OIC chief: Israel confiscates Palestinian economic and water resources

The Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Ekmeleddin Ihsan Oglu has accused the Israeli occupation of confiscating Palestinian economic and water resources, media reports said.

Oglu mentioned that the Israeli occupation controls taxes, customs and external commerce, as well as all water resources Palestinians used in their daily lives.

He said that the policies of the Israeli occupation are the main stumbling block standing in the way of economic achievement and undermine all previous achievements reached through the building of Palestinians institutions. This definitely has negative consequences on stability and development.

In front of a conference held in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku which focussed on the establishment of an Islamic monetary security network for the support of Palestine, Oglu said that Israel blocks Palestinian tax money and customs revenues. This sharply increased difficulties facing the Palestinian government.

Based on the large financial deficit the Palestinian Authority is facing, the Secretary General said establishing the security network is now more important than at any time in the past. “This is proof of social solidarity,” he said.

On the margin of the conference, Azerbaijani president, Ilham Oleif, met the OIC Secretary General. Oleif expressed his regard for the efforts being exerted by the organisation to promote relationships among Islamic states. He stressed the importance of strong solidarity among these states.

Oleif also thanked OIC efforts to hold the conference to study the strategic plan to renovate the holy city of Jerusalem and to establish the security network for the support of Palestine.

Holding the conference was one of the recommendations made by the OIC in the latest conference held in Cairo in February, 2013.

Oglu in turn thanked Oleif for his initiative to host the conference, which supports the Palestinian cause and the city of Jerusalem. These two things were the main cause for OIC’s establishment.