinous attacks, including terrorism and tyranny of the Israeli colonialists
against defenceless Palestinian citizens, and the attendant grave developments
and repercussions,” it said.
The OIC urged the international community, particularly the UN Security
Council, to rise up to its responsibility and stop the barbaric aggression against
the Palestinian people and their properties in the entire occupied land of the
State of Palestine, including Islamic and Christian holy sites, and provide
international protection for them.
“Hold Israel accountable for these crimes and impose sanctions on the
colonial and racial segregation system established on the land of the State of
Palestine and demand that the relevant international actors, including United
Nations General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and special rapporteurs implement relevant international
resolutions and recommendations and activate the necessary mechanisms to stop
these violations, hold their perpetrators accountable, and deter them,” it said.
“Holds the Israeli occupation government fully responsible for the
terrorist and criminal acts perpetrated by the Israeli colonialists and their
militias against the defenceless Palestinian citizens, with the protection and
support of the occupation army, including groups and associations requisitioning
Palestinian properties; and calls on Member States and all relevant
international actors to condemn these acts and take necessary measures against
their perpetrators and the bodies they belong, including placing them on lists
of national terrorists,” the OIC added.
It also praised the efforts of the Palestinian leadership and the
Palestinian people everywhere defending their legitimate rights and their
presence on their national land, particularly Al-Quds, the eternal capital of
the State of Palestine, and preserving their Arab identity as well as their
Islamic and Christian holy sites.
The Muslim News Nigeria, reacting on the OIC
statement, said it welcomes the OIC emergency meeting to address the Israeli
aggression in Palestine, but it also strongly suggested that “decisive action
must be taken to put a definite end to the perennial illegal and forceful
occupation. Now is the time for the Ummah (community) to form a unified Muslim
protective force that will liberate and protect Palestine, especially Al-Aqsa
Mosque from Israel's terror since the United Nations has failed in its duty.” (Mindanao
Examiner)
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