OIC call for the rescue of Jerusalem "from the clutches of Zionist aggression"

The Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, has said that the Judaisation of Jerusalem requires all Muslims to make a firm stand against this blatant Israeli challenge. Mr. Ihsanoglu stressed that support for Jerusalem and its “rescue from the clutches of Zionist aggression is a duty and an obligation on every Muslim”.

Speaking to Jordan’s Algaad newspaper on 29 April, the Secretary General rejected Israel’s aggressive policies which are intended to destroy the Holy City of Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque, as well as the third “transfer” of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. He pointed out that Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel in 1967. The settlements built on occupied territory are illegal, he added, and represent a flagrant violation of international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Mr. Ihsanoglu reiterated his call to the Quartet (the UN, US, Europe and Russia) and the international community to take action to compel the occupation authorities to stop all forms of colonial-settlements and violations which are changing the Arab Islamic identity of Jerusalem.

“What the Israeli occupation s is doing in Jerusalem is a clear violation of international law and international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and thereto Protocols of 1977,” he said. “It is also contrary to the partition resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations Resolution 181 of 1947, in addition to numerous resolutions of the Security Council and General Assembly of the United Nations.”

According to the OIC Secretary General, the organization has spoken to a number of international officials about the city of Jerusalem and exposed the risk of Zionist practices therein. Among them were the foreign ministers of the United States, Spain, Britain and the European Union, during a visit to the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the OIC in February. They were told that “Jerusalem is a red line for the Islamic Ummah [nation] and there is no room for compromise”.

Source: Palestinian Information Centre